I visited my parents this week and had a blast. We hung out, hiked, swam, the kids ran around with Nerf swords well after dark…what more could you ask for? My brother’s kids came over on the weekend and my mom had the great idea of having the kids make crushed ice candles. This is something that she did as a kid. Not only was it easy and fun, but they turned out really pretty!
I really wanted to share how to make these with you. They’re not something I would burn, because there’s a lot of glitter, but they are very fun to make and very pretty to look at.
Crushed Ice Candles
You Need:
- Crushed Ice
- Canning Wax, or other wax of preference
- Glitter
- Paper Cups
- String
- Toothpicks
- Double broiler
- Pencil
We bought some canning wax at the grocery store. I’m sure you could use higher quality wax, but it worked well for what we were doing. We cut the wax into squares and prepared our cups.
We cut a length of string and attached a toothpick to the end. This was placed into the cup, with a pencil on the top to keep it centered.
Next time I do this, I will do it differently. I will put the string through the bottom of the cup and tape the bottom (so no wax drips out) instead of using the tooth pick. This way, if you like the bottom of the candle better (which did look really cool) then you can just turn it over.
Next, melt your wax in your double broiler. My mom didn’t have one so we improvised with a metal bowl over a pot with boiling water.
CAUTION: Do NOT use the microwave! This will catch fire in the microwave!!
It melts quickly so keep an eye on it.
While the wax is melting, get your crushed ice ready.
Add ice to your cup, sprinkling with glitter as you go. Add as much ice as you want (You will pour wax until the ice is just covered).
If you are doing this with kids, be prepared to have glitter cropping up in your house for a week.
Once your cup is ready, very carefully (Very carefully. Don’t let it touch your skin. It’s hot!) pour wax into your cup until the ice is covered. I used a glass measuring cup to dip it out as I held the cup over the bowl. I don’t have pictures of that because I was focusing on pouring. Let them set until they are cold (lightly touch the top and sides). The ice will melt, but leave pockets of water that you will pour off later.
When they are set, pour off whatever water that you can. Gently run a knife around the edges.
Make slits in the top of the cup and gently (don’t squeeze) peal the paper off. Do this over the sink because water will come out.
There you go! You can use different containers to make different shapes. Just make sure you can get the candle out.
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