A Very Homemade Xmas: Scented Candles

Hi all, November is quickly racing by and as mentioned before, my health this year has caused me to run out of sickpay (boo!). With Christmas fast approaching I thought i’d do a mini series of home craft projects for making christmas gifts for low costs. I’m starting off with scented candle making, following with bath bombs and ending up with body scrubs! The body scrubs are being made alongside The Tired Girl Society‘s first creative project, which people are welcome to join in with here.

  • Soy Wax (a 2KG bag for £10 will let you make a few batches, depending in container size)
  • Jars or tins (use old jam jars for keeping it low cost)
  • Heat Proof Pan – One with an inbuilt pouring bit is ideal, I used this one here.
  • Larger pan for hot water
  • Candle Colouring Dye (Flakes) (£1 a colour)
  • Essential Oil for scent (£3)
  • Candle Making Wick (£3 for a roll)
  • Plastic sticks (for tying the wick to) (£1 pack)

Prepare the Jars

First you want to decide what shape candles you’re making. There are loads of shaped moulds to use which have specific instructions or more easily jars and tins. I wanted to go with glass jars for a rustic look so I bought some 100ml ones with screw lids.

I cut a suitable length of candle wick so it was long enough to be tied to and suspended over the top of the jar. Doing this ensures your wick will stay in place when you pour the wax in.

Melt the Wax

To make your candle wax you need to fill the bigger pan with water, and bring to the boil over the hob. Then place the smaller pan on top and fill with the wax pieces, reducing the heat to a simmer. I found one 500 gram bag made 6 candles but it all depends on the size of your containers.

When the wax is melted you can add your wax dye and essence. Make sure you add a good tablespoon of essence to get the scent strong! If in doubt, add a bit extra. I added the dye in slowly, stirring as I did to see the colour the wax is. I wanted really vibrant colours so used a bit more dye.

Pour the Wax

Let the wax cool slightly but ensure it’s still liquid enough to pour. Ensure the wick stays straight when you pour the wax or it’ll be wonky!

I made some small tealight lavender scented candles first for practice. I then had fun doing some two-tone candles, so you need to pour one colour in, let it set and then top up with the second wax colour. Playing around with the colours is fun and I definitely want to have another go”

The Result!

Once my candles had cooled, I added stickers and deco to them to give them a cutesy home-made feel (and so I didn’t forget the scents in each). I really like making personalised gifts so tried hard to think of my friend’s preferred scents and colours. Some people like baking scents, some wood and some floral or ocean scents. It’s fun to match the colours to the scents or go for opposing mixes.

I’m really happy with how these came out! I made the tealight batch of blue coloured, lavender scented candles and bigger size jars of purple, lavender candles and yellow and orange gingerbread ones. I hope this post helps anyone trying candle making for the first time or looking for gift ideas. Happy crafting!

A Very Homemade Xmas Mini Series

Laters,

Ruthy xo

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