Grungy tapered candles

I had a ball doing these also. Didn't have the scent of cinammon like I wanted (will try cinammon scented essential oils next time). Watched a few videos on candle making and decided to grab an old cookie sheet, lay it on top of my electric burners on low, melt the wax, and daub coffee grains, and cinammon along with the wax all over my tapered candle.

It was a ball but smoked up the house a bit. WARNING: Careful if you have birds!

Wax-Candle Wax Example

This little piece that is almost camouflaged leaning against my wooded goose, is a new favorite.
I took a piece of cardstock, a piece of paper towel that had paints all over it. I first brayed two inks: black and distressed navy on the cardstock. I then put gel medium on the paper towel and ripped it and placed it on the cardstock. Then I used the breyer that had left over ink on it to rub the edges.

Now the famous step: you know that candle wax I told you about in the previous day blog, melt that, let it drip on your piece and then I used a rubber stamp to press into it. Yes, I know, I may have ruined my stamp. I just had to do it though to see if I would get much of an impression. I did not. I also used the edge of the candle to rub a bit in spots.

Lesson: Is to show you how you can even use candle wax as a layer and an integral part
of your collage process.

Bees Wax versus Candle Wax or Paraffin

I have tried all three in my art work.

Bees wax, as yuo see in the Bird ATC in my previous blog, gives an awesome texture, along with a wonderful scent of honey. When doing a petit doll, you may not want it as drippy as I have it in my Bird ATC. In this particular artist trading card, I wanted that type of drippy, liquid look, hanging down from the card. In another type of collage, you may want it a light translucent type of affect where your image looks vintage. Bees wax is not a medium that I do not want to use in all of my work. Perhaps you do.

Candle wax or the type of wax that you use a little press with that seals an envelope can be used as an independent piece of color for your collage. Perhaps you want to make dots, drips...it does not smear overly well but try it!.

Paraffin wax is clearer than the others, and appears cloudy and white translucent type of color. The bees wax is a light yellow amber golden honey color.

I find that I like the beeswax better than the paraffin. When I could not find the bees wax in the store, and it was much too expensive for me to buy from a honey dealer, I bought a beaded white wax like a paraffin from the health food store. It melted just as quick as any other wax and I used it till I could find the beeswax. Then low and behold, I found it at Michael's for a very inexpensive price of $5.99 for a block which will last a long time.

I would love to do a huge large canvas painting, and then go to town with the beeswax. Can you imagine the scent from the painting as you approached it.

Well anyway, if you don't have the money to buy bees wax, use candle wax or those old crayons. You might get awesome texture!

Bees Wax on Bird ATC

I just loaded on the bees wax trying to let it drip before dry!

Many layers here of ink, marker, maskin tape, distressed inks of various colors with stamp pad collection

Somerset Magazines and color

Wow, what great ideas from Somerset Magazines! Just to see the color ideas and textures other artists use is amazing!
New Idea: after you cut out words from paper or vintage papers, antique the edges with inks, charcoal or burn the edges. Apply bees wax to your main project. Lay your words down that you have aged with the above mediums, lay them in the order you would like on the surface of the bees wax and heat with your heat gun or blow dryer. The wax will melt around the paper. Your wax and aged paper will become a definite color: a sepia and aged look for color. You can add color with your soft water oil pastels and blend with your fingers.