Candle Making

[CrealCritter]

"The pine tree is one of the most overlooked natural resources as it has multiple survival uses. The entire tree is edible, from the bark to the pine cones."

This may be true and all but have you ever eaten a pine cone? Well I have, it plugged me up for a good week. Just because you can eat it, doesn't mean you should eat it. Trust me on this one.

 

[lcertuche]

 

[NH Homesteader]

Oh please do! I have a ton of pine trees.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Cool!

 

[The Country Girl]

Hello Everybody,

I missed a lot! Thank you for the wonderful responses. I am fascinated now more than ever. Thanks for all the great info, I will look into it. I really like the pine idea. I will try them as soon as possible!! Thanks again.

Somewhere in Maine,
-The Country Girl

 

[wyoDreamer]

Pine nuts! love them but they are so expensive.
Love the idea of pine sap candles - I will so be trying that out!

Crafts that we did as kids:
Beeswax candles - buy sheets of bees wax and roll them up around the wick. Decorate by pressing sequins and other small objects into the beeswax.

Dirt candles - dig a small hole and line with interesting objects - river pebbles, pine cones, etc. Tie a length of wick to a small stick and lay the stick over the hole so the wick reaches the bottom. Make sure wick is centered. Pour in hot wax. Let cool and dig out your candle. Brush off all the loose dirt. These tend to be short and stout candles, and when you burn them the sides may not melt so you get a neat effect. Make sure to place on a candle holder before use. You can set them up to have the candle flat on the bottom so it will sit upright or (easier) set it up so the cadle gets flipped and the bottom of the hole part is the candle top. The wax will form a flat surface so when flipped it sits nicer.

 

[candyd]

I just recently read that you can make candles using pine resin. Now that excited me since I'm surrounded by pine forests and gathering the resin would be free! I need to look up the tutorial again; if anyone else is interested, I'll post it here.

I just saw this thread, and I am so curious about this.
What a great idea! I have NEVER heard of it. I am going to look into this. Do you know if the pine trees are tapped in the spring like other trees? Or all year long?

 

[Dani4Hedgies]

Never thought to tap pine trees and use their sap to make candles LOVE this idea and will def be trying it out.

 

[Britesea]

Since pine trees don't go dormant like deciduous trees, I don't think you need to wait until spring to tap them.

 

[Britesea]

ermm... I suspect they meant the seeds within the cones? lol