More Making Candles 101
Boy, my first candles article is still my most popular. I guess I'm not the only one who loves candles. And, their not too hard to make. This time we'll make dipped candles and alternative poured candles. Let's get right to it.
Dipping Candles
First you are going to need some basic supplies. You will need;
At least one box of paraffin
a sheet of beeswax, plain or colored
A large tall can or tin
A medium sauce pan
Wicking, long pieces
sharp paring knife
2 tall plastic cups
2 wooden spoons, or dowels
Assorted color pieces (optional), broken Crayons are acceptable Old news paper
Clean old cookie sheet
A bowel of water and ice, incase of burns
Oven mitts or pot holders An answering machine, once you start you really cant stop.
If you want 6 inch tapers you will need to cut a length of wick 18 inches long. Make sure your can/tin is the right height. If it is smaller, make the wick smaller. You want it to be three times the length of one taper.
Put your newspaper don on the counter. Set your cups apart, slightly shorter than the spoons or dowels. Place the spoons/dowels across the cups. Leave enough room between the cups for your candles to hang. You can secure the spoons/dowels either cloths pins if they tend to roll.
Now you are ready to make your candles.
Fill sauce pan ½ way with water. Chop up the paraffin into small pieces and place them in the can/tin. Put can/tin in the water. If there is too much water, empty some of it. Turn the heat on to medium high. As the paraffin melts, add more pieces and the beeswax. Almost filling the can/tin to the top. Leave about 2 inches head space.
When it is all melted lower the heat to medium low to low. You really just want to leave the paraffin melted. Add color pieces if desired, and allow to melt.
Hold the wick in your hand, keeping three fingers width in the middle. Dip one side of the wick into the wax, and remove. Repeat with the other side. Hang the wick over the spoons/dowels. Give it a few seconds to set. Dip the candles again, cooling between dips. Going a tad shorter every 4th dip, to create the taper. Repeat these steps until you have reached your desired candle width. Don't worry of the bottoms look funny, we're going to fix that next.
Heat your oven to 250 degrees F . Place cookie sheet inside. Let pan heat for 5 minutes. Take it out and lightly rub the candle bottoms, until they are smooth. If this creates a wider than the candle bottom, wait until the candles cool, then use a knife to carefully trim the ends.
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