The Easiest Way to Make Beautiful Candles at Home
If you’re interested in making your own candles, the process is not as difficult as you may think. All you need are some basic materials. These materials can be purchased at your local craft store. Or, you can perform a search on the Internet and find all the items you need there. You’ll need wicks, a pound of beeswax, stearic acid, candle molds, vegetable oil, a double boiler, and a candy thermometer. If you want to make your candles smell good, you can buy fragrances to add to the wax. The range of fragrances available are virtually endless! You can choose French Vanilla, Apples ‘n Cinnamon, Lavender, Rose Petals, Homemade Apple Pie, and Mocha, just to name a few.
The first step in this project is to carefully heat the wax by placing it in a double boiler. Once the wax is melted, you’ll need to add approximately three teaspoons of stearic acid to it. The stearic acid helps the wax to harden properly. In the meantime, while the wax is melting in the double boiler, you should use a little vegetable oil to place a thin layer of lubricant on the inside of each candle mold. The vegetable oil will help the hardened wax release from the molds. The next step is to use a candy thermometer to check the temperature of the melted wax.
Once it reaches two hundred degrees Fahrenheit, you’ll need to remove it from the heat. Quickly stir in any fragrance you desire. Then, carefully fill each candle mold up. Allow each candle to just start to harden. Then, stick a wick all the way down into the wax of each mold. Each wick should be as long as the candle is tall, plus an inch of it should stick out of the top. Once the wax is completely cooled and hardened, carefully remove each candle from its mold.
The second way to make your own beautiful candles at home is even easier and safer than the first. It’s so safe, in fact, that your children can help you make candles too. The basic materials you’ll need are several sheets of beeswax, candle wicks, pretty ribbon, and a utility knife. Just like the blocks of wax that you melt, the sheets of beeswax come in a variety of colors too.
The first step in this project is to warm- do NOT melt- the wax sheets. You’ll need to make them pliable so they are easier to work with. An effective tool for warming the wax is a hand held hair dryer. If you want your candle to be smaller in size than one sheet of the beeswax, use the utility knife to cut the sheet down to size. (You can cut the sheets for your children so they don’t have to handle the sharp knife. Or, allow them to use a pair of scissors to do the task.) You’ll also need to cut a piece of wick
that’s an inch longer than the height that the candle is going to be.
The next step is to lay the wax sheet on a hard, flat surface. Place the wick along the edge. Now, roll the wax up while keeping the wick in place. As you roll the sheet of wax up, make sure to keep the ends even. Once the sheet is completely rolled up, hold it together with your fingers. You can stop at this point and finish your candle. Or, you can grab another sheet of wax- maybe a different color for effect- and roll the second sheet over the first one.
Actually, you can roll as many sheets of wax together as you desire to make your candle as thin or as wide as you want it to be. If you choose to add another sheet or more to your rolled candle, you should use a hot knife to seal the edges of each sheet before you continue onto the next layer. This will help to keep the layers of the candle intact.
Finally, when you’re done wrapping your candle, place a piece of colorful ribbon around its middle. Tie the ribbon into a snug bow. Your candle is now ready to burn or give as a gift!
