My first candle making adventure:Learn from my mistakes.

So today is my birthay! (October 31) I wake up and my husband has taken the day off the hang out with me and the little guy! I love days like this... unfortunately it's nasty outside and we can't go to the zoo like I wanted (yes I'm 27, so what if I want to go to the Zoo for my birthday.)

My husband is the best... he decides to take me out to breakfast and then to my favorite store (Hobby Lobby... Duh.) Lately I can't shut up about wanting to make candles (ask my friends who weren't near as thrilled about the idea as I was.) So my hubs decides to take me to get everything I needed to start my candle making adventure....keeper!

What you need:

A kitchen scale (These can get pricey... got mine at Ross for $9

glass pyrex measuring cup or pitcher to melt wax in (pourable is much easier for filling jars)

you will need to place the pyrex in a sauce pan of boiling water to melt like a double broiler

Wax: don't try to be fancy like me... just buy soy wax flakes. believe me. 

1 pound of wax will fill a 12oz mason jar btw

Mason jars or any other container you want to use.

Fragrance (1 oz to every pound) atleast... up to 2 oz per pound if you want a very strong scent

Glue Gun and glue sticks

Braided Wick

Wick tabs

This scale ended up working perfectly and it holds about 1.5 pounds of wax

Here is where I made things too difficult for myself... I decided to mix soy wax and paraffin wax to make a blend I thought would be perfect... not worth it. Buy the flakes and be done. 

Add water to a pan and set your glass pyrex inside it to melt the wax... use your thermometer to make sure it is about 150 degrees before you add the fragrance.

This made a huge freaking mess by the way... Im starting to think I'm working too hard for a few scented candles. The fragrance part it what I was most excited about, I bought a whole bunch of fragrance oil and to be so expensive its amazing how much damn oil goes into each of these candles... I tried 1 oz per pound of fragrance and it wasnt strong at all, I think you could definitely do 2 oz of fragrance per pound and maybe even more if you like a strong candle like me! So scent oil at Hobby Lobby was almost $3 for a .5 oz bottle! No way you want to use 4 bottles per candle, that would be quite pricey! My lesson learned here is that you need to buy your oil online and in bulk if possible to make it worth it... atleast to sell them and make money for sure! The wax is much less expensive online also, Amazon.com even has some great deals on candle making supplies. After spending several hours in the kitchen and realizing I kinda wen't overboard on my spendings... Im thinking... Shit.

And my drink is empty... Not good. 

much better... incase anyone was wondering... Vodka does make the candle making experience much more enjoyable. (Don't judge me... it's my birthday)

So once your oil is about 150 degrees, add the fragrance and wait until its about 140 to start pouring it into jars. If you pour when it is too hot you will have sinkholes in your candle and they won't be as pretty! 

I used clothespins to hold the wicks while I poured wax, they work perfect for the mason jar and are just wide enough! you can just use a dab of hot glue to mount the wicks to the bottom of the container.

It is cheaper to buy the wicks and tabs seperate, and you just measure how long you want it (make it extra long at first so the clothespin will hold the wick tight. Pull the string through the tab and pinch with some pliers to secure. Easy Peasy (Thats about the only thing that was easy today...)

Remember you have to do different batches for every scent that you want. 

After you pour the wax it will start to cool right away and be more of a creamy white color. My house smelt amazing after adding all that oil to the wax!

Keep up with the scents... I wrote mine on some paper plates and how much oil I used so I could remember my results and pass on the good lessons I learned

My 8 candles took a full day to make, but they are pretty and they smell pretty good.... I spent too much money on oil and wax but I did learn so much in the process. I really enjoyed mixing some scents and making my own unique fragrances but it made me a appreciate a good candle. I don't mind spending $20 on a candle that I love anymore because I realize how much work goes into it!! I might experiment again soon but I will be doing things a lot differently, too! Learn from my mistakes if you want to try this at home, and if it sounds like a bitch.... it is. Im all about getting crafty but some projects of mine I find to be more worth it than others! I do love the idea of these candles as gifts, you can personalize fragrance and even make cute gift tags to tie on! (Haven't gotten there yet... but bare with me.)