tips + techniques

Place the wax between two sheets of wax paper and roll it flat using a round jar as a rolling pin. Or simply press the wax into a flattened form between fingertips. The flat pancake can be further shaped, added to or inscribed. For the youngest Kid Jewelers, squishing a round wax ball into a flat disc and leaving behind a clear fingerprint mark makes a wonderful keepsake. Aim to keep the thinnest areas of wax at least as thick as two stacked pennies.

Roll the wax into long, even logs that can be bent, molded and combined to create shapes or words. This is an easy way to form hearts, letters or simple figures such as snails, people or rainbows. Logs can be combined with flattened shapes to create more complex forms such as flowers, butterflies, dinosaurs and robots.

Push, pinch and move the wax into a form of your choosing using your fingers or simple around-the-house tools such as pencils and toothpicks. Add on detail elements by gently pushing a one formed part into another and carefully blending in the seam.

Using a toothpick or a pencil or other pointed object, mark the wax’s surface with drawings or words. In combination with any of the above techniques, this is a wonderful way to decorate a piece and leave a very personal mark or message. For the cleanest results, remove any wax as that accumulates on the tip of your tool.