Beautiful Sand Candles

Beautiful candles can be created from shapeless sand and wax -this is simple candle making at its very best. For sheer flickering, glowing effects, nothing compares with a sand candle, as the light soaks through the textured outer layer.

1. Part fills a bucket with damp sand. Place a block of wood, which will act as a former, on the sand, then pack more sand around its sides.

2. Level the sand then remove the wood to leave a sand mold. Melt the wax, heating it to 127° C (261°F), then dye it using a quarter of a dye disc. Pour the wax over the thermometer into the mold.

3. When the wax has set, carefully remove some of the sand from the bucket and then lift out the sand candle. Some of the wax will have seeped into the sand, forming a decorative container for the candle and leaving quite a deep well in the centre of the wax block.

4. Pierce a hole down through the middle of the wax using a wicking needle. Insert a waxed wick and support it in position with the wicking needle.

5. Top up the well with wax the then allow it to cool. Remove the wicking needle.

6. Smooth the roughness from the outer surfaces of the sand container with a coarse file. You could now leave the candle as it is, or you could decorate it as shown in steps 7 and 8.

7. To decorate your candle, mark out a design on the sides of the sand container using an old pair of dividers.

8. Use a metal modeling tool to scrape away the sand around the design and reveal the outer layer of the candle.