Wax Covered Faux Fruit Tutorial....Well Sort Of...

I was asked by a friend on Facebook whether I had a tutorial on how to prim faux fruit.  I told her I did not, but that there were several tutorials on the web that might help.  This tutorial (click on the word to be taken there) is done by another great blogger... I told her that wax covered grubbied with coffee grounds and cinnamon was a great option though.  This was a really dumb option to give out since I personally have never done it. LOL.  I told her that I had some pears that I would try to get too on my days off last weekend.  I thought Sunday was the perfect day since it was rainy and nasty out.  This is how they turned out.

First things first....

I got out my trusty wax melting pot (you could also use the double broiler method), a box of thrift store pears, and a thrift store candle.  You will also need coffee grounds and ground cinnamon.  I normally go to Family Dollar, Save a Lot or wherever to buy really cheap coffee grounds. IMPORTANT: Do not buy instant coffee this is regular coffee grounds.  You could also save money by drying out your coffee grounds from your coffee pot by putting them on paper towels to dry out for a few days.  This candle did not smell too much, but since this was a "I have no idea what I'm doing craft" it didn't matter to me.  I would guess you could have strong smelling wax or you could scent your wax.  Now from what I've read many candles, when melted down, become clear wax.  This one in particular did. Either way didn't matter to me whether it stayed tan or not.  I decided I wanted to try this with it clear.  You could add old crayons to change the color if you choose to black or brown or whatever color you want. If you'd like a quick "blackened faux fruit"tutorial try HERE. Let your wax melt completely to liquid. Hint: You will need to turn the pot onto high if you want it to melt.  Those floaties are coffee grounds.  I'll explain this in a minute why they're there.

These pears were a little tricky due to their shape when you dip and roll.  Apples would be easy peasy to do.  Anyway, as I told you I like to share my mistakes with you because when you try new things it's bound to happen.  Don't think it never happens to me because it happens a lot!!! LOL.  That is why the coffee grounds are in the wax a learning curve.

With these pears I dunked them in two steps... top and then bottom or vice versa.  The point is I dunked half at a time.  They are easier to hold onto to.  Once they fall completely in they're hard to get out. 

Alright, so dunk your half in then pull it out and go quickly to your awaiting paper plate of coffee grounds and cinnamon mix.  Just mix it however you like.

Take your fruit and roll it around a little while the wax is still hot and liquidy. I also like to sprinkle the mixture on too if the coverage isn't that great.

Now dunk the other half and do the same thing.  This is where some of your coffee grounds and cinnamon may come off into the wax that you previously put on. Then set them on either wax paper or aluminum foil to set up.

Truth be told this is where my theory started to break down that I thought I knew what I was doing. LOL.  I know that the coffee and cinnamon would not stay on there if left alone.  The slightest of handling would knock it off and make a mess.  So, how was I going to fix this.  The light bulb went off and I thought let's redunk it in the wax. Yeah that'll work. NOT!!!! If the wax is still hot it will totally melt off everything you just did. Lesson number one.  OK  redo that pear.  Alright maybe if I let the wax cool a little it won't melt the original wax.  Let's try that.  Nope that's not going to work either.  The wax became white! Grrrrr.... now what?!?!?!

Please stand by we are having technical difficulties. LOL.  What do I have on hand that I can use to set these stupid pears that I shouldn't have said I knew how to do.  Me and my big mouth. I don't want to let my friends down.  I know they'd LOVE to make these at home.  Walk away Mary Walk Away....

OK a few hours later the light bulb went off.  Somewhere around this house I have a matte sealer in a spray can.  That would work perfect!!!! Ummmm ok I don't have any after I looked. Now what ?!?!?!? hmmmm... as I'm rummaging around I found some spray adhesive in a can.  hmmmm.... should work like glue right?  So with short little blasts of spray on the pears I covered them with spray adhesive then sprinkled some extra cinnamon on them. Warning: don't do it without gloves.  That adhesive is horrible to get off your skin!!!! I did find that nail polish remover worked though other than it messed up my painted nails. :-/ Ahhh the price to pay to craft.

The ones on the left were original... the ones on the right were sprayed and cinnamon dusted.

You could achieve the same look with watered down modge podge or white glue since both dry clear.  Just brush it on lightly with an old small paintbrush and sprinkle with cinnamon.  This is where the wax fruit sort of comes into play. lol.  Yes we used wax originally, but we didn't end with it.  I'm sure there is a way to do it, but I didn't figure it out.

I let them dry overnight.  Tapped them off so any extra coffee or cinnamon would come off and put them in a bowl.  They still smell pretty good like cinnamon since the adhesive set it on but didn't cover the scent.  You could probably spray each one with prim potpourri spray or room freshener if you have it on hand for a wonderful scent.

So, here you go.  My rendition of wax covered fruit.  As always questions, suggestions, or expertise are always welcome.  I will post any insights some of you may have to help all of us out. :-)

Have a great day!!!!