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I sometimes find that I have too much free time on my hands. I came across a store (while visiting some clients during work) that sold candle wax (and some basic material on candle making) and I thought "Why not?"
I was tempted (and also strongly recommended to buy the whole shebag of candle making stuff), but I thought to myself "Do I really need everything this guy is trying to sell me? Why don't I just buy the stuff I cant make myself, and then figure out the rest myself. I've seen roughly how they do it! I'm a guy! I don't need to read books on candle making! I'll just go make some candles now!"
Yeah, so if you're like me, you'll probably end up spending 2 weeks or so testing materials and stuff. Let me help you out with what I've found out.
1. Don't bother buying expensive candle molds (IMO).
These are expensive, and hard to get the candle out. Because of their price, you might end up only being able to buy 2 - 3 of them. If you're like me, and you want to make a LOT of candles at one go, this might be a problem. You will also have to keep your wax heated (or keep reheating it).
2. Don't bother buying candle mold release / silicone sprays (IMO).
Again, expensive, you don't really know whats in them (in terms of gas besides the silicone) and you have to go buy more when you run out.
In this 'ble I'll be focusing more on how I used paper cups as molds instead of the exact science of making candles (be warned!).
Note: There will be fire and sharp objects, so please be careful. Don't hurt yourself or others. Safety first!
I was tempted (and also strongly recommended to buy the whole shebag of candle making stuff), but I thought to myself "Do I really need everything this guy is trying to sell me? Why don't I just buy the stuff I cant make myself, and then figure out the rest myself. I've seen roughly how they do it! I'm a guy! I don't need to read books on candle making! I'll just go make some candles now!"
Yeah, so if you're like me, you'll probably end up spending 2 weeks or so testing materials and stuff. Let me help you out with what I've found out.
1. Don't bother buying expensive candle molds (IMO).
These are expensive, and hard to get the candle out. Because of their price, you might end up only being able to buy 2 - 3 of them. If you're like me, and you want to make a LOT of candles at one go, this might be a problem. You will also have to keep your wax heated (or keep reheating it).
2. Don't bother buying candle mold release / silicone sprays (IMO).
Again, expensive, you don't really know whats in them (in terms of gas besides the silicone) and you have to go buy more when you run out.
In this 'ble I'll be focusing more on how I used paper cups as molds instead of the exact science of making candles (be warned!).
Note: There will be fire and sharp objects, so please be careful. Don't hurt yourself or others. Safety first!
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Signing UpStep 1Stuff you'll need
I'll be making my candles with the basic candle making materials you may already know of. The only difference is that I'll be using paper cups (mine are shot glass sized, you can scale up as much as you want).
1. Candle wax
2. Candle coloring or wax coloring (some people use crayons, you can use them if you have any) and scent (if you want some)
3. Paper cups - you can buy big cups or small ones, I went with shot glass sized cups. Note: you should get the ones with some wax on the inside (almost all the paper cups I've seen have this anyway)
4. Candle wick (or some cotton twine - thick if you want a thicker / wider flame but not too thick!)
5. Cheap big bag of bamboo skewers
6. A nail or something to punch a small hole under the paper cups (or a small awl - I found one lying around so I used this)
7. A throw away pot (or two if you're going the double-boiler way)
8. A stove of some sort (duh!)
9. Some sort of cutting object like a knife or a blade
1. Candle wax
2. Candle coloring or wax coloring (some people use crayons, you can use them if you have any) and scent (if you want some)
3. Paper cups - you can buy big cups or small ones, I went with shot glass sized cups. Note: you should get the ones with some wax on the inside (almost all the paper cups I've seen have this anyway)
4. Candle wick (or some cotton twine - thick if you want a thicker / wider flame but not too thick!)
5. Cheap big bag of bamboo skewers
6. A nail or something to punch a small hole under the paper cups (or a small awl - I found one lying around so I used this)
7. A throw away pot (or two if you're going the double-boiler way)
8. A stove of some sort (duh!)
9. Some sort of cutting object like a knife or a blade
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Post pics if you get a chance!
I had some wax left over in my pan so I made a few more candles and gave them away. Best or closest approximation would be 1kg of wax but I didn't measure very accurately.
Thank you for reading!