learn about candle making
Get Started Making Your Own Candles
From hollowed-out stones filled with animal fat, to early oil lamps...from dipped tapers made from tallow, to the wonderful candles of today, humans have always sought out ways to add light to their homes. Before electricity, candles were a necessity. Now, though a necessity no longer, candles can still be abundantly found in most homes. They are decorative, useful, and help make a home more comfortable and cozy.
Making your own candles is an exciting craft that's easy to get started with. A few simple ingredients and some basic tools and equipment that you probably have in your kitchen or garage are all you need to begin making beautiful, fragrant candles.
Do you love burning beautiful, scented candles? And do you know
that you can easily make them yourself? It is exciting and not
at all difficult. Here are 12 easy steps to creating unique
candles that you can burn at home, give as gifts, or even sell.
Materials for gel candle making
You will need:
- gel
- zinc wicks (cotton wicks can’t be used for gel candles
because they absorb too much gel)
- essential oil for fragrance
- liquid color dye
- embeds (optional)
All these materials can be obtained online from candle making
suppliers. It is important to use essential oils and colors
specially made for gel candles; fragrance oils you can buy in a
cosmetic shop are not suitable. Also, you can buy a gel candle
making kit. Getting a kit is the best solution for a beginner,
because it will include everything you need to make your first
few candles.
And of course you will need a container. The best container for
a gel candle is glass, so people can see the embeds you put
inside the candle, but any non-flammable container would do.
You can use any glass, wine glass, or even a small wide vase,
but your container should be at least 2 inches in diameter.
Garage sales and second hand stores are gold mines, when it
comes to candle containers.
For embeds you can use anything non-flammable - colored
aquarium gravel, marbles, glitter, sand, sea shells, pebbles,
crystals, polished stones, artificial jewels or pearls.
Steps to making a gel candle
1. Place a little bit of hot glue in the center of the
container bottom. Stick the wick in it and let the glue set.
2. Cut the gel into small pieces so it melts faster and more
evenly. Melt it in a stainless steel pot over a medium heat.
3. The trickiest part is the temperature - you should get it to
exactly 200°F, because overheated gel looses its clarity. For
that, you will need a suitable thermometer.
4. Maintain the temperature at 200°; all the gel should melt
and become smooth, like syrup.
5. Add color dye to the melted gel, a little bit at a time,
until you get the desired color - remember, you can always add
more dye to make the color stronger, but you can’t take dye
away. For a candle with embedded objects, you should use only a little color, so the objects remain visible
6. Add the fragrance - 1/3 teaspoon for each glass of melted
gel will give it a nice scent. For a stronger scent, add a bit
more fragrance.
7. Heat the container in the oven or microwave to about
150-160°F. This will help to reduce the appearance of bubbles
8. If you want to use embeds, dip them in hot gel first and
then arrange them in the container as you like. It is better to
keep the objects closer to the sides of the container - they
will be easier to see, this way.
9. Now it is time to pour your gel into the container. Place
your container on a level surface and pour the gel slowly and
carefully down the side. If it is your first time, you will
probably get a few bubbles; to avoid that, the gel should be
still very hot.
10. Pull the wick up. Roll it on a pencil to keep it straight.
11. Let the candle cool. Trim the wick and you are done! You
have a beautiful, unique gel candle, made by yourself
From hollowed-out stones filled with animal fat, to early oil lamps...from dipped tapers made from tallow, to the wonderful candles of today, humans have always sought out ways to add light to their homes. Before electricity, candles were a necessity. Now, though a necessity no longer, candles can still be abundantly found in most homes. They are decorative, useful, and help make a home more comfortable and cozy.
Making your own candles is an exciting craft that's easy to get started with. A few simple ingredients and some basic tools and equipment that you probably have in your kitchen or garage are all you need to begin making beautiful, fragrant candles.
Do you love burning beautiful, scented candles? And do you know
that you can easily make them yourself? It is exciting and not
at all difficult. Here are 12 easy steps to creating unique
candles that you can burn at home, give as gifts, or even sell.
Materials for gel candle making
You will need:
- gel
- zinc wicks (cotton wicks can’t be used for gel candles
because they absorb too much gel)
- essential oil for fragrance
- liquid color dye
- embeds (optional)
All these materials can be obtained online from candle making
suppliers. It is important to use essential oils and colors
specially made for gel candles; fragrance oils you can buy in a
cosmetic shop are not suitable. Also, you can buy a gel candle
making kit. Getting a kit is the best solution for a beginner,
because it will include everything you need to make your first
few candles.
And of course you will need a container. The best container for
a gel candle is glass, so people can see the embeds you put
inside the candle, but any non-flammable container would do.
You can use any glass, wine glass, or even a small wide vase,
but your container should be at least 2 inches in diameter.
Garage sales and second hand stores are gold mines, when it
comes to candle containers.
For embeds you can use anything non-flammable - colored
aquarium gravel, marbles, glitter, sand, sea shells, pebbles,
crystals, polished stones, artificial jewels or pearls.
Steps to making a gel candle
1. Place a little bit of hot glue in the center of the
container bottom. Stick the wick in it and let the glue set.
2. Cut the gel into small pieces so it melts faster and more
evenly. Melt it in a stainless steel pot over a medium heat.
3. The trickiest part is the temperature - you should get it to
exactly 200°F, because overheated gel looses its clarity. For
that, you will need a suitable thermometer.
4. Maintain the temperature at 200°; all the gel should melt
and become smooth, like syrup.
5. Add color dye to the melted gel, a little bit at a time,
until you get the desired color - remember, you can always add
more dye to make the color stronger, but you can’t take dye
away. For a candle with embedded objects, you should use only a little color, so the objects remain visible
6. Add the fragrance - 1/3 teaspoon for each glass of melted
gel will give it a nice scent. For a stronger scent, add a bit
more fragrance.
7. Heat the container in the oven or microwave to about
150-160°F. This will help to reduce the appearance of bubbles
8. If you want to use embeds, dip them in hot gel first and
then arrange them in the container as you like. It is better to
keep the objects closer to the sides of the container - they
will be easier to see, this way.
9. Now it is time to pour your gel into the container. Place
your container on a level surface and pour the gel slowly and
carefully down the side. If it is your first time, you will
probably get a few bubbles; to avoid that, the gel should be
still very hot.
10. Pull the wick up. Roll it on a pencil to keep it straight.
11. Let the candle cool. Trim the wick and you are done! You
have a beautiful, unique gel candle, made by yourself
posted by hana at
3:31 PM
1 Comments:
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