Silicone 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, flex the edges of the mould outwards and free the limbs first, gently, before pushing the body up from below.

It is a mould without a slit: it is filled from above and takes no bands. 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 · 34 G OF WAX AND NO WICK

The figures LYSON gives

According to the LYSON catalogue, the figure is 6.5 cm tall and 5.5 wide and takes about 34 g of wax, so a kilo makes about 29 figures. It is a good outlet for the dark wax from old combs.

LYSON assigns it no wick, so it is a decorative figure — for the table or to go with a gift — rather than a candle.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

A Christmas figure with slim limbs.