Making candles.

We all have them, those odd bits that are left over when you burn a candle. I hate throwing them out so this past winter my mum and I have been saving up all those odd bits and today we turned them into new candles.

You will need:
- a bunch of leftover candle bits from 100% stearin candles
- a can
- a pot (for a water bath)
- something to protect your hands (gloves, oven mittens...)
- containers for your finished candles
- whick
- long matches (or something else to tie the wick to)
- coins with holes (or something else to hold the wick down)
- a tray or large plate
- newspaper to cover your work area


Fill the pot with some water and place the can in it. Make sure that the water cannot reach the top of the can. If water gets into the stearin your candle will not burn well.
Put candle bits into the can and let it slowly melt, keeping the water below boiling at all times. You can add more bits as they melt.


Prepare the containers with the whick while the stearin melts and place them on the tray.


Now you are ready to don your gloves and pour the fully melted stearin into the containers, don't worry about the whicks in the can, they will stay at the bottom. 


Make sure the whicks are still centered and bring the candles outside to set. 


Once the candles are cool remove the matches and untie the knots. Cut the wicks 1-2 cm long and enjoy your new candles. 





2 comments:

  1. i always wondered how to do this! thank you for posting this tutorial! (my MIL once set her house on fire trying to make her own candles, and i always wonder which step was the 'oops' moment. thankfully no one was hurt!)

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  2. Oh no! good thing nobody was hurt. I'm not sure how you could set your house on fire unless you do this over an open flame maybe and hopefully I will never discover how ;)
    Let me know if you ever try it. :)

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