The following article is a guest post by writer Esther Anderson.  Esther likes to write about crafts, parties, personal finance & how to improve her credit score (you can visit her site there for more of her tips!).

5 Steps for Making Recycled Candles Before a Power Outage

Fall is a great time to spend some time inside preparing for winter. During the fall, check and make sure that you have enough candles in case the power fails during the cold winter months.

If you do not have enough, then involve the family in making some fun crayon ice candles. By following these four easy steps, you can recycle items that you probably have lying around your house and you can be assured of having enough light when the power fails.

Read this too: Emergency Preparedness for the Pantry: Checklists To Get You Ready

1. Gather Supplies First, gather up any broken crayons that your kids will not color with any more, a pillar candle that has seen its better days, chipped ice and a cardboard milk carton from the school lunchroom. Do not use washable crayons. If you do not have enough old crayons, then use a great coupon at your local craft store to purchase additional wax.

2. Prepare the Milk Carton
Secondly, place the tapered candle into the middle of the milk carton. If the candle is taller than the milk carton, cut it off at the same height and make more than one candle. If the candle is shorter than the milk carton, cut off the milk carton at the same height as the top of the candle. If you do not have an old tapered candle, then you can buy wicks at major craft stores.

3. Melt the Crayons

Now, melt the crayons in a double boiler.

(No double boiler?  You can make a “homemade” double boiler to use:  Fill a large pot with water and then put in a coffee tin or other large can. Put the can in the water. Or, use 2 saucepans, 1 a little larger than the other.  Add some water to the bigger pan and then put the smaller pan inside.)

Melt the old crayons over medium high heat. It is imperative that you are extremely careful with the hot wax as it can easily burn you. If you do not have enough old crayons to fill the milk carton when melted, then consider adding more old candles or new wax brought at the store with coupons.

Read this too:  Rethinking Emergency Preparedness for Bombings After Jericho

4. Add the Ice Next, fill the rest of the milk carton with the crushed ice. Make sure that the old tapered candle stays in the middle of the milk carton. Make sure that the ice is crushed fine. If the pieces are too large, then the candle will not hold together.

5. Allow the Candle to Dry Then, allow the finished product to dry. The ice will melt leaving beautiful holes in your candle. It is better to leave these candles in the milk carton mold for at least 24 hours before tearing off the milk carton. The longer you allow the candle to sit, the stronger the finished product will be.

These candles can be fragile. They make great decorations when placed on a table. Make sure not to light them until you have a power outage. They will burn for many hours. They should be placed on top of a saucer so the wax does not drip on the table.

Get the kids involved in making these candles and have a great time preparing for winter!  The kids will then be excited about using their candles when the power does fail.

While we’re on the subject of preparing for winter, go read Winter Checklist – 99 Ways to Get Ready For Winter.

Photo credit: Candle photo by Leland Francisco.  Some rights reserved.

How to Decoupage Crafts

Don’t be fooled be the professional finish of decoupage crafts. Though it may look as if it is a complicated process, decoupage is actually a simple and creative art form that can easily be learned.

Just about anyone can learn how to decoupage, and the items to choose from are limitless.  We’ll teach you how to decoupage in no time with our easy step by step instructions!

The General Idea:  The basics of decoupage include cutting and pasting and the technique is simple. After cutting out various pictures, they are placed onto a desired object and secured in place with glue.

The object is then covered with several additional coats of glue to protect the pictures and prevent them from coming off.

Supplies Needed for Decoupage

While many craft stores offer extensive decoupage kits filled with all the necessary items to create a decoupage masterpiece, chances are that you already have most of the necessary supplies lying around your house.

If you choose not to purchase a ready made decoupage kit, you will need to have on hand these decoupage supplies:

• white glue
• a popsicle stick
• cotton swabs
• a damp rag
• foam or a small paintbrush
• a craft knife
• decoupage medium (used to glue the pictures to the object)
• brayer (a miniature rolling pin designed to remove wrinkles and glue)

You will also need the object that you will be covering. This can be just about anything you desire, including photo albums, shelves, picture frames, mirrors, various storage boxes, vases, coasters, lamps and even furniture. You are limited only by your imagination.

Additionally you will need pictures cut out from a magazine or catalog, written poems or verses, greeting card pictures, quotes printed from websites, wallpaper, fabric samples, or specialty designer paper made just for decoupage.

How to Decoupage in 9 Easy Steps

You are now well on your way to learning how to decoupage!

1.  Begin by making sure your chosen object is clean and dust free.

2.  Cut out all of the pictures you will be using.

3.  Arrange the pictures in the order you will be placing them on the object.

4.  Cover the back of the picture entirely and add a dab of glue to the area of the object that will be covered. Place the picture onto the object and gently push down the picture with your finger.

5.  Use the brayer or a popsicle stick to smooth out any remaining wrinkles and excess glue.

6.  Continue this process until all pictures are glued onto the object. Pictures can be overlapped if desired.

7.  Allow the glue to dry completely.

8.  Coat the object with decoupage medium.  Let coating dry completely.

Frugal Tip:  If you do not have decoupage medium, you can create your own by mixing 3 parts glue with 1 part water to form a diluted glue paste.

9.  The final step is to continue to add layers of glue paste until edges of pictures are completely sealed. After pictures are sealed you may continue adding additional glue layers until you achieve the desired results.

Here are some great examples of creative craft projects that have been created with decoupage:

This article is linked to Works For Me Wednesday and Homemaker Mondays.  Decoupage photo of teal box by Tábata – Happy Artes. Decoupaged containers on shelf by Wolfiewolf. Decoupage stool by Soso Arteira.  Decoupage wooden block with butterflies by /Francesca.

Little imaginations soar at the thought of super powers. Watch their little eyes light up when you make them a personalized super hero cape of their very own.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Yard of light polyester knit
• ¼ yard flexible vinyl (or you could use felt)
• Velcro dots
• Fabric glue
• Wax paper (36×36 inches)
• Pencil
• Stick pins
• String
• Measuring tape

And here are the super simple steps:

1. Measure the length from the middle of your child’s neck to the bottom of their pant loop.

2. Taking a sheet of wax paper (approximately 36×36 inches) fold it in half and insert a stick pin at the top.

3. Cut a length of string using the measurement you took and tie it to the stick pin and your pencil.

4. Starting at one side of the wax paper, with the stick pin stationary, draw off the curve of your cape.

5. Using a ruler, draw a straight line 2 ½ inches from the corner on either side. This will give you a five inch neck. (NOTE: Depending on the age of your child, you may need the neck to be larger so trim out your neckline and hold it to your child before cutting your fabric.)

6. Trim out your cape pattern, pin it to your fabric and cut out the shape. (NOTE: Light polyester knit will not ravel and billows well while in flight.)

7. Using fabric glue, apply the velcro dots to either side of the cape neck for easy closure. (NOTE: These can also be sewn on for durability.)

8. Now it’s time to embellish. We used flexible vinyl for the sheen, but felt would also work well. No matter what you use, personalize it with your little hero’s initial, stars or maybe a lightning bolt and watch their eyes shine.

This craft is super easy, super fun, and perfect for your super hero in training. Happy crafting!

Editor’s Note:  Easy crafts projects for moms that keep kids inspired and entertained certainly work for us!  Thanks to Kim Byers for sharing this craft project with our readers.  For more Works for Me Wednesday, visit We are That Family.  Photo ©Kim Byers / The Celebration Shoppe.