December day 13

Candles

We rolled candles from sheets of beeswax:

All three loved making these, measuring the wick, rolling the warm sweet scented wax, sealing the sides by rolling over a tray kept warm by the fire. A lovely collection of candles to be shared amongst the stockings of older sisters and friends:

We made candles for the fireplace too:

This was such a simple make. A length of crepe paper wrapped several times around a toilet roll tube with an extra 2" of crepe paper top and bottom. Tuck the extra 2" at the bottom up into the tube. Use a length of sparkly gold pipe cleaner to create a flame shape, push the ends of the pipe cleaner into the top of the tube at the same time tucking in the 2" excess crepe paper. Simple, effective and mess free, not one drop of glue, paint or glitter used!

Today we added 2 candy canes to the advent tree. Very special candy canes:

When I first started knitting these little ornaments I would make one each night ready for the following day.  One night I was especially exhausted, with a newborn baby who had been vomiting all day. I went up to nurse her in bed and decided that I could drift off too as I could use a little knitted apple I already had from the autumn season shelf as the next days decoration. I came down at 5am to put the apple in the pocket only to find 2 knitted candy canes already there. I found out a couple of hours later that Helen had sat with the mini decorations book of patterns, and a knitting guide, and knitted these two stripey canes herself. Her previous knitting abilities were garter stitch and stocking stitch in plain blocks of colour. That night she had spent five hours working out how to change colours in the row, on tiny 3mm needles, and then stuffing and shaping the finished piece. These are the two most loved and magical pieces on our advent tree......

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