Luminas Crafts

These crafts are a great way to share the spirit of Luminas with others, especially children, although they are fun for children of all ages.

Making snow candles

 Materials
The primary item needed for snow candles is lots of snow. The up side of this is that snow is free. The down side is that if you don't get snow where you live, they are pretty much impossible to make. A spoon, ice pick (or wire), and the basic candle making products - wax, dye, scent, etc... will be also be needed.

Mold
The mold is made from snow. For best results it should be tightly packed, and near where you will melt your wax. Use your hand, stick, cup, or other object to create a cavity in the snow. Allow six inches of snow below the mold cavity to remain. This step is similar to making sand candles, and the shape of the finished candle will depend on the shape of the mold cavity.

Step 1
Prime some wire core wicking. it will need to be at least a few inches longer than the depth of the hole you have made in the snow.

Step 2
Poke an ice pick or wire into the snow to make a wick hole. Position one end of the wick into this hole, making sure it extends two to three inches below the mold cavity. Place a dowel or stick across the top of the cavity and wrap the wick around it to hold the wick in place

Step 3
Heat the wax to 160 degrees F. Add dye and scent to taste.

Step 4
Hold the spoon into the mold cavity. Slowly pour the wax onto the spoon, allowing it to splatter as it is poured. This will prevent the hot wax from boring a hole through the bottom of the mold cavity. Allow to cool.

Step 5
Relief holes should be poked near the wick as the candle cools, and one or more reports will be needed to fill the shrink void.

Step 6
Once the candle is fully cooled, remove from the snow. Trim the wick and level the base.

Variation
If your snow is very fluffy, or you only have a little snow fill a bucket with snow to increase the depth you have to work with. This bucket technique is also handy if temperatures are too low to work outside comfortably, since you can bring it indoors.

Varying the pouring temperature will also vary the irregularity of the finished candle. The cooler your pouring temperature the closer the finished candle will match the original shape of the mold cavity. Pouring at hotter temperatures will cause a wilder look.

Summary
These candles are fun and easy. No two come out alike, and you are limited only by your imagination on the basic shapes.

Luminas Sun Disks

Make a Luminas Sun Disk ornament out of popsicle sticks, an easy project for kids!

You will need:

• 2 popsicle sticks OR anything remotely like a stick

• Yarn or string (Yellow, orange and red)

You can hold the sticks together with your hands while you start winding the yarn, but for small fingers, you might want to glue them together (in the shape of a plus-sign) and leave to dry overnight before wrapping.

1. Loop about 6 inches of yarn and hold against the back of the top stick. Wrap the yarn around both the top stick and the loop. This will become your loop to hang the ornament with.
2. Bring the yarn down and wrap it around the left "arm".
3. Wrap the yarn around the bottom "arm", then up and around the right "arm".
4. Wrap the yarn around the top stick and overlap the piece of yarn you have left dangling.
5. Continue wrapping in this way, left, bottom, right, top, until almost all the stick is covered.

As a finishing touch, tie several strands of yarn or ribbon to the bottom stick. If you want to get really fancy, use different colored yarn!

Tin Can Luminaries

What You Need:

•  26-ounce cans or coffee cans (for larger candles)
• Old-fashioned beer can opener
• Work gloves
• Hammer
• Sharp nail
• Terra-cotta saucers
• Votive candles
• All-purpose glue (optional)

1. Remove labels, tops, and bottoms from 26-ounce cans. Use an old-fashioned beer can opener to make triangular holes around the perimeter of the top and bottom of each can. Wear work gloves; beware of sharp edges.

2. Using a hammer and a nail, carefully punch additional holes in a pattern on the surface of each can. Aim for simple, stylized patterns.

3. Place each can in a terra-cotta saucer with a votive candle inside. For taller bases, glue a pair of saucers bottom to bottom. Vary the tall and short bases on your deck, patio, and tabletop for lively decorative interest.

Ice Candles

Materials needed:

• Small plastic tub or bucket (a summer beach pail is the ideal size).
• Tin can or small plastic cup.

A few strategically placed ice candles can turn your backyard into a winter's evening wonderland. Ice candles are easy to make, and best of all, cost next to nothing.

The trick

The first step to create an ice candle is to make a mold. This is done by filling a bucket or pail with cold tap water and placing a tin can or cup in the center. Weigh it down with enough small rocks to almost, but not quite, sink it.

Place the bucket outside on the porch or in the freezer until the water is frozen solid. Carefully remove the block of ice from the pail or bucket (you might need to loosen the ice by running warm tap water over the bucket's surface for a few moments). Once the ice is free from the bucket, the next step is to remove the tin can or plastic cup from the center of the block. (If the can or cup seems locked in the ice you can fill it with warm water to make removal easier.)

Once the ice has been removed from the pail and the cup from the center of the block, you've got your basic ice candle. Just place a small candle at the bottom of the well where the cup used to be. Bingo! You've just made an ice candle!

Hints

To keep the can or cup from "drifting off center" you may want to anchor it in place by placing a stick across the top of the pail and taping the cup or can to the stick. An inverted sauce pan cover will also do the trick -- the knob at the top will prevent the cup or can from drifting too far from the center.

Rainbow ice candles

Essentially you follow the steps outlined above, except you will build your candle in stages. Fill your bucket with 1/2 inch cold tap water and let freeze. When your first layer has frozen solid, add another 1/2 inch of VERY COLD tap water and add several drops of food coloring. Freeze and repeat the process with a different food coloring for each layer. Don't forget to put a can or cup in the center to make space for your candle.