Homemade Candle Tutorial

I thrifted an old cheese pot a while back but I was unsure what to do with it....then it hit me, as part of a hamper it could be a candle!! So here is my tutorial for you to do the same - this is my first ever solo attempt at making a candle (I made one when I was a child with my dad but it didn't even burn!)....

1. Gather supplies:

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  a container (one that can withstand heat or its just going to melt along with your candle - or worse still, combust and burn your house down!),
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  some wax - you can use old candles, unused candles, broken candles it really doesn't matter so long as they are wax of some sort, ie. beeswax, paraffin wax etc
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  essence oil - only if you want your candle to smell of a particular aroma or your wax is unscented
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  a double boiler - to melt your wax in
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  a stirrer - to stir your wax with
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  heatproof gloves - to protect your hands (obviously)

2.  Melt the wax:

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  break the candles into smaller pieces, grate or slice - if you freeze the candles for a few hours before hand they should crack into chunks quite easily
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  put the wax into your double boiler - I don't have one of these so I use a large saucepan half filled with water with heat-proof containers sitting inside - I found using an empty tin can worked the best
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  if you left the wicks in the chunks of candles, fish them out now - if the pieces are long enough lay them flat on some wax paper, foil or paper bag and store (when cool) for another project - it saves buying wicks from a craft store!
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  add the essence oil - if you are scenting your candles now is the time to add the aroma - you only need a few drops (honestly, I didn't think it would be enough so I added about 10 drops - now my candle is probably too strong and the house (more so my hands) stinks of Christmas Spices!

3.  Pour the wax and leave to cool:

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  Carefully take your pot of melted wax (use heatproof gloves to hold it if the container is hot) and pour the wax slowly into your chosen container
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  INSERTING THE WICK - you can glue the bottom of the wick into place beforehand, pour a small amount of wax in and embed your wick whilst it cools, pour all the wax in and then as it sets poke in a stiffened wick, or cheat like I did - when I chopped my candles up into smaller chunks, I measured how long I wanted my wick to be and then chopped the candle to fit and melted the rest of the wax.  I poured a small amount of wax into the bottom of my container and bonded my shortened candle to it, then poured the rest of the melted wax around it, all the way to the top.  The heat of the melted wax should melt the edges and bond nicely together (which it did)
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  I put sticky tape around the rim of my container to stop any wax from cooling where I didn't want it to.  I also covered the top of the wick with a bit of sticky tape so that didn't get covered either.
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  Secure the top of your wick to keep it in place - if your wick is long you can wrap it around a pencil, or clasp it in a clothes peg, or use a bit of sticky tape as I did.

Et Voilà!  You may find that the wax will create a 'sink hole' as it cools - don't worry you can always top it up afterward.  The first time I made my own candle I poked at the top to try and prevent the sink hole effect but the shrinkage still occurred, hence the messy top shown in the photo*!  I this case, patience is definitely a virtue.

It is best to have more wax than you think you will probably need - you can always allow any extra wax to cool and then it can be melted down again for the next project but if you don't have enough to hand in the first place, your candle will go unfinished.

WARNING: NEVER melt wax in a microwave as it can combust!  Obviously certain items may become extremely hot during this project so caution is to be taken at all times - NEVER leave melting wax unattended. 

**to smooth the top of your candle run your hair dryer across the top to melt it a little - be careful the jets of air dont fire the wax back up in your face!**

TOODLE-PIPS

x♥x