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SnowGlobe Candle Project
Many thanks to Karen Goodale for contributing this illustrated project with photos
Supplies needed for seascape candles:
- Roly Poly votive cup (or other glassware)
- Wick in high collar wick tab, appropriate for glass size
- Hot glue gun (optional, but helpful)
- Clean sand
- Assorted seashells or nonflammable embeds
- Glass fish or other sea creatures (optional)
- Gel Wax (Medium Density)
- Liquid dye or color block (optional)
- Scent (optional) *if using scent it MUST have a flashpoint of at least
170 degrees.
1) Hot glue * the wick tab into the center of
a glass roly poly votive cup (or your choice of glassware) using the appropriate
wick size for your container.
* Alternative method: dip wick tab into hot gel and place in center of glass.
The gel will cool and hold the tab in place.
2) Add a layer of clean sand * to cover the bottom
of the glass, and the wick tab. Add shells or other nonflammable decorations
to top of the sand.
* Alternative: Table salt can also be used, BUT it must be regular salt
with no additives. Some salts contain a "sugar" type substance
that can be flammable. Salt can also tend to dissolve a bit in the gel and
create a "wet sand" look.
3) Heat gel until completely melted, and like think syrup. Add color
and scent (if desired) and stir very well to mix color and scent throughout
the gel.
.
Note: be very careful when adding color to the gel, a little bit goes
a long way! Start out with less than a drop of dye on a toothpick, you
only want a "tint" of color so that your scene will show.
Pour a layer of gel into the bottom of the glass, covering the sand and
shells -- and filling as high as you want the bottom of your fish to "float".
(Other ways to suspend fish are listed below in helpful hints.) This gel
layer will "seal" the sand and shells. Watch for any air bubbles
that rise to the surface from the sand and shells and pop the bubbles
with a tooth pick. Make sure that the wick is stays centered in the glass.
Cool completely. I then place remaining gel (in Pyrex measuring cup in
the oven at 250 degrees to keep hot for next the layer)
Helpful hints:
* Drill a hole through the center of a popsicle stick and feed the wick
through the hole. Set across the top of the glass to keep wick centered.
Pull up gently as the gel cool to also keep the wick straight.
Glass fish or other glass sea creatures can be hot glued to a shell
to make them appear "suspended" in the gel, IF the shells are
large enough to hold them up without tipping the shell over.
* Some glass fish are made with a hole in the top fin (these a normally
used with a glass ball to float in aquariums) if using this type of fish
you can feed a fishing line through the hole as if you were wearing it
as a necklace. Tie the ends in a knot at the proper length to feed a pencil
or skewer through, and lay across the top of the glass to hold the fish
at the level you want him to swim. Once the gel has completely cooled,
just snip the fishing line and gently pull it out of the gel.
4) Add fish to the cooled gel as close to the
inside of the glass as possible, pushing into the cooled gel to hold fish
in place.Take remaining gel out of the oven (if you kept it hot) or reheat
to a thick syrup if it was left out to cool.
5) Pour remaining gel to almost the top of the
glass. While pouring, hold your pouring pot down as low as possible. Pouring
from too high causes extra bubbles in the gel. Make sure that the wick stays
centered and straight as the gel cools. Gently pull up on the wick several
times as is cools to keep wick taut.
Helpful hints:
*Should your fish or other suspended item sink lower than you wanted it,
you can dig the fish out and place on the top of the gel and reheat in 200-225
degree oven until it moves down where you want it, remove from oven and
cool.
*If you have more bubbles than you want, or have pour lines where the second
layer of gel meets the first layer you can place in a 200 degree oven to
remove extra bubbles, or set out in the sun for several hours. Pour lines
next to the glass are also easy to melt away by using a heat gun.
Your new seascape is now finished, and you don't
even need to feed the fish! Keep the wick straight and trimmed to 1/8 to
1/4 inch for hours of enjoyment!
Other seascape projects:
Back to the gel projects
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