Making homemade candles is a wonderful and traditional hobby that goes back thousands of years to when necessity required candles to be made so light could be brought indoors after dark.
Now that we have electricity we no longer rely on candles for this purpose, but that means that we have learned to appreciate other nuances that candles can provide.
Who hasn't noticed the warm and elegant glow of a dining room lit by candlelight? Or teared up when a bride and groom have shared the lighting of a candle as part of their wedding vows? Candles and candlelight strike a deep and visceral response within us as human beings.
That's not to say that candles can't also be fun and whimsical.
Seeing brightly colored fish or maybe shining suns imbedded in gel wax would certain put a smile on my face.
Sure there is something for everyone when it comes to homemade candle making and whatever kind of candle you choose to make - romantic, purposeful, scented, or whimsical - it is unique and perfect because it was made by you.
But how to start? First you need to decide what kind of candle you want to make and what type of wax you want to work with.
If you are working with gel wax that will determine what type of candle you are making to a certain extent because it has a different consistency.
Beeswax, soy wax, and palm wax can be used almost interchangeably with paraffin wax in most cases but if you are using those types of wax you might want to do some additional research so that you can utilize the wax to its best potential.
All candle making starts out the same way - by melting the wax.
Put the unmelted wax in the top part of a double boiler.
A double boiler can be made by putting a metal bowl on top of a pot that has boiling water in it.
Just be sure not to allow the water to touch the bottom of the bowl with the wax.
Once the wax is melted, hold the wick in place inside your chosen mold, and you pour in the wax.
Allow the wax to cool for several hours, preferable 4-6 hours, before you attempt to remove it from the mold.
It is useful to know that spraying non-stick cooking spray on your mold before you pour the wax in will help make it is easier to remove the finished candle.
Also, you can even put your candle in the freezer for half an hour before trying to take the finished candle out of the mold! That's the basic process of candle making but now you want to know how to add some of the fun extras to your homemade candles.
I think the first thing most people think about when they want to make candles is "How can I make it smell good!" To add scent to your candle you first have to pick the correct fragrance.
Oil-based fragrances will work better than water-based ones because wax is more like oil and - as we've all heard oil and water don't mix.
Next you'll have to consider what type of wax you are working with and what the fragrance-to-wax ratio should be.
Paraffin wax candles can have a 6% fragrance concentration which is one ounce of fragrance to one pound of wax.
Soy wax can have a 7% concentration which is 1.
12 ounces of fragrance to one pound of wax.
And gel wax comes in three different densities and each density has its own fragrance concentration level.
Scent is added after the wax is melted and when you have taken the wax off of the heat and before you pour the wax into the mold.
Colors can also be added at this part of the process, too, and the combination of a wonderful scent and a vibrant color can make for a dramatic homemade candle and one that will make a fantastic gift that you can certainly be proud of.