What a whirlwind! The holidays can be so stressful, especially the collection of gifts before hand. The intersection of consumerism and and social and family ties can get confusing and frustrating, so this year I made gifts for my family and friends, instead of buying something I dont know if they like. This ended up consisting of rose scented candles, which I poured in my kitchen and had finished in the better part of one day.
Candles can be an incredible addition to any room's ambience and scent profile, so I became incredibly frustrated earlier this year when my budget did not have room for my candle requirements. I filled up my cart with four medium sized candles, and the resulting cost was over one hundred dollars! So I decided to invest the money I DID have in candle making supplies, and it turned out to be a good idea. Soy wax is the most clean burning wax, but it also turns out to be incredibly cheap, so I bought a ten pound bag for ten dollars and didn't quite run out after several tests and two batches of 3 or 4 candles, depending on the sizes of the containers I had, and these ten that I made for gift giving.
The process is fairly simple, the only tricky bits are measuring the amount of fragrance and adding it when the wax has cooled to the preferred pouring temperature(120-140 degrees) and making sure you dont add too much! You might want the nicest smelling candle, but if the wax is too diluted by fragrance it will not set well. For this reason the optimal ratio is 1 oz fragrance per pound of wax.
Before pouring the hot wax the container should be heated as well so that the container and wax can both come down to room temp at the same time. Honestly I am not sure how bad it would be if you didn't, i saw a few instructions that recommended it so I have been doing it. Should be a similar temperature to the wax.
Mix the fragrance in the wax and then pour into container with wick secured at the bottom and top of container (special stickers exist and there are wick holders but you can just wrap it around a pencil with little issue). After the wax is poured you just need to wait for it to set! It hardens fairly quickly but It takes a few days to fully set, so I just stick them in an extra cupboard til they're ready. It really is incredibly simple and is so much cheaper than buying the excessive amount of candles I like to burn 😅😅😅
I only had one scent, so all my present candles are rose, which I admit is not a seasonal scent, but it is my favorite and i already had it, so I figured I would use it until I absolutely haaaaaave to get another one. this way they seem a little more personal, I think, as I almost always wear rose perfumes. It's like I am visiting them every time they burn it!
Instead of wrapping paper I like to use hair scarves as gift wrap. It is a super cute touch and is slightly better for the planet than wrapping paper. you can also match it to the candle container or the recipiant for extra cuteness!
As far as future candle making goes, I will be needing to choose at least one new scent soon. Do any of you have scent combinations you are particularly fond of? I am thinking of adding vanilla to the rose, but maybe I should make the next ones a little spicy to keep us warm in the winter. What do you think?
I hope you all had an excellent beginning of your holidays! I have plans to be on live a few days next week so please stop in and say hi when you see me on!
Also don't forget go check out my set Vintage Flair in MR, @sunshine and I really enjoyed making it but we would love to know what you think too!
@missy @Rambo
