I've seen a bunch of how-to's on Pinterest of ways people make candles. I'm throwing a bridal shower this weekend and wanted to make a candle for a prize for the games. :)
This is the finished product!
My way is a bit of a cheat since I didn't actually make my candle wax.
What you'll need:
Tea cup (0.75 cents from the D.I.)
Pot to boil water in
Empty soup can
Two straws
Wax paper
Knife
Oven mitt
The process is actually pretty simple: boil water in the pot, put the can full of candle chunks in the water, & hold it steady til it liquifies.
First things first, pull the sticker off the bottom of your candle and dig the metal tab that holds the wick out. You may have to poke around for a bit but try not to break it.
Next place your candle on the wax paper and chop it into bits. I bought my candle from Target (why go anywhere else?!) and started into it before I realized I forgot to take a picture.
I found a weird layer on my candle that didn't have a ton of the scent (lavendar of course). So I cut the outer layer off first & set it aside. Make your candle chunks relatively small, like a quarter ish size so they melt faster. I put in a few chunks of the waxy outer layer in with the scented candle chunks to give it a more waxy finished look.
I took a soup can (after a delicious meal of spaghetti-o's... Yes I'm a child) and left the lid attached on a portion so I could have a handle. You can also take the top off and grab some pliers and hold the can that way but I was lazy.
Set your stove to high and watch your wax melt.
After about 5-10 minutes, depending on how much wax you have, you should see this:
Liquid gold! ;)
I slid my pot off the burner & pulled the can out of the water, placing it on a hot pad.
Carefully pour the wax into whatever mold you have chosen. In this case, a tea cup.
Let the liquidy wax sit for a minute or two before you put the wick inside.
Place the wick as close to the center as you can. I used two straws to help stabilize the wick. I have seen tutorials where they tied the wick to a pencil and let it dangle to dry but I didn't want to curve my wick.
After a few minutes the wax is thick enough you can remove the straws. If you're afraid of it falling you can leave the straws there for the whole time.
Sit back and watch your candle form!
It will take a few hours to fully dry and will no longer be translucent at all.
And you're done! Go grab some matches and light this bad girl up!!
Side note:
The candle I bought was large enough to make two candles from.. Probably even three (I bought a 3x6 threshold candle for the record).
On my first candle I used the wick from the candle.. I just set it in the liquidy wax and once that candle had hardened I cut the excess wick off.
For my second I hot glued a penny to the wick and it worked like a champ!
Total this project only cost $4.50 (and 1 penny) and is soooo cute! Can't wait to give them away for the shower prizes!
xoxo
Mandi
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