I wanted to take a moment to promote "How to Make Candle Basics" blog's sister site: Homemade Candles. This is a blog that complements the general information you will find here on How to Make Candle Basics with actual candle making projects you can do at home.
The first project you will find on the blog is a candle project that I first did when I was three or four years old: sandbox candles. I believe this early childhood experience that I had with making candles significantly impacted my interest in candlemaking in my adult years. Sandbox candles are a fun and educational project that is suitable for both children and adults - you could even have a sandbox candle making party!
Be sure to bookmark Homemade Candles so you can check back and see new candle projects as they are posted overtime. Happy candle making!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Candlemaking Basics: What You Need
If you are interested in learning how to make candles, you should be pleasantly surprised to learn that this is a hobby which does not entail a lot of costs upfront. In fact, many of the basic supplies you need to make candles can be already found in your kitchen, or easily crafted at home.
Basic Candlemaking Equipment
A Pan for Melting Wax - If you happen to have an old saucepan, particularly an old saucepan with a lip for pouring, you can use that for melting the wax. Although some candle makers use double boilers to melt wax, if you keep a good eye when heating wax and do not let it accidentally overheat and burn, a saucepan should work fine.
Thermometer - A regular cooking or candy thermometer should work fine for candlemaking as long as it can measure temperatures between 120 degrees and 250 degrees.
Dipping Can - If you are planning on making tapers, you will want a tall, fairly thin container to dip the candles. Although expensive ones can be bought for this purpose from candlemaking supply companies, you can easily improvise using a large can found at a yard sale or at home. Just make sure the can is at least 1 inch taller than the height of the finished tapers.
Scale - A basic kitchen scale will help you weigh materials, particularly wax.
Water Bath Container - This can be any large container, and is useful for cooling molded candles.
Candle Molds - If you are making molded candles instead of tapers, you will need molds to pour the wax in. Again, there are a variety of beautiful, but often pricey, molds available - but molds can also be easily improvised at home. Any container that does not have an overhang that would prevent you from easily removing the candle should work, as long as it is suitable for hot wax. Some people use drinking glasses, yogurt containers and even stiff cardboard containers (like milk containers) as candle molds.
Basic Candlemaking Materials
There are two basic elements to a candle - the wax and the wick:
Candle Wax - Paraffin wax is by far the most popular, and probably the easiest to use wax for the beginning candle maker. The standard all-purpose wax that you find at your local craft store should do the job. It should have a melting point around 133-140 degrees fahrenheit. Paraffin wax is usually uncolored when you purchase it, and will be unscented as well.
Although paraffin is an easy wax choice, you should also consider other natural wax alternatives: beeswax, soy wax and even palm wax all are suitable for candle making. Each behaves in its own unique way during the candlemaking process, however, and you will need to learn about their particular qualities.
Candle Wicks - Selecting the appropriate candle wick can sometimes be the trickiest element of the candle making process, and they are also the most important part of the candle. Which wick you will use is based on the width of the candle that you want. For example, if your candle mold is 1/2 inches in diameter, than you should select a wick for that size. If you can not find a wick that matches the exact diameter you need, select one slightly on the small side, since an oversized wick will cause your candle to smoke and will burn much more quickly than they should.
If you are happy with white, unscented candles, this is all you really need for making your first candles. Many candle makers, however, will want to add some color and scent to their candles as well:
Color - Dye color chips or squares are easy to use and widely available (and cheap) at craft supply stores. However, if you are interested in going a more natural route, you can also experiment with powders from spices and natural plants. Turmeric, for example, can be used to color your candles a yellow shade, and powdered alkanet root can give a lovely lavender shade to your homemade candles.
Scent - There are literally hundreds of artificial scents available for sale at candle supply shops, but you may also want to consider using essential oils (like lavender essential oil) instead. Although essential oils are generally more pricier than their artificial colors, the scent is often much more pleasant as well, especially if you are interested in the aromatherapy effects of your homemade candles.
With the above candle making materials and equipment, you should be ready to make your first homemade candle.
Basic Candlemaking Equipment
A Pan for Melting Wax - If you happen to have an old saucepan, particularly an old saucepan with a lip for pouring, you can use that for melting the wax. Although some candle makers use double boilers to melt wax, if you keep a good eye when heating wax and do not let it accidentally overheat and burn, a saucepan should work fine.
Thermometer - A regular cooking or candy thermometer should work fine for candlemaking as long as it can measure temperatures between 120 degrees and 250 degrees.
Dipping Can - If you are planning on making tapers, you will want a tall, fairly thin container to dip the candles. Although expensive ones can be bought for this purpose from candlemaking supply companies, you can easily improvise using a large can found at a yard sale or at home. Just make sure the can is at least 1 inch taller than the height of the finished tapers.
Scale - A basic kitchen scale will help you weigh materials, particularly wax.
Water Bath Container - This can be any large container, and is useful for cooling molded candles.
Candle Molds - If you are making molded candles instead of tapers, you will need molds to pour the wax in. Again, there are a variety of beautiful, but often pricey, molds available - but molds can also be easily improvised at home. Any container that does not have an overhang that would prevent you from easily removing the candle should work, as long as it is suitable for hot wax. Some people use drinking glasses, yogurt containers and even stiff cardboard containers (like milk containers) as candle molds.
Basic Candlemaking Materials
There are two basic elements to a candle - the wax and the wick:
Candle Wax - Paraffin wax is by far the most popular, and probably the easiest to use wax for the beginning candle maker. The standard all-purpose wax that you find at your local craft store should do the job. It should have a melting point around 133-140 degrees fahrenheit. Paraffin wax is usually uncolored when you purchase it, and will be unscented as well.
Although paraffin is an easy wax choice, you should also consider other natural wax alternatives: beeswax, soy wax and even palm wax all are suitable for candle making. Each behaves in its own unique way during the candlemaking process, however, and you will need to learn about their particular qualities.
Candle Wicks - Selecting the appropriate candle wick can sometimes be the trickiest element of the candle making process, and they are also the most important part of the candle. Which wick you will use is based on the width of the candle that you want. For example, if your candle mold is 1/2 inches in diameter, than you should select a wick for that size. If you can not find a wick that matches the exact diameter you need, select one slightly on the small side, since an oversized wick will cause your candle to smoke and will burn much more quickly than they should.
If you are happy with white, unscented candles, this is all you really need for making your first candles. Many candle makers, however, will want to add some color and scent to their candles as well:
Color - Dye color chips or squares are easy to use and widely available (and cheap) at craft supply stores. However, if you are interested in going a more natural route, you can also experiment with powders from spices and natural plants. Turmeric, for example, can be used to color your candles a yellow shade, and powdered alkanet root can give a lovely lavender shade to your homemade candles.
Scent - There are literally hundreds of artificial scents available for sale at candle supply shops, but you may also want to consider using essential oils (like lavender essential oil) instead. Although essential oils are generally more pricier than their artificial colors, the scent is often much more pleasant as well, especially if you are interested in the aromatherapy effects of your homemade candles.
With the above candle making materials and equipment, you should be ready to make your first homemade candle.
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