The Frugal Crafter - She Sells Sea Shells by the Sea Shore

Before I became disabled, I used to love to go beach combing. Walking along the ocean shore and picking up odd shells, bits of ocean-smoothed glass, softly rounded pebbles and stones, listening to the waves and the seagulls, and filling my lungs with the fresh salty air was my idea of paradise.

Growing up in Massachusetts and spending wonderful times on Cape Cod with my Daddy and sister made the shore an all time favorite with me. Now that I'm in a wheelchair, the seashore isn't so easy to get to - but I can make it come to me, and so can you, with a few simple crafting ideas.

Candles:

Candle 1

You can make charming little votive candles to add mood lighting to your mantel or coffee table out of large sea shells and a few inexpensive materials.

Materials

* Large clean sea shell such as a quahog
* Paraffin Wax
* Candle colorant chips (optional)
* Candle wick
* Candle scent (optional)
* A pencil or wooden skewer
* Waxed paper

Procedure:

Place the shell face-up on the waxed paper (this is to catch drips and dribbles). Trim the candle wicking so that it is as deep as the shell with a couple of inches left over and tie one end around the pencil. Place the pencil across your shell so that the wick hangs down in the center of the shell and just touches the bottom. If you are using a particularly large shell of some sort, you may want to put in one or two additional wicks.

At this point, I like to take a taper candle of the color which my candle will be, light it, and drip some of the wax into the bottom of my shell (or jar or cup or tin or whatever I'm using that day), then push the wick into it. This helps the wick to stay stable when pouring the paraffin in.

Melt the paraffin, adding your scent and color (if desired). Be very very careful when melting wax. Always use a double boiler and keep a tight eye on what's going on. Melt small amounts at a time rather than vast quantities. Wax can cause a devastating house fire in next to no time. Never make candles without observing all safety precautions possible. The safety of your home and family are worth a few minutes of careful preparation.