Be Daring, Have Fun And Make Your Own Candles For Unique Christmas Presents
Christmas is near and it is a time of giving and celebration
. The idea of giving is to share your interests and to try and make the other person feel loved. To do this, one way is to give them something that you have made yourself. So to help you do this, here are a few tips that could lead to you making your own candle gifts to give to family members and friends.The art of candle making is one that is centuries old but here we will cover a method called "chunk candles".
I have carefully detailed the steps below but even so care needs to be taken so that the wax does not reach a flash point and you suddenly have a real problem on your hands. To ensure your safety always use a thermometer in the heating wax and also know the flash point of each wax you use. Also you need to understand about adding color to your wax.
Depending how many you plan on making, it will depend on the quantity of supplies you need. If you haven't done much with candle making before it might pay just to do a few and see how it goes for you.
Another point to give consideration to is your color choice. It is a good idea to choose colors that are complimentary to each other and work well together either for a festive season like red and green for Christmas, or use colors to suite a person's decor. It pays to keep the main color either white or a very light shade if you are choosing a color.
If you would like to have scented candles, you will need to choose a fragrance to add to your wax and in this style of candle it really only needs to be added to the main color. Do check how this should be added so that you don't have any problems.
The requirements for making chunk candles:
- some wax that has been colored, set in a metal tray then cut into squares
- some lighter colored wax as the main color of your candle
- wick/s
- some candle scents if you wish to perfume the candles
- molds (could be a milk carton) or a pillar candle mold
For the process of making chunk candles you will need to:
- melt your colored wax and spread it to the thickness that you want onto a cake tin that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray - as the wax is starting to set cut into cubes about 1" (2cm) - you may be using 1, 2 or 3 separate colors at this stage
- bring your wick through the bottom of your mold and hold with glue or blue tac then place the chunks at angles into the mold leaving gaps in between and also making sure that your wick is straight - you could put a kebab stick next to the wick at this stage and it will help keep the wick straight and you can remove it before the final setting of the main colored wax
- melt your main color and slowly poor over the chunks in the mold
When you have set your candles they should slip out of the mold easily and you will have a lovely candle that is melded together as the hot was has set. The cubes of wax look stunning in this type of candle and would be appreciated by anyone who likes to have candles in their home.
To complete the look of the gift, pretty up the candle with a tie of raffia, twine or something similar or even some glitter or Christmas embellishments glued on if you are giving Christmas gifts. Experiment and have fun making your own candles because this is not too difficult a type of candle to make and they will be greatly appreciated.
Copyright (c) 2009 Kaye Dennan
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