Candle Mould – Snowflake Pendant

01 · 70-75 °C, NOT 55-65

Beeswax is not even in play at 55

The maker's sheet asked for 55-65 °C and called it a high temperature. It is the other way round: beeswax melts between 62 and 65 °C, so at 55 there is nothing to pour, and at 65 you pour wax that has only just liquefied and arrives thick at the tips of the flake, exactly where fluidity is needed.

The right point is 70-75 °C, below the 85 above which wax darkens. With soy wax or paraffin the number is different: each has its own.

02 · SNOWFLAKES WITH ARMS INTACT

Spray, taps and fifteen minutes of cold

Silicone spray is not optional on this model: with so many recesses, without a release agent the flake stays inside in pieces. The mould is closed with bands before pouring, and poured slowly so as not to drag air in; then a few quick taps on the sides bring the bubbles up.

The trick that really changes the result is cold: once the piece is cool at room temperature, fifteen minutes in the freezer contract the wax just enough for the flake to come out whole. From a hot mould straight to the freezer, no: it cools outside first.

03 · CANDLE, ORNAMENT OR SCENT TABLET

Three products from the same mould

If it is going to be a candle, the wick goes in before pouring. If it is going to hang, a toothpick goes through to leave the hole for the ribbon, and there is no wick at all.

And there is a third outlet that pays: the wardrobe scent tablet. Fragrance goes in — up to 10 % — with the wax already off the heat and about to thicken, because heat carries the aroma away. Being flat pieces with a lot of surface, they diffuse well without any flame.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

A filigree mould: it asks for technique, not force.