Saturday 18 October 2014

Manor House candle making

Thursday was a sad day as it was our last day at The Manor House Hotel.  We only had two classes, though we also sneaked in 2 sessions of silk painting and a massage.  The first class was candle making.  There were two techniques, the first of which was dipping, which is why they had this great set up.  A big table with vats set into it holding wax of different colours, and cold water for setting the layers.



We took an ordinarly taper candle and dipped it in clear wax for 30 seconds to soften everything up.  Then we dipped in a colour, then cold water, wipe the water off and repeat for a total of 6 dips per colour.  It was good fun.



This candle had a layer of each colour, then I went back and dipped again, but didn't submerge the candle all the way, just enough to leave a band of each colour at the top.  It came out really dull and mottled which was a disappointment as the waxes were so vibrant.



I had to cut the bottom off and you can see the layers of colour better here.



I had a go at carving for my second dipped candle.  Again a rainbow of dips, then carved with a knife and twisted.



Hmmm, not brilliant.  We only had an hour for this class and the room wasn't left open for us afterwards which was a shame (health and safety I assume), as I'd have liked to try much more carving but I just didn't have time.

The second technique was container candles.  I've done that before of course, but wanted to try a technique she showed us where she made decals from wax poured onto the table top.  I cut the wax with biscuit cutters and stuck the warm decals to the glass.  



After a short while in the fridge, it was time to fill up the glass.  I chose yellow.  And made a right mess!  Luckily it can be cleaned up easily when it's set.  I put it in the fridge and we collected them the next day when it was nice and set.



Unfortunately wax dips as it sets so there is a dip in the top.  If we'd have had a longer class, I could have remedied that, but there just wasn't time to leave it an hour then top it up.



The next post is the last one for the Manor House Hotel and it's about glass painting.

My first time carving candles and making wax decals, so I'm linking up to Something New for 2014



Celtic Thistle Stitches  

10 comments:

Christine said...

Very pretty. I like the carved one

Rachel said...

Love the idea of the decals - they look like a great success!

Sandra :) said...

Years and years ago I made candles with sheets of honeycomb wax. I think I may even have made a few using the leftover bits and pieces from candles that burn in glass jars (sadly, my memory gets fuzzier every year). I never thought to cut out decorations for them - that's quite brilliant :D I've also never seen that carving technique - that's COOL!

Farm Gate Creations Incorporating Hummingbird Quilting said...

Looks like a load of fun...it always feels that there is not enough time in any class I do...for I always want to do more.

CeLynn said...

Sounds like you had a marvelous time in the candle class. I like all three of your candle creations,but think that the last one is my favorite. I am intrigued by the molding of the wax shapes to create it.

Anita said...

Hey...candle making looks like fun and how different they all are. It's a pretty big hobby in my town and boy, there are some nice smells out there.
Cheers, Anita.

quirkyhannah said...

Very pretty esp like the decals and looks great fun.

Sarah in Stitches said...

That's pretty cool, actually. I love this week you had - Manor House sounds amazing!

Jane said...

Love making candles, never tried the carving though. These will look fabulous when you burn them

Benta AtSLIKstitches said...

that looks like great fun