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Beeswax Alchemy: How to Make Your Own Soap, Candles, Balms, Creams, and Salves from the Hive

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Featuring over 40 DIY projects that illustrate how to transform one of the world’s most natural ingredients into tangible creations, Beeswax Alchemy is the perfect amalgamation of recipe craft book and beekeepers’ guide.

Considered the miracle of the beehive and used by humans for 8,000 years, beeswax remains a vital ingredient to society and is still used as the foundation for many household products in the twenty-first century. Learn from apiarist and entrepreneur Petra Ahnert about the history of beeswax, as well as tips and techniques on how to mold it into beautiful, reusable creations.

An introduction details the different ways in which beeswax has been used throughout history, as well as the products that contain it today. You’ll also find an explanation of the different types of beeswax, as well as insider tips on working with beeswax, followed by step-by-step instructions for making candles, balms, salves, creams, scrubs, soaps, ornaments, art, and more out of beeswax (either your own or store-bought). Color photos illustrate the processes and show finished results throughout. Among the useful and beautiful things you’ll learn to make out of beeswax:

  • Hand-Dipped Birthday Candles
  • Lip Balm with Cocoa Butter
  • Rosebud Salve
  • Solid Natural Perfumes
  • Honey, Oats, and Beeswax Soap
  • Beeswax Luminaries

Whether you are an expert beekeeper or experimental crafter, Beeswax Alchemy is the best guide for anyone aspiring to make wellness-boosting treasures to keep or gift to friends and family.

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An Easy Scarf to Use Up All Your Scraps

If you’ve been around here long, you know that I’m in a perpetual battle with my stash. I feel like I haven’t bought yarn in years unless I needed it for a specific project. I knit fairly a lot, and crochet some, too, but it feels like my stash never gets any smaller.

It’s not just the unused balls of yarn that are a problem. In fact, maybe a bigger issue is all the odd balls and leftover bits that seem to pile up without any effort. Even though I love scrappy projects (and knit a whole sweater dress with scraps earlier this year) it still feels like a never-ending quest to use up all the little bits.

So I’m always on the lookout for good patterns that are made to use of the extra bits of yarn. If they are super easy, too, that’s so much the better.

So it is with the Lalu Scarf by Sheena Stone. This any yarn, any gauge pattern is designed to use up whatever scraps you have on hand (assuming they’re mostly the same weight or can be held double to make the same weight). 

It’s a tube scarf worked in the round, and she specifically notes that she works it outside in, so the back of the scarf is on the outside as you knit. The needle tips are on the part of the circle farthest away from you as you knit.

It also has an attached I-cord edging, which sounds really time consuming but does give the edges a nice, finished look.

The way the colors are changed as you knit you don’t really need a lot of each color. It would probably be good if you had at least enough of a color to complete one round, but you can change colors more often than every round if you need to because you’re using all your tiny bits.

Grab the free pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Sheena Stone.]