I used to do crafts all the time. Then my lists got in the way...the have to do list, the should do list...the I'd like to do list. They go on and on. But I put the lists aside for a little while to make egg candles. Just for you. So today's blog has lots of pictures and is a step by step in making these candles. If you're not into that...sorry...bye bye...have a nice day....come back again sometime.
On to the egg candles. My grandma used to talk about candling eggs...I think she meant something a little different than this!
Ok...here we go. You start with eggs. Raw eggs. You have to take the top off and dump out the yolk and stuff. By top I mean the pointy end of the egg.
I do this by holding them in my left hand and tapping them with a knife in my right hand. But then I couldn't hold the camera and I was too lazy to set up a tripod so I put the egg in this cute little egg cup to show you how.
Tap, tap, not too hard because you'll crush it and have egg all over the place.
Do one side, then rotate it and do the other side until it is cracked all around the top.
Then pull the top off. Starting with a hole that is too small works better than one that is too big....aren't you glad I told you that??
Dump the egg stuff out into a bowl. I was planning on doing these for a while, so when I made french toast I took the time to do the egg this way, rinsed it out and saved it. And did the same thing when I made fried eggs, and pancakes...you get the idea. Shoot...now I'm getting hungry.
Tomorrow I am making a cake, so I saved some of the eggs for that. But eggs are cheap...and you could throw out the insides if you just want to make the candles....unless you feel guilty wasting like that....then you can plan ahead and save your shells. Rinsed shells.
After you take the yolks out, and rinse the shells, and pull out that membrane, skin like thing, then it's time to dye the eggs. Regular old Easter Egg dye. This one called for Vinegar to make the colors brighter. 3 tablespoons. Ummm...you can use 2 tablespoons if you sort of forgot to check and see how much vinegar you have before you get started.
Dye pellets in the cups.
Fizzing up when you add the vinegar. Then you add water to thin out the dye. Just follow the directions on the box...it's easy.
Carefully put the hollowed out egg shell in the dye.
Let them soak until you like how bright they are.
Take them out with a spoon, that little wire holder thing that comes with the dye, or your fingers, whichever works for you.
Turn them upside down to dry while you dye the next set. Aren't they pretty?
You can line them up in an egg carton until you fill them with wax.
If you are neurotic about colors, you can rearrange them so they are in a rainbow. Not that I would do that or anything. Ahhh.
Now it's time for the wax! You can get candle making supplies at most craft stores. These are from Michael's. You'll need about a pound of wax for 12 large egg candles. I used 3" wicks with a base, some peach candle scent, and yellow dye so the candle looks like an egg yoke.
Cut the wax into smaller pieces. Have your husband do it if he's wandering around in the kitchen looking for supper or something.
Melt the wax in a double boiler. I made my own with a pyrex measuring cup and a pan of water. The measuring cup has a nice lip for pouring the wax.
Follow the directions on the wax package to see how hot to get it before adding the scent and the dye.
I liked the peach scent, I had purchased this a few years ago so I don't know if it's still available. This scent came in a little wax chunk that you melt into the candle wax. If you opted to take your eggs out of the dye with the fingers you might have dye under your nails too. Not that I did that.
Then you add the candle dye. This is a liquid form. It also comes in a waxy chunk. If you get that you won't get yellow dye on your fingers to match the blue and green dye that's under your nails. Just sayin'.
Dump some in...it's sort of like food coloring. Give it a stir. If it's not bright enough dump some more in. Pretty scientific huh?
Then, using a hot pad, lift the pyrex out of the water and fill your egg shells with the candle wax. I did my first set on the dying tray, I wouldn't recommend that, it was a little too wobbly. I did the rest in the egg carton. It helps to put the carton or the egg holder on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Then if you spill a little wax it's easy to clean up.
After you've filled up a half a dozen eggs or so you can put in the wicks. Make sure that the base is straight, then just put in into the egg.
Wiggle it around to get it to the bottom, then make sure it's sticking up in the middle of the egg. It should sit where you've placed it. If not, you could put a tooth pick on the top of the egg and lean the wick on that.
Fill the rest of the eggs and repeat the wick process. I did two dozen eggs. It worked best for me to melt one pound of the wax at a time and do one dozen egg candles at a time.
Let them set up. You can adjust the wick a little bit before the wax gets firm, but it's better not to mess with it too much.
I had a little wax left over, so I poured it into an old votive holder. Too bad it looks like egg yoke. Maybe I'll save it for Halloween and put it in a pumpkin.
Don't you just love the rainbow of colors? Oh, maybe it's just me.
Last step is to take your scissors and trim the wicks so they are about 1/4" long.
Then put them in little egg cups and share them at Easter.
You can keep them in the egg carton if you want a more rustic look, but be careful when you light them. I like the egg cups myself.
Cute little Easter Egg candles.
Martha Stewart would be proud. If she cared. I think she has bigger crafts to conquer.
But she's got people to tackle her lists. This is about all I can do for now. Until I get my own people that is. Maybe I should put that on my list. I think I'll do that, right after I fry up some eggs for breakfast. I have a few left over.
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