Candle Making

If you've ever bought one of those high priced, chain store brand candles, then you can just stop. Put down that Christmas Cookie, Balsam, Cedar, Apple, Cinnamon, Fresh Vanilla Pumpkin scented candle and take a step back. You do realize how expensive they are don't you? And you realize that you can actually make your own that smell, last, and look a lot better?

It's easy actually. All you need is a vessel, some wax and some scented oil. The rest is just procedure.

To start, find something that you would be happy making into a candle. Items from dollar stores make great vessels for beginners. They're cheap small enough that you won't waste too much if you make a mistake.

A few Christmas' ago, I made some candles as gifts for the ladies in my family. I used small coke bottles that I bought from a dollar store, some glittered candle holders and some aluminum water cans from Michael's. They ended up loving them, although none of them have actually burned one yet.

Anyhow, once you get your vessel, you need to get some wax. You have two choices of wax: paraffin, a by-product of the petroleum Industry and beeswax, a natural form of wax created by bees. According to Beeswax Co., a company that produces "100% pure" beeswax candles, the two forms of wax are very different.

Their website explains that beeswax is superior to paraffin wax in a lot of ways. According to the company, the natural beeswax burns cleaner and longer than paraffin wax; emits "the same light spectrum as the sun;" and cleans the air as it burns.

Paraffin wax on the other hand, the company explains, "is a toxic byproduct of the petroleum industry;" releases "toxic fumes," much like the ones found in Carbon Dioxide; and burn at a faster rate while dripping excessively.

According to my research, Beeswax is is more expensive then paraffin wax, presumably to it being a product of nature. While I have only ever used paraffin so far, I plan on switching to beeswax once my paraffin supply runs out.

As for cost, a 1-pound block of beeswax is about 3.5 as expensive as a 1-pound block of paraffin, according to Amazon.

With wax in hand, make a double boiler. A large glass measuring cup hooked onto a sauce pot filled with boiling water works. But for larger projects, if the vessels can stand up to the heat, use an empty slow cooker. Place the vessels inside the slow cooker and fill them with wax. Use this method if you don't want to guess how much wax you need. By using a slow cooker, you can use what you need through the process rather than go in blind and most likely waste some wax.

Once all the wax is melted, put in your oil scent and colorant. Paraffin wax is naturally white while Beeswax is yellow. Take that into account when using color.

Put a wick in everything, let it cool and your done.

Enjoy your new candles. Because now you don't have to always buy them when you want your house to smell fresh and clean.