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How to Make Heavily Scented Candles
Table of Contents
Introduction ...........................................................................................................................2
How To Make Hand Rolled Beeswax Candles ..................................................................3
Soy Candle In A Container or Pillar Wax In A Mold? .......................................................6
What is Heavily Scented.....................................................................................................8
The Importance Of The Right Wick ...................................................................................9
What You Need to Get Started .........................................................................................10
Making Soy Candles .........................................................................................................11
Making Pillar and Chunk Candles ...................................................................................13
Orange Oil Cleans Up the Hardest of Waxes!.................................................................15
Making Chunks For Candles............................................................................................16
Older Candle Making Methods.........................................................................................17
Making A Pine Cone Fire Starter .....................................................................................20
Making Candles out of Candle Remnants.......................................................................21
Making Ice Candles...........................................................................................................27
Making Decoupage Candles ............................................................................................28
Making A Gel Candle Beauty ...........................................................................................28
Making Sand Candles.......................................................................................................30
Fragrance Oil Blending Chart ..........................................................................................32
How to Make Vegetable Based Wax ............................................................................3232
Making Soy Wax Bears...................................................................................................332
Copyright 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Deborah R. Dolen
Published by CIPA Press, National Library of Canada
ISBN 1894872029
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Introduction
Making Your Own Candles is easy and fun!
I am so glad I learned how to make my own and I devote one
day every month to making my own personal candle collection
for my home, family members and friends. It seems to cost $4
(7£) or less to make a big 26 ounce (737 g) impressive container
candle that would surly cost $22 (36£) in the stores! So, now I
can have any selection and color I like any time I like it! Yes!
Do note the 8 ounce (226g) and 16 ounce (434 g) or more in
style as of 2006 and the prices are not much less.
That is
marketing at work. Once a product “makes it” it is then designed
to be smaller and smaller.
I am eclectic in nature; I like to make several varieties of candles. The one I make
the most often is the Soy Container, heavily scented, using frosted apothecary jars.
That is also the candle I use most often for the scent factor.
The secondary
candles are more for show and romance, some too pretty to ever want to burn.
They would include the rolled beeswax candle, I talk about how to make first in this
book, and the Paraffin Chunk Pillar that comes out in a lovely array of colors I
instruct how to make towards the end.
Most importantly, I am into
EASY clean up.
The beautiful chunk pillars I make in many kinds of metal molds, I simply keep to
one technique. That is to keep my paraffin in a clear manner, in a crock pot I never
have to clean, and to simply by bright votives on sale, smash them up, set the
wick, and then arrange the chunks around the wick. I use the hot clear paraffin
only to cover the chucks. The heat of the paraffin makes the chunks marble
together in lovely ways. If you cannot get a hold of SoyWax we have a substitute
in the back. Have a Blast! Sincerely,
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Making Hand Rolled Beeswax Candles
That Offer a Natural Light Scent of Honey
These are the easiest candles to make period. You can roll them up tight while
simply having your morning coffee. People who are allergic to fragrance find this
type of candle to be perfect for their needs. When making beeswax candles, no
fragrance or pouring is required so beeswax candles are also the easiest of all
candles to make! Out of every candle style we work with we love the bees wax the
most because it is so elegant when burning. As the candle burns the outer shell
tends to stay standing and thus provides on of the most romantic luminary effect
known to candle world.
Beeswax candles are very elegant in Hurricane glass. We buy Hurricane glass
from Wal-Mart to go over our finished product a really set it off. Beeswax is very
sticky and will melt onto a table so be sure to place a disposable item under it
when burning. Beyond the fact pure beeswax candles have a delightful sweet
fragrance, they tend to burn longer, more clearly, and give off more light than any
other candles. Consider Red and Green beeswax sheets for Winter, Orange for the
Fall, Pink for Spring and Violet for Summer.
One full sheet of honeycomb when
rolled into a candle burns approximately eight hours. Half a sheet, when rolled into
a candle will burn approximately 4 hours.
Materials Required:
•
Beeswax Sheets
•
Candle wicking - 1/0 square braid wicking—no Zinc!
•
Scissors
•
Ruler (metal edge), preferably 20" (50 cm.)
•
Exacto/Utility knife or sharp paring knife
•
Cutting surface, 20" x 10" (can be cardboard) (5 cm by 25 cm)
•
Hairdryer
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Creative Tip: When beeswax sheets are warmed, they become a natural adhesive
allowing glitter, sequins and other appliquéd material to be applied to your rolled
candle. Add your own personal touch to rolled candles for home decor or seasonal
themes. Caution: Always make sure your materials are fire retardant. For example,
use polyester glitter only. You would not use metal core wicks because the metal
core would burn way too fast for your project.
Directions for Bees Wax Candles:
Follow these basic directions on any style of candle you make.
1. Choose the style of candle you are making. Note that excess sheets can be
used for little tapers!
2. Using your sharp knife and ruler edge, cut the wax on your cutting surface
as indicated by the style pattern of your choice. Avoid short, jerky motions.
We prefer to roll three or four sheets up tight—without cutting, and then slice
the last sheet at an angle so the beautiful layers can appear.
Measure 1" (2.45 c) from top of
flat sheet as shown. Take ruler
from top corner of sheet and line
up with 1" ( 2.45 c) mark and cut.
One inch cut part becomes scrap
wax. Place wick as shown and
roll. Gives top of candle a slight taper finish or pencil top.
3. Occasionally, a dusty film or "bloom" can form on sheets of pure beeswax.
This bloom is a natural occurrence and illustrates the 100% purity of your
honeycomb sheets. To remove this bloom, lay the sheet of wax on your
cutting surface, take your hairdryer a minimum of 3" (7.62 c) from the wax
and move it from end to end across the wax.
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
4. Ensure the warm air is at the angle to flow into the honeycomb pattern.
Apply heat to the reverse side if needed. Caution: DO NOT apply too much
heat as this makes the honeycomb sheets too soft and very difficult to
handle.
5. Place the wick along the edge of the sheet as indicated in the pattern. The
wick should extend beyond the top 1/2 (.05 cm) inch and stop 1/2 (.05 cm)
inch before reaching the bottom end of the wax sheet (safety measure).
Fold over enough wax to cover the wick. Gently press down the wax,
covering and thus securing the wick. This step is important, so if the wax
seems hard to roll, simply take the hairdryer and warm the wax (this will
make it more pliable). If you have not wrapped the wax securely around the
wick, oxygen draws down the candle, causing it to burn too quickly.
6. Using your fingertips, begin rolling the wax sheet around the wick. Take
care to ensure the wax sheet is being rolled firmly and evenly. The
completed candle will burn without smoking or dripping, unlike paraffin wax
candles. If smoking or dripping does occur, the candle has not been rolled
firmly enough, is being burnt in a draft or the wrong size of wick has been
used.
7. The seam of the candle is secured by warming the edge with a hairdryer
and by pressing down gently along the seam.
8. Using the right candle wick is at the heart of every good burning candle.
Square braid as opposed to flat braid is generally recommended for
beeswax candles. Square braid wick supplied is recommended for 1" (2.5
cm) to (7 cm) 2 1/2" diameter candles, the most widely used size.
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Measure 10" (25 cm) on top of sheet and mark. Measure 10" (25 cm) on bottom of
sheet and mark. Note: See from opposite ends as shown. Line up marks with ruler
and cut. Separate sheets. Lay wick as shown and roll. If you wish your tapers
joined by a continuous wick, flip "A" sheet over and place wick as shown to the
right.
Pick Your Passion: Container Soy or Mold Pillar Heavily Scented Candles
Please read all of this information before you start your project. The first thing you
may want to ask yourself is: Container Style (SoyWaxTM) or Pillar Style (Paraffin
Using a Mold)? For variety I choose to use both. Here are the Pro’s and Cons of
each:
Pillar (Mold) Pro’s:
•
You never have to worry about what container to place your final product in.
•
You do not have to go out and keep buying containers and hoping they are
in stock.
•
Very easy to ship.
•
They allow for much more creativity, using chunks and all.
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
•
Candle usually slips very easily out of the mold.
Pillar (Mold) Cons:
•
Clean up is harder using pillar type waxes. They are generally not water-
soluble.
•
Must always keep some aside to “top off” because a dent forms in the
middle of the finished product. Candles cool from outside and bottom inward,
which causes the void.
Container Pro’s Using SoyWaxTM:
•
Water soluble and easy clean up.
•
Do not usually have to “top off” at the end.
•
Consistent Pastel Coloration.
•
No soot when burning.
•
Fragrance “throws” well.
Container Cons:
•
Must always have containers around.
•
Expense of Containers.
•
Very hard to ship and not break.
Now for other considerations: You can use the same candle dye and fragrance for both. That is
convenient. Some people say that Soy burns three times longer than Pillar, but I have found that is
subjective information. Our SoyWaxTM was introduced in 1998 and now has a harder “pillar”
version as of 2002. Pillar can be used to make votive, pillar and even those waxed dipped bears.
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
What Does Heavily Scented Mean?
Here is the secret! Most stores offer scented candles and they are 1% scented or
less. Most of the time they put a final layer on the top that offers the most scent.
Heavily scented is supposed to mean up to 10% fragrance and the remainder in
wax.
You can tell if a candle is truly heavily scented by pressing your
fingertip in the top of the candle and seeing if your fingerprint stays there.
The more you see your finger print, the more you can tell if the candle is really
heavily scented.
Regarding scenting the candle, one technique I hear is effective is to soak the wick
in fragrance, dry it and then prime it use. Very few people do this extra step. Our
SoyWaxTM is a wonderful new product and you do not read about this much in
former candle books as it came out in 1998. If you cannot find SoyWax a great
vegetable candle wax formula is in the back of the book I created.
SoyWaxTM can hold up to 10% fragrance load and still be considered heavily
scented. I love it because it cleans up easy with water, can be melted in my
microwave, and will not explode as paraffin can. Paraffin has a serious flash
point. That means to heat at which it can all catch on fire.
Many people ask what fragrance load I use. I first find many people are using junk
fragrance oils, that have been cut, so then they feel the need to drown the candle
with the fragrance oil to get the scent to work. I use Mabel White’s fragrances as
they are not cut with cheap fillers such as DPG and I do not need as much. I use
about 1 ounce (28 ml) of fragrance oil in each 16 ounce (543 ml) container
wax and they do well. They also seem to burn forever! Paraffin, a by product of
petroleum is a harder wax that can be molded, not require the use of a container,
and can hold a little more fragrance than soy. I use 3 Ounces of fragrance and a
few drops of dye for a 26-ounce pillar.
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Important Notes About SoyWaxTM
With soy it is hard to achieve bright colors; you are often
left with pastels. In 2005 we invented bright non-toxic
dyes for this reason. Just a few drops will typically offer
a bright orange, fuchsia, purple and so on. Do not add
fragrance oils or pour the soy until it has cooled down
a bit to about 140 degrees. This will save your fragrance
oils from evaporating, keep your candle from having a
“mottled” look as well as keeping you from having to pour
a top coat to smooth the surface.
We use frosted apothecary glass, so any
mottled look is simply not seen. We also use 5% melted beeswax in our formula to
give the candle a longer burning time and better texture overall. Always mix your
fragrances well to also avoid unsightly separation.
The Wick with All Candles:
You must use a cotton square, hemp or paper wick when using the natural Soy
product or it will not burn right. If you use a metal core wick, it will burn WAY too
fast. But it will work. If your wick is not thick enough, it may just burn down the
middle and not the sides of the container. That is annoying. We offer the right
thickness of wick for the right diameter you are burning, on our web site
www.mabelwhite.com. You must use a Cotton-Zinc wick when creating the Pillars.
The wick is everything to a candle!
Try to remember the rule this way: All
natural ingredients, such as SoyWaxTM and beeswax, require an all natural
wick such as cotton. Man made Paraffin, (a by product of oil) requires a
man made metal core wick. I had a very hard time remembering this rule until it
made sense.
Any WICK MUST BE PRIMED meaning dipped in wax before
creating any candle and tabbed. Some people soak the wick in fragrance first, dry
it and then prime it.
them to down size.
We always buy primed wicks already tabbed and cut
I did not know the wick was so important at first and
produced many pretty candles that just would not burn. We find Hemp Wicks at
Mabel offer the longest burning time, more so with Soy, but they can make a little
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
soot. The hard part is they tend to mushroom, and that Hiroshima looking little
thing has to be cut off before each burn time.
As I said, I find it is cheaper to buy a large primed wick and simply cut it down to
size to save money. I feel the candle itself is where my time is worth the most and
NOT spent on making sure the wicks are primed and tabbed. Let a machine do
that!
We find molds are very expensive, but worth the money, so take good care of
them. Keep them away from humidity as they may rust. If you are going to buy
molds try to invest in a seamless mold. They are not that much more expensive
and offer less hassle of trying to cut a seam out of a beautiful candle.
What You Need to Get Started:
•
Cheap and pliable 14 cup plastic bowls with pour mouth.
•
Heavy Duty, but pliable oven mittens
•
Cheap oven proof ceramic bowls (Dollar Store)
•
Stainless steel ladle with pour mouth
•
Bamboo sticks or pencils to hold the wick.
•
Wax, Oil Based Fragrance, Dyes, and Wicks
•
Mold release and steric acid if making pillars out of molds.
Fragrance Oils:
My favorite fragrances are: Vanilla (Ivory), Oatmeal Cookie (Cream), Banana Nut
Bread (Orange/Brown), Pumpkin Pie (Orange), Apple Pie (Red), Rose Garden
(Pink), Gardenia (Fuchsia), Lavender (Lavender), Lilac (Blue), and Patchouli
(Black), but you can sure pick your own. Fresh Cut Grass and McIntosh Apple is
another combination I love.
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Making Soy Candles
We are even using melted
SoyWaxTM now in making
our skin care products and
soap instead of, or as a
compliment to Beeswax in
many recipes!
All we can say is WOW! Our new
SoyWaxTM from NATUREWAXTM is the most
versatile ONE POUR wax that we have ever
seen.
It is made by Cargill and is all natural.
There are many companies out there selling
donut oil and calling it Soy Wax, which only results in your candle drowning. Donut
oil does look like Soy Wax and is much cheaper. If you do not know the difference,
you may be sorry later.
Our SoyWaxTM flakes are designed for candle use and can also be used in
making bathroom toiletries because the are 100% natural derivatives of soy.
SoyWaxTM also melts in HALF the time of Paraffin. Burns 3X longer than most
Paraffin’s and pours flat as a board in one pour EVERY TIME. This wax holds up
to a 10% fragrance load with ease and burns 100% SOOT FREE! If you every use
our SoyWaxTM you'll never go back to paraffin wax again. Available in easy to
handle flakes container blend as well as our new votive blend.
I have seen so many trumped up ways to make candles, including some
complicated looking double broiler method I will not use. I simply opt to use a 14
Cup (big) pliable plastic bowl with a pour spout to melt SoyWaxTM in the
microwave. Kinda like the “batter bowls” seen in the UK. It usually takes about 15
minutes to make 6 cups become liquid. That is generally enough to make two 26
ounce frosted apothecary containers. To this we add 4 ounces of oil based
fragrance and a little melted beeswax, even two ounces can produce the most
beautiful long last opaque candle there is. Much like the Root Candle Company
makes, who happens to be the oldest candle maker in the US. I have heard hemp
wicks to promote a much longer lasting candle, but I have not seen it really matters
in my testing.
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
I do not go beyond the point of being melted and clear, but they say it should be
poured at 140 degrees (78 Celsius) and the glass should be warmed up a little in
the oven too, although I do not warm my glass, I hear it works. After I set the
ceramic or plastic bowl outside or wherever I intend to pour, I then add my dyes
and fragrance. Soy can take up to a 10% fragrance load and a few drops of color
that will dry opaque and appear pastel. I add no color for vanilla and get a great off
white.
Because soy is water based it is a good idea to use oil based dyes and
fragrances anyway. Water based dyes will not mix. When we melt twelve cups of
soy flakes we generate two 26 ounce apothecary style candles.
The Mabel
droppers “pipettes” capture .10 Ounce of oil, (2 ml) so we use about 24 dropperfuls
of fragrance for every 12 Cups of SoyWaxTM we melt, or up to four ounces. After
the Soy is taken out of the microwave and mixed very well with scent and color it is
ready to be poured into your favorite containers.
We set 6 jars across and use a long piece of tape across them as a “fill line” or
“plumb line” so that each candle stays uniform as you fill. We place our labels on
the jars first, using the plumb line method. Many experts pour one time to anchor
the wick first with a small layer of wax, and a second time for the candle in
general, and then a last layer for looks. We use a heavy duty glue dot. Keeping
the wick in the center is critical to making a good candle. Using a plumb line
also helps if you are going to be placing labels on your jars. After I pour the
mixture to the “fill line,” then I place bamboo skewers across the top of the jars and
insert each wick—using the stick to hold it straight up. I make sure it is straight in
the jar also and secure the very top of the wick over the skewer so it will not move
until dried. Candles must set a good 24 hours before they can be burned.
When the candle is ready, cut the wick down to ¼ inch to burn best.
Put your left over soy mixtures in 4 or 6 Ounce (141 ml) travel candle
tins!
You will always end up with great excess wax, and be
pleased to see how far they go, how many they make and just how
professional they look!
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Making Pillar and Chunk Candles
Pillar wax is typically paraffin, a by-product of oil (petrol) that comes in beaded
form. Paraffin does have a serious flash point, so be careful or you may have a
burning type oil well to put out. Having baking soda around is a good idea to
put such a fire out, but the best angle is prevention. Never throw water on
paraffin. Ever. Just keep an eye on it and do not go beyond simply melting it. If it
heats beyond just being melted, the next step is usually a flash point and fire. I got
on the phone one time and forgot a pot I was heating paraffin in.
I only
remembered when I had a serious fire going on in the pot. Lucky, contained to the
pot. But I was freaking and forgot to just snuff it out with baking soda. I tried to
bring it outside and the wind whipped the flames back at me. Dumb.
I prefer to use the oven for melting this wax in hardy ceramic bowls with pour
spouts I can ruin, or that I can just keep in the hobby area for next time. I always
line the oven with aluminum foil before I begin and set the oven at 200 degrees,
(93 cel) but keep an eye on it. If it gets too hot, after it is melted, it will flash and
start to burn eventually. In this case I use big ceramic bowls with pour spouts and
a metal ladle with a pour mouth. Be sure to wear heavy protective and deep gloves
when taking this hot concoction in and out of the oven. Two pounds of pillar wax
takes about 30 minutes to melt in the oven. I now prefer using a crock pot outside,
designated just for the use of Paraffin. Do not over cook the wax. Leave the bowl
in there just long enough to melt the wax. If you forget the wax in the oven, your
wax may reach a flash point and explode! I cannot caution enough about that. I
forgot my wax one day, as I got on the phone with a friend. An hour later it was in
flames and I was panicked to put out the fire. Instead of putting baking soda all
over it, I tried to bring it outside where, after just opening the door, the wind quickly
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
threw the flames back at me. I freaked and threw the wax onto my outside bricks,
which are now and forever coated with a shiny wax.
As I said before, I make sure I line the over racks with aluminum foil though, so I
do not make a mess everywhere and I make sure I have two big fat and ugly
mittens that I use for pulling them out of the oven. But these days I just prefer a
Crock Pot and to take the event outside. Please note if you spill this liquid on
you—you are toast! This seems to be the only time my kids want to run by me
chasing each other—when I am taking this hot wax out!
SoyWaxTM is that it never gets that scary.
The good thing about
Still Paraffin makes some lovely
candles as I describe, and does have its own glory.
While I am waiting for the wax to melt I go set up the molds.
•
Spray the insides of the molds with quick release.
•
Set them side by side so you can move around them easy.
•
Place the wick through the bottom of the metal mold and seal it tight
with putty. This helps keep the wick straight.
•
Place a bamboo stick across the top of the jars and secure each wick
around it so it stands straight.
•
Place any kind of colored wax candle chunks that you can you can to
smash, break or cut to act as “your chunks.” We find it cheaper to buy
a dollar set of 12 purple votives, for example, and draw out their wicks
(Using wicks for latter projects or left over wax into candle travel tins.)
We take the votives and cut them into chunks for color. This is where
the possibilities are endless!
•
You can fill up the mold with all kinds of mixed color chunks, before
you pour the hot clear paraffin right over the top! The hot paraffin will
help blend, smooth and marble your other colors. Some people use
crayons! I understand the pigment in the crayons will clog the wick,
but they do make ultra beautiful candles if you never intend to burn
them.
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
After I set the ceramic bowl outside or wherever I intend to pour, I then add my
dyes and fragrance, if I even feel I need any. For chunk candles I only add
fragrance. I mix the wax well and if I am pouring Pillars I place a teaspoon of steric
acid and Vybar to the mixture to ensure it will burn slower and be harder.
When using Paraffin, BE SURE to leave a little extra in the over as when the
candle dries it will have a sink hole in the middle and will need to be “topped
off.”
I use a metal ladle to gently pour my product into the molds or containers. I make
sure this ladle has a pour type mouth! As soon as I am done with the wax, I
discard any residue in the yard and quickly wipe the wax from the bowl and ladle to
ensure easy clean up. I make sure my mittens are still on when doing this. Wax is
much easier to clean up while still hot or totally cold, but not in between!
Real
Orange Essential Oil is the Best wax and gum remover period. The store
claim to sell stuff “powered by Orange Oil” but it is junk. The trick is not making a
mess to have to clean up.
They say placing a mold in the freezer when it is almost done helps it have a nice
gloss later. I think this is very true, but do not keep the candle in there too long.
Never place a Ceramic Bowl in an environment that is too cold when taking
out of the oven! It will crack. I wiped one bowl down just after use, with paper
towels, while it was still hot for easy clean up. I had my mittens on and was not
thinking. I dropped the bowl in soapy cold water and it cracked right in half. It
could have been worse and cracked while in my hands, if I were to place a hot
bowl of wax on a cool granite counter. So let wax and its container cool a bit
before you take it out. If you are pulling boiling wax out of the oven with mittens
and bring it outside in snow you may see the whole bowl break apart in your
hands. Be careful and think situations like that out first.
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
What is that hole for at the bottom of the metal mold?
I did not know either! I actually forgot about that hole when I excitedly poured my
first real candles and the hot wax went right through the bottom hole onto my
husband lap who was helping hold things! Well, he demanded to hold it! Boy, I
never saw him so very mad in his life! I then placed tape over the hole until I later
found out I was supposed to pull the wick through that hole to keep the ever
important wick straight and that “putty” that came with my mold? Putty is like used
bubble gum. Well, that was to putty over the wick and the hole at the bottom so
the wax would not seep out onto my husband’s pants!
About Chunks: I read somewhere to just melt down old wax and pour into Ice
Cube trays. They failed to mention I would need the incredible hulk to twist them
out of the trays when done! Overall, do not be impatient with making chunks.
I
think the new silicone baking molds that are floppy and can stand 500
degrees (260 Celsius) are PERFECT for making candle chunks. They are in
the baking section of most stores, meant for making cup cakes and such. Go
ahead and use ice cube trays but plan to leave them in the freezer awhile until they
are really ready to pop out. I simply store chunks in separate colors for future
use. This helps me control my “art.”
When I do use them I simply place the chunk colors I like in a metal mold and pour
CLEAR paraffin over them. This is AFTER I set my wicking straight. I am just not
into that mess. My most recent preferred method is to buy bright or pastel
colored votives that are on sale. This way I do not have to create the color and I
can spend time just arranging the chucks in a beautiful symphony.
I tend to
smash the votives up into chucks, after taking their little wicks out. I set the
little wicks aside and use them in my travel tins. Today I bought 7 votives for $2
and that meant about $2 a pound which was about $2 a pound to me. That is fine.
I went home and smashed them up. I bought orange, purple and a touch of pink,
for an Autumn feeling.
They blended super beautiful after I poured the clear
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Paraffin over them. I used heart metal molds as well as tall pillars. All came out
lovely and with a marbled look. I noticed already made candle chucks in another
isle were $5 a pound and the color choice was beyond corny. The sky is the limit
on getting your candle colors from on sale already colored wax. Some say this
gives you an inferior smoky and junk burn. Probably, but I make these for design
of a room, not so much for burning. It has been brought to my attention candles on
sale typically have cheap waxes as well as scents.
Other Methods of Candle Making
Try a designated crock pot to melt your Paraffin wax. I try to keep this project OUT
DOORS and away from kids and pets. I would use a crock pot only if I was always
going to melt clear paraffin in it, with no color, so I do not have to ever clean it out
and as long as I am always going to facilitate the chuck method above for my
color. A correspondent suggests: "I find that using a fry daddy with adjustable
heat to melt my wax works much better than the old double broiler. You just
have to keep the heat very low until the wax starts to melt or the Teflon
coating bakes off. Once the wax goes into meltdown you just set the heat
and you are on your way. I then dip the wax with a plastic cup or punch ladle.
I find this method much easier to control the temp of the wax, and once the
power is off you just let the wax cool and it pops out in a block that fits back
into the unit at a later date." I am still for the designated crock pot so I do not
have to worry about Teflon or igniting my kitchen.
For pouring wax into molds the temperature of the melted wax should be between
85 and 95 degrees C (180 and 200 F) for blemish free candles. If you like
interesting mottled patterns in your candles like I do, I don't bother taking the wax
temperature. I just wait until it is fully melted and clear. You can use 5 parts
paraffin wax and one part beeswax. This will not be clear when it is melted. This
mixture is harder to get out of a mold because of the sticky properties of the
beeswax. Use silicone spray in your mold to get easier releasing candles.
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
You can also put the mold in the refrigerator after it is mostly cooled, for half-hour
to help with the releasing. I pop mine in the freezer for about fifteen minutes. The
blend of beeswax/paraffin produces lovely honey colored candles with a lovely
beeswax aroma. Other benefits of a beeswax/paraffin mixture are smoother
candles without cracks or web like patterns caused by thermal shock in the cooling
process. Beeswax doesn't shrink nearly as much as paraffin, so you will notice
smaller or no wells forming down the middle of your candle as it cools - this means
less or no refilling as it cools. You can mix waxes. You may want to try a blend of
primary SoyWaxTM with 10% paraffin and 5% beeswax.
Getting Serious
Prepare your molds and containers while the wax is melting. Label the containers.
You can spray inside each plastic or metal mold with silicone spray available at
candle making supply stores. I recommend doing so, the candles always release
from the mold easily this way. You can also use vegetable oil to lightly coat the
inside of your molds. If your mold has a hole in the bottom, thread the wick through
here and seal it on the outside with rubber putty. Stretch the wick to the open end
of the mold and suspend it here wrapped around a rod or pencil or something
similar. Make sure that stays straight.
Here's another tip about holding your wick straight and taut. Take a tongue
depressor and slice it length wise about 1/2 way down and just slide the wick
into it and rest it on top of the container. You just pull the wick nice and
tight!
1. For a tall or medium container, dip the desired length of wick in melted wax for a
moment. Remove and hold it taut while it dries and hardens for a minute. Now you
have a nice stiff straight piece of wick. Fix a wick base or tab (those little round
metal flat things with a hole in the middle) or just a flat piece of aluminum foil, to
one end of your wick. Glue this to the bottom of your container with hot glue and let
18
Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
dry. Wrap the other end of the wick around a pencil or rod and suspend over the
rim of the container. Fill your container with wax.
2. For a short container, just pour your wax in and let it harden. Later take a heated
metal skewer or use a power drill to make a hole through the center of the candle
for your wick. Insert your wick and you're done. You can pour a little melted wax on
top so it seeps down the hole and fixes the wick better if you need to. This method
is useful if you're using Jell-O molds or cake molds, where the bottom is the top of
the candle, and you don't want a wick tab on the top of your candle and you don't
want to put a hole in your mold for a wick.
Pouring the Wax
When your molds and containers are ready, and your wax is melted, add the color
chips or oil based dye to your melting pitcher and melt fully into the wax. Then, at
the last add your scent. The scent is added at the last so it doesn't denature or
dissipate through too much heating for too long. Now you can pour your candles. If
you're aiming for a very smooth surfaced candle, it helps to have the mold warmed
and tilt the mold so the wax doesn't fill the mold so turbulently, and cause tiny air
bubbles to form on the sides and surface of your candles. Save some wax to refill
the candles as they cool. I keep wax in a melted state for hours because as the
candles cool the wax in the molds and containers contract and form a deep well
right down the middle of your candle. Refilling this well may be necessary several
times. If you have beeswax mixed in with your paraffin, the shrink well will not be
as big, or need refilling as much. Be careful not to let your refill wax run over the
top of the original candle level. The refill wax will run over and seep down inside
between the candle and the mold and will mar your surface if you're going for
perfect smoothness.
It also makes it difficult to get a candle out of the mold. Molded candles can be
made to look very even and shiny by cooling them while still in the mold in a cold
water bath. About 1 minute after you pour, take the entire mold and set it in a
19
Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
container of cold water. Be careful not to get any water in your wax. It will ruin a
candle. You will likely need to weight your mold so it doesn't float or tip in the water
bath. Let the mold sit in its water bath after its second refill for about 2 hours. The
final cooling process takes place at room temperature.
It will take about 8 hours depending on the size of the mold for the candle to cool
completely and be ready to remove from the mold. You can speed this final cooling
process by putting candles in the refrigerator. Sometimes they will develop lines
and tiny 'thermal shock' cracks which can be quite attractive. Remove the mold
from the refrigerator after it feels cold to the touch. Any more cooling will result in
many lines and tiny cracks, which means your candle surfaces will flake off later. If
you desire this effect, you can put the cooling mold in the freezer for a half hour.
Remove the Candles from the Molds
If your finished candle has seams in it, you can gently remove them with a knife.
Flatten the base of a wobbly candle by rubbing it gently around inside a warm fry
pan until it melts flat. Polish finished candles with nylon stockings to remove
fingerprints and small scratches. To get a hard shiny protective surface on a
candle apply liquid candle sheen with a soft cloth. It is available at candle making
supply stores and it works great! A spray version is also available. Others have
used no-wax acrylic floor polish with good results. Floor wax has an odor, but
readers report that the smell goes away when the wax hardens.
“Aficionados of a true fire will tell you to use pine cones dipped in
paraffin wax (shown on the right) as one way to start a fire. Pulling a
primed (already waxed) wick through the pine cone with tweezers is
optional.”
20
Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Making Candles out of Candle Remnants
Important:
Read this entire story before you begin so you do not make any
disasters of your kitchen, body or microwave! Keep Citrus Oil by your sink that is
great for removing wax residue and hair spray to remove permanent marker. A
blow dryer is great for getting labels to peel right off, but common sense should
dictate not to leave that by your sink. This is much easier than it looks. There are
just some basic concepts you really have to know for continued candle success.
This will be a great project for you after holidays are over. I tend to save anything
that could be of value later, including candle parts that for one reason or the other
did not burn all the way down, I never decided I liked enough to use or were
actually still burning when I decided to toss them into this project! Some times a
cheap wick is the reason a perfectly good candle will fail. This idea also saved me
a ton of money on wax, and my second goal was to steal wicks in candles not used
yet and recycle their wax. Two more things came out of this project. I was able to
re-capture candleholders that had long held my throw always and I decided to
freshen all of my dusty potpourris as I scoped the house for more material to hit
this project. I will write these instructions as I do the deed! My goal? To create
beautiful heavily scented candles that should burn this time around for next to
nothing! I keep my fresh candles in one guest bathroom drawer and anything I
expect to recycle in the drawer below. If you can remember to save your own or
encourage family members to save their throw always for you, this project can
happen in a great kind of way later. I take on this project only twice a year, once I
have more than enough remnants around to justify the all day event. I usually do
one session a month before Christmas to make presents on a shoestring. Be sure
to lay newspaper in thick layers around any work areas.
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Should you use a candle mold or container such as a mason jar?
I used to prefer molds because I never have to buy a container. Now I prefer wide
mouth containers for two reasons. With glass you can visually see where you
stand with the wick and the candle will always come out looking nice if it made it to
the finish line.
Plus a glass container can usually be re-used. With molds, I
discovered, you still have to invest some money, the mold can easily warp and
waiting for it to cool and it will drop out without a struggle. If that does not work try
placing it in the freezer five minutes, that tend to retract the wax from the side of
the metal mold. Another consideration is that softer waxes such as the new and
great SoyWaxTM do need to go into containers and cotton wicks are a must. Keep
oil on your metals molds so they do not rust.
22
Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
You will need:
•
Several oven friendly Ceramic bowls with pour spouts so you do not
splash hot wax.
•
Two oven mitts that are very protective, yet pliable.
•
Metal funnels of assorted shapes and sizes help when layering wax
colors in jars so each color does not splash the side.
•
Excellent wicks because that really does determine if a candle is a
bummer or not.
•
Used candles from anywhere that have some substance left.
•
A little utensil that scoots cold wax up off your counter. It looks like a
little shovel. Can be handy to get labels off too so it is a worthy little
investment.
•
A metal pitcher to pour all of your hot wax in from the bowls after they
come out of the oven.
•
I keep two pitchers around in case one comes up missing at a critical
moment!
•
Fragrance cubes or oil based fragrance.
•
Containers you would like to pour your masterpiece into or candle
molds will candle release spray. Candle release spray is what a cook
would think of as their “Pam.”
1. The first thing you will want to do is to fill up your sink with soapy water to
drop containers in that will need to be cleaned or have old stickers taken off
of them. I beg my kids to help here.
2. Gather any remnant of a candle.
3. Set aside an area for containers that need no cleaning.
23
Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
4. Group you’re left over together by color to determine how man melting
bowls and what sized bowls you will need.
5. I will need eight bowls. Two big ones for white and cream and six small
ones for orange, red, fuchsia, purple, blue and green.
6. My goal is to melt each color together and grab the wicks of the good ones
and set them aside.
7. I want to microwave each group, but I know I will get sparks from the metal
bottoms of the old wicks. Some wicks I do want to keep perfect anyway, so
I set a large flat pan aside just for that purpose as I rescue wicks that I
intend to use for my final candles.
8. I grouped all the white together and cut out or removed any debris on them.
I found wicks on new items easy to remove and I just slid them out from the
bottom of the candle. I did my best to cut the metal parts out of the bottom
of any of the old candles and candles in my heap that were just impossible
to get the metal wick out got sentenced to the oven where after a few
minutes heating in the jar they came in, I was able to easily separate the
wick and dump the semi melted wax into to heap that is destined for my
microwave.
9. ALWAYS use big ceramic bowls for this project. Big enough to more than
cover the specific color of wax you are melting down.
10. I checked on my “impossible” in the oven and they melted FAST. Extracting
the wicks was very easy and I placed them also on the wick pan I have set
aside. I dropped the glass jars or containers the material was in, into the
sink of suds once they cooled down.
24
Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
11. I used over mitts to take the “impossible” out and if you spill this hot wax
onto your body it WILL hurt. I know, I just did. Make sure your oven mitts
are very pliable and protective. I used a real hard space rocket pair and
they would not move well around the hot glass I was taking out.
12. I dumped the hot liquid over the white group that did not need to be melted
and then I tried to place the entire heap in the microwave. Guess what?
The actual wicks I found have metal in them too and my whole microwave
started sparking and the darn candles that had metal in them light up like a
birthday cake! I had to hurry up and get them out of the microwave and
blow out the candles! It did look like Poltergeist in there!
13. Thus I recommend the entire group of wax parts and wicks go into the oven
for a few minutes to melt altogether in a ceramic bowl. Making sure when
you pull the mixture out, you are well protected and ready to pull out the
wicks you want to keep or discard and placing them into either you wick pan
or your garbage can.
14. Melt all of your remaining wax color groups the same way.
15. You will need a pair of long tweezers you do not mind keeping for future
wax projects in order to pull the wicks from the hot wax.
16. Be careful not to spill wax on your oven floor either, that is not cool and you
will regret it!
17. I inspected and figured I am dealing with at least 12 pounds of wax today
that can fill up at least 10 Quart mason jars, (if I layer the colors) or 20 half
quart mason jars.
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Now the FUN part!
1. Try to figure out as your wax melts, what containers you will be using for
your final product.
2. I determined one main thing is that my candles will be very heavily
scented and better than most stores. Most stores only put 4 Percent
fragrance in and the best candle lines use 20% fragrance to wax ratio.
You can usually tell if they are good because they just about have an oil
slick at the top of the candle you can even put your fingerprint in!
3. I decided to use lavender or pine oil because that will over ride just about
any scent that may be in my existing candles.
4. I also determined I would like to place embedded items in my glass jars,
if possible by the viewable glass.
5. I will be using a simple candle mold for half of my candles, just pouring
and layering the wax in a nice spectrum of colors once the wick is
secured.
6. The other half I will pour into jars in a layered effect once a decent wick
is secured.
7. All of my candles, as I said will be heavily scented.
8. I do use at least one glass piece so I can see how my candle is layering
out. It is very difficult to see through a metal candle mold!
*You can also make wickless fragrant “tarts” with you excess wax. You can
by metal tart molds from any bake shop.
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
9. A big mistake: I decided this year to dump Rosemary and lavender
right in my candles since I had a lot of clear wax left over to spare. I
found the spices looked great but all floated right tot the top of the wax.
This was a terrible idea and actually exploded one of my candles!
10. So, the last leg of the whole project is simply a process of melting wax
in the oven that is clean from the last process, in the order of colors you
prefer, letting each layer cool before you pour another layer over it.
11. Adjusting the wicks to make sure they are centered is about the only
responsibility you have to making a great candle, with the exception of
preparing for the major clean up.
Making Ice Candles
Talk about beautiful! Start out with a central taper in a mold. That would be an
already made long candle. Pack ice cubes around it and then pour hot waxes
of any color choice over the ice and into the mold. Fill the mold up to the
exposed wick in the taper. When this candle cools the water created is simply
poured off.
You can do many cool things with Ice Candles, including pouring melted
Crayola Crayons over the ice first and then white paraffin quickly behind it.
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Making Decoupage Candles
This is a simple trick and generates a most beautiful candle! Simply buy a white
candle of your choice, fat, low, high, big, does not matter.
Select pansies,
Lavender sprigs or any pretty item that can lay flat on the outside perimeter of a
candle. Simply secure them with a tad of glue stick and then melt and paint clear
Paraffin over your design. The wax coating should keep the flowers true colors
since it will be airtight.
Gel Candle Beauty
Rose & Pearls
9” Tall Tempered Glass Vase
3” in Diameter
We make Gel candles once in a while, and a different way than most people. We
do not like to ruin a beautiful scene, so we will use a tea light with a clear cup at
the top of the design, as to never harm the original artwork. We use fake pearls
and silk flowers as well as holiday items such as real candy corn and a plastic
pumpkin in the object. Note: You can use a smaller vase but you will need to use
a smaller embed that is proportionate.
When making gel candles we prefer to take it “outside” and use the designated
crock pot to melt the stuff. It is so prone to flash points, we took an entire book
devoted to making Gel Candles off the market because of the safety levels.
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Set a crock pot on high and melt a two-pound bag of ready-made gel. Use a metal
ladle with a pour mouth to ladle over. This material can cause fumes and explode
if left unattended as it has a very low flash point.
1) With your container, arrange strand of pearls to take up 2” of the bottom and
then after that cools arrange a
2) a Brightly Colored Rose or flower no larger then 4” in Diameter on Top of
Pearls.
*Do not add fragrance to this gel because it will cloud the embeds. Pour Clear Gel
over embeds just enough to cover a good 1/2'” above the rose. Adjust or hold in
place with a thin bamboo stick if necessary while pouring.
3) Allow to cool.
Preparing the candle above after the gel bottom half is set:
4) Melt the second half of the two pound bag and add up to one ounce of fragrance
and a few drops of color if desired.
5) Position the wick in center of the container and use a thin bamboo stick that sits
across the top of the glass to make sure it stays straight.
Allow your design to cool and then snip wick to ½ inch.
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Above is a Gel Candle with candy corn and a pumpkin in the upper layer. We
were sure to pour so hot it would melt the candy. We now only use Tea Lights to
accent our final product so we do not waste a great design. In this case we used
an orange tea light to accent the fall arrangement and the candle to the right is a
pillar chuck mad with chunked up orange votives and a little pink, pouring hot clear
paraffin over the chunks.
Making Sand Candles
Sand candles offer a simple natural mold for your creation and a little room for
mother nature. They can be made very sophisticated in appearance, much more
attractive than the first sand candle efforts.
When making sand candles, you are basically using sand as the mold.
We
recommend white silica when buying sand if possible. When you are ready, simply
wet the sand to hold the form, and press a bowl, can, or any other logical shape
into the sand. Whatever shape you press will be the spitting image of the final
candle!
30
Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Press your wick into the center of the bottom of the design and make sure it is
straight, securing it with a pencil or bamboo stick across the top. When all that is
set up, you can gently pour your wax into the molded space and allow to cool. I
doing this, you can also use the ice method to throw in some ice cubes for neat
designs before pouring the wax, and some broken up crayons if you desire truly
neat colors.
To make tasteful and simple sand candles, we recommend using normal and
conventional shapes, and delicate colors such as pink, mint green, light orange, or
lavender when making your color selections. Pastels work great with sand candles
and the other perimeter of your finished candle will be sand.
31
Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Fragrance Oil Blending Chart
For years we worked at learning how to blend fragrance oils to save money on the
fragrance oils we did have to purchase. This was prior to us having our own
Chemist. We were frustrated because no one would simply tell us.
alone offers a few years of hard work.
This chart
As you will notice, Vanilla is a key
component in most fragrance oil blends. To successfully blend, we recommend
you buy along these lines: 16 Ounces of Vanilla, 4 Ounces of Apple, Chocolate
and Cinnamon. Clove, Orange and Nutmeg Essential Oils will come in handy, are
potent and you may not need as much. We also recommend a few ounces of the
following fragrance oils that are distinct raw notes such as:
Almond, Banana, Blueberry, Carrot, Cherry, Coconut, Cucumber, Gardenia,
Ginger, Grass, Jasmine, Kiwi, Lavender, Lilac, Mango, Musk, Oatmeal,
Peach, Pear, Rose, Rum and Walnut.
Almond Cookie:
1 part Almond to 1 part Vanilla
Amaretto:
1 part Almond to 1 part Vanilla
Ambrosia:
1 part Pineapple to 1 part Banana, splash Coconut
Angel Food Cake: 3 parts Vanilla to 1 part Almond
Apple Pie:
3 part Apple, 2 parts Vanilla, 1 part Cinnamon and Nutmeg
Apples and Oak:
3 parts Apple to 1 part Oak
Apple, Spiced:
8 parts Apple to 1 part Clove
Apple, Candy:
1 part Apple to 1 part Cherry
Baby Powder:
1 part Vanilla to 1 part Rose
Autumn Spice:
1 part Cinnamon to 1 part Apple to 1 part Oak
Banana Cream Pie: 1 part Vanilla to 1 part Banana, splash Coconut
Banana Nut Bread: 3 parts Banana, 2 parts Vanilla, 1 part Walnut, 1 part
Cinnamon
Banana Split:
1 part Chocolate, 1 part Vanilla to 1 part Strawberry
Bay Rum:
Bay with a splash of Lime, Orange, Allspice and Clove
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Biscotti:
2 parts Vanilla to 1 part Almond to 1 part Chocolate
Candy Cane:
2 parts Strawberry, 2 parts Peppermint to 1 part Vanilla
Cantaloupe:
1 part Mango to 1 part Papaya
Chai:
1 part Tea to 1 part Honey, Ginger, Nutmeg, and Vanilla
Cherry/Almond
3 parts Cherry to 1 part Almond
Cherry/Vanilla:
1 part Cherry to 1 part Vanilla
Chocolate Cherries: 1 part Chocolate to 1 part Strawberry
Christmas Tree:
2 parts Balsam Pine or Siberian Fir Needle to 1 part Pine
Cinnamon Bun:
3 parts Vanilla, 1 part Cinnamon
Cinnamon Hearts: Cassia Essential Oil
Citrus/Sage:
3 parts Sage to 4 parts Lemon
Coconut Cream:
4 parts Coconut to 1 part Vanilla
CranApple:
1 part Cranberry to 1 part Apple
Creamsicle:
3 parts Vanilla to 1 part Orange
Cucumber/Melon: 1 part Cucumber to 1 part Melon
Dewberry:
1 part Watermelon to 1 part Raspberry
Dusty Rose:
4 parts Rose to 1 part Vanilla
Éclairs:
1 part Vanilla to 1 part Chocolate
Egg Nog:
6 parts Vanilla to 2 parts Rum touch of Nutmeg
Erotica:
1 part Sandalwood to 1 part Rose
French Vanilla:
Vanilla with a splash of Almond
Fruit Cake:
2 parts Fruit Slices to 1 part Vanilla
Fruit Slices:
1 part Cherry, 1 part Lime, 1 part Orange
Fuzzy Navel:
1 part Peach to 1 part Orange
Ginger Peach:
3 parts Peach to 1 part Ginger
Grass:
Patchouli can help substitute for Grass.
Gingerbread:
6 parts Ginger, to 2 parts Vanilla, 1 part Clove and
Cinnamon
Honeysuckle Rose: 3 parts Honeysuckle to 1 part Rose. Splash Patchouli
Irish Cream:
2 parts Vanilla, 1 part Almond, Coffee and Chocolate
Lavender Fields:
2 parts Lavender to 1 part Vanilla
Lemon/Ginger:
3 parts Lemon to 2 parts Ginger
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Lemon Pie:
3 parts Lemon to 1 part Vanilla
Lilac:
1 part Rose to 1 part Carnation
Love:
3 parts Rose, 2 parts Jasmine, 1 part Patchouli
Margarita:
Lime Essential Oil
Midnight Rose:
1 part Jasmine to 1 part Rose
Mother Earth:
Equal parts: Patchouli, Lemon Grass, Cedar Wood,
Cinnamon and Sweet Orange Essential Oils.
Ocean:
Cucumber Fragrance Oil, Juniper Essential Oil
Odor Eliminator:
Sage fragrance oil
Orange Spice:
2 parts Orange, 1 part Cinnamon, 1 part Clove
Peach Berry:
1 part Peach to 1 part Raspberry
Pear Berry:
1 part Pear to 1 part Raspberry
Pear, Spiced:
8 parts Pear to 1 part Clove
Peaches n Cream: 3 parts Peach to 1 part Vanilla
Peppermint Patty: 1 part Chocolate to 1 part Peppermint
Pina Colada:
2 parts Pineapple to 1 part Coconut
Pine Cones:
1 part Cedar to 1 part Pine or Siberian Fir Needle
Pumpkin Pie:
4 parts Pumpkin, 1 parts Nutmeg, Cinnamon and Vanilla
Rain:
1 part Lily of the Valley and Hyacinth, splash Wisteria
Rain Forrest:
Equal parts Rain and Pine or Siberian Fir Needle
Sweet Pea:
Raspberry Fragrance Oil
Savannah Gardens: 2 parts Jasmine, Orange Blossom, and Hyacinth to 1 part
Vanilla, Amber and Clove.
Spiced Apple:
8 parts Apple to 1 part Clove
Spring Magnolia: 1 part Magnolia to 1 part Peach, splash Lemon
Strawberry Kiwi:
1 part Strawberry to 1 part Kiwi
Summer Breeze:
1 part Jasmine to 1 part Orange Blossom
Summer Nights:
1 part Jasmine to 1 part Rain, splash Gardenia
Tahitian Vanilla:
3 parts Vanilla, 1 part Coconut, 1 part Pineapple, 1 part Rum
Tropical Fruit:
1 part Mango to 1 part Kiwi
Wild Flowers:
3 parts Lilac, 1 part Rose, 1 part Grass or Patchouli
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Winter Cold:
3 parts Lemon to 1 part Eucalyptus
Winter Wonderland: 1 part Coconut to 1 part Peppermint
How to Make Your Own Vegetable Based Wax
This is fine if you cannot get a hold of true SoyWax, designed to create a longer
and smoother burning candle. It is simply a vegetable based non-paraffin (nonPetrol) product. We designed this formula when we felt the cost of gas (Petrol)
was going to prevent us from shipping SoyWax in and out, at all. That never
became the case—and as you will find, good SoyWax designed for candle making
is about the same as buying the inregirdents below. Shortening is cheap, but
beeswax sure is not, unless you know a beekeeper.
Do not use this if you are into mass candle making. You are not going to get
consistently good retail candles. On the other hand, this does work great for basic
container blends and is so easy you are not going to believe it.
Find Crisco or any solid vegetable bases shortening, such as you would buy to
make pie dough. Typically shortening is 100% hydrogenated SoyBean Oil, check
the ingredients before you buy. I do not think corn or canola oil and such will do it.
Cottonseed oil might. But most shortening is some form of Soy.
Melt it down with at least 5% if not 10% beeswax shavings, chips or pastilles.
The beeswax will take MUCH longer to melt—so melt that first. It will take a good
8 minutes in the microwave and it could “time out” your microwave if you have too
large of chucks.
We use heavy glass when melting beeswax, because any plastic may melt first.
When you are ready, mix melted shortening and mix well. You can throw this
all into a crock pot, (outside preferably) and just keep and eye on it, stirring every
½ hour.
You can also pour these into moulds and set aside for later candle
making. It cut should pretty easy, like cold butter.
35
Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Making Soy Wax Bears
Great for birthdays, Mother’s Day, you name it! The average bear gets a very
rustic and elegant look when dipped in fragranced high melt point soy wax such
as SoyWax Pillar Blend. Paraffin is not a good medium because it tends to
clump, beyond other reasons we do not like working with it.
Idea designed by
Judea Bentley. These bears sell retail for $40 (67£ ) on up!
A fresh bow always makes an old bear look like a new handsome devil.
36
Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Material Needed:
1.
Soy Wax
(1 pound for 1 large bear or 2 small bears, approx 8 inches)
2.
Fragrance Oil
3.
Crock pot, to melt the Soy Wax
4.
Thick rubber gloves
5.
Tongs
6.
Drying rack
7.
Bamboo skews
8.
Large tooth metal comb
9.
Thermometer
(2 ounces per pound of Soy Wax)
37
Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
You May Ask?
Can I just use paraffin?
Yes you could, but let me tell you why Soy wax is better.
Paraffin in my opinion is dangerous. It catches fire very easily and is difficult to clean
up.
It also seems to clump on the animals, which is our first reason for not liking it.
Why Soy is Wax Better?
SoyWax is water based and very easy to clean up. When choosing your wax do not
use Container blend it is not a hard enough wax. I would suggest “Soy Dipping Wax”
which is also known as Pillar Soy by SoyWaxTM. This Soy wax gives you the finest
finished product. A Pillar blend Soy Wax could also be used. Soy Wax can be placed
in the crock pot without the worry of a flash flame. When dipping in Soy Wax the
animal has a smoother consistency.
The Soy Wax shapes and combs easier than paraffin. The Soy Wax also seems
to hold the scent quite longer than paraffin.
How long does the scent last, and how can I refresh it?
I like to have my scents strong. I have found that if you add 2 ounces (56 ml) to 16
ounces (453 g) of Soy Wax, that after 5 months the smell is still quite evident. But the
fragrance will decrease over time if the animal is kept at room temperature. I have
tried all kinds of experiments in the past 6 months, in the way of fragrance. If after
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
several months you scents seems to fade you can take your fragrance, place it in a
spray bottle. And then spray your critter. Just lightly spray do not drench. Then just us
a blow dryer for 1 minute and this will refresh the scent. This needs to be done about
once a month as desired. If after refreshing your critter for several months and you
feel that it is not longer holding the scent.
You can re-dip in the Soy Wax. Or if the scent has faded enough you can try a new
scent. When you dip, place the entire critter in the wax and the sit on rack to dry.
But remember just a quick dip. Then follow the steps as when you first dipped.
Fragrance oils and Colors
Some fragrance oils can discolor white animals. When using a white or very light
colored bear, try to choose fragrance oils that are as clear or lightly tinted as possible.
When choosing a bear, pick on that is just one solid color. I had dipped a white bear
that was holding a red heart and when it was pulled from the wax, the red had run on
to the white bear.
I have found that it is not a good idea to color the wax. It causes a dandruff look on the
critter.
What Kind of Stuff Animal Do I Use?
Being the mother of 5 I have always gone the cheap route. I like the adventure of
going to Thrift Shops. My daughter Mollie and I start out on our mission for the
week “Operation Teddy Drop” We take on day a month and visit all the Thrift
stores in town. What we look for is a critter that is about 8 inches (20 cm) tall.
Preferably one that has jointed limbs. This way you can pose the critter how ever
you would like. We have also found that animals with beans do not work well. Or
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
the polyfiber. We like to find animals that are all 100% cotton. We pay an
average of .29 to .99 per animal.
Lets Get Started
Melt the wax on low heat in a crock pot
Allow the wax to completely melt. Stir the wax with a Wisk as it is melting.
Do not let the wax reach over 180 degrees (90 c) that is too high.
Unplug pot after wax is melted
Add the scent
Allow the wax to rest for about 5 minutes. Then add your scent. I like 2
ounces (56 ml) of scent per 1 pound (456 g) of Soy Wax. If you add the scent
before it has had a chance to rest, the scent smell will not be as strong.
Dipped the Animal in the Wax, until fully Drenched
Cut off any tags of bows that may be attached to the critter. Take your tongs
and grab the animal. Dip him into the wax, until he is fully emerged. While
animal is in the wax, take your tongs and push on the animal, it should be
lying now at the bottom of the crock pot. This will remove the air that is inside
of the animal. Then roll your animal on the bottom of the crock pot.
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Lift Out and Place on Drying Rack
I like to place the drying rack on top of my crock pot after I remove critter
from the wax. Place your critter on top of the drying rack. This also helps
to conserve on wax. Since the excess will drop down in the crock pot.
Shape your Bear with care
Comb your animal with a metal comb. The longer hair requires more
combing. You can also take a tooth pick to pick through the hair. Pose your
critter in the position that you want him in. You might have to prop up his head
with a bamboo skew. This can take up to one hour depending on your room
temperature and humidity. Before you go on to the next step please make
sure that the critter is completely dry, and in a fixed position.
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Adding the Finished Touch
Remove all toothpicks and skews that you have in place. Take a
hairdryer on the warm setting and blow the critter for I minute. This will
give your critter a softer feel. If you have to much wax on his paws, hit
it with the hair dryer and then smooth it with your fingers. Then hit it
again for 30 seconds.
Packaging
Place a tie, bow or what ever accessories you would like to place on your
critter. I like to place my critters on a plastic dollie and then wrap in a poly bag
and then tie with a decorative ribbon. The bow can definitely make the whole
project look completely professional.
Things to Remember
Never place critters on the wood direct. Always place on a dish, etc. The oil in the wax
will stain furniture.
Keep out of the reach of children. Your critter is not a toy.
Your critters are not candles, so do not burn them.
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
Another Wax Project! Rustic Décor for the Home
In the UK I learned they use beeswax for more than
cosmetics. They also use it to make rustic looking
wall mounts. This can also be done with Soy Wax
Pillar Blend. Three pounds most wax will give you a
really nice large wall decor that I would pay up to
$34 for. I used the new silicone (floppy looking pans)
that can hold up to 500 degrees. They are really
meant for cakes, cup cakes, tarts and such. As you
will see below, I also use the same as a soap mold.
Almost indestructible and darn easy to peel your
product out, this is the best new cooking technology
I have come across in a few years. The heart you see is a BIG heart designed to
bake cakes. If you can see the heart to the left, I ripped that out of a UK magazine. It
was not a lead article piece. Click thumbnail on right for a close view of what I made.
For ANYONE who has left over waxes of any kind, really, you can do this. This is
a fast and beautiful project for even Mother's Day. I like the one I made so much, all
my staff is curious as to who is getting it. I guess we all are. I just do not want to give
mine away!
This silicone "pan" is a Hoffritz Large Heart cake pan. Most outlet
malls carry these.
To Create:
1 pound of beeswax (or just wax)
4 cups of p-1 SoyWax (or just wax)
Twine or Ribbon (2 feet)
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles
A good time to wear your mitts and use a large heat proof Anchor Hocking glass with
a pour spout. You need not spray the pan, it will peel off very easy when they are
cool. First melt your waxes in the nuker, keeping a VERY close eye on it. You may
want to melt 1/2 and then 1/2 because any wax has a flash point. All you need do is
pour it into the mold! As it starts to cool, anchor your twine rope (hanger) deep into
the unit because you do not want it falling off the wall. I anchored my twine 1/2 into
the heart although you cannot see that.
The heart cooled pretty fast and I bothered to decorate it the next day. I used a glue
gun and dried petals. In this case I used 1 ounce of Jasmine buds and 2 ounces of
rose buds. If the mold is fancy enough you may not need to add any decor. I could
not find a very fancy heart mold in the hurry I was in.
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Making Soy and Heavily Scented Candles