Scented Candle in a Vintage Chintz Cup and Saucer

This craft idea was sparked off after a shopping trip to Marlborough, where I saw some beautiful cup and saucer candles. They were very sweet but rather pricey, and I knew I could make cup and saucer candles at a fraction of the price.

I do love candles, and I usually buy scented candles. So I thought that if I was making cup and saucer candles that I would make scented cup and saucer candles. I also love a bit of Chintz, so I set out looking for Chintz style cup and saucers to make my candles in.

To make a cup and saucer candle you will need…

Cups and Saucers, or just cups is fine too,
White wax beads,
Essential oils for fragrance,
Wax dye flakes,
Wick,
Wooden skewers,
Ribbon and flowers to decorate,


The best place to find odd cups and saucers for this craft is car boots, garden fates and charity shops. Choose cups and saucers that you think are pretty. Take them home and give them a good wash and allow them to dry completely.

Put the wax beads in a glass jug, stood in half a pan of boiling water as if you were melting chocolate. Don’t allow the water to bubble over the sides of the jug and contaminate the wax. The wax does take a while to melt so whilst it is on the hob, turn your attention to setting up the cups.

Set out the cups and saucers, and add one or two wax dye flakes to each cup; this will give your candle a pail pastel shade that is in keeping with the chintz look.

Next you need to add a couple of drops of essential oils to the cup.

Cut a length of wick that is twice the height of the cup and fold it in half. In the loop that is created, push the skewer through and then turn the skewer around to twist the wick. Lay the skewer across the cup so that the wick is suspended in the centre of the cup.

When the wax is melted, pour a small amount of wax into the cup and with a spare skewer, give the wax in the cup a stir to melt and mix the dye and the essential oil. Then top up the cup with wax slowly as to not disturb the wick. If your cup has a pattern on the inside at the top, make the top of the candle just reach below the pattern so that it is still visible.

Finnish filling all the cups in this way with the melted wax and then set the candles to one side to cool and set.

To finish off, tie a slim ribbon on the handle of the cup or around the bowl of the cup to decorate. If you are making the cup and saucer candle as a gift, you could write a special message on a brown card luggage label and tie that to the cups handle.

Perfect Valentines :: Tea Cosy Folk :: Santas Postbag::Halloween Mania :: Swindon Flowers ::Zafyna

How to make a special memories album

A special memories album is an ideal Christmas, birthday, anniversary, wedding or christening gift because it is a collection of special memories. The album could include photos, poems, certificates, concert tickets, and newspaper clippings, scraps of fabric or anything else that holds sentimental value. It could be a kind of “This is our life” album.

This special gift is easy to make, all you need is…
Glue, double sided sticky tape, ribbon, a hole punch, memories and contents and some multicoloured thin card (ring binder dividers are cheap and ideal, just cut of the holes and tabs).

Cut the sheets of card to the size you want the album to be.

Choose a coloured card for the front and back cover. The front and back covers need to be double thickness card to give the finished album some rigidity. Stick two sheets of card together, one on top of the other for the front cover and do the same for the back. Set to one side to dry.

The front cover will need a title of sorts, you could name it “Special memories album” or “An album for Mum” or “Grandad – This is your life”. You could create a title page on a computer with images and a decorative font and print it out and glue it to the front cover of the album. Alternatively you could paint or draw the title. You could cut out flowers from some wrapping paper to make a small collage to decorate the front of the album.

On the front of the front cover rule a pencil line 3cm in form the spine edge of the album. With a pair of scissors score this line, so that the front cover will open with ease.

Sticking in your memories…
Cut some strips of card, 1cm wide on assorted colours.

Take one strip of card and a piece of card and lay the strips diagonally over one of the corners and fold the excess strip behind the sheet of card to form a triangle. Remove the triangle from the sheet of card and trim away the excess strip of card. These are the “Photo corners mounts”. Make a set of four (one to fit each corner of a photo or document). Put some double sided sticky tape on the back of each photo corner mount and stick the memories into place in the album.

Between the memories can be decorated with stickers or more wrapping paper decoupage to form some continuity throughout the album.

When your album pages are complete you need to mark the centre along the spine edge of each page and also the front and back covers. This mark is used as a guide for the hole-punch to ensure all the holes are central. Hole-punch each page.

Put all the pages in order and thread the ribbon through the holes to tie the pages together, making sure the ribbon ends are at the front of the album. Tie a knot in the ribbon ends and then tie a bow for a decorative finish.


More of S. Roberts crafty gift ideas can be found at http://busy-crafting.blogspot.com/. For Christmas crafts visit http://www.santaspostbag.co.uk/ where you can also send a free letter to your child from Santa Claus. SantasPostbag is in association with http://www.bigboystoyz.com together keeping Christmas Magical.

Peppermint Sweets

By S. Roberts
To make peppermint sweets you will need...
12 tablespoons of icing sugar, 1 egg white, green food colouring (optional), peppermint flavouring and cooking chocolate.

Remember to wash your hands and clean the work surfaces before you begin.

Method...
Add to a bowl the icing sugar, egg white, 4 drops of peppermint flavouring and 12 drops of green food colouring. Mix well and kneed the mixture to form a smooth ball. If the mixture is a little too wet add more icing sugar.

Roll the ball into a large sausage and slice into individual sweets. Use your hands to shape the sweets and leave them on a chopping board to dry.

Melt the chocolate in a dish in the microwave, it will only need a minute or two. Don't over do it, it just needs enough time to melt. If you do not have a microwave, you may need an adult to help. Stand a mixing bowl inside a pan of boiling water on the hob, keep the water simmering. Don’t let any water bubble over the side and into the chocolate because this spoils the chocolate. Be careful not to let the pan boil dry.

Dip each sweet into the chocolate half way, and leave it on some tinfoil until the chocolate sets.

A perfect Christmas gift for someone with a sweet tooth.

S. Roberts is one of Santa’s Helpers and writes for http://www.santaspostbag.co.uka Christmas educational & activity website. For more festive ideas & gifts to make visit http://www.santaspostbag.co.uk/homemade-christmas-gift-ideas.html
SantasPostbag is in association with http://www.bigboystoyz.com Together keeping Christmas Magical

LED Light up Bottle

By S. Roberts

You can find lots of unusual things in bottles, ships and messages, so why not fill a bottle with LED lights? What a bright idea! This attractive bottle is a great talking point; it makes a nice table decoration or a festive night-light, everyone will want one of these.

To make the LED light up bottle you will need... A clear glass bottle, a meter or so of tinsel, a loo roll or kitchen towel tube, glitter, PVA glue, and a set of 20 LED lights. You can get these ready made from with a battery compartment from the '99p Store' on your local high street. Tech confident people could make their own from individual components. DO NOT use mains fairy lights, this is a fire hazard!

First wash out the bottle and remove all the labels. Use a nice smelling detergent to rid the bottle of any lingering odours from its previous contents. Leave the bottle to drain and dry out completely.

Take the LED lights and the Tinsel, use a small amount of selotape and stick the wire directly behind the last LED bulb (the bulb furthest away from the battery compartment) to the end of the strip of tinsel.

Twist the string of lights and the tinsel loosely together and carefully push the lights and tinsel into the bottle until the battery compartment rests on the neck of the bottle.

The loo roll or kitchen towel tube will become a fancy bottle stopper that covers the battery compartment. Draw around the end of the tube onto a piece of card. A grocery box is great. Cut the disc out and push it into the end of the tube. Use a bit of selotape to hold it in place.

Cover the tube and end piece in PVA glue and sprinkle with glitter. Cover the cardboard completely so that it is no longer visible. Leave to dry.

Perch the battery compartment on top of the bottle and place the glitter bottle stopper over the top of it, so that it hides the batteries and part of the neck of the bottle.


S. Roberts write for www.santaspostbag.co.uk a free educational resource packed with creative things to do and make including traditional, religious & 21-century activities. Visit http://www.santaspostbag.co.uk/christmas-fun-stuff.html for more fun stuff. SantasPostbag is in association with www.bigboystoyz.com Together keeping Christmas magical.