Homemade And Crafty: 2010

Lately, I been obsess with wax. Wax have many uses. I even brought a kit and played with a few recycling methods. Some of this is really fun. First there are different type of wax and their properties. When you want to use wax for different projects. The wax consistency and price need to be kept in mind.

Wikipedia have a lovely list of waxes people can use.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wax#Uses_of_wax

The wax you usually find in stores or craft stores.
Paraffin-Basic candle wax, and can be use as a good hardener.
Beeswax-Natural wax, often used in balm.
Soy Wax-Soft wax
Jojoba-A bead of this wax can be used to color or scent.
Bayberry wax
Gel Wax
Petroleum Jelly

Candles

If you have any leftover wax, they can be melted down into new candles. If you have wax leftover in glass containers, a double broiler method can be used to remove this wax. Once the wax melted in the boiling pot, you can pour the wax through a raggy cloth, like an old cheese cloth or old hosiery. If you don't have any craft containers for melting wax, soda cans, and canned food cans can be used to hold the wax. Once the wax is filtered, melt the wax again in a boiling pot using the double broiler method with the tin can. Pour the melted wax in the desired container and stick a wick in. Wait til the wax cool and pour more wax in to cover the concave dent that is formed after cooling.

You can buy wicks, or you can use birthday candles. You can also make your own wicks by braiding thick string and socking it in wax.

Leftover wax can also be made into beautiful jars to place tea candles in. This method is base off of making a chocolate bowl. Fill a balloon with water and dip in candle wax a few times to built up a shell. Once the wax cooled, pop the balloon and cut the shell to the length you want. These gives off a lovely glow, but they may need to be place on a place or coaster to avoid wax dripping on the table or carpet.

Basic Lip Balm Recipe

Everyone buys chapstick. Some of the most popular ones contain methol, camphor, and phenol. Methol, and camphor are for pain and healing. Phenol is an exfoliant, and breaks down skin of badly chapped lips. Now adays people want more natural, or simple. This recipe gives you a good basic balm, that can be place in a chapstick or balm container. This balm will keep your lips moist, without unwanted, excess ingredients.

*Mix Bees' wax with lotion for chap stick or balm.

*Just Petroleum jelly works as wonderful chapstick substitute.

*You can add coloring for fun. Vitamin E, and vitamin A can be mixed in to help your skin.

Basic Lotion Stick

A lotion stick is basically a chapstick for your skin. This will resemble a bar of soap you can roll around in your hands, to moisten skin. Not only that but it can contain fragrance and become solid perfume.

Wax Sculpture

Lots of people carve wax. They carve models of figurines, rings, and many more. These wax models can also be place into modes to make a prototype of the object.
Wax is very easy to carve. Use leftover notebook wire to form into a carver. If the wax is very soft, wax can be carve using a pencil, or pen. If there is a spare dull butter knife, that can be use to carve the wax.

Wax Stamp

Now that I think about it, you can use wax for a stamp. Beside using wax to make a seal for scrap booking, or envelops, a stamp can be carve out of the candle, or block of wax. Just carve whatever design you want, ink it, and stamp. If you want different designs just remelt the wax, and let it cool in the can before popping it out for a new stamp. Of course make sure you use the appropriate ink or paint due to wax slick nature.

Wax Paper

I am pretty sure you can wax paper but I don't see how that can be helpful. It may be useful if you want to waterproof a special piece of paper.

OTHER

*Use wax and petroleum jelly to help with squeaky doors.
*Wax thread to help you thread it through the eye of the needle.
*You can use wax as a pencil. People use to draw on eggshells with the tip of a candle. After the egg is dyed, the shell that is cover in wax stays white.
*Beside candle wax, old crayons can be melted into cute little crayons for a lovely treat for children. Star molds make great crayons for Christmas, and Independence day. Ice cream, heart, and moon molds are great for birthdays. You can use any mold, but I prefer the shapes with points that will allow the children to color easier. I remember receiving these baseball player, french fries, etc crayons from fast food restaurants, and the round edges are not easy to use.
*Wax can also be used in fire starters. Boy scouts like to use old egg cartons filled with sawdust, newspapers, and cover in wax. Scouts cut out one egg and use it to start fires, or for grills and fireplaces. Also a petroleum soak cotton ball, and wax dipped pine cones are other fire starters.
*Use chapstick to keep eyebrows, mustache, and stray hairs in place.
*If you are hiking, or cold weather, use chapstick to help dry skin on your face, hands, and lips.
*For grease monkey, rub petroleum jelly on your hands and face to help remove grease easily.
*Horrible chapped hands with calluses heal faster when cover in petroleum jelly.
*Paraffin Wax Dip! These are wax tubs that are great for softening hands, and relieving arthritis. My mother have a wax tub she soak her hands in. The wax is warm and soothing. When the wax harden she just removes it and throws it back in the tub for next time. The wax was really soft at room temperature, and evaporates a little bit every time it was used.

Remember the Knitting Nancy, or the spool with 3-4 nails sticking out. Bet you did not know you can make one out of wire. I recycle the wire from notebooks to make one. It produces a sturdy little knitting nancy, and I can make it as big as I want because it is recycled from unwanted wire.

In order to make it I use some needle nose pliers. If you want to try, I recommend wearing gloves. Bending the wire will be a little hard on your hands. What needs to be made first are teeth, which are the nails protruding out of the spool. We do this by making a bend similar to the following picture. The prongs should be about an inch. It can be longer or shorter. Afterwards you continue to make more prongs. If you want 2 make 4, 3 make 6, 6 make 12, etc. Then you connect the ends by wrapping the long end around in a ring. Then finally you bend the prongs' tip outward.

Now you have a knitting nancy. You use a small crochet hook and wrap every two wires. Originally, each prong was suppose to at like a nail, but I find using two makes knitting easier.

My original knitting nancy resemble a mini crown. This is my new one, which is bigger but not as stable. I ran out of wire to reinforce the bottom, but it makes storing it easier.

Homemade And Crafty

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Uses for Wax

Monday, February 8, 2010

Who Painted My Roses Red?

The French Knitting Nancy

Amigurumi

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