Handmade Beeswax Luminaries

For us at Bella Luna Toys, fall in Maine means crisp mornings, the sound of leaves crunching under our feet and a strong desire to tuck in early for the night.

Add your own autumnal ambiance to simple evenings at home with this beautiful beeswax luminaries tutorial created exclusively for us from our friend Becky of Growing A Wild Child.

Create your own natural decorations with our Wooden Leaf & Flower press.

Materials needed:

1 lb of beeswax

Pressed flowers or leaves for decorations (or bits of kite paper/tissue paper/pretty fabric)

Glue and a paint brush

Tea lights

Avocado for a mold (or other fruit that can be scooped out with skin kept intact, you will peel this out at the end. We used avocados & mangos this time.) 

Double boiler to melt the wax

Baking sheet lined with foil or parchment

 

Method:

Melt the wax in a double boiler. Be sure your container is wide enough to dip the fruit and there is enough space at the top so that the wax does not overflow when dipping.

While the wax is melting prepare your fruit. Cut a ring around the narrower end of the fruit & scoop out the inside so that you are left with an empty bowl. 

Hotter wax will give you thinner coats and cooler wax thicker coats so adjust the number of dips if needed. 

I let the wax cool slightly before letting my son dip his so they’re a bit less smooth but they still turned out lovely.

 

After cooling the bowls you will be ready to add your decorations. Paint a small bit of glue on the wax and add the flowers/leaves/other decorations. 

Dip the bowl in the wax one last time to cover & secure everything in place.

Gently peel out the fruit skin.

Warm a baking tray lined with foil or parchment over a just warm burner. Gently press the top and bottom edge on the warm pan. Set your bowl on a flat surface to be sure it is stable.

Add an extra spoon of wax to the inside of the bowl to ensure that the base is thick.  

Cool and add your tea lights.