Candlemas and Badgers

Sometimes two craft ideas collide. One is a sample to take into school for a Candlemas craft activity. The other idea uses felting.

I started off using the classic tissue paper glued onto a jam jar. I used a battery tealight to test the effect of the light through the different layers. As I tipped the jar this way and that, a real candle would never have survived. At one point it was upside down, which I’m pretty sure would have put a real flame out and flooded the liquid into the jar.

I wanted a more organic looking flame. If I’d used paper it would have given a clean outline. A little wool fibre made a good alternative. This is where the two craft ideas collided. I used a tiny bit of black wool to make the wick.

I’m always fascinated to see the other side of whatever I make. Sometimes it gives an interesting effect.

Next time I’d like to use just the wool fibre. I wonder……

(It’s Candlemas today. I was fascinated to read that the Groundhog Day tradition is supposed to originate in Europe. Instead of a Groundhog, it is meant to be a creature such as a badger or hedgehog that is pulled out to inspect the shadows. If it sees its own shadow, it is meant to return to its hole to continue hibernation. 

Not sure about you, but I cannot imagine putting my hand in a badger’s sett and hauling one out.)