How to Make a Simple Jar Candle

comments (0) December 26th, 2009

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DonnaCarolR, member

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Making simple jar candles is a lot of fun! Homemade candles also make great gifts for the holidays. Candle making can be a very involved process, but we don't have to learn all the ins and outs. We just want to make candles to freshen our bathrooms, brighten our kitchens, or to give as gifts to our friends. This isn't the cheapest craft in the world either, but there are ways to cut corners. I hope this post will help you get started on a rewarding new hobby.

Important Note: There are whole books on the subject of candlemaking and so many kinds to make!!! They each need the proper wax, additives, containers or lack of, and temperatures for heating and for adding stuff and for pouring. Please follow these instructions exactly.

SUPPLIES:

First you need a candy thermometer! Don't even bother with this project unless you buy one of those first.!!

Containers: jars, coffee cups, thrift store votives etc. (not too thin)
Wax - paraffin by the pound at a grocery store or a 10lb block at your local craft supply store (use a coupon!), or old candles that don't have a thick outer coating
Vybar for strength and clear color
Coloring - You can use crayons, but they will leave a little powdery residue at the base of the wick which you can see through the melted wax when it burns, but I don't mind about that. Whatever you use MUST BE MADE for candles. Don't use food coloring or other water or alcohol based additives. If you spend a little bit more, you can buy coloring just for the purpose of candle making.

Note: I also use thrift store candles which have a colored outside layer. That is enough to color the candles I make from them. If you use thrift store candles for the wax, be sure to crack off that outside layer, because it will color your wax and possibly scent it too.

Scent -Be generous because scent is one of the most important aspects of a candle to many people. The scent must be oil based. Don't use alcohol based or candy scents.
wicks - come in several sizes depending on how big a circle of wax you want to burn. I buy the 2-3" diameter burning wicks. They seem to work well with most jars.
metal tabs for holding the end of the wick securely to the bottom of the jar (You can use metal tabs from tea lights too.)

EQUIPMENT

sauce pan, wooden spoon, candy thermometer,large knife and cutting board, paring knife, toothpick or ice pick, wax paper, sticks (like skewers or chopsticks), glass measuring cup, pliers

STEPS:

1.Prepare to work: Lay out wax paper and set open jars on paper on counter, and set wicks, tabs, pliers, toothpick or ice pick nearby. Set pan, spoon, measuring cup, scent, Vybar and candy thermometer by stove. Set wax, knives, crayolas, and cuttingboard on other side of stove but nearby.

2. Melt the Wax: Chop up chunks of wax into about 1-2" pieces and put several in a pan on the stove on LOW HEAT! VERY LOW. Let it start to melt slowly. When you have an inch of melted wax, add more wax and turn to medium if you want to melt the wax faster, but stay close by and watch the temperature at all times.

NEVER LET TEMPERATURE GET ABOVE 250--WAX IS FLAMMABLE!!!! Did I say that loud enough?!(I just leave it on low while I do the rest of the preparation.)

3. Prepare tabs. (You can pull these out of tea lights if you want.) Cut the wick the height of the candle plus one more inch. Push the wick through the hole in the tab.

Crimp it down tight with the pliers.

Dip the wick in a little melted wax and hold it straight while it cools so it will stay straight and stiff in the jar.

Hang the waxed strings with the tabs dangling over a skewer into the jar. You want the tab to be in the center of the jar.

Set all the jars with their tabs on the waxed paper to protect the counter.

4.CHECK FOR PROPER TEMPERATURE!

You must have a candy thermometer for this project! Temperature is so so important! It has to be just right. To make jar candles, we want to heat our wax to between 170 and 180 degrees but never as high as 250! If you get it a little too hot, just take it off the heat source and let it cool to this range. This is the proper pouring range for "container candles".

5. Stir in additives: Vybar, Coloring, and Fragrance. While you are waiting for the wax to get hot enough, peel the crayon that is the color you want. Cut in up in little pieces. When the temperature is above 170 but below 180, add about 1 teaspoon of Vybar per pound, 1/2-1oz of fragrance per pound or 1 tsp. of potpourri oil and 1 stick of crayon per pound. Note: If you put the fragrance in while the wax is too hot, it can burn off the scent...so be sure to wait until the proper temperature.

6. If you want a layer candle, pick three shades of one color or three separate colors. I like to do the three shades. I use the lightest shade first, pour out a third of the wax into the jars. While the first layer is cooling, I add a darker shade (about 1/3 of a crayon), pour that on top, then stir in the darkest crayon (about 1/2 a crayon) and pour it last.

7. POUR the 1st 1/4" of wax to set the wick: Pour about one inch of wax to set the wick at the bottom. While it is cooling, I use a skewer or ice pick and push the metal tab down firmly on the bottom of the jar and make sure the wick is hanging straight.

NOTE: You will want to regularly check and straighten your wick as it is cooling anyway. It is important that the wick be as perfectly centered as possible or when you go to light your candle, the circle of burning wax will be off center and look funny.

8. Pour the rest of the wax in all at once. (Make sure it is still hot, or re-heat to the 170-180 range.) If your wax is too cool it will trap bubbles and will also get dull little cracks and lines between the jar and the candle. I had this happen to some of my layers and used a blow dryer to reheat the side of the glass, though boiling water might work too. It worked pretty well but not perfectly. This happens when the wax cools too quickly.

9. Reserve about a cup of colored, scented wax in a glass measuring cup to fill the sunken place in the middle. When the candles cool completely, they sink in the middle a bit. They say to poke a hole near the wick so that the top layer stays 'up' while the middle sinks.

I haven't figured this out quite yet. Most of mine sank in the middle and I re-filled them later. The kids like to see them sunken in. You will have to re-heat the wax before topping off the candle, which I do either in a pan of boiling water or the microwave (very carefully!)