Creating and Blending Colors

Different shades can be achieved by mixing the primary colors red blue and yellow together. White can help you achieve a paler shade while black can darken your candle color.

To test your color, try putting a bit of the dyed wax on a paper towel and wait for it to dry. If it’s not dark enough or too light you can then adjust it before pouring. It’s hard to tell what the color will look like just by looking at your melted wax as some colors can appear quite clear while still in their liquid form.

Overheating can affect the color of your dye and it’s also important to make sure you have no particles left floating around if using solid chips or blocks.

Basic color mixing ideas:

Blue + Yellow= Green (the more yellow the lighter the green)
Yellow+Red= Orange
Blue+Red= Purple
Blue+Green=Turquoise/Teal

Some people use liquid candle dyes and others use solid dye blocks or chips. I prefer the dye blocks and chips because they’re not as messy and I find it easier to be accurate with the amount I put in. One the other hand starting out with one bottle of red, blue and yellow liquid dye and experimenting that way with color mixes can be fun.

Reddig-Glo has a handy booklet which I purchased for 3.99 but it’s probably cheaper in the US. They have tons of blending suggestions for their color chips and also include troubleshooting and special effects in candle making.

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The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

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