A New-found Respect!

  I have always adored my sister-in-law, Linda.  She is smart, beautiful, sweet and talented.  This makes her one of those rare people that come in your life and brighten it ever so much.  She and I hit it off from day one.  We both love crafting.  While others are scouring the internet to find pictures of what they like with never any intentions of making the thing, she and I both get ideas and just put them into action.  There is never "I have no time.", "I don't have all the right materials." or "I can't do that.".  We just do.  We both lead busy lives but never too busy to craft, it matters not if we are lacking in materials...we improvise and if we can't do it at the moment...we learn.  Linda is one of the few people who will sit and talk crafts with me at any function!

  Each year as Christmas gifts, Linda coats pine cones in wax.  These not only look pretty but are great to use as fire starters if you can ever part with one to chunk in the fireplace.  I keep mine in a large basket just because I like them.  Well, I got the bright idea to steal her idea!  I needed a basket of something to put in a charity raffle.  I figure with fall being in the air, fire starters would be a great basket filler.  I had just picked up hundreds of pine cones before I cut the grass so that part was done.  I was going to go a step further and make mine scented by using the spent wax melts from my tart warmer/candle melt burners. (Yep, I save them.  Nope, I have no idea why.)  Anyway, I gathered my cones and wax.  Linda had told me to heat the wax, dip the cones and gently shake the drips before setting them either on wax paper or foil.  I could do that!  Easy-peasy!

  I was brilliant!  I salvaged an old crockpot from the discard box.  (This, too, was headed to the same charity event but I needed to "borrow" the crockpot!)  The slowcooker would allow me to heat the wax unattended! Smart!!!!  Yep, yep!  So I started.  So....I tried.  Somehow, Linda's cones turn out gorgeous!  Mine...not so gorgeous.  The first one looked like one big ball of wax.  It weighed a ton! That would never do!  Linda had said that you needed to have the wax at the perfect temperature.  What temperature is perfect?  Who knows?  I kept trying.  Eventually, I found if I scooped the wax and dribble it on the cone, it stuck without making a wad so big that you could not lift the cone.  

  In the midst of all my hard work, Son came into the kitchen.  "Umm, sorry Mom.  If you are cooking pumpkin, it smells like you did something wrong.  It smells more like a candle."  Well, duh!  I had picked out all the "fall" scented wax chunks and some were pumpkin scented so I can see what he was saying.  I plopped another pine cone into the vat of hot lava of wax.  "Ok, well now I know I am not eating that." he mused.  Well, duh!  I should hope not!  I explained that I was making Aunt Linda's waxed cones.  "Umm, no you are not."....I chased him out of the kitchen!  Fifteen cones later I was finished!  No more!  I had succeeded in totally wrecking the kitchen but I had tried something new and was pleased with the results.  (Yes, I definitely need practice!)

  All in all, I managed to get enough waxed cones for a basket. I have to admit that the basket is not too shabby and has the added benefit of smelling divine!  Since it is for charity, hopefully someone will overlook the mistakes.  Maybe if I put lots of ribbons on the basket, no one will notice that my cones are pathetic.  Maybe if I add some whimsical knickknack, it will draw attention away from the drippy wax.  Maybe I should have asked Linda for more help!  Yep, I have always admired her but I now have a new-found respect for her abilities. She is amazing!