Want to turn your backyard into a winter wonderland for pennies? Try making some ice candles!
Making ice candles is an easy craft that you can do with your family. Children as young as preschool can help. You can make one or two ice candles for fun, or make a large bunch to light up your backyard, line your drive way and more. All lit up, these candles are truly magical.
For supplies you will first need some containers to make the outside of the candles. Kid’s sand pails are a perfect size, but you can use almost any wide bucket or container, such as those large cat food buckets or large paper milk cartons.
Fill the container with water and place a tin can (such as a soup can) or cup in the center. Weigh the can down with rocks or beans so that it is about an inch from the bottom of container.
Place your container outside or in the freezer until the water is frozen solid. Carefully remove the ice from the bucket. You can make this easier by running some warm water around the outside of the bucket, or in the case of the milk carton, just peeling the carton off.
Carefully remove the tin can from the center of the block of ice. Place a small candle, such as a tea light or votive, into the space left by the tin can. Place your candle in a good spot outside and light.
You can get really creative with ice candles. Try tinting the water with food coloring to make different colored candles. Or create a rainbow candle by filling the container in stages, adding food coloring, freezing and then repeating with a different color. Try adding pretty leaves, cranberries, or other found objects to the water before freezing.
What do you think of this idea? If you try it, please share some photos.
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