Delicate Wax Doily Valentines from Scented Candle Stubs

I heart snow days. Literally. 

Tuesday's blizzard meant spending Wednesday indoors having fun with Bird, eating frozen pizza and making all kinds of valentine fun, including these wonderfully dainty wax doilies. They are so delicate and elegant! Smell nice too. Most things come out of my craft studio covered in glue blobs and smelling like burning hair...these valentines must be Bird's influence. 

Hearts made from melted crayons have been popular for a few years now, thanks to Martha's tutorial. But as much as  I love Maratha's hearts, I'm too much of a klutz to follow the steps without breaking the end result. I decided it would be easier if there was softer wax and a sturdier base;  enter paper doilies and scented candles.
Materials

• Heart shaped paper doilies, any size or color. My dollar store happened to carry pink, but white doilies will show off the wax the best.
• Wax shavings from scented candle stubs. Note: any old candle will work, but Ikea candles are dirt cheap and shred like butter--LOVE working with them. I also like to sprinkle in some contrasting crayon wax too. Plain white bar soap also worked, leaving opaque, snow like flecks. Experiment!
• Old cheese grater (makes wax shaving easy-peasy --just grab one from the back of your junk drawer or the thrift store or the dollar store)
• Wax Paper
• Iron
• Needle and Thread

Scatter wax shavings over your paper doily. The more wax, the thicker the end result. I like to use at least two colors (orange and pink are personal favorites!)


Sandwich your doily and wax shavings between two pieces of wax paper. Use a warm iron (delicate/low temp setting) to sweep across the surface. The longer you iron, the more the colors will blend. 


Before the crayon/candle wax has a chance to dry 100%, peel the paper doily away from the wax paper. Now, just look at that! Aint she a beauty?
Repeat through your stack of doilies, then fold and cut out a heart in the center.  



Place two doilies together, then whip stitch up the middle. I used gray thread because I'm too lazy to dig through my sewing kit to find red thread for demonstration purposes. You go ahead and choose whatever color you like. If munchkins are involved, vertical staples will also get the job done. 

The end result is so sweet and dainty, but the wax makes them surprisingly durable too. Love it! Make a batch of them and slip them into those translucent vellum envelopes and send far and wide. These will really make someone's day :)

Or, keep them all for yourself. Like me!

My plan is to hang these on a fallen tree branch, similar to an egg tree. Only problem is that all the fallen branches are currently submerged in four feet of post-blizzard snow drifts...so, it could be a while. Luckily I have many more snow day valentines adventures to make and share in the days ahead while I wait for a branch. Stay tuned