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4-H Candlemaking


My teacher for candle making was Mrs. Clymer. While the wax was heating up Mrs. Clymer told us that before they made paraffin, rich people used beeswax for candles but some people couldn't afford it so they used tallow, which was made from cattle fat. When the wax got heated up we cut a wick and started to dip it in pink, purple, yellow and turquoise colored wax. Then Mrs. Clymer cut the sides and curled them and twisted the top.

My next candle was a molded candle. I used an orange juice container and stuck a wick to the bottom. After that I put in chunks of colored paraffin at the bottom of it. Then Mrs. Clymer poured a layer of plain wax into my container. I made another layer of colored paraffin and plain wax. But this time Mrs. Clymer poured the plain wax in all the way to the top. We put the candles in cold water to cool them down so they could harden. Then my teacher melted colored wax and put it in a tin pie pan. When the wax was firmer I cut two shapes out of it for my candle. To stick the shapes on the candle I slightly melted the shapes and then rounded them on my candle.





For part 2 of this story, click 4-H Candlemaking part 2



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