Hiatus and Candle Fixing.....205 Days To Go!!!!

Again, I have been gone for awhile.  At my school, we have a 6 week break over the winter.  You see, most of the time I am at my computer because I have to be, for school or for studying.  So, when school is not in session, I try to get away from the computer a bit and get out into the Real World.  And I did a lot of that over break...lots of cross-country skiing, etc. But, it meant that my blog has been woefully left behind. For that I apologize!!  I probably shouldn't have started this blog while in school, but it can be good to test one's limits while stressed, I guess:)

So, candle fixing. Let me preface this by saying that I fix a lot of stuff...but if the appearance of it isn't integral to the function (which is not the case with sewing), I will just let it stay ugly.

My sister sent me a surprise care package this week...including some bento goodies, household things, and a pair of candlesticks she picked up at Farmer's Market. Well, woe to me, they were broken in a couple spots, probably do to their shipment.  I really wanted to use them, because they smell fantastic and I've actually needed a pair of candle sticks.  So, I decided to fix them.

I looked up a few tutorials and it all involved melting candle wax in a double boiler, and doing all sorts of finishing work. Well, I didn't feel like I really NEEDED to do all that. So I figured out my own way.  I didn't think to post about it until after I was done. So I went back and tried to make a tutorial of sorts. It's really easy.

In this picture I'm pointing to where one of the cracks was. Both had 2 cracks each, and you can see where they were in the finished picture.

1)  Put out some foil for the candles to sit on

2) Gather supplies....birthday candles, something to light the birthday candles with and an area where it's safe to use fire.

3)  Light the birthday candle and let the wax drip into and around the crack in the candle.  (You can't see it as well on these ones because it's already done).

4)  Let the wax you've applied to the crack on that side harden thoroughly (go do something for 15 minutes or more), and then come back, turn the candle, and drop the wax into the parts of the crack that are not "waxed" yet.

5) Let the whole thing harden after you've filled the cracks (and you can't really overfill them, so feel free to go crazy...better to err on the side of too much wax than not enough).

6) (optional) Mine had a flaky outer appearance, and so I finished it by running a match close to the surface of the candle on all sides, just so that the patches blended a little better. I ended up using a yellow candle (not in the demo, but beforehand) and I have some Greenbay Packers colors now, so I will have to light these during the superbowl:)

So there you have it, they aren't perfect, but they are use-able now.

Can't wait to light these babies up and shed a little light on things around here:) Ha ha ha! Hope you are all doing well!