You can buy all sorts of candle making kits and they are normally pretty great for the amature candle maker. If you are unsure of yourself give one of these a go and see how you get on.
This tutorial uses a recycled mini jar, wax (which was pre-sented using oils and coloured with old wax crayon shavings), wick and some tissue paper to cover the lid. All you need to make it is a double stove top burner, HOWEVER you cannot share this with you food equipment! I’m also going to give a few suggestions to help the cleaning process.
One. Clean out your jar as normal, fill it with boiling water and let stand. After an hour or so empty the water and let air dry.
Two. Get your wax ready – cut, shave, chip or grate your desired amount of wax away from your block in whatever fashion you like. If it is your first time try a few methods until you find the one that best suits you.
Three. Get the water boiling in your bottom pan. Water and wax don’t mix well, you’ll end up with a hot mess so try to be careful not be splashing around everywhere. Put the wax from point two into the top pan and put over the boiling one. I’m always amazed at how quickly it melts! Swirl around every now and again and when everything is melted take the top pan away. Let the wax cool slightly. Be REALLY careful hot wax is very dangerous!
Four. As you are melting your wax get your final jar prep ready. Trim your wick a little too long as you can trim it at the end. If you are using a tiny jar like me you can wrap the top of the wick (if pre waxed) around a toothpick and balance that on top of the jar giving it a nice central position to ensure the best result when burning. You can use a bbq skewer if you want something bigger.
Five. Put some old plastic packaging where you are going to be filling the jar as wax is a really hard thing to clean away and this way you can just throw away the plastic if any drips…drip. Pour most of your slightly cool wax into the jar (exciting!!) taking great care. Fill your jar about 1-2cm less than your final desired level. Now leave to cool for an hour. As the wax cools you will find that it dips in the middle.
Six. When your wax is cool enough to touch you will find that you have a crater in the middle, you now need to top it up. Use the leftover wax (it needs to be of the same batch – especially if you are making your own wax combinations) which may or may not need to be reheated slightly. Pour this to fill the crater but ensure that it also fills a cm deep across the whole surface of the jar. This stops any problems of air spaces when burning.
Seven. Leave to cool completely, trim the wick. Use paper and PVA to decorate the lid and there we go.
Eight. Now to clean – you NEED to do this immediately…or there will be trouble ahead. Pour any residual wax back onto your block or into a new container. Throw away the plastic you were pouring over. While your pans are hot (but not scalding) use kitchen roll/paper and wipe the inside of the pan. You’ll be amazed at how much wax you cannot see that comes off, I’d suggest doing this at least three times and a quick one in the boiling water pan. No need to scrub in the sink but make sure that you DO NOT USE THIS PAN FOR COOKING FOOD.
And there you have it! I hope you give it a try and I would love to see your photo’s!
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