Candlemaking

I’m a bit obsessed with beeswax candles. They smell so good, just like honey! Also, I feel like they burn cleaner than other candles. The only drawback so far is that they are just so darn expensive.

So, I’ve been saving the drippings from all the candles that I burn so that I can melt them down and make more candles.

I know that somewhere I have some pre-made wicks that I must have gotten from Hobby Lobby or a store like it. But, I couldn’t find the wicks and I wanted to make candles NOW.

Turns out, wicks are EASY to make.

I started by melting the beeswax that I wanted to use in an improvised double boiler. CAUTION: beeswax can do all kinds of nasty things if you get it too hot. Like spontaneously combust. And we don’t want that. So BE CAREFUL: use a double boiler.

My double boiler consists of a thrifted pot and a metal bowl that sits on top. I generally fill the pot about half way with water and then put the bowl on. I keep my burner as low as it will go and everything still melts quickly.

While the beeswax is melting, grab some cotton yarn. Mine is some double worsted weight yarn that I plan to turn into a bathmat soon.

That big giant brick? That’s beeswax that Nate ordered from somewhere. It’s not heavily filtered so it still smells a LOT like honey. I’m hoping that he’ll let me use it to make candles!

Cut pieces a few inches longer than you plan to actually use. Once the wax is melted, soak the yarn in it. Leave the yarn in the wax about 30 seconds to ensure it is soaked all the way through.

The discs of beeswax look like egg yolks to me in this picture.

Lay the wick out on wax paper and pull taught. Let the wick dry, which should only take a few minutes max, and it is ready to use!

Now, let’s make candles!

If you know a beekeeper, harass them for beeswax!! And then make lots of your own candles! Score!

Or be like me and save all your candle drippings.

I had just enough beeswax to fill up a 4oz wide mouth canning jar. I’m pretty sure that the canning jar will prove to be a safe jar to have a candle in. The glass of canning jars is made to stand up to a lot of abuse.

To make my candle, I grabbed my wick and stuck it in the jar. Cut the wick off about 1 inch longer than you want it to be. Don’t be like me and skip this step and then have your wick moving all around in the candle.

Stick a safety pin through near where the top of the jar hits the wick. Stick something like a spoon, knife, chopstick, through the safety pin and use this to keep the wick standing straight up in the middle of the candle. When the hot wax gets poured into the jar the wick will no longer want to stand straight up on its own.

Pour your melted beeswax (if you made your wicks right before making candles it should still be melty) into the jar and make sure you don’t knock over your wick.

Now’s the hard part. Be patient, wait for the candle to solidify. Don’t start poking it and messing with it. Hot wax burns. I can vouch for it.

When the candle is finally solid, trim the wick to about 1/2″ and light it up!

Grin and dance around and be giddy that you just made a candle.

[As seen on Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways.]