DIY Candles

Making homemade candles is a fun and easy way to spend an afternoon. These DIY candles make great gifts, or can simply be saved for personal use and enjoyment. They use a natural soy wax, and are colored using non-toxic crayons. This allows for a multitude of possible color combinations. You can even liven things up a bit by adding essential oils to make them scented candles.

Step 1: Materials

You will need:

Small Glass Jars
You should get around a dozen small glass jars. I found my leftover (5 oz) glass yogurt jars worked well. You can also buy new jars in a variety of fun shapes and sizes off Amazon.

5lb Soy Wax
Soy wax is a cheap and easy to work with natural wax. I find a 5lb bag yields roughly 20 - 24 candles.

Wicks
Getting pre-made wicks will make your life much easier in the long run.

Box of Non-Toxic Crayons
Non-toxic crayons make a great coloring agent because they come in a multitude of colors that can be mixed and matched. They are also already wax-based, so you can melt it directly into the wax without having to worry about diluting it.

Assorted Scents
You can optionally add essential oil to your candle to give it a nice scent. I ordered a sample-sized scent pack from Nurielights. This is a cool little company that sources traditionally made oils from all over the world. Each sample only makes a few candles, so if you want to scent all of them the same, you should consider a larger size.

Wooden Clothespins
These are for holding the wicks while the wax sets.

Glass Measuring Cup
You will want to get a new glass measuring cup specifically for candle making. Wax is hard to clean off.

3 Quart Sauce Pan
While you can use the one you have, I highly recommend buying one specifically for candle making. Once the wax gets in there (and it will), you will have a heckuva time washing it out. Life will simply be easier to get a new pan.

Candy Thermometer
The last thing you will need is a candy thermometer that goes up to at least 200 degrees.

(Note that some of the links on this page contain Amazon affiliate links. This does not change the price of any of the items for sale. However, I earn a small commission if you click on any of those links and buy anything. I reinvest this money into materials and tools for future projects. However, you are obviously free to get things where you please.)

Step 2: Setup the Wicks

First things first, you will want to prepare all of the jars for later. You will not want to be fussing with this when dealing with the wax.

Center the wicks upright in the center of the jars using clothespins and then set them aside.

Step 3: Coloring

Pick out the color crayons you like and cut small bits off of them to be used as coloring.

A little bit goes a long way. That said, reds, oranges, and purples tend to require a little bit less coloring than blues, greens and yellows.

Step 4: Melt the Wax

Melting the wax directly in the pot will make the wax too hot, ruin it, and make a giant mess.

You will want to improvise a double boiler by filling the pot 2/3 of the way with water, and then hooking the handle of the measuring cup on the side of the pan. The cup should float and the water should be about an inch lower than the side of the pan.

If at any point it looks like the water is going to boil over the edge of the pan, or get into the cup of of wax, remove some water.

Insert the thermometer into the empty cup, and when it gets near 170 degrees, pour in some wax until the cup is half full.

Stir the wax to aid in melting.

Continue adding wax little by little until there is about 2 cups worth of melted wax inside.

Let the wax sit until the thermometer reaches 170 degrees

Step 5: Add Color

When your wax is at temperature, drop in the crayon coloring bricks and stir until they are firmly melted.

Keep in mind the color will change change as it cools. Make the color more vibrant than you think it should be as it will be less vibrant once settled. Also, don't get to worried if it seems to change color a little. It will sort itself out as the wax cools.

The coloring process takes some trial and error to get a hang of.

Step 6: Scented Candles

If you want to make scented candles, you can try adding about 10 drops of essential oil to the mix.

Again, this is going to take some trial and error to get right. Some oils are stronger or weaker than others and may require more or less oil.

However, keep in mind that if you add too much oil, the wax will not set properly. Don't go overboard.

Step 7: Pour

Pour the wax into the jars.

If the wicks have moved off-center after you have filled the jar, gently re-position them.

Step 8: Wait

Wait 4 to 6 hours for the wax to fully set and harden.

Step 9: Clean Them Up

Trim the wicks to be about 1/2" long.

Wipe away any wax that got splashed around the outside of the glass jar.

Step 10: Enjoy

Enjoy your new candles.

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Comments

[LauraLee]

Could you tell me why this happens?
When my wax starts setting up after pouring, it sinks in the middle, hardens around the edge, then I have to melt it down with a heat gun and pour more in, repeating the process a few times!
I'm only using 2 & 4 ounce jars!
Is my wax too hot when I pour it or too cool?
How do I prevent it from happening?
I've got everything else down pat, but I am PLAGUED with this problem and it's putting me off making more candles!

[Sjdck59]

Can I use old wax from old candles to remake a new candle? Does it have to be in little peices to melt down as if I was starting new?

[randofo]

Yes. Ideally they should be the same kind of wax.

[_Vyper]

Couple Things, First of all nice 'ible,
1.) Small silicone ice-cube trays make awesome molds if you want "Wax Melts" instead of candles (I like the pretty tiny ones ~1x1 inch)
2.) Depending on the vessel toothpicks/chopsticks work decent to hang wicks off of (can hold it on with either tape, or a snug rubber-band)
4.) I've found a decent alternative is to use is a IR thermometer (the sorta gun looking ones)
5.) You can use a silicone measuring cup as any leftover wax doesn't stick and you can just squeeze it out.
6.) Plus another fun one is use a glass/pyrex loaf pan (put several wicks across it) I use them in non-functional fireplaces or as interesting centerpieces

[clarkhayley573]

I would like to know as its my first time creating a candle I have an assortment of wax from used candles and I brought a bundle of wicks a while ago I've got the step by step instructions how to make candles my question is can it be done correctly without the sugar thermometer an could I use a plastic measuring jug instead thank you

[randofo]

You do need the thermometer. I imagine the plastic container might melt in the hot water.

[SnazzyKnits]

Absolutely great, have you considered selling them? And if so, is it successful? thanks ❤️
Snazzy Knits

[randofo]

I gave them away as gifts. I haven't considered trying to sell them.

[SnazzyKnits]

That's nice to give them away, they really would sell well, maybe 6 pound each, you could sell them on Etsy.

[lule.andrea]

What if I got a candle making specific metal pot? ( Not sure if proper term) Do I still need to improvise a double boil?

[randofo]

No. I believe that would be fine on its own.

[shrishshukla88]

And where i get rest of the materials tell ke that as well

[randofo]

These are also linked to above in the description.

[shrishshukla88]

From where i get the glass to make candles

[randofo]

I used yogurt containers, but you can get them from Amazon. See the links above in the instructions.

[chadley292]

I love burning candles all over my house, but they are pricey buying them as much as I go through them, I'm not a crafts person, I get frustrated easily. Can you come help me out with getting the first time done? 😁 I love how your candles turned out. Thanks for sharing this with us

[CedricBeatle]

Is 170 degrees important? I have no thermometer..

[randofo]

Yes. It is important to monitor the temperature. You don't want to overheat the wax because it can start to separate and no longer work. It can also potentially cause other problems with the candle.

You can read more about it here:
https://nzcandlesupplies.nz/blogs/news/soy-wax-troubleshooting

[JennyY17]

Those are beautiful colors! I bought some crayons and wasn’t sure what colors to use or the quantity to make the same colors as your candles. Do you remember which crayon colors you used and the porportion?

[randofo]

Not precisely, but I only used the ones pictured above. The color of the candle is going to be more muted than whatever crayon you select on account of the color of the wax. When the wax is melted and you mix in the crayon, it may appear to be very bright (almost neon), but as the wax cool, the color will become much more muted.