How to make a $5 emergency candle.

So I found this on Pinterest, (isn't that the only place to find stuff anymore?) 

How to make an emergency candle....

.....from Crisco. 

I had to try it. Even DR was interested in trying it out and usually he scoffs at anything I find on Pinterest.  I bought a mini can of Crisco from WalMart for about $3. I didn't even know they made mini Crisco tubs. They're kind of cute. 

Then a ball of 100% cotton twine for a couple of bucks. 

I cut my wick and tied a pretty good sized knot in the end. 

Then with the end of a bamboo skewer stuck in the knot I pushed the cotton twine down to the bottom of the Crisco tub. 

Then a snip of the wick and voila, a candle! 

I made a few of these and I found that once the wick was pushed in for best results you should let it sit for a few hours before lighting. This gives the wick a chance to absorb the fat and therefore last longer once you've lit it. Of course if you make this as an emergency candle it will have plenty of time to sit. 

They work darn good too! I had one lit for a few hours while I was watching a movie and I actually kind of forgot about it. It wasn't a huge flame, it didn't smell at all and it didn't burn way down low like a wax candle might have over the same amount of time. And this is just a mini can of Crisco! I can't imagine how long a full size can would take to burn down! 

Hee hee...I'm even toying with the idea of making a whole bunch of these and fancily covering the Crisco label and give away as gifts and touting it as some new method in candle making!! If nothing else it would make a great gag gift :) 

What was really nice about these emergency candles though was after I assembled them I just put the plastic lid back on the Crisco container, sorry no pic, then taped a package of matches on top. Then I stored my candles in various places in the house. Now not only do I know exactly where my candles are but I don't have to go searching in a dark drawer for a pack of matches...they're taped right on top of the candle! 

Marker Monday - Kids and Candles

The boys have wanted to make candles, the old fashioned way, for a long time. Now the only way I'd ever made dipped candles was outside over a fire. Nope, can't pull that off this time of year. But with a bit of thinking we worked out a way to dip candles inside with minimal mess.

It took a few hours but using my roaster I melted the wax in tin cans that sat in the hot water.

We tied the wicks onto pens and pencils and suspended them in canning jars.

Overall candle making has been pretty successful! They've made candles on and off for the past couple weeks.

The only obstacle I had was making poured candles. I had forgotten to buy any containers when we were at Hobby Lobby. When we got home I had to improvise because I couldn't find any suitable containers anywhere in my house. Go figure!

Orange candles. They look nice and the peels have lasted a lot longer than I expected!