The candle has never fail to fascinate us, even after the invention of light bulbs. This could due to candles not only produce fire and light, but also the help of it’s aroma to smell. In fact candle provides the real thing: you can feel the heat, you can see the fire, and yet the smell of aroma.
How to Make a Container Candle
Tools and Ingredients:
- Wax—Usually plain paraffin with a melting point of 130° F
- Stearic acid—Optional but will give a longer burn time
- Wick—Medium-sized, one for each container; cored wicks are preferable, optional
- Wick sustainers (tabs)—One for each container
- Colorant—If you want a colored candle
- Essential Oil—Optional but nice
- Double-boiler or concealed-element heater
- Ladle and/or vessel for pouring—Preferably with a handle
- Small sticks—A dowel or chopsticks or even a slim garden stake will work for suspending the wick over the container
- Weights—You need to weight the wick in the container if you are using a noncored variety; small washers or nuts will work fine
- Utensil for poking holes in the wax—This can be a skewer, a chopstick, a pencil, or a small stick
- Containers
- Thermometer
Instructions
Assemble all of your tools and materials in the order in which you will be using them before you begin your candle making operation. You don’t want to have the wax melted and then start looking for a container or other needed tool!
Measure the wax. To ascertain how much wax is needed to fill your container (or containers, if you are making multiples), fill the container with water and pour the water into a measuring cup to determine the container’s volume. Then dry the container thoroughly. To avoid this chore, you can first insert a plastic bag into the container and fill that with water to measure.
Once you have determined how much wax you need to fill your container, set up your pots for melting and begin melting the wax.
Attach a wick sustainer to the wick, which should be l” longer than the height of the container you are using. Put the wick sustainer on one end, which will be the bottom. If you are using an uncored wick, you will need to tie a small weight to the wick.
Lay the dowel or chopstick across the top of your container. Tie the top end of the wick to it so that the wick hangs steadily in the container.
Warm the container before pouring wax into it. You can do this step one of several ways: place it in a warming oven (150°) for a few minutes; put it in the sink and run hot water into it; or set a pan of water on the stove on low heat and put the container (or containers) in the water to warm them before use. Be sure that the container is dried thoroughly before use.
After the wax has reached the proper melting point (usually 150–160° Fahrenheit; check your thermometer frequently), you are ready to pour. If you are not coloring the wax, go ahead and pour it into the warmed container. If you are using color or scent, add it to the wax and stir well before pouring.
Begin pouring slowly, to one side of the dowel holding the wick. Be sure you keep the wick centered in the container, using the bottom tab or weight to do so. You may need to hold it in place for a few moments to allow it to set. This “tack pour,” of about ½” of wax in the bottom of the container, is an important step, for a wick that is off-center will cause the candle to burn lopsidedly. Allow the ½” of wax at the bottom to cool sufficiently enough to stabilize the centered wick.
If you are making a single-color candle, continue pouring the wax until it is about ½” from the top. Wait a few minutes for the wax to begin to congeal. Then, with your skewer, poke a few holes into the cooling wax. Pour a bit more wax into these holes. This second pour (the “repour” or “cap pour”) is to fill in spaces caused by air bubbles that formed in the first pour.
Repeat the repouring process until the wax cools.
Wax shrinks as it cools, and the candle will develop a depression in the center. Pour some more melted wax into this center when the candle is firm to the touch in order to make a flat surface.
When the candle has cooled completely (this takes from eight to twenty-four hours, depending on the candle’s diameter), trim the wick to 1/3” above the candle’s surface.