beeswax part 3

Today I want to show you what happens to photographs when you play with beeswax.

I have these photos cropped to a smaller size so I'll be able to dip them into my mini crock of melted wax.

They're 2X2, 4X3, and 4X4.

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Before dipping, I sand them with sand paper.

For these photographs, I've sanded them all differently and to varying degrees.

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This one had the edges sanded and then I did a swirl motion overall.

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Next I drop the photo into the melted wax.

I let it sit for about a minute.

This allows the paper to come to the same temperature as the wax and I get a finer coating of wax that way.

Otherwise it comes out blobby and white with a thick wax.

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I use tweezers to pull it out and I let it drip for about a minute.

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Next, I use my bone folder to scrape of most of the wax.

When I do that, it takes some of the photographic coating as well and I get an even more distressed effect.

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Here's a closeup of what I mean:

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You can repeat the dip and scrape method as often as you want to.

Repeated dips and scrapes give you an increasingly altered effect.

Here are my final photos after dipping and scraping 2 times:

Let me know if you're trying this at home - or if you have any questions.

I some more fun with beeswax posts planned for later this week too.

sun tea

sun tea today

hot

no ice

warm and delicious

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a bumper sticker I saw this morning on the way back from The School Run:

wag more

bark less

don't you just Love that?!?

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Here are some other warm and delicious tea spots:

Patty

Pat

Jean

Christen

Judy

Penny

"Meadowlark Days"

beeswax part 2

This is the beeswax I use:

I have also used beeswax in pellet form.

I prefer my block of wax - probably just because it looks so cool and my Dad gave it to me.

I simply cut off (using a big chef knife) small chunks of it and melt it in this thing:

I have a small saucepan lid that fits perfectly over this - it helps speed up the melting process to have a lid on it.

DO NOT LEAVE HEATED BEESWAX UNATTENDED

it is FLAMMABLE if it gets too hot.

For larger sized projects (like this one) I simply spoon the hot wax liberally over the whole thing.

Let your spoon sit in the wax for a minute or two so it gets to be the same temperature as the wax.

Otherwise you'll just get a big cold blob of wax on a spoon.

I do spooning of the wax while the project is on a piece of foil with the edges folded up:

I prefer a thin layer of wax - so all I need to do is pop this in a 200' oven for about 5 minutes.

WATCH CAREFULLY TO AVOID OVERHEATING THE WAX.

The even temperature of the oven causes the wax to soak in nicely and spread in a thin layer.

All the excess wax just flows off the piece and onto the foil.

Here's a close up shot so you can see some of the texture of the wax:

Next week I'll show you how some more beeswax how-to's.

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This particular art piece I've mounted in a baking pan as the frame:

This piece IS for sale.
You can find it in my etsy shop HERE.

beeswax

... this is before beeswax

... and this is after beeswax. The thing with beeswax is that it makes your paper more transparent or translucent and it enriches the colors. You can see how the swirls on the background paper show through where the bird is - and the text, because it came from a book, has faint text showing through because of what is printed on the reverse side. 

... here is a closeup of before

... and here is a closeup of after. You can also see some of the white color of the solidified beeswax showing up underneath the raised parts of the text and in among the string.

I'll show you more about the process I used here tomorrow. Today I just wanted to point out the differences.

... oh and ....

... this is the book I read yesterday, in honor of MLK.

My 4th grader is reading it with her class.

It is a very very good (and important) story.

tea and "what is it?"

I'm still getting input as to what this wooden press or stamp would be used for.

The images on it are: a bird, mushrooms, a hare and what looks to me like a cornucopia.

Here are just some of the ideas that have been passed along:

I am pretty sure that the item is a mold for putting designs on shortbread especially at Christmas.
My Aunty had one and she was of Scottish birth.
I think she used to roll the dough in a ball and then push it into the mold.
Whatever it is it will make great patterns on something.

-Doreen G

The mold look similar to springerle cookie molds that I use at Christmas. Although, perhaps it is a butter mold? You can try a gingerbread recipe, roll dough to 1/4 inch, then press into the mold and lightly roll on the back, remove from mold and trim. To prevent sticking, you can either dust before each use with powdered sugar and have toothpicks handy to keep details clean or I also use nonstick spray one time, wipe off excess and you are all set to do a batch! Good luck!

-Holly aka Golly

Back to your beautiful mould I think it is for being able to recognise what filling is in a pie...for eg you have rabbit/hare,
mushrooms, bird/fowl however I cannot make out the other one.
The pie crust would have a pastry scone with an inprint on the top so the cook would know what was in the pie and it could also be used to recognise the flavour of a pate.
BUT I could be wrong...lol.

-Chriss Rollins

In this next photo, I made some shortbread cookies ....

I think Chriss' suggestion that it would be used to label pies may be right - because of what the images are (hare, bird, mushroom ...)

I also think a pie crust dough would puff less and the images would be more clear.

I will have to make a savory pie and test it.

Anyway, it's been a fun and tasty experiment.

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.... and another, "What's this?"

well he's just a silly little bunny for my cousin's baby that will be due in the summer :)

(HERE's the free knitting pattern I used)

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For more "tea on tuesday," please visit these other fine blogs:

Patty

Pat

Jean

Christen

Judy

Penny

"Meadowlark Days"

my favorite quote

... my favorite quote from Dr. King

used today in my art/heart journal.

The drawing was created by my middle child (9 yrs old).

Apple trees seem to always be a favorite subject for children.

This one is replete with a swing, a bird nest and its bird, a chipmunk and his hole in the tree.

... have a beautiful MLK day ...

I always try to read a thoughtful book on this day

I'll tell you what it was tomorrow over tea :)