Basic Candle Making – Business / or Great Gifts!
Candle making in itself can be a reward, but can also provide a great cost effective business idea. Making candles is simple, and allows you tap into creativity, so it can be less boring then other small businesses. Candles are so easy to make that it will take very little time before you are ready to move on more advanced projects.
Now let’s put together a list of resources you will need to prepare Candles
- Candle Making Wax
- 100gm Coconut Oil (For Greasing)
- Candle Making Mold(it is better to have steel/glass container or pot as a mold to shape the candle as desired)
- Candle Making Jar (to melt wax)
- Wooden Spoon (to stir the wax)
- Gloves (optional)
That list should be all of the basic tool needed to make some Candles at home–even less if you really don’t want to pick up all of it.
Let’s get started; here are the basic instructions for making a candle.
Basic Candle Making:
Cut a piece of wick about the same length as your candle making mold–or if you’re going to do a dip candle then make it a little longer then the desired candle.
Place you candle making wax in the candle making jar. Heat the wax on low–or place jar in a pot full of water and heat to prevent wax from burning.
Once the wax is melted stir it a little with the wooden spoon. Once it’s fully melted turn the heat off.
Dip the wicks into the wax a few times–two or three will do nicely, and lay them on a plate to cool. Apply the coconut oil on the inside of the candle making molds. After the mold has been oiled, pour the hot candle making wax into the candle making mold until it reaches the brim. Leave it to cool for a little while.
After around 20 minutes take one of the now hardened wicks and place it in the center of the candle–while it is in the mold, hold it still for a moment so it sticks then leave it to fully cool. (Sometimes up to two hours)
When the candle making wax has finally cooled, turn the mold upside down and try to release the candle. If all went well you candle should come out easily due to the oil, you may now carve or decorate your Candle as desired.
Candle Making Molds – How to choose the right one!
There are limitless options when it comes to molds for candle making, you can use any mold from a very large selection to make something truly your own. Molds are available in many different sizes, shapes and made with a large array of different materials of your choice.
It’s always a good idea to have a clear picture of what you are planning to make before you get too far into the process. When choosing the candle making molds for your project, try and imagine how the candle will look, and what type of stand of holder it will be used in.
Even if you are looking for a certain shape of candle, there are likely many molds available for that specific shape as long as you know where to look for them. One type of candle that can be used in almost any candle holder is the pillar style–and may be a good first choice if you are just starting out.
Another option would be a votive candle mold–they will allow you to make quite a few small candles for use in votive holders. You can even find candle making molds in the shape of animals, or other objects from certain manufacturers–amazon.com is a great place to look for this sort of thing.
Some molds can be purchased that will make candles that look like plaques if so desired. These types of molds are so detailed that your candle will come out looking like a picture or a symbol in some cases. You can even find molds so detailed that they produce candles that appear to be hand carved straight out of the wax!
Look in your local crafts stores for interesting molds and sometimes wax and other supplies, or you might try searching online. Molds come in many different types of shapes and size, and also a wide variety of materials if you have a specific preference. Some options are cardboard, metal and of course plastic.
Plastic molds are easy to handle, and easy to clean, they are also usually so cheap you don’t have to worry about breaking them–and since they are also pliable, it probably won’t be much of a worry anyway.
Cardboard molds are great for kids–since you can just tear them up after the wax dries and get the candle out, but as this destroys the mold they are more of a onetime thing.
Milk containers make easy candle molds since they are free–hey they come with the milk after all, and provide a cube shape for the candle to boot. Some candle molds are available in aluminum as well. Pillar candles are often made professionally with metal molds since they are very reusable.
Metal molds are also known to provide a very smooth finish to the candles which is another reason they are the professional choice in use. There are a few things to consider when it comes to the type of mold you use.
- Plastic molds are easy to clear, but will break much easier than a metal mold.
- Cardboard molds are great for quick removal, but can fall apart if they get damp and are generally not good for too many uses.
- Metal candle molds are strong, but they are not pliable which limits the style and appearances they come in, sometimes you will have to choose a plastic mold just to get the right style.
Another important note is that candle wax sticks much more often to the metal molds, so you will have to oil them of you won’t be able to easily remove the finished candle–no fun, but spray oil easily fixes this problem.
The good news is whatever design you have in mind, there are MANY candle making molds available for you to choose from, take a look and find one that really makes your project come to life.
