I don't consider myself the crafty type, but attempting to make my own candles was a project I decided to take on for my monthly clean living column in clean eating magazine. It actually turned out to be pretty easy and you can make 6 candles for $5 each!
what you need:
glue gun
6 pre-tabbed naturally coated cotton wicks
6 8 oz jars or containers
6 clothespins
double boiler or a pot and a heat safe bowl
pouring pitcher
spatula
scissors
ingredients:
3 lbs soy wax flakes 1 1/2 qt melted)
3 tbsp vanilla essential oil
** if you can't find pre-tabbed wicks you can by the cotton wick and cut it down to size. Then dip each wick into melted soy wax to coat them, feed them through metal tabs, and glue a small piece of the end down. Then you can glue that to the bottom of the jar/container.
Glue the wicks to the bottom centre of each jar.
Position a clothespin horizontally across each jar to hold the wicks in place.
Melt wax in a double boiler or in a heat safe bowl over a pot of boiling water. If you can't fit all the soy wax flakes into the pot at once, then just add them gradually as they melt.
Once all the flakes are melted transfer the liquid wax to a pouring pitcher and add 3 tbsp of vanilla essential oil and stir with a spatula until it's no longer separating. You could also use other seasonal scents like lemon, pine, or cinnamon.
Carefully pour the wax into each jar filling it just below the top edge. Use the spatula to get all the wax from the sides of the pitcher.
tip: if you spill wax, don't worry! Soy wax scrapes off surfaces easily and can be removed from fabric in the wash. Save any leftover wax in the same pitcher. You can melt it again if you need to fill a hole or level off the candles.
Once the wax has been poured do not move the candles. Allow them to set for 24 hours.
Once set, trim the wicks to 1/4"
Decorate the jars with lids, ribbons, and personalized gift tags... and now you fancy and crafty!
