DIY Gifts - Eggshell Candles

Alright, I bet you thought I forgot about showing you our DIY projects didn't you. :)

I wouldn't forget! 

But I have to admit, I am rather slow on the uploading of the pictures I've already taken.  Or is that downloading? hmm.  Well I did my part, I took the picture. :P

Ok, here is one of the easier projects that we did as a Christmas present for my daughter in law.  Angie absolutely loves candles and is quite into holiday themes so we tried to come up with something that she could use throughout the whole year, not just one.  We decided that a present of eggshell candles would be a great gift for her.  I gotta admit though , once we delved into this project we almost forgot our objective.  I had seen these made when I was a child and they had holly leaves and berries painted on them after they were set.  Then placed decoratively on the table to create a wonderful christmasy centerpiece display.  She almost got holly leaves and berries on them too, just not for the same reason.  Just in the nick of time we remembered not to paint them!  Read on to find out why ...

Now I'm an avid DIY'er and make the candles from scratch most of the time.  So already having the materials here to make the candles we set to work eating eggs for the next couple of days.  (ALOT of eggs!)  Now, we eat alot of eggs anyway, but when you have to be careful how you break the eggshell it becomes a bit more interesting. So we ate ALOT of eggs and picked the best shells for the project. For this project we used home grown eggs as they're a bit thicker and more durable than a store bought egg.  haha  (I needed all the help I could get, so we went straight to the top... 'er bottom of the matter! lol)

Wanting to keep the colors soft, I opted to use the soy wax and instead of using the wax dye, Way donated his old crayons to the cause for that "personal" touch.  Then added some wonderful berries smells to each batch.

I'm a paraphin phenatic, so soy wax was definately a new experience for me.  I wasn't sure the paraphin crayon would meld well with the soy, so we ate a few extra eggs just in case. haha

With paraphin, the general rule is to take a test drop and allow it to cool.  That color is the color of the candle.  Ok, I broke rule #1, I didn't do a test drop.  Remember I'm used to paraphin. lol  So imagine my surprise when I check back on our little eggs and find they are allllllll pastel colors.  Ok, not what I anticipated at all!  Here's where we lost our objective.  We decided ok, we can make this a good save by painting holly leaves and berries on them to give them a bit more color.

As I was peeling them, oh I WISH a regular egg peeled that easy!  And if there was a nick in one, it smoothed out very easily with a quick rub of my thumb.  Wish all my deviled eggs turned out looking that good. haha.

Anyway, it occurred to us that Angie really likes pastels and if she wanted to use them for other holiday occassions, those holly leaves and berries really wouldn't work out so well.

So we left them plain and unpainted.  Giving her the wonderful DIY possiblities to share with my granddaughter Zoey... by painting hearts on them for Valentine's Day, Shamrocks for St. Patricks and of course the wonderful holiday of Easter with tulips and butterflies.

Which by the way............ I want pictures of that! :D

Here's the pictures of our DIY Eggshell Candles..

We'll call these the cream of the crop. lol

The hardest part was making sure only the tops were cracked off.

That really took some practice after successfully breaking them in half for 20 years. haha

This was or first batch.  As you can see they're all lined up all in a row.

Well after this batch, I decided that separating them a bit would be easier to pour.

Here, they're spread apart and the pour was alot quicker, easier and less messy.

But then I sneezed and got it all over the place! lol

Good thing I thought ahead and put down some newspaper. hehe

Now you'll notice there isn't a finished picture. Ya well, my batteries died waiting for me to finish peeling one!  See, you have this whole mind set when your holding an egg shell.  The concept is simple... it's fragile!  And when you thump an eggshell, one has to remember not to bang it too hard or what's inside ... well crushes like an egg. haha

Well it took me quite a bit to get past that mind set.  Finally I just BEAT IT ON THE COUNTER and it finally cracked!  Wow, talk about a tough nut to crack. haha

I did take some pictures on my phone and i'll upload (or is it download?) those and edit this post to add the finished pictures to this post in a day or two.

We were well pleased with our DIY eggshell candles and the wonderful berry smell they left lingering in the house.  We packaged them in an egg carton and hand delivered them with a big smile.

That was a double duty DIY for me as the soy wax did wonders for my dry hands for at least a couple of weeks! lol

**EDIT:  I finally got those pictures uploaded.. err downloaded... oh whatever it is. .. I finally got them off my phone, on the laptop and now to their final destination.  This post!  So here is the picture of what the Eggshell Candle looked like when it was finished.

These are the cutest little eggs.  Easy to work with too.  As you can see from the one laying on it's side there is a nick out of it.  I took my thumb and rubbed that spot a few times and it rubbed right out. 

I stored them in the egg carton I poured them in and handed them over to my test panel for their trial test.  (My daughter in law LOVES candles.)  I will make another post when the test results come back.



Halloween Traditions

Hallowe'en is a long standing tradition.  

Did you know ...

This day was adopted from the Irish and the Scottish festival called the Samhain.  The Old Celtics believed that on this day "summers end" was when good and bad spirits emerged upon the land from the Otherworld.  Family ancestors were honoured and invited home and the harmful spirits were scared away.  In Scotland, to ward off harmful spirits, young men wore costumes of white and a veiled or darkened mask to appear more harmful.  It was believed that the carving of turnips was to capture the souls in purgatory. They were hallowed out, a face carved in them, then placed in the window with a candle to further ward of evil spirits.  Guising dates back as far as the Middle Ages where one dressed up and begged door-to-door for food.

Let me simply say...
Thank you for letting us use it too!  I LOVE IT!

When I was a child we used to carve pumpkins and line them along the driveway for everyone to see.  Bake cookies, cup cakes and make popcorn balls.  Then of course all the kids in the neighborhood would band together and go trick-or-treating.  As we got older we were more into the party theme of things.  And what was a party without all the costumes and games to go with it!

I can remember there always being lights on at every house.  Everyone participated somehow, someway.  Even if it was nothing more than to see the scariest costumes of all time come to their door!

Since then I married, had children of my own.  I have 2 sons.  My oldest is 23 and my youngest is 8 yrs old now.   Now, for the past few years I have been able to double the experience with my youngest son and oldest granddaughter.

It was always a cherished time of my life to participate in Halloween so I wanted to ensure that my children, as they grew up through the years, would know the same fun-filled tradition and all the excitement that the season holds.

When my oldest was born, I promised myself I would ALWAYS take the time to remember what it was like to be "a kid".  And to see the world through his eyes.  It has been more than a life time of adventures let me tell ya! :D

Seeing each and every experience with such awe and excitement has made me cherish each and every tradition that has come to pass by my family.  The adventures have made me remember just how brightly the jack o'lanters burned.  How exciting it was to get ready with the make-up and artistic features to go with your costume.  And how exhilerating it was to go door-to-door and say TRICK OR TREAT!  And OHHH how sweet the reward was for all the hard work. lol

One of the greatest joys is not only seeing this experience through my youngest son and granddaughters eyes, but seeing it through my oldest sons eyes as "DAD" now too.  To see him ensure that these traditions keep going and to tackle them with the same excitement he did when he was little.......... reminds me........... how lucky I really am to have such a wonderful TRADITION to pass on!

Now with this past Halloween, I'm having to "rethink" or "revamp" this long held tradition.  I can't say that I am at all pleased with the way this tradition has morphed itself by the hands of others.

This past Halloween was one of sorrow for my kids and grandkids.  There was NO Halloween on Halloween.  It was "decided" by "others" whom I shall keep nameless to hold it on ANOTHER DAY.. blink blink WHAT! Another day?!  WHY you ask?

Because they don't participate in outside functions on Sunday.  Alright you can see it as well as I can.  It's a religious thing.  Now I have no objection to religion.  You can believe whatever you want.. I believe in traditions and family values.

Now my youngest is home-schooled by me and I suppose that puts us out of the loop.  However, after talking to a couple of news hounds (aka my Mom and Grandmother) there was no indication this was going to happen.  There was no post in the newspaper, there was no flyer in the post office or the grocery store.  There wasn't even a vote. 

I know I *&@$% wasn't asked if we could just "skip" this event because it fell on a Sunday.  I *&@$% didn't get the MEMO EITHER! 

So now, I have a grandson that will be 6 months soon.  Does this mean he will never know this long held tradition?  Does this mean I should have to sacrifice my beliefs, my family traditions because "others" choose NOT to participate???!!!  If you don't want to participate, DON'T turn on your light.  But who died and gave "them" the power and permission to change MY tradition!

This makes me irritated!  And VERY ANGRY! To believe that one can make this choice and it effect the whole community.  And the impact was huge.  We went to 7-8 neighborhoods and I could count the lights on for trick-or-treaters (with my sons help) on 3 hands!  And yes I want everyone to know how disappointed my son was.

Is this a dying tradition?  Is it going to be lost to new comers?  Is it going to be yet ONE MORE THING of the past?  :(

I call BS!  Anyone else agree with me?  Or, am I alone on this.