Making candles for home, for gift giving, or for some extra money is done all the same way. The only difference is in the packaging!
Of course, you can start your candle making endeavor by purchasing a candle making kit or picking up all kinds of gizmos and gadget along the way to get you started. But, the easiest way is to use what you already have or get things cheap to start out with. I sometimes pick up items at yard sales and flea markets because I won’t be eating out of them. They will just be used for candle making.
What kinds of things do you need? Keep reading…
Photo Credit to storebukkebruse on Flickr
How to Make Homemade Candles
The kind of candle you want to make will alter the items you need. For this post, we will use taper candles as an example. If you want to make a taper candle for decoration only (you won’t be burning it), you’ll only need some used pillar candles from around the house (not container candles), some yarn, an old metal 8×8 pan, an old metal cooker (small to medium), wax paper, non-stick cooking spray, and some cinnamon (optional).
What you’ll need to do:
- Heat the old candles on low to medium heat in the old cooker. (Note – candle wax can be very combustible so take caution not to overheat.) The old wick should fall out and you can reuse it later if you want for a smaller candle.
- While the old candles are melting, prepare the old metal pan by spraying it with non-stick cooking spray.
- Sprinkle the pan with cinnamon, if desired. If the candles are already scented or you don’t like cinnamon scent, just leave this part out. If you like cinnamon, add some extra!
- When the wax has melted completely, set it off the burner to cool for a few minutes.
- Cover the work area with wax paper.
- While it is cooling, cut the yarn either into one piece about 9 inches long for one taper candle or one piece about 18 inches long for two taper candles that will hang over a peg or door handle.
- Dip the yarn into the wax to coat the yarn. Remember, this is for decoration only. Use regular wicking for burning.
- Pour the wax over the cinnamon in the pan about 1/4″ to 1/2″ thick.
- Let the wax cool until you can lift up the edges and it stays together. Don’t wait too long or the wax will become to hard and brittle for the next step.
- Once you can lift up the edge, lay the piece of yarn on the edge of the wax closest to you. It should be flat against the pan on the right side with part of it hanging over the edge on the left.
- Start to roll the candle like a cinnamon roll.
- Roll until the desired thickness. Thicker candles look more primitive than thinner taper candles. One pan of wax makes two primitive taper candles.
- Use a plastic knife to cut the wax when you are finished rolling.
- To make the second taper candle, follow the above steps starting with step 9.
- If you are making dual candles to hang over a peg, roll the candle around the other side of the yarn.
Tip: If the wick or yarn seems to slip out of the candle, you can dip the entire taper candle into warm wax to coat the entire candle and down the middle of the candle around the yarn. This will ensure the wick won’t slip.
Making Money While Making Candles
After you get the hang of making candles, you can start to mass produce and make dozens at a time. Package the taper candles in cellophane bags and tie with a ribbon. You can also make old-looking tags to use as price tags for selling at craft shows and bazaars.
If you’d like to make scented candles or more grubby taper candles, simple add scent when the wax has melted or for grubby candles sprinkle oats into the pan along with or instead of the cinnamon before you roll the candle.
For a more primitive look, cut some fabric into 2″ x 8″ long pieces and tie around the center of the dual candles or a shorter piece around a single candle. Raffia also works well.
Selling these candles can make you some extra cash too! Dual taper candles can sell for big profits. I’ve sold them for $6.00 to $12.00 in the small town I live in, but in bigger cities they can sell for much more! In case your wondering, these candles can be made for less than $0.05 when using old candles and around $1.00 when using new wax.
For more candle making tips and tricks, check out my ebook, Candle Making Tricks: How to Make Caked & Grubby Candles Using Basic Kitchen Items.
Hi Annette,
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Just as a precaution,wax can be easily caught in fire and I always recommend my students to use double boiler when melting the wax. If you don’t know what is double boiler, just search Google. Take note of the colors of the old candle as well as if you mix different color of candles, you might get some ‘ugly’ co lour.
Cheers,
Sam
Yes we included a note in the article to watch for the potential for the wax to burn and catch fire. It’s an important reminder for sure.
This post reminds me of a time when I was a kid and went to a youth gathering. We all lined up & each of us were given a string. We then took turns and dipped our strings in the candle wax, and went to the back of the line to do it all over again. Of course, you always had the kids who would stick their whole hand in there, so the wax must have not been that hot. Also, there candles didn’t turn out so good…. 🙂 I enjoyed reading this and look forward to more.
Brandi