Vacation Crafts: Simple Sand Candles

Why not make your own sandy souvenirs or great gifts while you are there? Enlist the children, and have fun in the sun together with this delightful beach candle-making craft! (For safety reasons, this crafty candle project requires hands-on adult supervision, particularly with younger children.)

Simple Sand Candle Materials and Supplies:

A sandy beach (At home, a simple sandbox will do, if you have clean sand.)
A pail or bucket
Water (salt or fresh)
A double-boiler pan
A stove or hot plate
Paraffin wax
Old broken crayons
Toothpicks
Wick string (available at craft stores)
Scissors

Simple Sand Candle Instructions:

Find a sandy candle-making spot, with clean, dry sand. (At the seashore, be sure to select a location that is above the top water line, so the tide will not come in and surprise you, before you finish your candle-making project!)

Melt the paraffin wax in the double boiler. Add crayon bits for color variations, if you wish.

Fill your beach bucket with water, and use it to dampen the sand slightly. The sand should be somewhat firm and simple to form, not soupy. Use your hands or sand molds to make desired candle shapes.

Pour melted wax into the shapes you have made in the sand.

While wax is still somewhat soft and supple, use a toothpick to poke a hole into the center of each candle. Insert a length of wick string into each hole, leaving about one inch poking up on top. Pour a bit more wax on top, while holding the wick string upright.

Allow candles to cool completely before lifting them gently out of the sand. Brush off any excess sand before bringing your candles home from the beach.

Simple Sand Candle Variations:

For added interest and texture, try lining your sand molds with tiny seashells or pebbles before pouring wax into your sand candle molds.

Broken crayon pieces or shavings may also be used to line the sand candle molds before the wax is poured. This creates a modern mosaic look, which can be quite appealing.