Thursday 2 December 2010

21 Days of Yule: Day 2: How to Make a Yule Log Centerpiece


Come bring with a noise
My merry, merry boys
The Christmas log to the firing
With the last year's brand.
Light the new block,
And for good success in his spending
On your psalteries play:
That sweet luck may
Come while the log is a-teendling.
(sung when the Yule log was carried into the home, ©School of the Seasons)


Here I am making my Yule Log, this will also be a centerpiece before it goes into the fire place. I will have the video up on my YouTube channel, so you can see the step by step.
Here is our log, I needed to split it so I would be able to put it bark side up. Practice safety people when doing this please!!
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Here I am melting the wax after i got my wood split, I melted plain wax, you can scent it or color it also if you would like, I will be scenting it, with the remains of a candle I loved, that just to me reminded me of family and home.
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Keep a keen eye on the wax so it doens’t start to “burn” meaning some will be melted and the rest isn't and then it starts to smell awful.  This is melting fine.
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Supplies needed to make the log:  three candles, moss, pinecones, melted wax and of course the log
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Dip the candle bottoms into the wax and use them as the glue to stick them onto the log, pour wax around the log especially around the candles, cover the log.
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Add your moss around the candles, hurry as the wax is cooling fast now that it is spread out.
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Roll the pinecones around in the extra was and use this as a way to stick them to log also
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Allow to dry then you can place it in the center of your mantel or table until Yule, then place it in the fire place.
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The shorter the candles the faster they will burn, these candles have a two hour burn to them before they reach the moss and wax which help the log burn,; once it has started burning you can add other logs to help keep your Yule fire going.
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Happy Yule prepping my loves, Check out the Yule log ritual I will be putting up later
Aisha



6 comments:

  1. so cool, I make the centerpieces out of Birch trees but they are strictly for decorative purposes and hold either glass votives or tapers.

    I am saving these instructions for either a warm December yule (and have a bonfire) or til I have a fireplace. we have a wood stove, I can not put that much wax into it. but this is SOOO cool.
    Thank you :)
    Susan

    Ps...so far I haven't found anyone posting for this. and the few comments I got, they didn't pick a number so I guess they aren't interested in winning anything. :(

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  2. Oh, I'm a little late for the party because I'm recovering from a cold.

    Would you ladies believe I have never seen a Yule log? Until I read Aisha's post, I thought Yule logs were chocolate-covered cakes.

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  3. Susan, I do like your idea of booby prizes. I should give a booby prize like a package of hairpins with a note that says something like "Use on hair raising days."

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  4. @Aelyn Thank you

    @Susan I have found that sometimes it takes a few days for everyone to get into the full swing of things, keep posting the prizes and enough people will start to follow the instructions. Before I had a fireplace I made the logs out of birch too, but they burn to fast so I learned to use oak.

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  5. @MsLilypads, I believe Aine wrote that the French were the first to eat thier Yule logs. because fireplaces were no longer being built into every home. I'm glad your feeling better.

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