Easy as it is, making candles only need you to follow a few steps and you could achieve the finished product that you pictured out in your mind. There are a lot of ways to make candles. It could be by using simple quick steps from the internet or some more complex methods recommended by your neighbor who is into candle making.

Whatever it is, injecting some dose of your own creative ideas would make a whole lot of difference. What then are some tools you could use in making gel candles with your own brand of style?

As you follow the conventional steps of making gel candles, it would add up the fun if you consider the following tips:

· Use other materials that would let you have fun explore your creativity while adding more elements of style. Non-flammable things like sand, shells, metal charms, beads, marbles, pebbles, glitters, aquarium gravel, artificial jewel or pearls, and the like are among the most attractive things to have in your gel candle.

· Add colors that suit the little things you add with your gel candle. If you want the touch of “beach”, you use aqua blue while you put some shells, aquarium pebbles or gravel and miniature star fish in your candle. You could also match the style you want to customize by mixing beads with glitters but consider color harmony as well.

· Place some of these little objects at the bottom part of the container before freely putting them in the other portions of the container. This would hide the wick tab.

· As you pour gel, add these tiny objects in layers. Take note that you need to place these objects away from the wick. The tip is- the closer these objects to the outside portion of the container, the more “visible” they could be.

As you make the candles, you would enjoy the fact that you are playing with colors and style. What makes the gel candles is that they were created out of pure pleasure and fun. Personalizing these gel candles is another great idea. You could try to use cut-outs of your name.

As you insert your own brand of style, do not forget to work safely and do not risk quality of the product over appearance only. There must be a balance of both. When you feel like you have been training your self well in making custom gel candles, why not try it out as a small business?

Candle Articles-Scented Candles

There is this different mood being set by candles. When the lights are dimmed or totally out, there will still be that unexplainable effect when candles are being lit. Just like all other people who believe in what candles could offer, we would be very glad if you too, could try the difference. Floating candles are really “in”, and you would not regret it if you buy floating candles of your choice.

Floating candles could really bring that different twist in what you knew or believed about candles. They define elegance, romance and creativity. For really tested and proven quality floating candles is what you need. They could really be a mood setter and they could really stay up for a long time. Set that mood you wanted, save much and celebrate.

There could be nothing more romantic than floating candles freely moving on water. These things would mean a lot to some people and some occasions. You could never know how wonderful the effects are unless you try it out for yourself. These could really be the one you have been looking for as that great addition to your preparations for any ordinary day or special occasion.

When you want to create a very romantic mood in any part of your house or other places, you may need candles. For more dramatic effect, the use of floating candles would be a very wonderful idea. You can just have a container of water, let the candles freely float. They could be great messengers of the expression you want to tell.

There is this unique effect when one uses candle in a certain occasion. For the added effect, floating candles could really be your secret weapon. When you are interested about the idea of having them as your way of creating a really rare but special mood, we have something for you to try out and enjoy. They would define to you what the real worth of floating candles is.

Are you running out of gift ideas? What do you think could be a creative way of preparing a gift that is uniquely great? Are floating candles in your mind? If not, we are now telling you that you should think about it. It is the best idea we could share to you. When you want to give out the best floating candles, choose those that are certified water resistant and artistic, you would have the best pick if you choose it.
Candle Wax

When a loved-one or any special person celebrates a memorable day of his or her life, gifts would always be at the top list. Gifts may vary from the simple greeting cards to the most luxurious car. Does the cost matter? It does but it does not matter the most. As always said, it is the “thought” that counts.

Though for most people the tag price of your present may “tickle the spine”, it is beyond denial that a “personal” touch expresses more sincerity for the receiver. Your creativity plus a few tips from us would make that special person feel extra special because of your own custom gel candles.

1. Prepare the following materials:

· Ceramic containers like mugs or any fancy-shaped figurine that could hold the candle wax when melted and cooled. Glasses are also great.
· Gel wax,
· Candle wicks
· Pencils
· Pot (for melting wax)
· Candle scent and color (non alcohol-base)
· Sharp scissors

2. With the use of a pencil, twine the wick around it but leave some of the wick free that it could reach the bottom part of the candle container. It must be straight down the center of the container.

3. Put the pencil with the twined wick on top of the container; allow the wick to hang down the center of the container. As what the directions tell, melt the wax by cutting them into cubes first to hasten the melting.

4. Add color and scent but make sure that they will not make the wax cloudy.

5. After the melting, pour the gel wax into the container you have prepared. Fill the container but set a limit. Before getting to the next step, make sure that the wax turned gel fully cools down.

6. Check out the wick if it really takes the focal point of the container.

7. Trim the wick to ¼ of its total length.

8. You could tie a ribbon around it or stick a piece of fancy paper with a special message or a mini-picture of the receiver. Give it with the purest sincerity.

As you follow these quick and easy steps, you could unravel both the artist and entrepreneur in you. This way of preparing gifts would tickle your resourcefulness and creativity. Moreover, it may be an initiation of your new business specializing in candles. They are making it big on the market today.

If you are like me, you have bought a few of these candles in your lifetime. Now here is your chance to make your own!
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How to Make a Votive Candle

Candles made on the cheap
Making Scented Candles
Make your own Gel Candle

You could see these things in drinking places, poured with liquor being shared by fun-loving people. This is of course is an instant when a single shot glass means a lot. Have you ever wondered about the other benefits of just a shot glass? Well, there is one exciting and very useful innovation with a shot glass, which is using them to make candles. Yes, I call them shot glass candles.

Shot glass candles are really artistic and they could be very useful for the home and whatever place you think you would need them, not as mere light source but as well as having decorative purposes.

You could make your own shot glass candles. The steps to make are easy and economical. Out of these easy steps and with a small sum of money, you would be able to start a good hobby, a good small business and a good kick start for your creative side. This is also a means of recycling or re-using old candles.

• Cut old candles into pieces and place these pieces in a container. When you want to use a certain color, you could use uncolored wax for your convenience.
• Place the container into another container of boiling water. Wait until the candle pieces melt.
• When you see that the wax has melted, it is the right time to put some dye for color.
• Prepare your wicks. Cut them as they fit to the shot glasses.
• Place these wicks to the shot glasses.
• Pour the wax into the shot glasses but make sure that it does not submerge the entire length of the wick.
• When the wax has nearly set, you see to it that you adjust the wick to the center of the shot glass. Leave the shot glasses in order for the wax to completely set.

These are so simple steps to follow, make sure also that when you choose shot glasses for candle making, and choose the thicker ones for they are much safer. For wicks, you could tie it around a toothpick before letting it lay in a shot glass. Remember to cut ¼ of it before lighting it up.

Waxes for Candle Making
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Making your own Gel Candle
How to make scented Candles

To make a basic sweet-scented candle, you will need some wax. Paraffin wax is easy to find and is good in just about any type of standard candle. Paraffin wax can be found at hobby or craft shops.

You will also need a pouring pot, which is just a metal pot with a handle that you will melt down the wax in.

Have a wax or candle thermometer handy.

Candle-making requires a candle wick.

If you want your wax to have color, then you need to have either a liquid coloring, a powder, or chip color, which is a solid pigment chip.

Choose a mold to shape the candle. Hobby stores carry all of that you need. Ebay is a good place to buy candle making supplies as well.

Finally, you need what gives a scented candle its scent! Scent comes in a couple different forms — liquid aroma scent and solid scent. Liquid aroma scent is more difficult to use, but it is much stronger and will hang around longer.

Select your conception. Candles can be made in just about any shape, from ball candles to long, skinny tapers. There are also elaborated molds in every shape conceivable.

The easiest mold is a pillar candle, which is a thick cylindrical, that is flat at the top and bottom. This is a sturdy shape that will sit firmly anywhere and has a long burn time. Pillar molds are easy to find in the hobby stores , while it can take more time and effort to find more complex molds

Find a heat source.

You will need heat to melt the wax, and it should be a safe source that is easy to clean. When using a pouring pot, there are usually a few drops that will run down the pot after the wax has been poured. This wax stays liquid for for a while, but eventually dries onto the surface.

It is not a good idea to try to wipe the liquid wax while it is still hot, as there is a good chance of getting some fingers burned. If you use a thick cloth towel to try to clean it up each time the wax is poured, the towel will be completely ruined, as wax does not wash out of fabric.

It is best to simply plan for the wax that will build up as the wax is poured, and try to pour as gently as you can to limit the amount of wax that drips. A hot plate is good source, as it is easy to scratch up wax from the surface, and it can be used in any room that is commodious.

Melt down the wax. For a typical pillar candle, you will need at least a pound of wax. This formula will be for one pound, and if you are making a larger-than-life candle, simply proportionate and increase the amount. Place the wax in the pouring pot, and attach the thermometer onto the side. Let the wax melt, but don’t let the temperature go past around 300 degrees. Wax catches fire at about 375 degrees, and it is best to stay well under that doorway while keeping the wax a liquid.

Color the wax. If you have decided on a color, combine the color to the liquid wax and agitate. The color can be a liquid color, a powder, or chip color, which is a solid pigmentation chip.

Chip color is by far the easiest to use and is very efficient in coloring wax. For one pound of wax, use one full diamond chip if that is what you have. If you have a long block of solid color, break off about one fourth of the block for a nice, rich color.

If you are looking for a more pastel shade, use about half of these amounts. You can agitate the mixture with anything you like, or you can just slosh around the pot gently to mix the wax and color.

Add the scent. If you are using a liquid scent, add about one ounce for a strong scent. Or add less for a more elusive outcome. If you are using a solid scent, read the instructions as to how much is needed for one pound of wax. Agitate or splosh the pot.

Now ready for the mold. If the mold has a wick hole at the bottom, attach the wick in the hole according to the directions that came with the mold. Some molds come with a putty or adhesive to help hold it in place. Once the wick has been placed in the hole, tie the top of the wick around something, such as a pencil, or a stick. The item will then be laid across the top, keeping the wick straight and taught.

Pouring the wax. The wax should be poured slowly into the mold. The more slowly and carefully you pour it, the fewer air bubbles will be in the wax. When all of it is poured, gently pat the side of the mold to release any bubbles.

Let the wax cool. Checking back often to make sure it is cooling equally. Most candles will sink a little in the middle as the wax hardens, so more wax will probably be required to pour into the middle to even it out. If it is a very large candle, this will need to be repeated several times.

Removing Candle. Once the candle is completed cooled and hardened, take it out of the mold. Pillar molds are very slightly sloped so that the wax will not get stuck, and the sides are smooth, allowing it to slide out easily. The candle will come out with two ends of wick sticking out. The part of the wick that was affixed to the bottom of the mold is the top of the candle. Trim it to about half an inch long, and cut the wick off the other side.

You candle is finished! Well Done

Candle Molds

Making Soy Candles

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I found this video on you tube by chance and thought it showed a really unique way of making candles from used ones-Making candles is a lot of fun and can be a lucrative business. Take a look short video.Even shows you a cheap way of making candle wicks.

Candle Making Made Easy The Cheap Way

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Votive Candle Making Video
How to make Soy Candles
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Soy wax is a vegetable wax that is made from soybeans.  The oil is extracted from the soybean flakes and hydrogenated.  The majority of the world’s soybeans are grown in the United States in Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana.  It is believed that soy candles burn cleaner then paraffin candles.  This is true to an extent.  All candles emit soot.  There is no way around that.  But, paraffin candles emit black soot while soy candles emit white soot.  While soot is not harmful to people, white soot is a little cleaner then black.

The only thing that is really different about making soy candles then paraffin candles is the wax.  They both use the same techniques and equipment.  You can use a double boiler to melt the soy wax.

A double boiler is a smaller pot with the wax is placed in a larger pot full of water that is placed on the stovetop.  Heat the soy wax to 150 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit.  Be careful not to keep the melted wax above 150 degrees Fahrenheit for too long because it could burn which will give the wax a yellowish appearance.  Ounce the wax is fully melted you can add the color you would like.  You can then remove it from the heat and add the fragrance.

It is best to use 7% fragrance by weight. That simply means that for every one pound of soy wax, you can use 1.12 ounces of fragrance oil.  If the fragrance concentration is too high, it may bleed through the candle.  The soy wax can be about 140 – 150 degrees Fahrenheit.  You can then pour the wax into the mold to cool.  Be careful not to pour the wax at too low of a temperature or the candle could crack.  The wax should be between 95 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit.  You should also not use water to cool the candle quickly.  This could also cause the candle to crack.

Although soy wax candles and paraffin wax candles are mostly the same, there are a couple of differences.  Soy wax is a softer wax so it is not suitable for some types of candles.  For instance, soy wax does not work well when you are trying to make novelty candles.  It also do not work well for pillar candles.  You can also not make taper candles with soy wax.  Floating soy candles can be made if they are up to 3 inches in diameter.

If you can make candles with paraffin wax, you can make candles with soy wax.  Making candles is kind of like trying out a new food recipe; sometimes you have to try things one way then the other to see which works best for you.  The bottom line is that soy wax and paraffin wax both hold scent and color the same in candles but, it is great to learn how to make a new kind of candle and offer a variety in your candle making whether you are making candles for pleasure or a business.Candle Making Business is very lucrative.

How to make Gel Candles
Candle Molds
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Gel candles are growing in popularity.  They work the same as regular wax candles in the respect that they will burn in the same way that wax candles burn but they are made a little differently.

Wax candles are made from oil.  The same is true with gel candles but they are made of 95% mineral oil and 5% polymer resin.  The resin starts out as a powder but when it is mixed with the mineral oil it is transformed into a solid state.  Gel wax comes in three different states: high density, medium density, and low density.  The higher the density, the more fragrance the oil can hold.  Plus, the thicker gel will hold the suspended decorations with in the candle.  But, keep in mind that the thicker gel takes longer to meld and it is harder to pour.

The steps that go into making a candle out of regular wax such as melting the wax and pouring it in a mold to dry are the same steps you need to do in making gel candles.  But, the equipment you use and the techniques are slightly different.  With other types of candle wax most people use a double boiler to melt the wax.  But, trying to melt gel wax in a double boiler would take way too long.  Some gel candle makers have turned to multi-cookers to get the job done.  A multi-cooker is kind of like a deep fryer.  They typically are metal with a non-stick coating.  They have a separate heating element with a temperature dial so you can get the proper temperature to melt the gel wax.  Rather then using two separate pots one with water and one to melt the wax in, the gel wax is placed directly in the multi-cooker to melt.  Although the multi-cooker comes with a temperature dial, it is still a good idea to use a separate thermometer to make sure that the gel is melted at the proper temperature.  Use something metal or hard plastic to stir the gel wax.  Wooden spoons can sometimes add bubbles to the gel.  The most important thing to remember is that gel candle wax can catch fire.  Make sure you have a chemical fire extinguisher near by.

It is also possible to change the color of the gel candle wax by using dyes.  Liquid candle dyes are perfect for gel candles because they can maintain the translucency of the gel.  It only takes a very small amount of the dye to actually change the color of the wax.  Sometimes even a drop of dye is too much.  You should never use crayons, clothing dye, food coloring, or soap dyes in gel candle wax.  They will no burn right because they are not made specifically for candles.

Learning how to make gel candles is fast and easy.  There are so many possibilities when it comes to creating wonderful candles with gel wax.  The best thing about gel candles is that you can add decorations directly to the wax so that they float within the candle.  This is a clever and unique way to personalize a gift if you are making the candle for someone else.  Plus, gel candles burn slower then regular wax candles so they will last a little longer.

Making scented candles

Candle making molds

The different types of candle making molds that are available to buy to make candles at home are almost as endless and the amount of different candles out there. It is realistic to think that with such a popular hobby like candle making and the popularity of people buying candles for their homes, there would be a lot of different types of candle making molds available on the market.

A candle mold is a container that the wax is poured into while it cools. The wax will hold the shape of the mold when it has cooled completely. Candle molds are made out of a variety of materials, sizes, shapes, and styles. They also offer a variety of different uses. Aluminum molds are a very popular type of mold candle makers use. They are durable and heat resistant. Plus, they leave a smooth finish without leaving any seams in the finished candle.

This gives the candles the appearance of being professionally made. These types of metal molds are widely used in making votive and pillar candles. They are also inexpensive when compared to rubber molds. A plus about aluminum molds is that they are easy to clean. All you need to do is to put them on a baking sheet in your oven. By placing them upside down and heating them to about 150 degrees the leftover wax will milt and run out of the mold onto the cookie sheet. Just remember to line your cookie sheet. The down side to aluminum molds is that they are not flexible so there are very little choices when it comes to varying the shapes or textures of the candles and that they require a releasing agent to get the candle out of the mold.

On the other hand, rubber molds like polyurethane, silicone, or latex molds are very flexible. Polyurethane molds are flexible but they do not stretch well. They are usually a little bit cheaper then silicone molds. Unfortunately, they have a strong odor that may be able to be passed along in your candle and they will need a releasing agent to get the candle out of it. Often times pillar and taper candles are made from these types of molds.

Silicone molds are another type of rubber mold. They are the most expensive molds because of their outstanding qualities. They leave no parting lines, they are flexible but also stretchable to a point so getting the candles out of the molds is easier and requires no releasing agent. Although latex molds used to be used very often, with the advances in other types of rubber molds they are loosing their luster. But, it is very easy to make your own molds at home by using liquid latex and painting it onto a structure at home. This process requires a lot of coats of latex but, the options of different types of unique molds are endless.

Plastic candle molds are the cheapest but they are not always the best. They have a shorter lifespan then the rest because they are more brittle. On the plus side, plastic molds are easy to clean. All you need to use is some warm water and a little soap. Just make sure that the mold is completely dry before you use it again or you will get water bubbles in your candles. They are good molds for beginners but if you were to take your candle making hobby into the next level and turn it into a business you are probably going to have to invest in different types of molds.

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