candle

Making candles has always been a fun and enjoyable pastime. Candles, particularly scented candles, are incredibly popular and they add a certain warmth and fragrance to any home. They can however be expensive to purchase, which is why you may want to learn how to make your own.

Learning how to make scented candles can be simple, as long as you get the necessary supplies and take the appropriate steps.

Supplies

Of course before you get started learning how to make scented candles you will have to get the necessary supplies. Wax, wicks, fragrances, and dyes are the staples, but there are various other items you may want to supply yourself with as well. You will also need a heat source your oven will work fine for this, as well as a double boiler, thermometer, candle mold, and kitchen skewers.

Process

Now you can really start having fun and making your candles. The first step in the process of learning how to make scented candles is to have all of your equipment ready. You do not want to have to leave the room while making your candles to get something you forget, so check and double check that you have everything you are going to need in arm’s reach.

Now you are going to have to melt the wax. You should never let it boil but rather keep the heat at a lower level and allow the wax to heat up slowly. Once the wax has melted the next step in learning how to make scented candles is to add the dye. The best idea is to just add a bit of dye at a time so that you can ensure you are getting the exact color you want. After all you can always add more if you want but you cannot take dye out once it has been added.

Adding the fragrance is the next step and usually a half teaspoon of scent will work fine, but if you want a stronger smelling candle you may want to add another half teaspoon to the mixture as well.

Now you need to pour the wax into the mold and allow it to cool. You should never touch the sides of your mold and remember to poke at the candle several times, typically at twenty minute intervals. This will help to release any air from the mold and ensure that your candles are solid and strong.

The process of learning how to make scented candles is one that is really quite easy and a lot of fun as well. It is even something that you could do with your kids, as long as you take care when heating the wax.

The process of learning how to make oil candles is really quite simple. Learning how to make oil candles will not only be fun and enjoyable for you but also quite useful, as you can make candles and give them out as gifts to your friends and family members. Everyone loves candles, especially oil candles as they are more natural and also they do not drip as regular candles do.

The First Step

When it comes to learning how to make oil candles, the first thing you are going to have to do is gather your ingredients. It will be quite interesting to learn how to make oil candles on your own, especially if you make scented oil candles. This is because there are so many wonderful varieties to choose from and use to create a different atmosphere in your home.

All the ingredients that you will require for this project can be found in any local craft store or market, and the best idea is to collect a variety of wax, wicks, dye, and fragrance oil so that you have a good selection and will not have to worry about running out to the store to get something you have forgotten.

Getting Started

Now that you have the necessary ingredients and are ready to go, you can really get started on learning how to make oil candles. First you want to heat the wax, and remember that you should never boil or use the microwave to heat your wax. Not only will this make the wax turn out undesirable for candle making but as well this can be very dangerous.

Always make a point to use the double boiler procedure as there will be two pots inside this boiler and in one you can heat the wax while in the other you can heat water. Remember that you will also want to have a candle thermometer handy which you can use to keep track of the temperature of the wax as you are melting it.

Once you have melted the wax you want to add the dyes and fragrance as desired. The amount of each that you should add will depend on the quantity of wax you have melted as well as on how colorful and potent you want the candles to be.

Once you have completed this, the last step in learning how to make oil candles is to pour the wax into pre-wicked jars and then let the wax cool. You should give the wax at least twelve hours to cool but a full day is always the best idea.

The use of unity candles in Protestant weddings is a relatively new tradition and its use is open to different interpretations with many variations possible and they can even be especially made to suit the needs of the bridal couple. Unity candles are simple and they are also very symbolic which is ideally suited for use in a simple as well as symbolic act such as the Protestant wedding. There are also several methods involved in making a unity candle, and among them is making one on your own.

Prices Are Thrice As Expensive

There are many good reasons why you would want to opt for making a unity candle on your own and among them is that the price, when making a unity candle on your own is sure to be one third of what will have to pay when buying from a store. The only difference would be that the specialist companies add a few glitzy decorations, while you will use your personal items to give your unity candle a special touch. Also, when you buy your unity candle from a supplier, the product you get will be rather impersonal, and when you can take the tradition and add your own personal touch, it would seem that making a unity candle is a more worthwhile endeavor that is also a good alternative to store bough unity candles.

The most important thing when making a unity candle is to find the proper candle, and in this regard you need to choose a size that is suitable and which will allow you to be more creative and hence lets you give best expression to your candle making skills. All that it requires is to buy a candle to which you need to spray clear acrylic paint or epoxy in a thin layer so that you get a sticky surface that will make a good canvas for your candle making skills.

The next step in making a unity candle is to place pictures, wedding charms and mementos which are reflections of your personal memories, because the idea in making a unity candle is to create something that you can call your own and which is not something impersonal that has been bought from a store.

You can now proceed to paint on the spaces that require filling and a good idea is to use colors that reflect your personalities, and maybe even the wedding theme. Next, you can complete the making a unity candle by applying one more coat of acrylic paint in a thin layer so as to seal everything.

Once you are through with the sealing, you can then add other decorations and use glue to fix things such as ribbons and laces, though remember also that you are free to create any kind of unity candle that suits your fancy the best. That’s all that there really is to making a unity candle.

Candle making is an exceptionally rewarding hobby and craft. Nowadays, when everybody is looking for an avenue to earn a little extra over their salary, candle making comes as boon. This is because it can be developed as a hobby that gives tremendous satisfaction as well as a craft that can be used for setting up a profitable cottage business.

Where You Get the Know-How to Make Your Own Candles

There are many ways which you could use to learn how to make your own candles both as a hobby and as a side business. The first option is always the Internet where there is a wealth of free information waiting to be discovered. Try patiently to reach as many websites as you can that explain step by step how to make your own candles. If you do your research on the Internet well, you would not need any other input.

Many people however, even today, are not very comfortable with the internet or they do not have an easy access to it. In that case you could choose to attend special classes which teach you within a certain period of time how to make your own candles as a professional. The advantage with this method is that it guides you at every step and hence you are likely to learn very fast and accumulate enough experience while doing so.

There is yet another avenue left open for you, i.e. learn from your close friends in an informal and unstructured way. This is also a very feasible way to learn how to make your own candles; however, this would take a longer time because it would depend upon coordinating time in such a way that both you and your friend have some common free time which you could be used for learning and practicing the candle making.

What Other Ways Are There to Make Your Own Candles?

You could always make your own candles with the help of candle making kits that are available easily in the market. A word of warning though – the kits are very easy to do as they give everything you need as material as well as step by step instructions. This option is good for getting the initial idea about candle making; but not one that you could use regularly as a hobby or for business purposes.

If you are serious about learning candle making, you need to find a way that would teach you the method and at the same time allow you to learn through the trial and error method as this is the only way in which you could understand the process and master it.

Candle making is an exceptionally rewarding hobby and craft. Nowadays, when everybody is looking for an avenue to earn a little extra over their salary, candle making comes as boon. This is because it can be developed as a hobby that gives tremendous satisfaction as well as a craft that can be used for setting up a profitable cottage business.

Where You Get the Know-How to Make Your Own Candles

There are many ways which you could use to learn how to make your own candles both as a hobby and as a side business. The first option is always the Internet where there is a wealth of free information waiting to be discovered. Try patiently to reach as many websites as you can that explain step by step how to make your own candles. If you do your research on the Internet well, you would not need any other input.

Many people however, even today, are not very comfortable with the internet or they do not have an easy access to it. In that case you could choose to attend special classes which teach you within a certain period of time how to make your own candles as a professional. The advantage with this method is that it guides you at every step and hence you are likely to learn very fast and accumulate enough experience while doing so.

There is yet another avenue left open for you, i.e. learn from your close friends in an informal and unstructured way. This is also a very feasible way to learn how to make your own candles; however, this would take a longer time because it would depend upon coordinating time in such a way that both you and your friend have some common free time which you could be used for learning and practicing the candle making.

What Other Ways Are There to Make Your Own Candles?

You could always make your own candles with the help of candle making kits that are available easily in the market. A word of warning though – the kits are very easy to do as they give everything you need as material as well as step by step instructions. This option is good for getting the initial idea about candle making; but not one that you could use regularly as a hobby or for business purposes.

If you are serious about learning candle making, you need to find a way that would teach you the method and at the same time allow you to learn through the trial and error method as this is the only way in which you could understand the process and master it.

Candle making is a fun craft that you can do with your kids, and they can give the candles they make as gifts for birthdays and holidays. You could shop individually for all the supplies you need to make candles with your kids, but why not purchase a kids’ candle making kit instead? Once you understand the different kinds of kids’ candle making kits that are available, you can pick out a kit and make candles the next time the kids are stuck inside on a rainy day, weekend, or school holiday.

Gel Candle Craft Kits

Gel candle making kits are perfect for kids because you don’t have to melt wax to use them. Melting wax means getting out the double boiler, making sure you have wax blocks on hand, keeping kids away from the stove, being super cautious when you pour the hot wax, and waiting for the wax to cool. Then you have to clean everything up. Don’t get me wrong; hard wax candles are beautiful. But there are times when you want to make candles with your kids without all the drama of melting wax.

With gel candles, candle draws fuel from the gel instead of from wax. A gel kids’ candle making kit comes with clear glass candle jars to pour the gel into, colored candle gel tubes, and special colored chips or other objects that are suspended in the gel to add color and interest to the candle. You can purchase a gel candle making kit for kids that makes a dozen gel candles for about $30.

Beeswax Candle Making Kits for Kids

Beeswax candle kits are another extremely popular craft for kids to do, again because no heat or melting is required. You get sheets of different colored beeswax in the kit and some wicks in your kids’ candle making kit. The idea behind beeswax candles is to roll the wick up inside a sheet of beeswax. No parental supervision is needed until it’s time to cut the wick or light the finished candle.

Beeswax is an outstanding wax for making candles. It burns long and has a natural fragrance that doesn’t seem to upset allergies. With several different colors of beeswax to work with, kids can create multicolored candles with stripes and solid colored candles with different colored bases.

When you get your beeswax candle making kit, if the wax is too stiff, warm it up to make it easier to work with. Just heat the oven to 200 degrees and then turn the oven off. Put one sheet of beeswax in the warm oven for two minutes and take it out. It will be pliable enough to roll around the wick. A beeswax candle making kit for kids can be purchased for under $20.

Scented candles have never been more popular. Fragrant candlelight is a mainstay of the aromatherapy business; fragrant candlelight relieves stress and promotes a sense of calm. There will always be a market for candles, whether they are handmade or factory made. Opening and marketing a candle making business are excellent ways to capitalize on the candle craze.

Using the Internet to Market a Candle Making Business

If you have a candle making business, then you must have an internet presence. Internet domain names are cheap, and if your business doesn’t already have a name, you should consider choosing a business name that is available as a website domain.

Once you have a website, you need to drive traffic to it. Put lots of candle-related content on your site that contain phrases that people search for on the Internet, like candles, votives, history of candle making, etc. Spread the address of your web site around everywhere you go. Put it in your email signature and list it on your business cards. Print it on the labels you use on your candles.

Using Seasonal Marketing for a Candle Making Business

One marketing plan for a candle making business revolves around the holidays in the year. For example, in January, you’ll mark down holiday candles and advertise a clearance sale so you can reduce Christmas and New Year overstock. Be sure to display football-themed candles for Superbowl Sunday and heart-shaped candles for Valentines Day. Your clearance customers will want to buy candles for those occasions, too.

Using Email and Direct Mail for Marketing a Candle Making Business

Create an email newsletter that calls out special sales and inventory changes in your business. As February gives way to March, consumers are ready to put away their heavy winter décor and get ready for spring.

Write your newsletter articles about the fresh spring scented candles you’ll be selling to bring spring smells of rain and flowers indoors. Leave an email sign-up sheet at your cash register so customers can sign up for mailings. Ask every customer for their name and address so you can develop a direct mail database for your newsletter.

Using Promotions for Marketing a Candle Making Business

Premiums and promotions are an excellent way to market a candle making business. Customers love free gifts, and offering a free candle every month is a great way to get customers inside the store. Create a candle of the month email club and offer one free candle to customers who come to the store during that month.

Using Attractive Displays for Marketing a Candle Making Business

Once you attract customers to your candle making business, be sure to lure them into making a purchase by tempting them with beautiful interior displays that illustrate how great your candles will look in their homes with their décor.

During Medieval times, candle making was an important art. Since electricity had not yet been invented, the only interior light available came from torches, oil lamps, and candles. Cavernous castle rooms were sometimes lit by chandeliers fitted with candles.

Recent times have seen a renewed interest in the Middle Ages and Medieval times. It seems there is a great fascination these days with everything related to knights and their ladies and the renaissance

Candle Making During Medieval Times

Medieval candle making meant dealing with beeswax. Candles made during medieval times were made of beeswax secreted by bees as they built their honeycombs. Previously, candles had been made with animal fat, or tallow. The major disadvantage of using tallow was that it generated a lot of smoke as it burned. You could tell the minute you walked into a room whether the room was lit with tallow candles, because tallow-lit rooms were smoky rooms.

With beeswax candles, rooms could be brightly lit without being filled with smoke. Beeswax candles were a major advancement in interior lighting, and we owe today’s beeswax candles to the medieval candle making craftsmen of the Middle Ages.

Make Your Own Candles – Medieval Style

If you want to make candles like the craftsmen who practiced medieval candle making, you’ll need beeswax, a length of wool string for a wick, a stick to suspend the wick from, a drop cloth, a knife, a ladle or large spoon, and a cookie sheet.

Work outside if possible, because medieval candle making can make a medieval mess. Cover your work area with a drop cloth and melt the beeswax over a double boiler. Cut the wick to the length of your finished candle plus four inches. Tie the wick to a stick and balance the stick across two chairs or sawhorses so it can hang down into the wax pot.

Place a cookie sheet under the wick to catch wax drips. Using the spoon or ladle, dip the melted beeswax out of the melting pot and pour wax down the sides of the wick. Coat the entire length of the wick with wax. Let the wax cool slightly, and then repeat the process until the candle is the diameter you want.

Manipulate the wax while it’s still warm to create a pleasant tapered shape. Be sure the wax is cool enough so you don’t burn your hands. After you are happy with the shape of your medieval candle, hang your candle by the wick so the wax can harden. Medieval candle making included a bleaching process where the finished candle was hunt out in the sun where it faded naturally.

If you’ve been making candles for a while, or if you’re thinking about starting your own candle making business, you’ve probably wondered about mixing paraffin and beeswax to make candles. After all, beeswax is expensive, and learning to make candles by mixing paraffin and beeswax could allow you to make more candles for the same amount of money.

Differences between Paraffin and Beeswax

Before you even think about mixing paraffin and beeswax to make your candles, you need to know what the differences between the two waxes and what will happen if you combine them.

Beeswax is an animal product: a natural substance harvested from beehives. Bees secrete wax when they store honey in their beehives, and beekeepers collect the beeswax for processing into candle making supplies. Beeswax is more expensive than paraffin, and it makes a very hard candle.

If you have any doubt whether your beeswax candles are made of 100 per cent beeswax, press your thumbnail into the bottom of the candle. The candle should be very hard and should resist any indentation from your thumbnail. Candles made of beeswax burn slowly and evenly and emit a pleasant natural aroma of honey when they burn.

Paraffin is a mineral product: a natural substance harvested from the earth. Paraffin wax is less expensive than beeswax, and it makes softer candles and must be mixed with stearic acid to make it hard enough to make candles.

Formulas for Mixing Paraffin and Beeswax to Make Candles

What formula you use to blend paraffin and beeswax depends on the kind of candle you want to make. With dipped candles, you need to add stearic acid to your wax blend to make the wax set up. Dipped candles are made by dipping a length of wick in hot wax, letting that layer of wax set, dipping the wick again, letting that layer set, and repeating the process until the candle reaches the desired thickness.

Molded candles can be made with a straight 50/50 mix of paraffin and beeswax. Mixing paraffin and beeswax to make molded candles is easy; just add equal amounts of paraffin and beeswax to your double boiler. You can even re-melt old candle stubs if you don’t mind a few imperfections in your finished candles. Be sure to mix the waxes thoroughly, and hold the temperature between 165 and 185 degrees. As always, never leave melting wax unattended.

After the wax is completely melted, stir in any desired additives. The addition of paraffin will mute the natural fragrance of the beeswax, so you may want to add fragrance that will enhance the aroma of honey. Select natural plant scents of fruits and flowers that bees pollinate: vanilla, lavender, rose, apple blossom, and cherry. Mixing paraffin and beeswax to make candles can be a fun, rewarding project and an economical way to reuse your old candle stubs.

There are a few different materials that candle making molds are made from, plastic being one of the most popular. This is because plastic is such a viable and versatile material, one that can flex and fold how you need it. With plastic candle making molds you can create whatever shapes and sizes of candles you want.

Making Candles

Once you have your plastic candle making molds and other necessary supplies, then you can really start having fun and start making candles. The first thing you are going to have to do is spread newspaper around the candle making area so that if you make a mess it will just get on the newspapers which you can throw out.

Then you will need to melt your wax, which typically will be paraffin wax but there are other types you can use as well. Usually to do this you would place a large pot that is about half-filled with water on a burner over low to medium heat and once the wax has melted you can add coloring and fragrance to it as desired.

To make molded candles you will need to have your plastic candle making molds handy, and cut the wick two inches taller than you want the candle to be, to ensure that you will have a length of wick leftover once the candle is finished.

Then all you need to do is to thread the wicks through the hole at the bottom of the plastic candle making molds, and plug the outside of all the holes with putty. Once you have done this you want to place a pencil over the top of the plastic candle making molds and tie the top of the wicks to these, centering the wick. This will help hold the wick up straight while the wax is drying.

Take your time when pouring the wax into the molds, and let cool for at least twelve hours then refrigerate for twelve hours more. After this your candles are ready to be removed and you can decorate them as you please.

Candle making is not only fun and enjoyable but also a great idea for gifts. You can make your own candles and give them out to your family and friends. Just remember not to get frustrated even if your first few candle making experiences do not turn out that well. Patience is a key factor here and remember that the more candles you make the better you are going to be.