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.
