Quilt Patchwork Patterns

Candle Making Crafts for Beginners

Candles are a great addition to any home. Of course the glow of candle light is charming, but candles can also be attractive even when they’re not lit.  I’ve found some  ideas for ways to decorate candles at Candle Making Crafts. Here’s a project you can use to turn plain votive candles into decorative items.

This project has several things to recommend it. One good point is that it is highly adaptable. By changing the type of decorations you use you can create candles appropriate for any season or occasion.

Another good point is that it is inexpensive. The raw material is canning jars and votive candles. Even if you buy new canning jars, they’re inexpensive. Better yet, you probably have some jars at home that you can use for free.

Commercially sold jam often comes in very attractive jars that you can use for this project. You can also find jars for next to nothing at flea markets and yard sales.

You’ll find inexpensive plain votive candles and glass holders for them at discount stores.

The basic idea with this project is to partially fill the canning jar with decorative material and then placing a votive candle on top of the decorations. The outside of the canning jar can be a decorated as well. Here are some ideas, you could glue on decorations, use paint to create patterns or simply wrap it with a bow.

Any number of materials can be used to fill the bottom of the canning jar. Some ideas include sand, marbles, hard candy, potpourri, river stones, polished coins…. In addition to being attractive, it adds a pleasant aroma as well.

If you use flammable material in the bottom of the canning jar, it is essential that the votive is inside its own glass holder. Do not use a votive candle or a tea candle without a glass holder.

It is a good idea to not let the decorative material come up above the bottom of the votive holder and to extinguish the candle before it burns completely to the bottom. And as always, never leave the room with a candle burning.

As you’ve noticed, this project uses premade candles. I suspect you’ll probably want to craft your own candles sooner rather than later. A good place to get basic instructions is: How to Make Your Own Candles. Not only will you find great instructions right on that page but you can sign up for a free candle making mini course that’s very informative and helpful.

And if your wondering what equipment might be involved in the hobby of candle making, you’ll find answers at Candle Making Equipment.

I’m sure you’ll find candle making to be a fun and rewarding hobby. I encourage you to give it a try.

What You Need to Know about Candle Making Molds

Today, most candles are made using a mold. Candles can be shaped into just about any imaginable using the appropriate mold. 

There are two concepts that need to be considered when evaluating a candle making mold and shape. These characteristics are draft and undercut.

Let’s talk about draft first. Draft is the degree of taper in a mold. Without the taper, it would be difficult or impossible to remove the candle from a solid mold.

It’s possible to make candles in molds with parallel sides because wax tends to shrink slightly as it cools, thereby separating from the mold enough to allow it to slide out.

Undercutting is another term you should be familiar with. You can think of undercutting as any part of the shape that would keep the finished candle from sliding out of the mold. You have probably seen candles shaped like Christmas trees. All those branches represent undercuts.

Undercutting in a form prevents using solid, one-piece molds to make the candle. Fortunately, there are a couple of options. One is to use a mold that separates into two or more parts. Another solution is to use a mold made out of rubber or other flexible material that can be stretched to allow removal of the finished candle.

Two-part molds work well for making candles that are symmetrical.  Flexible molds also work for these but are really only needed for more intricate shapes such a figurines. In use, the candle maker clamps the pieces of a multi-part mold together, seals the seams to keep wax from leaking and then uses it as if it were a solid mold.

The other way to deal with the problem of undercutting is to use a mold made out of a very flexible substance that can be stretched off the candle much the way you might stretch a latex glove to remove it from your hand. These molds are often made of silicone or rubber or other plastic materials.

You can get more details at: Candle Making Molds

While you’re there, be sure to sign up for your free candle making mini-course. You may also want to check out:

Candle Making Wax

I think you’ll be surprised at just how many options there are!

May be the best tip I can give you that will help you save time and money and avoid frustration is to check out Home Candle Making Made Easy

That book will help you almost completely eliminate the learning curve and have you producing flawless candles from your first attempts.

Soy Candle Wax Is This the Best Wax Yet?

Candles have been around for a while. They’re nothing new, but even technology as old as this can continue to evolve. Just to prove that there’s always something new under the sun, there’s a new candle wax on the scene.

In the past, tallow (rendered from various animal fats) was used to make candles, but candles made from tallow are pretty poor candles. They create a lot of smoke when they burn and they smell badly. For these reasons, paraffin rapidly became much more popular than tallow once it was developed.

However, paraffin is a residual of the petroleum refining process. That’s why people have been interested and coming up with a good alternative to paraffin. Soy candle wax is the result.

Soy beans are a good source of oil. However, soybean oil isn’t solid so it’s not suitable for making candles. But if you change the chemistry of an oil you can change its consistency.

Hydrogen atoms are part of oil molecules. How many hydrogen atoms an oil contains determines when it becomes a liquid or solid. If you add hydrogen to a liquid oil, it becomes solid.

Of course I’m not a chemist so I can’t really explain how it’s done, and the soybean oil is treated in different ways buy different manufactures, but the end result is a candle wax from a renewable resource.

Pure soy wax is soft. It works great in container candles, but isn’t very good for making tapers or pillar candles. Candle makers can compensate for that problem by blending soy wax with paraffin and hardening additives. If you do that, the resultant wax can be used for many more types of candles.

However, if you are going to use 100% soy wax you will probably get the best results if you use it to make container candles. You are probably familiar with container candles. These are candles in which the melted wax is poured into a nonflammable container with the wick positioned in the center. The candles never remove from the container, but rather is burned within it.

There’s a lot more to know about soy candle wax. One the best places I’ve found to get more information is:

Soy Candle Wax

And of course if you’re looking into soy candle wax you’ll probably be interested in how to make a candle with. You can learn about the insiders techniques at: How to Make Soy Candles.

Better yet, I suggest you take a look at the e-book Home Candle Making Made Easy.

That book covers all aspects of candle making from selecting what type of wax to use for specific situations, what additives to use and when, the best way to scent candles, and so much more… Getting the information this book will guarantee your success.

Candle making is a wonderful hobby. Get Home Candle Making Made Easy today and get started.