Safety
Like all crafts, there are steps you should follow when making candles that will help ensure your success.
Unlike some other crafts though, the main ingredient in candle making–melted wax– is hot and flammable and thus dangerous if not used with care. Hot wax is surprisingly liquid and is easily spilled or leaked while making candles and will ruin furniture, clothes, carpet—and skin. Candle coloring will stain furniture and clothes. There is always the danger of burns from splashing or dripping the hot wax onto yourself. However, candle making is not dangerous as long as you take some precautions and plan ahead.
As when heating anything on a stove, turn all handles on pots away from the front of the stove so you don’t accidentally bump into them. Better yet, use a pot that does not have a long handle. A metal stock pot and lid with “ear” type handles works well.
Wax will ignite if melted at too high a temperature. Never heat wax over 300 degrees and never leave melting wax unattended. Use a thermometer so you know exactly what temperature your wax is while melting it.
Know before you start what to do if the wax does catch fire or you spill hot wax onto your skin:
If your wax gets too hot and ignites while melting, cover the pot with a lid and turn off the heat.
If your wax spills and is ignited by the burner, turn the burner off and sprinkle the wax fire with baking soda to extinguish. Do not try to put out a wax fire with water.
If you are burned by hot wax, immediately cover the burned area with cool water to stop further damage. If it is a bad burn, do not attempt to remove the wax. Place a cool cloth over the area and get to a doctor.
Make sure there is nothing on the floor or in your walkway that you could trip over while moving the pot of hot wax from the stove to your mold. Keep all pets and children out of the work area while you are dealing with the hot wax.
Always stir and pour hot wax slowly and gently to prevent spills. Never touch a filled mold with your bare hands—always use hot pads, preferably mitten style hot pads that will protect your hands from the hot wax.
If the hot wax spills at any time, do not attempt to soak it up with cloth or paper towels—it make soak through and burn you. Instead, let the wax cool and harden for easy removal.
Be careful when putting the filled mold into the water bath so that it does not tip over and spill the wax. If it seems prone to tipping, weight it down with a clean brick or other weighted item that will sit securely on top of the filled mold.
Candle Making Crafts – A lit candle is symbol of knowledge and wisdom
A lit candle is symbol of knowledge and wisdom. Candles make a house more romantic, cozy and beautiful. Candles make a house into home. There is a significant bond between human life and candles. Originally candles were made as a source of light and heat. The creative candle making craft is a daily developing art to suit the changing life styles and market dynamics. Rapid changes are made with innovative ideas to suit the requirement of candles, whether for romantic ambience or healing aromatherapy or to give as a personal home made gift.
Candles are used for decorating our homes, for celebrations and to soothe our senses. It is used for spiritual and religious rituals and prayers. At times we give it as a good presentation to our loved ones with dignity. The lighting of candle heals the mental wounds and develops positive thinking in human beings. It is a spiritual companion. Candle making is gaining momentum as an industry and as a hobby.
One has to learn the basics of candle making. The medium of candle making which suit you best has to be understood along with other prevailing in the market. A visit to one candle making unit will give you on the process and can opt for a better training.
How to make Gel candles: Conventional candle consist of solid wax and a wick. Contemporary ones are made of paraffin, bee wax, gel etc. More popular among them are gel candles made of Gel. Gel is combination of polymer resin and mineral oil. This is transparent. Transparency of the gel makes it unique and the charm is mystique. Gel candles are made of gel, zinc wick and fragrant oils. Inflammable embeds are selected to suit the theme of craft. It can be a shell, false fish, glass etc. anything to suit the occasion or purpose.
Precautions: Gel is more combustible than wax hence fire safety precautions have to be taken in advance. Keep a chemical type fire extinguisher handy. Fire resistant aprons and gloves have to be worn along with safety glasses for fire safety.
Gel candles have to made with utmost care. The container is selected with a minimum diameter of 2 inches. The zinc wick is fixed at the bottom of the container with hot glue and set aside. The gels cut to small pieces are melted using a multi –cooker to liquid form. At 200 degree F it melts and makes it to syrup by stirring. A small amount of liquid dye added. To make fragrance essential oil added. The selection of essential oil again depends on choice of scent for the candle. Pour the gel into the container by placing the wick in the middle and place he embeds in position. Let the candle cool for about four hours. The candle is ready.
How to make paraffin candles: Paraffin wax is a by- product of crude oil refining. This is white and colorless odorless and waxy. The mold and wick are selected. Mold should have a mouth wider than the base and the wick is cut to equal length of mould plus 6 cm. Primed wick is used for the purpose, to ensure proper burning. The wick is inserted through the mould, where a groove is provided for the purpose. At the bottom side of the mold place the wick flat and cover it with enough mould sealer. Inside of the mold apply some vegetable oil for easy removal of candle. Heat wax indirectly with a double mold. Remove the wax from boiling water and allow to cool for a moment. Pour it inside the mold slowly and allow a little space at top without filling wax.
The creative imagination has no limit in candle making craft ideas. Never feel failure in the process and practice is the only way for mastering the ideas. Basic candle making requires some training and practice. Combination of wax and wick has to be carefully practiced. Candle making supplies like wax, tool kit, containers etc are now available in shops and on line. For beginners candle making kits are available with vendors and on line. Better start practicing with this and build up experience and confidence.
Your Workspace and Tools
It is not necessary to devote a space in your home just for candle making unless you plan to make a lot of candles to sell. Your kitchen will do just fine for making candles for yourself or to give as gifts.
Prepare a steady work table by covering it with several layers of newspaper. If using your kitchen counter, protect the counter surface with heavy cardboard or even a piece of plywood under the newspaper to prevent heat from damaging the surface.
Always have hot pads available—the mitten type that covers your entire hand works best. Wear a heat and moisture resistant apron over your clothes if possible.
Use a plastic washbasin to stand or sit the mold in before filling with wax. That way, if it leaks the wax will be contained in the tub instead of running off the counter and onto the floor.
Have a table or counter space where everything you will be using is laid out and waiting. You don’t want to have to go hunting for a necessary tool while your wax is heating.
Choose a sturdy metal pot with small handles for melting the wax—a metal stock pot with “ear” type handles works well—and have a lid that fits the pot snugly. A metal coffee pot with pouring spout works great as long as the top opening is large enough.
Have a box of baking soda on hand in case of fire.
Use a wooden spoon that is long enough to reach to the bottom of your pot without getting your hand into the wax. A metal spoon will conduct the heat to your hand.
Use a thermometer—a glass clip on type works well—when melting the wax.
A long metal knitting needle works well for making a hole in the depression created in the bottom of the candle as the wax cools. After making a hole with the needle, fill the depression with hot wax.
A cheese slicer or a knife will work for trimming the mold seam from the candle once it is cooled, and keep an assortment of soft cloths and paper towel for polishing the finished candle.
You will probably want to keep your candle making tools separate from your regular kitchen items because once coated with wax, they will not be useful for cooking unless you spend a lot of time removing the wax.
Getting Ready To Make Candles
You have some decisions to make about the candle you want to make, each of which will influence your materials and preparation. Look over the list below just to get the general idea and we will go into detail about each step later. You will need to make sure you have all materials and supplies at hand so you don’t have to leave that melting wax unattended to go get something you forgot.
Here are the steps you will be taking to create a candle:
First you need to decide what kind of candle you want to make—size, shape, color. This determines what kind of mold and wick you will use, as well as the steps you will take to create the candle. Print out the steps involved and keep it handy to refer to while making your first candle.
Order all the materials you will need and look them over. If you are using a mold with multiple pieces, take the mold apart and put it together again so you know exactly how it works. Make sure you know how to securely attach the connectors that keep the pieces of the mold together so your wax will stay in the mold.
Decide on the type of wax you want to use and how much of it you need. Sometimes the instructions that come with the mold will tell you how much wax is needed. Otherwise, make a guesstimate and melt more than you think you will need—you can always re-use the wax for another candle.
Decide what additives you will use: stearic acid, colors, and scents.
Carefully melt your wax and any additives and stay with it while you prepare your mold.
Prepare the mold and select and prepare the proper wick and install it in the mold.
Fill the water bath if needed.
When the wax is fully melted, pour it into the mold, reserving enough to fill the depression created as the wax cools.
Using hot pads, carefully place the filled mold into water bath if using. Place a weight on top of the mold if necessary to keep it stable.
Fill depression as the candle cools. If the candle has formed a hollow spot while cooling, a metal knitting needle comes in handy for poking a hole so you can fill the hollow area with hot wax.
Once the candle is set up and cool enough to handle, remove it from the mold, being careful not to mar the candle surface or dent the candle mold.
Let cool completely before handling further, then remove any mold seam line and polish or decorate the candle.
Candle making is a lot of fun and very satisfying, but it also requires some safety precautions. With some pre-planning you will avoid most serious problems. Remember that candle making is like any other craft—you are bound to make some mistakes when you first get started. The good thing about wax candles, though, is that you can always re-melt and re-use a candle that you really don’t like.
Why Make Candles?
While candles are no long needed to provide the main lighting in a home, there is still something interesting and enticing about a room lit by candles alone. Candle light is rather enchanting, evoking story time and fairy tales, romance and quiet secluded getaways. Restaurants still use candles on the tables to provide a special warm and romantic atmosphere for their diners. And there is something special about using candles in the bathroom–think soaking in a warm bath in a room lit by scented candles.
As far as crafts go, candle making is easy and inexpensive—especially since all of the needed supplies, tools and materials can be ordered on the Internet. Candles can be customized to fit the style and color of any room—or person. Special and personalized touches like scents and oils can be added, and candles are often used for calming and other restorative effects known as aroma therapy.
Candles are great for home decoration even if you choose not to burn them. They go well with floral arrangements and artwork. Tall white tapers look very elegant and rich and candles are often used during the holidays to create warmth, coziness and a sense of something special. Candles make wonderful custom crafted gifts for friends and family, who are always flattered that you went to the trouble to make something especially for them.
Candles can often be created right in your kitchen with tools you already have available. Besides wax and wick, almost anything can be used to mold the candle. A large sturdy pot and long wooden spoon will suffice for melting the wax, while old newspapers will cover the workspace. While there are many professional metal and plastic molds available, you can also use cups, bowls or pitchers to mold and hold the candle for burning. You can even make a mold of plaster, aluminum foil or sand to create your candle. Colors, scents, and other additives—while very nice—are not really necessary to make a candle.
At the top of the reasons for making candles is crafting satisfaction. Though candles are easy to make, people are always amazed to find that you made the candle yourself—as if candles can only be made in a factory by professional candle makers. After you gain some experience in making basic molded candles, you can try your hand at some of the fancier and more difficult kinds and perhaps even start up a small business of custom crafted candles.
History of Candles
Torches were used for thousands of years before man made the first crude candles, but the Romans are credited with developing the first true wick candle, which was mainly used to light homes, aid travelers in the dark and light religious services. Though early candle makers made wax from seeds, nuts and even insects, most used animal fats such as tallow from cattle and suet from sheep to make their candles. Beeswax was not used until the middle ages and even then it remained an item used mostly by the wealthy due to the scarcity of beeswax. Beeswax candles burned clean with a pleasant scent, as opposed to the candles made from animal fats, which tended to smoke and fill the area where they were used with a strong odor.
Sometime during the Colonial period it was discovered that boiling berries from bayberry bushes created a wax that also burned clean—but it took a lot of berries and much labor to produce enough wax for candle making. So once again these candles were mostly used by the wealthy who could afford the high price.
Candle makers–called chandlers—were licensed to produce all the candles made in England in the early part of the18th century and, and since they were taxed and used to generate income for the kingdom, people couldn’t make them for themselves at home until the law was changed in 1831.
After the rise of the whaling industry in the 18th century, candles were made from spermaceti—wax made from sperm whale oil—which became both abundant and affordable. Spermaceti, like beeswax, burned clean and relatively odor free and as a bonus, held up better to the heat of summer than the other waxes used at the time.
The first paraffin wax was made in 1850 from residues left after refining crude petroleum. Paraffin burned clean and odor free while casting a strong and bright white light. More importantly, paraffin was cheaper than waxes used until that time, which meant it was more available to the general populace. The main problem with using paraffin as candle wax, though, was that paraffin has a low melting temperature. This problem was solved with the invention of Stearic acid, an extract made from animal fatty acids, which was added to paraffin to raise its melting point.
Candles became even cheaper in 1834 when Joseph Morgan invented a candle making machine. Before this, most candles were made by dipping the wick over and over into hot wax until the desired thickness was achieved. The new machine molded candles using cylinders and a piston that pushed the candles out as they hardened, allowing an almost continuous production of candles. And of course, a large supply of candles meant lower prices for those buying them.
Candle use and candle making began to decline when the light bulb was invented in 1879, though it took a few years for the electricity required to light the bulbs spread enough to cause a serious decline in candle use.
While candles are not necessary in most countries today to produce light, they are still sold and used during special celebrations, religious services and as home decoration. New waxes such as soybean wax and palm wax have been developed and the recent resurgence of “doing-it-yourself” has guaranteed plentiful supplies via the Internet. This new found interest in crafting has brought candle making to “light” once again.
