Nancy Falzone's birthday is coming up and I wanted to send her something that I'd made just for her. Since she doesn't show any more, haversacks were out so I decided to send her a form of 18th century art that I am learning.
Blackened beeswax ornaments!
They are not difficult to make, but they are tricky. (And messy. I've learned to put parchment paper under any place where there will be hot beeswax.)
There are several points in the process where the wax has to be just at the right temperature before you move on to the next step.
Inserting the wire, ribbon, or twine for holders has to be at a very specific moment in the cooling process, and that moment can vary depending on the size of the mold and the depth of the wax you've poured into it.
But, if you miss the timing like I did on this horse, you can always melt the wax again and repour.
You just pop the imperfect ornament out of the mold, put it back into the double boiler on the hot plate,
and pour the ornament again when it has melted.
Even trickier is the actual blackening process. If the wax is not still warm during the blackening process, it will not stick. It also works better to use a paintbrush to dust the ornaments with the cinnamon. (Between the beeswax and the cinnamon, my kitchen smells so good when I make these.)
I really like this mold and how the horses turned out. This is my first attempt.
I experimented with the amount of cinnamon on the second one and tried to simply emphasize the details. I love how this one turned out and I wrapped it up and asked Liz to give it to Nancy when she sees her on her birthday.
I also found the best birthday card for Nancy.Perfect, huh? I am sure she will laugh when she reads it.Nancy and me at her home just before the pandemic shut everything down.Happy Birthday, Nancy!
