Let's Make Soy Candles! How To Quick Guide

So a friend of mine has recently discovered the thrill of making candles, instead of buying them! As women, we tend to love pretty things and things that smell nice, so combining the two to create a great gift/must have for the home is great.

I am a big fan of the Yankee Candles because they last for a long time and their fragrance is always so vibrant and strong. Today I have stepped into the world of creating my own, and it was fun and easy!

 

 

I purchased 2kg of soy wax (this has a lower melting point to other waxes and doesn't result in 'sooting' against the pot when burning), 20 wicks, 6 essential oils and recycled some cute ceramic pots I had in the cupboard from some wonderful puddings bought in Waitrose over the past few months. I had 5 orange pots, 3 blue and 2 clear, so I thought I would do one aroma in the orange pots and another in the blue and clear :-)

I poured the wax into 1 pot to work out the amount needed, and then doubled it. When weighing the wax in its pre-melted state it weighed 50g, so I doubled it to 100g. For the 10 pots I had I only need 1kg of soy wax, so there would be another kilo of soy wax and spare wicks for another day.

I put 10 wicks into the 10 pots and held them in place with wooden skewers.

I melted 500g of the wax in a pyrex jug for about 6 minutes on a medium-high heat in the microwave and it was done! For the orange jars I blended bergamot, sweet orange and vanilla essential oils to create a blend I've called Sweet Memories. I used about 24 drops of bergamot, 12 drops of sweet orange and 20 drops of vanilla. I stirred this through the wax with a wooden skewer to combine the frangrances and then poured into the pots. Once done I realigned the wicks as some had moved when pouring, and left them to set.

I then repeated the process for the blue and clear pots, which I did with 20 drops of rosemary, 10 drops of peppermint and 18 drops of lavender to create a blend I've called Atlantic Breeze.

I've now left the candles to set for 12 hours, trimmed the wicks and then will leave them for 2 full days before lighting them. It's a fab, quick process, which will make great birthday or Christmas gifts, and being homemade, they are of course cheaper than the shops. For these 10 candles, because I used pots I already had, these cost me about £2.20 each to make - yay!

"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared."

Buddha