Anyone can make molded candles. You don't need many supplies, but whatever you use won't be reusable for any other purpose. Make sure you don't choose your new pots!
For an introduction to candle making, go to the tutorial on how to make candles.
Materials
- Stearin
- Paraffin
- Stiffened wick
- Candle dye
- Modeling clay
Tools
- Wick needle or stick of wood
- Mold
- Wax thermometer
- Place the stiffened wick in the mold, leaving about 5 cm (2 inches) of wick showing beyond the mold.
- Stretch the wick well and hold it in place at the other end of the mold with a small stick or, ideally, with a wick needle.
- Carefully seal the bottom of the mold, all around the wick, with the modeling clay.
- Melt the stearin and slowly add the colorant. Mix it well so that the mixture is homogeneous.
- Add the paraffin. The proportion of paraffin to stearin should be 90% to 10%.
- When the wax reaches 93°C (200°F), pour it into the mold, leaving a space of 1 cm (3/8 inch) on the edge. Dispel any air bubbles by tapping on the mold after a few minutes.
- Let the wax cool at least an hour before removing it from the mold.
Tips
- Beware: never throw your leftover wax into your sink! When it cools, it will solidify and permanently block your pipes.
- If you want to add a little beeswax to your mixture of paraffin and stearin to improve the quality of your candle (slower burning and better scent), make sure that
- your mixture composition doesn't exceed 10% beeswax
- and the inside of your mold is well-coated with petroleum jelly so that you will be able to remove the candle successfully.
- To make the bases of your candles flat, put them in a room-temperature pot while cooling.
- To figure out how much wax you'll need to fill your mold, first calculate how much water the mold can hold. The mold can hold 90% as much wax as water. (If your mold can hold 100 ml of water, you'll need 90 grams of wax; that is, about 4.5 ounces of wax for every 0.5 cup of water.)
:laura:
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