DIY - Home Made Candles

Some months ago now having done some research on the internet, I ventured into attempting to make my own teacup candles. You see these retailing for around £8 upwards each so I thought I'd see how expensive, and difficult it would be to make my own.

 

You'll need some essential items:

 

Double boiler (1 saucepan on top of another)

Paraffin / Soy Wax

Beeswax (optional but gives a more even lengthy burn time)

Wick Pins (keep the wick central and straight whilst cooling)

Wicks

Dye Discs (if you want coloured candles)

Essential Oils (if you want fragrant candles)

Thermometer
Tea cups / appropriate vessels

 

Being my first attempt, I decided to opt for an ordinary, unfragranced candle. I purchased the paraffin wax, beeswax, wicks, wick pins and dye discs in a set from Ebay for around £12. Although you can also re-use the left over wax from other candles - just be mindful of the scents if using scented ones - you may not like the end result if mixing too many together!

 

Next, I headed to the charity shops to search out some suitable cups and saucers. I picked up a set of six for just £2.99.

 

I won't bore you with the details, but you can get an easy step-by-step guide on the process from this page (gotta love Kirstie!) and loads of other sites.

 

Here are a few quick pics of the process....

 

 

 I'd chosen 'Antique White' as the shade - as you can see, whilst in liquid form it looks more 'black tea' than white. Don't worry though, it transforms when cool. The wick will also need trimming once cool to ensure the flame isn't too high .....

 

When the wax cools, it creates a 'well' around the wick - make sure to keep some spare wax to one side so you can top it up and get a smooth, level finish. You don't have to do this but if intending as a gift, it'll look that much better.

And, here's the finished product.....

 

 

 

Pretty impressive for my first attempt if I do say so myself. What's more, it works out at less than £3 per candle too! The burn time on the candles was around 8hrs each making them excellent value.

 

 

 

 I've been meaning to do some more and experiment with oils this time too. If/when I get around to it, I'll be sure to update you all.

 

If you've been thinking about giving it a go, do it! So easy and effective and they'd make great little gifts too - just wrap some cellophane around and tie with a ribbon/bow or get a pretty box to put it in.

Now... I'm off to have a soak in a candle-lit bath....