homemade candles

Remember last year when I made that lemon sugar scrub? Well this year I tried my hand at candle making. It was actually a lot easier than I thought it was going to be, and the candles turned out great. These make great gifts as well as are just fun (and cheap) to make for yourself.

 

 

 

ingredients:
container for candle (crystal, mug, tea cup, decorative bowl)
candle wax (I used this soy wax - soy candles burn slower and last longer)
candle wicks (if you choose to use soy wax, make sure to buy soy wicks!)
fragrance
candle dye (optional)
hot glue gun
double boiler or you can jimmy rig one like I did

directions:
attach wicks to the center of your candle container with a glue gun
wrap wicks over something like a pen/chopstick/skewer that's wider than the mouth of your container
melt wax in a double boiler*
stir wax as it melts (add dye if using)
once melted, remove from heat and add fragrance
pour into containers and let sit for 3-5 hours depending on the size
trim wicks & enjoy!

*If you don't have a double boiler you can put your wax in a bowl that will fit over the top of a pot filled with boiling water (if you don't have that, you can put your wax in a tea pot on top of a piece of wood in a pot of boiling water - you know whatever) basically you want to melt the wax without putting it on direct heat, they actually sell melting pots for candle wax but I decided it wasn't worth the money. The reason I used a tea pot instead of a large bowl was because I wanted a spout on it to be able to pour easily.

The biggest problem I discovered was not using enough wax. I had read that you needed roughly twice the amount of wax chips of whatever size container you will be using, but I would say 2.5 or maybe even three times the amount. I can't say for sure because I ended up adding and melting more wax, and then again didn't melt enough for all the candles, but didn't feel like melting yet more wax. Basically you need a lot more wax then you think! I will wait and finish that last candle when I gather some more containers and can make several at once. I found those cute crystal glasses at a thrift store in town and I thought they were perfect! I think they turned out really cute, and my friends seemed to like them too. :)