candles with perfume

One 9-inch-length wick, primed

1 tablespoon opaque crystals

1/2 pound paraffin wax

2 to 3 drops candle scent or essential oil

Directions:
1. Prepare the mold — you will need a 7 x 2-inch mold. Insert the primed wick in the mold; tie to a tie rod and seal with mold seal.

2. In the top of a double boiler over medium heat, melt the opaque crystals, then add the wax. Melt and mix thoroughly. Heat to 190 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Stir in the candle scent or essential oil and transfer the wax to a pouring jug. Carefully fill the mold and allow to cool 1 hour.

4. Top off the candle as necessary, then leave to harden 6 to 8 hours.

5. Unmold the candle, trim the wicks to 1/4 inch, and level the candle bottom before lighting.

This candle project originally appeared in the book Country Living Handmade Candles.
I have a little bit of a craft obsession. I’m not what you’d consider good at it but I still love cracking out the scissors and glue, colouring in, fabric, stitching, paper, painting – yes I would thrive as a kindy teacher in the craft section (because they all have a special section for crafting right?)

For my Birthday last year, strange one that I am, I asked for some wax and wicks to make my own candles. I was very excited to receive them how to make candles at home be happy but actually forgot about it until a few weeks ago (my Birthday is in 3 weeks so that was nearly a whole year). Spurred on by the excitement of finding a use for my jar collection, one rainy Saturday afternoon I did a bit of Googling of how to make scented soy candles then got straight to candle making.

It was pretty straightforward – melt, pour, leave to set, but what I didn’t realise was that soy wax it a lot easier to work with than parafin wax, which I’d asked for. It made nice candles but soy makes them a much prettier white colour.  

Now come the technical parts. You don’t have to re-use old candles, you can use whatever you like – old jars, a little pot, tea cups – anything that you could microwave safely I’d say would be fine.

First up you have to add the wicks. Measure out the height just by holding it next to your container then add a few centimeters on the bottom and top. To attach the wick at the bottom I was very professional. I used sticky tape. Just fold it around itself to make it double sided then secure it to the bottom of the jar.