Lake Tahoe Luminaries

One of our favorite things to do in Lake Tahoe is sit out on the deck of the cabin to relax, read, play games or just stare at the beauty around us! Aside from the lake shore, it is where we will be spending the most time, so we wanted to jazz it up a bit. For our second vacation prep project this week, we created wax candle luminaries which will be used to decorate the cabin's deck.

After a trip to Michael's, my mom was prepared with a candle making kit, wax, red dye, and balloons.

First we filled the balloons with water to a reasonable size.

Then we melted the wax, creating our own double boiler situation.

Once the wax melted, we added red dye. Ultimately our votives came out pink, so we probably could have added more than the recommended 1/8th of the dye bar.

Once the dye had melted, we dipped our balloons into the pot. It was hard to tell where the bottom of the pot was through the red wax so we guessed at how low to drop the ballon. This was a little nervewracking because if the balloon touches the pot at all, it will pop!

To make a thicker votive and form a flat bottom, we let the balloons cool for a few minutes, and then dipped them into the wax a few more times.

After the wax was completely cooled (about 30 minutes later), we popped the balloons over the sink to drain the water. The balloon shriveled right up and was easy to remove from the wax.

To smooth the top edges of our votives, we placed them upside down for a few seconds on a hot cookie sheet. This was a very cool trick! Then we added candles.

With the lights off, our votives look so awesome. When a candle is lit inside, it gives the effect that the whole votive is glowing!

Both Girls Team members really liked these wax votives. We can't wait to see them on the deck of our cabin. They give off a pinkish glow, and look serene and beautiful. We would both make them again! However, they are very fragile, so our challenge now is to get them to Tahoe without breaking or cracking. The only downside to these votives is that the wax making kit is expensive, around $30, so if you're on a budget, it might not be the most realistic project for you. Other than that, we'll add this to the list of clever and entertaining Make It Happen Monday crafts!

We can't wait to see these in action outside in Lake Tahoe :)