Making Candles

Don't get started making your candles just to find out you forgot one vital element. Set up your workspace and keep everything handy.


Things You'll Need:

Wooden Spoons Candle Dyes

Candy Thermometer Candle Molds

Candle Wax Stearine

Fire Extinguishers Candle Wicks

Pot holders Aprons

Crayola Crayons 16-packs Kitchen Utility Knives

Candle Scents Scissors

Double Boilers


Preparation Steps:

1. Don some old clothes, an apron, or a smock.

2. Find a clean, level work area that has access to water and heat.

3. Cover the surfaces with brown or waxed paper or aluminum foil, or use a large cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Avoid using newspapers ' ink could get imbedded in the wax.

4. Buy paraffin wax or beeswax and wicks at a candle supply shop. Use 18-ply wicks for 2-inch candles, 24-ply for 3-inch candles, and 30-ply for 4-inch candles.

5. Choose a mold. These can be bought or you can use objects around the house: milk cartons, glasses, plastic gelatin molds, coffee cans, bowls, muffin tins, or rubber balls. Just be sure that your mold can resist and endure the heat and weight of molten wax.

6. Make sure the mold is clean and completely dry.

7. Set your other gear nearby where you can easily reach it. You'll need a candy thermometer, double boiler, hammer or ice pick for breaking up the wax block, a hot plate or stovetop, pot holders, color and scent for your candles, scissors, vegetable oil or silicone spray, wood skewers or chopsticks, and a wooden spoon for stirring wax.

Tips:

If using ceramic or glass molds, select ones that are wider at the top than at the bottom to allow candle to slip smoothly out of the mold. You don't want to have to break the mold to release the candle.

Paraffin wax is cheaper and works just as well as beeswax.

All of these supplies can be found at a candle supply store. Ask the supplier for recommendations on how much wax to purchase.


Prepare Mold and Wick

This is how to prepare the candle mold and set up the wick before pouring the wax.

Steps:

1. Lubricate the inside of the mold lightly with silicone spray or vegetable oil.

2. Measure the length of the mold and cut the wick 2 to 3 inches longer than you will need when it's finished.

3. Fasten one end of the wick to a wick tab and place the tab in the bottom center of the mold.

4. Hold the wick tab in place with a spot of melted wax.

5. Pull the other end of the wick up to the top and tie it loosely to a pencil or chopstick that spans the opening at the top of the mold.

6. Be sure the wick is straight and centered. You are now ready to pour the wax.


Tips:

The wick can be inserted after the wax is poured. It's a matter of personal preference. This is done by sinking the wick tab in the hot wax.


Melt the Wax

Melting wax may sound like an easy task, but one must keep safety in mind and do it right, or risk ending up with a big mess.

Steps:

1. Make sure the pot that the wax will go in is clean and completely dry.

2. Break up the paraffin block with a hammer and/or ice pick so that you have smaller chunks to work with.

3. Make a double boiler by filling half of a large saucepan with water and placing a smaller saucepan or a coffee can inside. No water should be in the smaller pot.

4. Put several chunks of wax into the top of the double boiler and set the heat on high.

5. Stir the wax frequently as it heats.

6. Use a candy thermometer to monitor the temperature of the wax. The melting point of paraffin is about 125 degrees F.

7. Prepare to pour the wax when it reaches its pouring temperature. This depends on the mold material. Metal molds require the wax to be between 180 and 200 degrees F. For paper cartons, glass, rubber, etc., the pouring temperature is 130 to 150 degrees F.

Tips:

Determine the amount of wax you need by filling the mold with water, then pouring the water into the pot that will be used to melt the wax. Mark the water line in the pot with a crayon, pour out the water, and dry the pot.

Turn the heat down if the wax temperature approaches 210 degrees F

Make The Candle

One-Piece Mold

Steps:

1. Choose your wax, mold and wick or check out the other links in the candle forum to find out how to make your own.

2. Melt wax in a double boiler until it reaches pouring temperature. (See Related eHows.)

3. Tilt the mold and pour the wax smoothly down the sides. Fill mold to within a couple of inches from the top.

4. Gently tap the mold to release air bubbles in the wax.

5. Poke a skewer or chopstick down along the wick occasionally to release air bubbles forming there.

6. Watch for the candle to shrink as it cools. Top off the wax to the original level.

7. Put the cooled candle and mold in the refrigerator for 10 minutes or so.

8. Turn the mold upside down over a clean towel. The candle should slide out.

9. Hold it by the wick only and polish the candle with a nylon stocking, or spray it with candle spray or clear shoe polish spray.

10. Untie the wick and trim it to ½ inch above the top of the candle.

11. Even out the bottom of the candle by heating it on a warm skillet or hot plate and letting it melt until the base is level

Adding Colour and Scents

Steps:

1. Melt the candle wax completely.

2. Stir in about 4 tbs. of stearine (also called stearic acid) per pound of paraffin. Stearine helps make the wax harder and the candle easier to remove from the mold.

3. Add colouring. Candle dyes come in liquid, block or flake forms. Use a potato peeler or kitchen knife to cut pieces from dye blocks.

4. Stir the coloring into the melted wax.

5. Test the colour by dripping a few drops of wax onto a white plate and sticking it in the freezer. After a couple of minutes the drops will be cool and you can see the true colour your candle will be.

6. Prepare the mold and wick (see Related eHows).

7. Add scent by shaving off a few pieces from a scent block or adding 1/8 oz. of undiluted candle scent for every pound of wax.

8. Stir the wax to distribute the fragrance evenly.

9. You're now ready to pour the wax into the mold!

Tips:

Adding colour and scent is a personal preference. Experiment with different combinations.

Crayons will add interesting colours to a candle, but don't use them as the primary colourant. They tend to glob up around the wick, and the candle won't burn well.

It's best to use dyes made for coloring candles.

Avoid essential oils, which are generally not designed for the intense heating of candle wax. Scented lamp ring oils are an inexpensive way to go.