Paraffin Luminaries: DIY (take 1)

Alrighty, so here's my first attempt at making paraffin wax luminaries for the wedding. I'll do my best to guide you through it step by step. Sorry in advance, I didn't think about the fact that my balloons and wax are both white...next time I'll use blue wax or colored balloons.

Step 1: gather your supplies:
paraffin wax (I got mine at Hobby Lobby: price was 14.99 for a 10 lb. slab, but I had a 40% off coupon)
balloons
Double boiler or candle making container

Step 2: melt the wax:
Since my wax was one giant chunk initially, I took a hammer and broke it into more user friendly pieces. The melted wax should look something like this:

Step 3: fill your balloon and dip it! Do this about 5 times, then move on to the next step.

Step 4: after you have a nice layer of paraffin, set the balloon on foil/paper to create a flat bottom.

Step 5: after the bottom is created and cooled (about 1-2 minutes), re-dip until the luminary is your desired thickness (I re-dipped about 20 times for mine), replace on the foil, and let cool.

Step 6: pop your balloon into a sink and drain the water, your balloon should then come out easily, leaving you with this:

Step 7: to straighten the top edge, simply heat a cookie sheet and place the luminary upside down until you have the desired smoothness/leveling completed.

Then you're done!