Has anyone tried Candle Making?

[emilyem1]

Hi,

This is something that interests me but I want to know where and how to start.

Has anyone done candle making and can give me some tips?

Thanks

Emz

[sanguine_emma]

yes, I've done it, ages ago when I was about 15. I had a Dryad kit as a starting point. It was quite good fun, but it made a terrible mess of our kitchen! I reckon you should start with a kit, and get creative when you've got the hang of it

[pink]

I tried this once with a kit but couldn't get 'into it' as much as I can with my baking when I'm not aching as much. I got my kit from hobbycraft at crown point in leeds - they had loads to choose from. Let me know how you get on.

[Finarda]

I used to get paid to make handmade candles but it was a very long time ago! I used to work for a small "candle factory" when I was in my last year of High School. It was a great job as I'd chat with the owner about business principles and 'mind experiments' as we made the candles (it was a very small business!).

I've made my own candles at home too using kits and would occasionally improvise based on some of the stuff that I did at the factory.

What I do more of now is to make glycerin soaps. My husband hates using any soap other than glycerin ones and it's oddly hard to find, other than Body Shop. I bulk buy the glycerin and then melt up parts of it, mix it with colours, scents (I like the citrus ones or lavender ones best for not reacting to them), then any 'effects' like a hint of glittery stuff, poured around a loofah etc, then I pour them into a mould. I have a really nice set of celtic knot ones that are my "trademark" (my friends sometimes ask me for some). I also make bath salts quite a bit as I love to soak in an epsom salt or dead sea salt bath and let that magnesium absorb into my skin. I make ones like Chai Tea, Chocolate, Candy Cane as well as the other more obvious lavender etc. Some of them have to be put into a cheesecloth type bag and hung in the bath (if it has chunky bits in it), others can just be added directly into the bath.

OK, I've totally digressed. But yes, I've tried candle making (and probably still have the scars to prove it - obviously if you're using melted wax then it's very hot, but there are other powdery types that you can make that as far as I can remember aren't hot until the flame gets near it then it melts, but you can layer the powders etc)

Fiona

Fiona

[elka3131]

I have made candles. I used to have a really cool small kit.

It contained little, shaped glass pots. There were bags of tiny pieces of candle- all in lots of different colours. I'd then layer these in the pots and use the tools to make pretty patterns. These were great fun- until I ran out of candles mix.

They made great presents for people and now I have loads in my cuboard.

[emilyem1]

Thanks All,

Elka - If you fancy selling then let me know!

Pink - Thanks, I plan a trip with the baby soon to Crown Point! I love going there!

xx

[Sarah-Mary]

Know it's a bit out of date but thought I'd add my piece. Don't know if you're aware but you can get two kinds of kit - a cheats kit and a 'real' kit.
The easy kit contains ready-made wax containing dye and wicks. The wax has to be heated up, supposedly in your hands (although I cheat and sit it on top of the radiator). The wax then becomes pliable enough for you to mould it into different shapes around the pre-dipped wick, like play-doh! You leave it to cool and become hard and hey presto. I used this a few times with the Cubs as it's much less red-tape to wade through than making real candles with hot wax.

The other kind is the traditional, messy kind with melting wax, moulds, having to dip the wicks, supports, oils for fragrance and colours. I prefer this as you can make things more your own. I'm a fan of making layered candles with different colours, if you're really patient you can even make ones where the waxes swirl into each other and make pretty patterns. This is easier to do in glasses, I buy the cheap clear ones from Ikea to great effect. Be prepared for a mess until you get the hang of it, and it's a total pain in the backside to clean afterwards. I have a £3 smartprice pot especially for candle-making.

As sanguine_emma said, you're better starting with a kit. If you get a good one you can get the perfumes, colours, wax, a few moulds, supports and wicks to start you off. If you have any plaster of paris moulds (the kind you get in children's kits) that you don't mind risking you can try them, it's worked well for me but no guarantees! I found wax colours in stick form better than liquid colouring as they last for AGES and you only need the teenyest bit. I still have a bit left from my yellow stick in my original kit from 5 years ago. If you have a good kit you really only need to replace the wick and wax every so often.

Jeez,that turned into a bit of an essay. Sorry guys, I love my crafty stuff.

[Blaadyblah]

Never too late, I think your timing's spot on - soething else to try for christmas maybe...