Making some homemade candles

[kev]

This past weekend my wife made a bunch of candles. She used pint jars, half pint jars and some other jars to make about 30 candles.

The wicks are 6 inches long, which work really well for the pint jars, but you lose a litle bit when you trim the wick on 1/2 pint jars.

YouTube- Homemade Candles 101

[The Saint]

Originally Posted by kev

This past weekend my wife made a bunch of candles. She used pint jars, half pint jars and some other jars to make about 30 candles.

The wicks are 6 inches long, which work really well for the pint jars, but you lose a litle bit when you trim the wick on 1/2 pint jars.

YouTube- Homemade Candles 101

oh very cool, where did she get the stuff?

[kev]

Kristy said she gets most of her stuff from Lone Star Candle Supply.

If your interested in getting started in making your own candles, that lone star candle is supposed to offer a starter kit.

[Ramona M. Faunce]

Thank you for the candle demonstration.

[earth2]

I used to make candles...how do you keep them from sinking down in the middle?

[Fortkevin2]

Very very cool. I had been thinking about this the other day. Thanks Kev and please tell your wife great job and thanks also!!

[kev]

Originally Posted by earth2

I used to make candles...how do you keep them from sinking down in the middle?

If they sink down too much - this might be from the candles cooling too fast. Try putting the candle on a candle heater plate.

I took this picture just for your question. This little hot plate is designed to heat candles in jars so they release their scent. Its a way of getting that candle smell, but without the fire risk.

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Some candles cooling with popsicle sticks holding the wicks in place.

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Wax melting on the pot.

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More candles cooling.

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[bulrush]

I've made both the paraffin/wax candles and the gel candles. Both are easy to make, but I've never had good luck using cotton string as a wick, I buy regular wicks. The gel candles seem to give off a lot more soot so I don't prefer those anymore.

[letsgetreal]

As a glass man, I have to say to make sure the glass can handle direct flame........many will break and some will expode. We have forgone the whole candle concept( soot and fire hazard) and went to LED. My DW likes candles, so she gets tea candles for $1 a dozen( at DG) and then we drop them into approved candle sconces.

[tntkln]

I have never thought to leave the candles in something! Those look so neat and fun to make Thank you for sharing Kev and Kristy!

[Haffenreffer]

My family has got too much candles

All those candle gift boxes that they've got over the years without using them

[bulrush]

Kev,
You inspired me to get a real candle mold. I got a 2 inch wide by 8 inch high mold and made 2 candles. It works great. I do spray the inside with Pam before pouring though.

I like the 2 inch wide candles because they burn longer than tapers, and burn more thoroughly than a larger piller candle without much waste wax when it's done burning.

BTW, at the craft stores, this mold is $18. I got mine on Ebay for $5, includes shipping.

[veggieboy]

Originally Posted by earth2

I used to make candles...how do you keep them from sinking down in the middle?

i commonly have that problem..... If it doesn't sink too much, i'll poke a little hole in the cooling wax and just "top it off' with some more to make it level.....

Also, i've been saving the left over bits of old candles... i melt them in a double burner, pick out the old wicks and any debris floating around, and pour the wax into the molds.... Seems to work... Those candles won't be winning any beauty contests thought -- some of them are downright ugly.... They work, but they just don't look pretty......

[wyldflwr]

You can go to almost any craft store and buy wax. For hand dipped tapers the best way to go is about 40/60 bees wax to parafin for smokeless burning. The best wicks to use are cotton without the metal insert in the wicking.

If you are going to make candles in a jar, be sure to use a bit of additive to help soften the wax somewhat, better results in a jar. I also use the 40/60 method for anything in a jar that I'm making and don't have to add anything else.

I use a couple of old coffee cans that my husband put a bend in at the rim for pouring, and a couple of old household pans with water in them. Set the coffee cans inside the pans filled with water, melt the wax over boiling water, pour and you're done. A hint, when you're drying the wax you'll get a little dip in the wax near the wick. Poke this once in a while with a chopstick or whatever as it's drying and you'll keep out air bubbles and cave ins, then you can top off with a little more wax at the end and it will dry and be nice and even on top.

[bulrush]

The chain craft stores are a huge ripoff. Paraffin is $30 for 10 lbs. there. On Ebay, with shipping, it's $21. I remember when the 1 lb packages at the store were $1. Now they are $2.50. Is this because paraffin is a waste product of oil production?

[iceman121]

Great thread. I have been thinking of getting into candle making. mostly cuz i have tons of burned up candles that still have lot of wax to them. just empty in the middle lol

[bulrush]

Iceman,
If you melt all the colors together it will work, but it will be ugly as sin. Instead, I melt one color at a time, pour it into the mold, let sit for 4 hours, then melt another color and add to my mold until the mold is full. That way my candles come out stripey.

[craftsmaster]

Cool! Here's some safety tips to make your candles.

Before you begin melting wax, make sure a working fire extinguisher is within easy reach. I'm really not trying to frighten you, but I want to give you a realistic outlook on the potential dangers of melting wax.

Wax is not like chicken soup. You don't put it on the stove and walk away from it. You never leave melting wax unattended -- ever. Let me clue you in on one aspect of melting wax right away. The time it takes for the wax to melt from its original solid state seems as if it takes forever.

But once you get that wax to start the melting process, it begins to liquefy, the temperature rises quickly -- very quickly. It's just a safety tip head ups!

[GunGourd]

I would like to add something to craftmaster's post. I have heard that wax can become superheated very easily. This means that it is above its boiling point, but it does not have something to form a bubble upon (usually an imperfection in the bottom of side of the vessel). Which means that when you move it, or put a spoon in it, it instantly, all of it, begins to boil. So please, watch out. And please protect yourselves. I do not want anyone to be burned by wax. It is very horrible. When you wipe it off, it takes your skin with it.

[Lowdown3]

We keep bees and a lot of people say- "do you do it for the wax?"

Nope. It takes an inordinate amount of bees wax to make one small candle. You would likely need 100+ hives to get enough candle wax for half a lighting season. Course people will likely be going earlier also.