Another method that is quite easy is to make two half-candles from the same mold (or two identical molds, such as custard cups or half-round bowls).

Play Ball!

To make a round spherical candle, use two half-round glass bowls for molds into which to pour the wax. With this method, you can quite easily make holes for the wick: While the wax is set but still warm in each half, join the two halves with the wick (previously primed by dipping in hot wax and cooling) between them, tying a secure knot at the end you have designated to be the bottom. After this, you can overdip the candle to hide the seam and give it a hard finish. In this basic way, you can make two halves of practically any shape and join them together to get a new shape.

Eggs-actly!

Egg-shaped candles can be molded in a plastic egg that screws apart in the middle to be filled with candies. You can purchase this type of plastic egg in many sizes during the Easter season.

To use these plastic eggs as molds, first take one apart and coat its inner surfaces with mineral oil (which works well as a mold release agent). With the point of an ice pick, or skewer, or very sharp knife heated over a candle flame, poke a hole in the center of the small end of the plastic egg cup. The hole should be large enough to accommodate the end of a small funnel — such as is used to fill perfume bottles.

Screw the plastic egg back together and stand it upright in something that will support it securely — a custard cup is good, or a small bowl, depending on the size of the plastic egg. Melt wax as directed in Chapter 6 and pour the melted wax through the funnel to fill the shell. Remove the funnel. Tie a metal weight to one end of a cord wick and drop it through the hole in the top of the shell. The weight will drop the wick through to the bottom of the mold.

After completing this procedure, set the entire mold in its container in the refrigerator until it is thoroughly cold and hardened. This will take several hours, depending on the size of the mold. Remove from the refrigerator and run hot tap water over the shell for a few seconds before taking it apart. Unscrew the two halves of the plastic egg, pulling them apart gently to release the egg-shaped candle inside. Smooth out the seam with a craft knife or other sharp knife, or melt it smooth with the flat side of a heated knife. You can overdip your egg-shaped candles in Easter egg pastel-colored wax and simulate real Easter eggs. Or, you can leave the candles white and decorate by painting. (See Chapter 13, “Surface Techniques for Decorating Candles.”)