Souvenirs From the Beach - Remembering

Almost every year, my Nanny hosted a beach weekend for her whole family.  (That's Nanny with baby Sarah last Christmas.) This year was the first one without her and only the second one I was able to attend.  Nanny loved to be outdoors and loved the beach and picking up shells.  

We picked up lots of shells along the beach and brought them home along with a bag of sand to do a little project Mom had suggested.  

We added water to the sand and made a mold with it around a 15 oz can inside a coffee can.  The boys selected  small-ish, pretty shells, and I pressed them into the sides of the sand.  I poked a piece of wicking into the sand and secured the top on a skewer.    

I melted the wax in the oven (on 225 F) in a reused disposable aluminum pan - much easier than on the stove - and poured it into the sand mold.

After they cooled, we had a candles with sand and shells on the outside.

I made ones for my Aunts Rubye, Beckie, and Kathy using wax that Nanny had given me from Pawpaw Hyatt's (her father) barn many years ago.  The wax was from bees he kept.  (I remember him with dark hair.)  I had saved that wax and carted it around the country with me for a while (since high school), and this was finally a suitable use for it.  Those candles have now been sent to my aunts with a note telling them about the candles asking them to remember Nanny when they look at and burn them.  

I also made some for some other special ladies with regular candle wax.  

I hope that the recipients will all feel the love with which these were made.