Making Beeswax Candles–A Perfect Simple College Spring Break Project

My son and I recently spent some time together making beeswax candles. It was a simple project, yet it was so meaningful to me.

As mentioned in the past, I have been enjoying multiple project kits from my local library over the years. Some of these have included painted rope coasters, a mosaic picture frame, printed clay bowl, and more. Several of these I have done on my own. A few I have completed with family members. The most recent kit was for beeswax candles. This was the perfect project at the perfect time.

Mosaic picture frame (yes, this was before I put a photo into the frame).

My son is a college senior and came home for his final spring break. (I have shared some of our adventures at his school, University of Tennessee in Knoxville (GO VOLS!), in the past—the visit, moving in, and SEC football) He will soon be graduating (OY!), and I have no idea where he will end up for his first post-graduation job. It’s exciting and terrifying at the same time. He chose to come home for spring break because several of his good friends would be home at the same time; it worked out well that their breaks aligned. I knew that he wasn’t going to ignore his parents, but I also knew that he wasn’t going to spend all of his time with us. This time together was so important to me, especially with so much uncertainty in the years ahead.

Around the same time that he came home, I received notification that current Maker@Home subscription box was available for me to pick up. When I saw on the instruction sheet that the “approximate time to complete” for the project was 20 minutes, I knew that it was perfect—we could do it together, but it would be easy to find a “time slot” in which to start and complete the project. The project was for beeswax candles. The project box provided enough beeswax for one long or two short candles. Well, two short candles it would be!

This box did not have (or need) many supplies for the project.

Honestly, this was one of the easiest projects so far. Sometimes it is good to work on a challenge together. Other times, it is nice to just do something simple, low stress, and relaxing together. This craft was the latter.

First step—cut in half the 8” beeswax sheet and wick. Simple. Now we could each work on a candle.

All that we had to do was place the wick on the short edge of the beeswax sheet, line up the edge of the wick with the edge of the sheet, and roll. Easy peasy. We just kept rolling until we reached the end of the sheet and then pressed the edge.

Place the wick on the short edge of the beeswax sheet and roll.

The beeswax sheets are now completely rolled up with the wick inside.

The kit also included beeswax chips we could cut and use to decorate the candles. It was cut and press. Simple.

Cutting wax chips to use for decorating the candles.

Quality time; quality project. This just makes me smile for so many reasons! (There is a smiley face on the other side, too. Joy all around!)

I had fun creating in addition to being together.

Why was this project great? Despite its simplicity, there were multiple benefits. First of all, I had the chance to spend quality time with my son. We were actively doing something together but in a low stress way. This was quality time where the main purpose was to simply spend time together. The final creation was a bonus. There was no other “bigger” goal. I also loved that fact that this was a hands-on activity. We do love watching movies together, but when spending time together with a craft, we also get the chance to talk and interact. Plus, we had the opportunity to be a little creative as well. Long story short, this little beeswax candle craft was good for our family bonding, our emotional health, and our brain. Not bad for a 20 minute project! Not bad at all!