I love candles, especially jar candles. I enjoy giving them as gifts for house warming or holidays, however I am not a huge fan of the "designer brand" prices and much prefer making my own (because of the savings, quality and love put into them).
They are easy to make, but there are a few things you should know before you attempt them, so here is a quick tutorial:
How to Make Paraffin Wax Jar Candles
Supply list:
Paraffin wax
Wicks
Candle Jars (or any jar)
Crayons
Candle scent
Wood spoon
Two stock pots, one smaller than the other (or double boiler)
Tin foil
cookie sheet
multi purpose thread
tape
Hammer
Oven mitts
(Keep a fire extinguisher handy, just in case)
First fill your large stock pot with water and place on the stove with medium heat.
Break up your wax into manageable pieces with your hammer. I purchased a 10lb slab for $7.96 at Hobby Lobby (normally 14.99... thank you 40% coupon) this slab will make a lot of candles, but buying in bulk is cheaper in the long run if you plan on making quite a few. Decided now if you want all of your candles to be one scent and/or color. If you do, it makes the process go much quicker. We are going to proceed as though this is the case.
Open your jars and prepare the wicks. I use multi-purpose thread, which I tie around the wick in the middle at the height of the top of the jar. Then I tape each side of the string to the sides of the jar, making sure the wick is centered and the strings are tight.
Lay out a sheet of tin foil on the cookie sheet. place all of your prepped jars on the cookie sheet.
By now your water should be simmering, or about to... put your small stock pot into the larger one and add your wax slowly to the small stock pot (not the one with water!). Turn the stove heat down to medium low. Add the color crayon you'd like your candles to be to the wax. You may have to add more than one if you are doing a large batch to get the desired color. I find that adding varying shades of the same color (like several different blues in different quantities) gives me better colors with more depth.
Stir your wax as it melts, make sure it doesn't get too hot too fast, otherwise it will form large bubbles that will pop hot wax everywhere or it can catch fire. NEVER leave you wax unattended when it is on heat, this is a job best done when the little ones are sleeping so that there are no distractions.
Once all of the wax is melted, turn off the heat and add your scent... stir it thoroughly.
Now carefully pull your small stock pot out and pour the wax into the jars. Be careful not to spill, but if you do it is ok, that is what the tin foil is for ;) .
If you have a little bit of leftover wax, that is great! Put the small stock pot back in the warm water, but don't turn on the heat. Use this wax to fill in any dips or holes in your jars when they cool. You can use a fan to speed the cooling wax process.
Finally, cut your wicks down to about 1/4th of an inch above the cooled wax, add some ribbon, or a label and enjoy!
If you wait for the sales to be in your favor, these become a really affordable gift... each of my candles cost around $3.00 to make!
($20.00 - jars (20) , $4.00 for 20 wicks, $7.96 - wax, $5.00 -ribbon, $9.00 -candle scent, $0.25 - crayons /20 candles )
