Moody Craft Shoot

Soy candles with herbs, aloe vera gel, and a fun technique for marbling. BY INA AMOR MEJIA

THESE LAST TWO MONTHS I did another round of DIYs for the Craft section of Northern and Southern Living Magazines. The editors wanted moody images, which I love. And I also tried out some new DIYs for the first time. If you can grab a copy of the May and June issues, you'll find DIYs on Sea Salt Spray for beachy hair (not pictured), Aloe Vera Gel, Soy Candles with Herbs, and Marbled Paper.  I learned quite a bit making these wonderful crafts...

Candle-making

Candle-making is something I've always wanted to try, and it's so much easier than I thought. You basically just need to be careful that you don't burn yourself melting and handling the wax. You don't really need a thermometer. And if you can't find those wax pellets, which are sometimes only sold in bulk, just grab old candles and grate them for melting (wick and all).

Marbling
Marbling is so trendy right now. Using different marbling techniques, crafters have found so many great ways to use marbling in art, interior design and decor. I used shaving cream to create the marbling effect on the envelope liners and bookmark above. I thought it was the easiest technique by far. Not to mention fun!

Aloe Vera Gel

I normally don't use aloe vera gel, let alone make it at home. But the Aloe Vera gel was quite the lesson. If you ever cut open an aloe vera leaf and notice some yellowish liquid with a funky smell---that's the resin, not the gel. Let the resin drain first and you'll have that clean, clear (and not smelly) gel waiting to be scooped out. 

Again, hope you find copies of the magazines for the full instructions on all these crafts. 

Thanks, and keep making!