Candles

Made some new candles last month.... The bigger (32 oz.) mason jars came out really nice. I made some with wooden wicks, some with hemp wicks, some cotton. I used mason jars, Altoid containers and other former candle jars. The ones I made with the peppermint essential oils do not have a strong enough scent. You need to use about 5ml of essential oil for a pound of wax. Let's remember that next time...

New Batch of Candles!

I started working on a new batch of candles. I think my skills have reached the point where I can start giving them as gifts. I made an orange martini glass soy wax candle that came out really nice -- thanks Caitlinn! 

I made two lavender colored candles -- one with lavender oil for the scent and one with a lilac scent block. I made the lilac in a round, 4 inch wide glass candle jar and the lavender one in a 16 ounce mason jar. I think I will give the lavender candle to Silay-Sylanski as a baby congratulations gift. (EDIT: I ended up making a new one the next week, still lavender scented, for the baby (Lily), with an "L" bead on the bottom. This 'candle/lavender ' has come to be known as the 'calender.' 

I tried using a bead in the martini glass candle -- Cait's idea -- and that worked well. I put a wick in a mason jar with a C for the Corbetts. And then the wide lilac candle, which has a double wick, I might give to Jessica and Reed for getting married / buying a house. I used an "F" and an "M" since I know Reed from way back at WRCT 88.3fm Pittsburgh. 

beautiful pour, double wick

I made the wicks from my new beeline spool -- organic hemp wick dipped in beeswax. For the mason jars I actually tripled it -- I used three lengths of wick all twisted around itself. I think that will produce a nice, large flame and good burn. It might burn fast, but I think it will help produce a strong aroma. Maybe I should test one before giving them away. For the wider candle I doubled the wick and used two of them. That should make a nice pool in the middle, but I don't know if the flame will reach the sides and melt all the wax. We'll see. Unless I give them away, then I won't see. I will have to request pictures.

I melted the soy wax in a melting pot sitting in another pot with a little bit of hot/boiling water. Once it hit about 180 degrees, I added the dye and removed it from the heat. I let it cool to about 160 before adding the scent (or even lower if using liquid). Then I let it cool further to about 135 before pouring. The mason jar  and the martini glass required topping off while the wider candle filled perfectly with one pour.

A Photo Essay of My First Candle

Making Candles

"My obvious conclusion was, Fuck Etsy! I'll make this shit myself!" 

-- Joe Valeri 

One night I lay in bed shopping online -- browsing I should say. Someone had posted a link on Facebook to their friend's Etsy site, and I had started browsing around for various things. Eventually I concluded that I wanted to buy something local, something affordable, something practical. Maybe candles... 

My first ever candle - with homemade hemp wick

I clicked around for awhile, checking the prices of various candles and vendors, until I saw one person selling these mismatched, unmelted "candles" made in salsa jars. She had merely collected all the leftover chunks of wax from the other candles she made and tossed the chunks into her husband's used salsa jars. Each "candle" had several chunks -- of different colors and scents -- piled into the jar, with a wick in the middle. But then she didn't even re-melt them. It would be like dropping a bunch of crayons into a juice glass, sticking a wick in it, and selling it online for 6 bucks (plus shipping :O).

My obvious conclusion was, Fuck Etsy! I'll make this shit myself! 

... Candle making ensued ... 

I really enjoyed it, and now I have a dozen candles around the house. I can burn candles constantly and it's basically free. Any color, any scent, any size ... it's very cool -- definitely a hobby I will return to. (Click here to see a photo essay of my first candle.)

My first set of candles in progress - I even decoupaged the glass on some of them.

I'll do more candle making posts to show all the pictures I have. I think I should do one post with all the supplies and instructions for how to make them as a reminder to myself. And then another post with some of the finished the products -- although several of them have been burned by now.