Guest guest Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 Have you ever went to find a Herbal candle and was not able to find one? I am going to tell you how to make one. You can add any Herb you want to your candles. Author Unknown CANDLE MAKING IINSTRUCTIONS Candle making is really easy. You could go locate beeswax at a hobby or craft store. I use paraffin. The paraffin acts as the fuel, burning regulator and skeleton of your candle. You can find paraffin at just about any supermarket. Paraffin is mainly used for canning produce. The ones I buy come in a box that has 4 clear bars in it. that's usually enough to make a decent candle. If you have some old or burn-out candles laying around... feel free to use those. This also brings up the topic of recycling, that I always talk with the children about anyway. The next item you need is the string. The only type of string you should use is cotton. Thickness does matter too. if it's too thick, it will never burn up. If it's too small... it won't be able to wick up the wax fast enough for it to burn at a suitable rate. This might take some experimentation till you find the best material for you. You will also need a double boiler. Or a saucepan with a metal bowl that sits inside it (my double boiler) If you try to melting your wax right over your heat source... you'll end up with a smoke filled kitchen. And, you are never going to be able to use the bowl for anything else a gain so this will become your candle making bowl. Bring the water in the bottom pan to a boil, making sure the water isn't hitting the bowl. While you're waiting for your water to boil... Spread out your news paper. Tape it down if you want too. Might make it a little less hassle while you're working. After your water has a fairly good boil; add the inner pan with the wax and turn down your heat source. While your wax is melting, on low heat, lets get your mold and wick ready. Set your mold out and make sure it's clean inside. Anything left inside will most likely stick to your candle. Take your string and dangle it inside the mold. Leave about 2-3 inches at the top and cut it. By this time, (if you had the water boiling before you put the wax in) the wax should be melted. We'll talk about different molds in a minute. Now that the wax is melted, it is a good time to add color and scenting. This is open for anything. Remember: a little goes a long way. In other words... be conservative. For color, I use crayons. Start by putting in a quarter of a piece of crayon. It gets dark fast, so start small and add more if needed. For scenting, I use a few drops of vanilla or cherry extract, anything I have in the house I enjoy the scent of. Patchouli Oil, or a small chunk of Myrrh even. Now we need to coat your wick with wax to stiffen it. Take your wick and dip it inside your molten wax. You might need to poke it down in the wax with something like a fork. after it has sat in the wax for a bit, slowly take it out. Hold it above your pan and let the excess wax drain off. Then slowly move it over your newspaper. After it has stiffened up... Put your wick in your mold and immobilize it with your cloths pen. Or have the kids hold the wick in place after you pour the wax. Pour the wax slowly, using all necessary precautions. It is very important to NOT USE ALL THE WAX. You will need some later. You do need to watch it though. You want to do this next step before it gets too hard. Heat up the leftover wax still in the double boiler. Go grab something long and skinny, such as a toothpick, I use a hat pin, and poke a series of holes into the candle around the wick where the wax is sinking. (about half the way through to the bottom) Pour the remaining wax on the top where the holes are. Be sure NOT to pour too much in. if it runs over the sides it will cause problems when you burn your candle and just make it look plain bad. You might need to do this more than once. Sometimes with big candles, even the filler wax will contract leaving a hole in the center also. Molds The most common candle mold is the bottom half of a milk carton, the wax kind. For kids, using the smallest pint size milk cartons is fun. You can also pour them into small jars that you can burn the candles right in. Sand Casting Fill a bucket or dishpan with damp sand. Make a mold shape (indentation). You can do this by pressing a bottle or your hand into the sand. At the bottom of the indentation, press three fingers further into the sand. This will give your candle legs. Pour wax and when it starts to set, place your pre cut wick into the middle. Allow to harden, and remove candle. Your candle will have sand imbedded on the outside. Foil Sand Casting Try the above but line your sand indentation with aluminum foil. This will prevent sand from adhering to the outside and provide some interesting and unusual shapes. You can also put the aluminum foil in a hole dug in a plant, or cupped inside a bowl. Chunk Candles If you melt down all the scrap wax you have, your candles will most likely be brown. Try breaking some of the darker colors into small chunks. Fill your mold with the chunks and pour lighter, melted wax over it. Hand dipped Paraffin Candles (Tapers) Supplies - 3 to 4 pounds paraffin (canning paraffin can be found at the supermarket and work great), wicking, a large pot, a tall can (slightly longer than the length of your candles), wooden spoon), and at least one box of baking soda (if the wax should catch fire, baking soda is the quickest and safest way to put it out). To start, grate/chop/slice/dice the wax into smaller pieces. It's easiest to do all the wax at once so you don't have to rush about trying to grate more later. Put the wax into the can (I use a large coffee can). Once your wax is grated or cut up, fill the large pot about 1/3 full with water and heat it until boiling. This is the time to get all of your supplies close by, and to make sure your box of baking soda is open. As soon as the water is boiling, turn the heat down to medium/low and put the can into the water. As the wax melts, watch it carefully! You don't want to leave the room or talk on the phone while your doing this! Cut the wicking about 6 to 10 inches longer than you think you'll need, and began dipping it into the wax once the wax is melted. The first few dips, the wicking usually just floats on the top of the wax. This is normal because the wicking won't have enough weight to it yet. Make your dip quick (a second or two) and then hold the wicking up out of the wax to let it harden. The longer you hold it out of the wax, the harder it gets, and the quicker the wax builds up on the candle. Once the candle is the right diameter, remove it to dry. You can tie the top of the wicking to a towel rack, a paper towel holder, a dowel suspended between two chairs, etc. You'll notice that the bottom of the candle tapers down to a point, which is normal. Chances are your candles won't be straight, but this is easy to fix. After about 20 minutes or drying, the wax should still be warm but plyable and you can roll the candle on a sheet of waxed paper to straighten it out. You can now trim the bottom flat with a knife, but leave the wick a bit longer so you can fold it flat to the bottom of the candle and press it into the wax. This keeps the wicking from pulling out. Re-hang the candle and let it finish hardening. Note - for colored candles, you can use something called " candle dye " . Or crayons work well too! Simply break up the crayon and add it to your wax. Another note - you can also add powdered herbs to your wax once it's melted to increase the candles power. If you do, it's best to add some coloring to your wax because you will be able to see the herbs in the finished candle. Mini-Candles These are true recycled candles, because you can use broken candles, often finding them *really* cheap at various gift shops, you can make your own wicking of you can buy it, and it's yard sales season so you can buy an old beat up pot to melt the wax in. The wax - Any old candles, broken up with the wicks removed (save those wicks)!, or go to the store and buy a pound of wax for . 50 cents (they sell it to can veggies with). Beeswax is great, but it cost so much! The pan - I use an old tomato paste can, because it's half the width of a soup can and I'm too lazy to melt all that wax *g* Any old can will do. The wax goes into it, and then the can goes into a " water bath " (a pan with an inch or so of water that's hot, not boiling)! Fire safety - WAX BURNS! A box of baking soda or a fire extinguisher needs to be in reach at all times! Use you're fire safety knowledge, please? The wicks - Either use wicking new or from broken candles, or braid together some white thread (I do this because it's thinner. I use between 3 and 13 strands of thread for each of the three groups of the braid. Use cotton thread, not synthetic or plastic - trust me, it stinks lol!) Color - Buy a big box of Crayola crayons, they have the best colors, and besides you can color a picture later on. Just break up the crayon and melt it with the wax. To do - Get everything ready in one spot. Figure out a place to hang the candles while they dry (a towel rack or indoor clothes hanger works great) Heat the water to boiling, then turn it to " low " Once it stops bubbling, put the can of wax in and *watch it!* The first time you dip the wicking in, it will float, that's normal. Take it out of the wax and let it harden (10-20 seconds or so.) I make candles between 1-3 long, but add 6 inches of wick so I can tie it up to dry. Dip very quickly, if you leave it in there all the wax melts again. It has to harden and cool between dips, and that's the boring part. Turn on your radio and sing, or chant. Once the candle is about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick or whatever size you want, let it cool and harden. If it's bent or wobbly, let it cool enough to handle, and lay it down on a piece of waxed paper. Roll it *gently* back and forth until smooth. You can also cut the bottom straight while it soft. I use scissors, but I'm lazy *g* The best thing about these is that you can make them as small as you like. I bought a miniature candlestick holder at a miniatures store - it's 1/2 inch tall. I use a single strand of thread and make candles about an inch tall in a miniature cauldron I got just for this, and it work great for those times when you need a 5 minute candle spell! (Ok, so the candle burns in 2 minutes, but...) You can add things to the wax as well - oils will most likely burn off, so I just crush up herbs and dump them in. Yes, the candles lumpy, but it smells great when it burns. You can buy little candle holders at a miniature or doll house shop, most are around a dollar, and yes, you can get a candelabra as well! How to Make Hand-Dipped Candles You need to obtain the following supplies: 2-4 pounds of paraffin wax (the kind used in canning) or beeswax. Candle wick (available at most hobby and craft stores) Oils and herbs (for scent) Candle dye -or- crayons Wax paper A wooden spoon A double boiler Begin by melting the wax in a double boiler. If you don't have one, you can use a large pot filled half full of water and a large coffee tin with the wax in it, sitting inside the pot. Heat the water to boiling first and cut up your wax so it will melt quickly. Once the water is boiling, turn the heat down and place the tin of wax inside of it. Keep the water hot enough to keep the wax melted but not so hot that the paraffin catches fire (which it has been known to do over high heat). While the wax to melting, stir with a wooden spoon (never use metal) & make sure it all is completely melted. Also, while the wax is melting, mix the herbs (if more than one) in a small bowl. After the wax is completely melted and been checked, break the crayons up and put them into the wax. Keep stirring until all of the crayons have melted and the color is even and smooth, with no streaks. Keep in mind that the candle will be a shade or so lighter when dry. The more crayons - the deeper and richer the color, so experiment. Next, add the herbs to the wax. Empower with your energy and magickal intention while mixing the wax. Stir with the wooden spoon until it is thoroughly mixed. Next add 10-20 drops of essential oil (please, no synthetics when making candles) to the wax until it smells strongly of the fragrance intended. Now your wax is ready. Start with a long piece of wick - twice the size of your desired candle length plus 3 inches (you will be making 2 candles at once). Bend the wick in the middle and hold it by the bend. Dip the wick into the wax and then lift back out. Getting started is the hardest because the wick will float on top of the wax until it has enough wax on it to weigh it down. Allow it to get completely cold between drippings when you first start. After your candle has started to take shape you can speed up the process a little. I keep a pan of cool water nearby and dip the candles in the water after each dipping in the wax. While this speeds up the process a little, candle making is a slow process but very well worth the time and energy you put into it. Keep dipping the candles and allowing them to cool & then dip again. When you have achieved the proper size, hang them to dry until the wax has set but the candles aren't too hard. Then roll them on the wax paper to smooth out the shape. Once the candle shape is to your liking, dip 1 or 2 more times to make sure your candle is smooth. Trim off any excess wax to make a bottom with a sharp knife. Cut the wick and hang your candles to dry. You are done! Pressed Herb and Flower Candles Materials needed: 3 " or 6 " pillar candle-white or off white (3 " diameter) Pressed herbs and flowers: Leaves of geranium, rue, ferns, roses, any flat pressed flowers Votive candle - white or off-white(or paraffin wax) Paint brush Old pan to heat wax in Heat votive candle in the old pan until melted. Use a votive that is the same color as the pillar candle that is used. Arrange herbs on table to a suitable design for your candle unless you will be placing them on the candle randomly. Take your small paint brush and dab a little melted wax onto candle where you plan on placing first herb or flower. Quickly place herb or flower on top of dap of wax. Do this with you whole design, making sure you get just a THIN layer of wax on the top of the herb. When finished with design, brush a THIN layer of melted wax over whole design. Allow the candle to cool either at room temperature or in a refrigerator. If you wish to give the candle as a gift, place it in a small wreath of dried flowers. How to Make Hand-Dipped Candles You need to obtain the following supplies: 2-4 pounds of paraffin wax (the kind used in canning) or beeswax. Candle wick (available at most hobby and craft stores) Oils and herbs (for scent) Candle dye -or- crayons Wax paper A wooden spoon A double boiler Begin by melting the wax in a double boiler. If you don't have one, you can use a large pot filled half full of water and a large coffee tin with the wax in it, sitting inside the pot. Heat the water to boiling first and cut up your wax so it will melt quickly. Once the water is boiling, turn the heat down and place the tin of wax inside of it. Keep the water hot enough to keep the wax melted but not so hot that the paraffin catches fire (which it has been known to do over high heat). While the wax to melting, stir with a wooden spoon (never use metal) & make sure it all is completely melted. Also, while the wax is melting, mix the herbs (if more than one) in a small bowl. After the wax is completely melted and been checked, break the crayons up and put them into the wax. Keep stirring until all of the crayons have melted and the color is even and smooth, with no streaks. Keep in mind that the candle will be a shade or so lighter when dry. The more crayons - the deeper and richer the color, so experiment. Next, add the herbs to the wax. Empower with your energy and magickal intention while mixing the wax. Stir with the wooden spoon until it is thoroughly mixed. Next add 10-20 drops of essential oil (please, no synthetics when making candles) to the wax until it smells strongly of the fragrance intended. Now your wax is ready. Start with a long piece of wick - twice the size of your desired candle length plus 3 inches (you will be making 2 candles at once). Bend the wick in the middle and hold it by the bend. Dip the wick into the wax and then lift back out. Getting started is the hardest because the wick will float on top of the wax until it has enough wax on it to weigh it down. Allow it to get completely cold between dippings when you first start. After your candle has started to take shape you can speed up the process a little. I keep a pan of cool water nearby and dip the candles in the water after each dipping in the wax. While this speeds up the process a little, candle making is a slow process but very well worth the time and energy you put into it. Keep dipping the candles and allowing them to cool & then dip again. When you have achieved the proper size, hang them to dry until the wax has set but the candles aren't too hard. Then roll them on the wax paper to smooth out the shape. Once the candle shape is to your liking, dip 1 or 2 more times to make sure your candle is smooth. Trim off any excess wax to make a bottom with a sharp knife. Cut the wick and hang your candles to dry. You are done! (NOTE: Safety first! Always take care when working with hot substances such as wax) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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