large sugar crystal

Unfortunately for the blog, I didn't remember to take photos of the project until after it was over, but I will try to explain my process as well as I can with the images I have. 

 I started with a bar of wax I had leftover from other projects. I used a hammer and a screw driver to break off a variety of small chunks. 

I attached the chunks together in a random pattern, melting each one a bit to hold it in place. 

Once I had the shape and size I was looking for, I coated the entire things with a coat of melted wax dyed yellow, and then once the first layer was dry another coat that was more orange-brown. 

After the wax was cooled, I began to carve away bits of wax with my matte knife. I needed to remove all the smooth and rounded corners and to remove the majority of the darker wax.

 

 Once it was completed, the small cuts gave the crystal a much sharper look, made it appear to be composed of far more smaller crystals, and gave of a sparkly shine because it had so many smooth surfaces at a variety of angles reflecting light.