# Making BW ornaments--do you seal them?



## beekeeper_sd (Oct 30, 2008)

What are you trying to protect the ornaments from? I've made lots of beeswax ornaments and never sealed them with anything. Yes, they will get bloom but a quick hit with a blow dryer and they are perfect again. Also, if the beeswax is not colored it doesn't blom as fast and, most times, the bloom is hardly noticeable.


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## candlewren (Oct 26, 2010)

I'm going to use Pearl Ex/mica pigments brushed on some of the raised details-- so I want to keep that from coming off. Also, I don't think that the people I intend to give them to would take the time to use a hair dryer on the ornaments each year.


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## BeeTeach (Nov 10, 2005)

I recently bought the terra cotta molds from Cotton Press along with the aerosol candle gloss. I can't seem to get a handle on the use of these molds. I use release but the wax seems to swell out of the molds and continues to stick. If I ever get the hang of it I will use the gloss on those that I plan to resale. I know that people that buy these like them for both the smell and the natural aspect but my thoughts are that if they continue to look nice year after year without any additional work those people will tend to appreciate and purchase more.


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## GaSteve (Apr 28, 2004)

We made ornaments for the first time this year. They sold fairly well. Biggest objection is about them melting if stored in hot attic in summer. We try to convince people to keep them out all year.

We have two types of molds - a brown clay and a red "terra cotta" type of clay. The brown works very well - no release problems. The red ones stuck like glue. We ended up throwing the whole mold in the wax pot to get the wax out. After that they worked much better. We also spray some mold release to help.

We try to keep them thin and they will curl just a little as they cool. The spray gloss isn't really necessary but it does make them shine and really accentuates the details of the design.


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