Homemade Candles

Recently, I rediscovered a bunch of childhood crafty favourites during an attic clear out. A few of them I donated to charity, but there were others I just couldn't part with before exploring them again. Can you tell I'm enjoying having more time on my hands?!

One kit I found was a candle making kit containing moulds and everything you would need to make your own personal candles for the home. But the kit isn't necessary, it's just handy, so I thought I would share the process in case you want to brighten up your own home!

What you will need:

Most of these can be found around the home, or can be purchased on Amazon.

• A mould 
• String of wick
• Wax pellets
• A large pan
• An old smaller pan
• Wax crayons (optional)
• Fragrance oil (optional)

Preparation

First, you need to prepare your mould. I used a small Yankee Candle jar from an old candle, soaked it in hot water to remove the labels, and washed out the excess wax from inside with hot water, then dried the jar thoroughly. I also carefully used a knife to remove the rubber seal on the lid as that was the part retaining the smell - as much as I loved burning Candy Cane Lane, I didn't want that scent in my new candle!

After this, measure the amount of wick you will need from the very top of your mould to it's base, and leave a couple of centimetres before chopping. Tie one end of this around a small rod (or a teaspoon, or anything that will balance over the rim of your mould). It helps to dip this carefully in hot wax before starting, to help keep the wick straight during the making process. 

Make sure the wick is balanced fairly centrally in your mould, and you're reading to begin!

Making the candle

Pour boiling water into the larger pan until it is about a quarter full. Then, place the smaller pan (I used an old bowl that was going to be disposed of anyway) into the large pan of water, and turn on the heat to about mid-way.

Depending on how you want to make the candle, you will need to spoon the right amount of wax pellets into the bowl/small pan. This can be quite difficult to estimate, but for the size of my candle jar I think around 8-10 tablespoons would have filled it.

However, I wanted a stripy candle (adventurous, I know) so I used 2 tablespoons of wax pellets to begin with. I added to the small pan 2-3 drops of fragrance oil (I opted for The Body Shop's Sandalwood and Ginger) as well as carefully chopping a tiny amount of red and blue wax crayons, which I was hoping would come out a lovely purple shade. It was all a bit trial and error, but I imagine that the more you make them, the better you become at it! I opted for pink and purple stripes - nice and girly!

I stirred the mixture over the heat until fully melted, then carefully poured it into my mould, taking care not to move the rod holding the wick in place. It is important to let this cool for a while, until the full layer has lightened and set, before starting each new layer.

Repeat the process as many times as is necessary, using different colours to create the desired effect.

Once finished, leave the candle to cool and set completely (this will usually take several hours) before burning.

Variations

I was thinking about different ways that I could create different effects in the future as I have a lot of wax pellets left. Here are some ideas that I came up with.

• Stir a candle with a fork whilst it is setting in the mould to create a whipped candle
• Tilt the mould whilst pouring so that the wax sets at different angles
• Use different colours and scents
• Try different moulds
• Add glitter!

There are so many different ways that home made candles can be personalised. If you think of any other different ideas I could try, I would love to hear them. Or if you make one of your own, it would be great to see a picture!

Have you ever made your own candle? What would your dream candle variation look like?

Thanks for reading! x