on the eleventh day of craft-mas, I made this for my tree…
wax holly berries!
Holly is another Christmas staple that is difficult to come by, but easy to recreate! I was inspired for this project by The Girls Own Magazine (1), but I had to figure out how to do most of it myself as their instructions were extremely vague.
Difficulty: Very Hard
Time: ~1-2 hours
NOTE: This craft requires using an open flame. Be very careful and do not allow children to participate.
Fig 1. Necessary tools
What you will need
Thin wire
Dried peas
Sealing wax (You can try using candle wax but it doesn’t work as well)
Pliers (optional but very helpful
A candle or wax melting device
Scissors
Newspaper to work on
Instructions
Now your holly is ready to hang!
Where do I buy Sealing Wax?
I was lucky enough to find a few sticks lying around at Dalnavert, but unfortunately, sealing wax is not something most people have in their house. Thankfully, the art of sealing is still very much alive, and you can find the sticks at Michaels.
fig 2. My attempt at a candle wax berry
Can I use parrafin Candle wax?
I asked myself the same question, and so I decided to give it a shot (fig 2). While it does work, its much more difficult and doesnt create the same effect. If you do use parrafin wax, I suggest letting the wax cool for a moment before dipping your pea in, as it tends to stick better that way.
Fig 3. My holly on my tree!
What I enjoyed
Even though it was the most difficult one, I think I enjoyed this craft the most! It was cool to see how sealing wax was different from candles, and I’m really happy with how it turned out.
What i found difficult
Time is very important with this craft. Not only do you need an excessive amount of patience, but you need to act fast (but not too fast) to shape the wax once it’s on the pea. It took me a couple tries to get it right, but once I got it I felt confident that I knew what I was doing!
Sources
Anonymous. “Our Christmas Decorations”, The Girl’s Own Paper, p. 189.