Handmade Beeswax Luminaries

Handmade Beeswax Luminaries

For us at Bella Luna Toys, fall in Maine means crisp mornings, the sound of leaves crunching under our feet and a strong desire to tuck in early for the night.
Add your own autumnal ambiance to simple evenings at home with this beautiful beeswax luminaries tutorial created exclusively for us from our friend Becky of Growing A Wild Child.
Handmade beeswax luminaries for Waldorf nature table
Wooden flower and leaf press from Bella Luna Toys next to a container of hot beeswax
Create your own natural decorations with our Wooden Leaf & Flower press.

Materials needed:

1 lb of beeswax

Pressed flowers or leaves for decorations (or bits of kite paper/tissue paper/pretty fabric)

Glue and a paint brush

Tea lights

Avocado for a mold (or other fruit that can be scooped out with skin kept intact, you will peel this out at the end. We used avocados & mangos this time.) 

Double boiler to melt the wax

Baking sheet lined with foil or parchment

Handmade beeswax luminaries for Waldorf nature table 

Method:

Melt the wax in a double boiler. Be sure your container is wide enough to dip the fruit and there is enough space at the top so that the wax does not overflow when dipping.

While the wax is melting prepare your fruit. Cut a ring around the narrower end of the fruit & scoop out the inside so that you are left with an empty bowl. 

A hand holding a hollowed out mango to be dipped into the beeswax.

Hotter wax will give you thinner coats and cooler wax thicker coats so adjust the number of dips if needed. 

I let the wax cool slightly before letting my son dip his so they’re a bit less smooth but they still turned out lovely.

A child dips avocado husk into a dish of warm beeswax. 

After cooling the bowls you will be ready to add your decorations. Paint a small bit of glue on the wax and add the flowers/leaves/other decorations. 

A child brushes glue onto the beeswax luminary.

Dip the bowl in the wax one last time to cover & secure everything in place.

Gently peel out the fruit skin.

Peeling mango out of beeswax luminary.

Warm a baking tray lined with foil or parchment over a just warm burner. Gently press the top and bottom edge on the warm pan. Set your bowl on a flat surface to be sure it is stable.

Add an extra spoon of wax to the inside of the bowl to ensure that the base is thick.  

Hands hold beeswax luminary while spooning extra wax into it.

Cool and add your tea lights.

 Beeswax luminaries on a fall nature table

Thank you for sharing this lovely project, Becky! Be sure to follow along with Becky's activities on her Instagram right here.


2 comments


  • Megan

    Very pretty. I have done something similar, but with kite paper shreds, a balloon, and glue/modpodge. Turned out very nice and we used for a lantern walk.


  • Morgan

    Lovely idea! My only question is- do the wax molds melt with a tea candle placed inside?!


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