Homemade Christmas Ornaments

"Bee an Angel"

Submitted by Tracey Gaudette of MI

I call this ornament "Bee an Angel" because it is made from pure beeswax.  My husband, Roger, and I are beekeepers.  I made this ornament the same way German bakers used to in the 16th century.  I melted our beeswax (in a double boiler on the kitchen stove) and poured it into a ceramic cookie mold (cookie molds are available from many sources, kitchen stores, online, etc.) which I had sprayed with "candle release" (available at any craft store), like you would spray a pan with non-stick spray for baking, inserting a hanging loop of ribbon while the wax is still liquid.

After the wax cooled and became solid, I removed the ornament from the mold and painted some of the details with gold leaf.

You could do the same thing with any type of wax, you could even recycle some old candles! The ornaments are pretty left plain, or you could paint them with gold leaf or regular acrylic paint if you prefer.  Natural beeswax has a beautiful fragrance of it's own, but you could add fragrance to plain wax or, if you recycled a scented candle, your ornament would already be scented!  Enjoy!!

Homemade Christmas Ornaments Index