Candle Mould – Gingerbread Man

01 · THE LIMBS ARE WHAT BREAK

And they come free before the body

The arms and legs are the thin part of the piece and the first to stay behind if you pull while the wax is still warm. Wait for it to be completely cold, open the mould and free the limbs first, gently, before pushing the body up from below.

The mould has a side cut, so close it with rubber bands before pouring. And the small reliefs — the buttons and the face — want a tap as soon as you fill, so no bubble lands right on the smile.

02 · OLD WAX GIVES THE BISCUIT TONE

The dark colour comes from used comb

The finish that makes this figure work is the toasted tone, and a beekeeper has it without buying anything: wax from old brood comb is considerably darker than cappings wax and gives that colour directly, with no dye.

Keep it for decorative pieces like this rather than mixing it with the pale wax destined for foundation or for candles sold as virgin wax. Beeswax pours between 70 and 75 °C: it melts at 62-65 and darkens above 85.

03 · NO WAX FIGURE? MEASURE THE MOULD

And that settles the wick too

The maker publishes neither the wax weight nor the wick for this figure. It takes a minute to work out: fill the mould with water, weigh it, and multiply that volume by 0.96 to get the grams of wax it will ask for.

The wick is chosen by the diameter of the section that has to burn, not by the height of the figure. Tell us the measurement and we will tell you which one it takes.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

A Christmas figure with slim limbs.