We Made Sculptures out of Babybel Wax Because Why Not

A few days back, I happened upon a movement online that really piqued my interest. Amateur sculptors, it seemed, were turning to the grocery store for their materials. Babybel, everyone’s favorite coin-sized wheels of cheese, were all of a sudden an unexpected source of artistic inspiration, with people taking to Twitter to flaunt a whole host of creations made from the iconic waxy red exteriors.

There was no inciting incident, it seemed. Rather, a burst of creativity led people to set aside their cheese wax (ew, weird phrase) and turn it into something beautiful, delicate, inspired. The results are quite endearing. Here are some of my favorites:

Some of them really are masterful. We here at Food52 were moved by the inventiveness, the sheer creativity of the art form. We thought, Hey, we could do that! And so we did. Or, at least, tried. Joanna, our managing editor, ever the fearless ringleader, showed up to our weekly editorial meeting with the goods in tow: four (four!!) bags of Babybel cheese. Over the course of an hour we twisted and prodded and molded the best and waxiest little sculptures our hearts and hands could muster.

Unsurprisingly, almost everything we made was food-related. First, Hana, our lifestyle editor, popped out a perfectly pinched dumpling. Then came an empanada, then Erin, our assistant editor of partner content, offered up the cutest gummy bear. Joanna put together a few different cheese waxes to create a mondo pretzel—told you she was fearless!! Then came Katie’s chocolate chip cookie and Brinda’s pizza and all the while Hana made like three more dumplings. I made a mushroom that everyone deemed too ugly to exist, so I crushed it. Oh, and Cory made a really cute pair of lips. Check out everything we were able to mold.

Don’t get it twisted. We get work done here at Food52, but sometimes a little play is in order. Plus, it’s so much more fun to do something with that wax instead of just throwing it out. Try it next time! Share your pictures online—who knows who they might inspire?

Are we weird or onto something? (Or both?) Tell us what you think in the comments below.