We finally had our first meeting of a group I had conceived of several years ago and finally found enough followers to convene. The group is meant as an artistic outlet for our circle of creative but somewhat overtaxed mom friends to get together away from kids and spouses and be kids themselves for a few hours.

Our first unofficial meeting was a candle-making party at my house. Future craft days may include such projects as wet and needle felting, tie-dye and low water immersion dyeing, jewelry making and beading, mosaics, ceramics with clay, scrapbooking, watercolors, homemade herbal lotions and salves.... we will only be limited by our imagination and by how long we manage to escape from out families! It is my hope that we will keep going with the get-togethers and each of us will get a chance to lead a project. I started this blog so we can keep track of our endeavors and have access to information about the projects we have already worked on.


There are many great websites with good information on candle-making out there but I have summarized the basics so we don't have to search for the information.

Home Candle-Making How To:


Basic Supplies

• old pots and coffee tins for a double boiler
• old pie plates or cookie sheets to hold the molds
• something to use as a mold (can use paper milk cartons, frozen juice containers, pringles containers, sand, large shells or baby food jars for container candles-- look around, it's a good way to recycle-- it just has to be something that can hold very hot wax).
• candle wax
• candle wicking
• candle dye (or you can use old crayons)
• scent (if desired)
• a thermometer
• a wick holder or pencil to tie wick around
• some poster holding compound to plug the hole in the mold
• old potholders
• spray bottle with cold water
• newspaper/wax paper

Cover your work area in the newspaper or wax paper to catch wax drips. Heat chunks of wax (paraffin, beeswax or soy) in a double boiler on medium heat. Wax is flammable so it is imperative to use a double boiler and a thermometer is highly recommended. You could probably get away without a thermometer if you pour the wax immediately after it is completely melted, but it's safest to use a thermometer and you have more control over the outcome of your candle that way. Wax has a flashpoint, the temperature at which it will spontaneously combust and you don't want to exceed that and catch your kitchen on fire. (Keep a tight-fitting lid on hand just in case to snuff out a fire quickly). A good pour is achieved at about 180-190 degrees F. The higher the temperature the clearer and shinier the candle. Pouring at lower temperatures (or over ice) will yield a candle with a textured, whitish cast to the outside.

While the wax is heating, prepare your mold by inserting the wick through the hole in the bottom (you will need to drill a hole if using juice or milk containers), covering the hole and protruding wick on the bottom of the mold with the tacky compound and anchoring the wick at the top of the mold with a wick clip or by tying it tightly around a pencil or chopstick. Put any chunks of wax into the mold at this point if you are making a chunk candle or add ice for an ice candle. For ice candles, you may want to prime your wick by dipping it into the wax before you thread it into the mold. This will keep moisture from getting into the wick and potentially causing sputtering when burned.

When the wax has heated to 180 -190 degrees remove it from the heat and quickly stir in your dye and scent with wooden dowel or skewer. Remember to start off with less. You can always darken the color or add more scent but it is more difficult to lighten the color and reduce the scent when you have to take time to melt more wax. Crayons are an old standby for coloring candles, though most candle makers recommend using dyes specifically made for candles so that the wick will not get clogged with impurities.

Using a potholder, carefully pour the wax into the mold to the desired height (make sure to save some wax to finish off the candle after it has partially cooled). Allow to cool. When the wax has started to harden but it not completely hard, pierce it with the skewer going down toward the bottom of the mold and in toward the wick. This will allow air bubbles to come out as the wax cools. When the wax has cooled, it will have shrunken toward the center of the candle. Fill this well with the leftover wax.

When the candle has completely cooled, remove the tacky stuff from the mold hole and untie the wick. The candle should gently slide from the mold. If it does not come out easily, put the mold in the freezer for a few minutes and try again.

A few things to keep in mind:

• The bottom of the mold will be the top of your finished candle.
• Beeswax requires a thicker wick than you would use for a paraffin candle of the same size. It is sticky so you may want to grease your mold with spray-on candle release.
• Strain melted unrefined chunks of beeswax (available at the farmer's market) through a paper towel to get the impurities out.
• You can fill the holes of your ice candle with higher temp wax of a different color or leave it holey for effect.
• When you burn you candle the first time do it for more than a few minutes (15 minutes to three hours) to establish a burn pattern.
• Burn your candles; that's what they are for!
• Take notes on what size wick you used and how well the candle burned.
• Don't use wick with metal in it. Your candle's contents go into the air as it is burned and you inhale that air.

A Word about Candle wicking and choosing the proper size

There are numerous types of candle-wicking available. Flat-braided comes in many different plys and is generally used for taper candles and small pillar candles. Square braided wicking comes in many thicknesses and is used for pillar candles. There is also metal core and paper core wicking. This inner core of this type of wick lends the wick stability for votives and container candles. I recommend the paper core which is a little more difficult to find as I don't think it is a good idea to burn metal. The size wick you use will be determined by the size of the candle (larger candles need larger wicks) and the hardness (or melting point of the wax); beeswax and higher melting point paraffin require thicker wicking.
More info on wick sizes to come...