Fun Candle Making » how to make gel candles

Candle Making Molds

Admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 10:14:16 +0000

Molds for making candles can be purchased easily on several web sites or in specialty craft stores. There are many types of candle making molds in hundreds of designs available.One piece seamless molds are convenient. They are usually aluminum and have a hole in them to hold the wick in place while the wax is cooling and curing. These may be air cooled at room temperature, put in a refrigerator for faster cooling or in a cool water bath. The idea of the one piece candle making molds is that you don’t need to trim a seam when the candle is removed.Tea light candle molds are made of a durable but flexible polyurethane material. They usually hold 12-16 candle making molds and look similar to a popsicle mold.Designer polycarbonate candle making molds have a pin on the top to hold the wick in place, and come in a large array of shapes and sizes to choose from. The ability to create many odd and fascinating shapes make these types of molds very attractive. The pyramid is probably the best known of this mold.Grubby molds are very unique. This type of candle making mold appears as if the wax has dripped down the sides leaving a very uneven finish to the candle. Beeswax molds are similar to grubby molds as the texture in rough and appears to be a bee honeycomb.Animal candle molds are usually made out of polyurethane and have a slit on the side due to the uneven shapes and sizes. There are many molds available in this style for every occasion. Baby showers, florals, weddings, food, fruit and vegetables along with every holiday have molds of these types to create your own candles. Anyone can make their own candle making molds out of practically anything. You can use a vegetable or soup can by piercing a small hole in the bottom in which to insert the wick and pouring the wax in. When it is cool, just open the bottom with a can opener and push the candle out. Glass vases make gorgeous molds, but remember that in order to remove the candle easily the top of the vase needs to be larger than the bottom. Paper milk cartons can be cut and formed to any shape you wish and either stapled together or hot glued. If they are stapled, you just remove the staples to get the candle out or if hot glued together, you can just tear the paper away from the finished candle. Well that’s just a few of the tips and tricks on candle molds. Have fun and enjoy.

By: Lee Martin Resource: http://www.EasyMadeCandles.com

Author: Lee Martin
Resource Site : http://www.EasyMadeCandles.com
Come to the site and look around. Lots of good information, for everyone.
Also a Free Mini-Course, for anyone wanting more
knowledge about making candles at home.
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Candle Making Wax

Admin — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:19:33 +0000

Candle Making Wax

The practice of making candles dates back several thousand years. Egyptians were making candles from beeswax three thousand years before the advent of Christianity, and the practice has continued throughout history using whale fat, insects, seeds, and herbs such as cinnamon for lighting and time-keeping, as well as an incense in ritual ceremonies.While beeswax candles are probably the oldest type of candle, the more common source of candle wax has been the fat derived from rendering fish and animals. This type of candle material is generally referred to as tallow, which is made by melting animal fat and then forming it into a taper shape, usually by the use of a mold, and inserting a wick during the drying and cooling process.Beeswax has been harvested for thousands of years for candle making wax as well as for use as a lubricant and a protective material. Worker bees create wax by masticating (chewing) honey and secreting a waxy substance that is then used to seal the combs in the hive. Beeswax is collected from the hives and melted down in boiling water to be used for candle making. In some cases, mineral oil is added to add a better consistency and uniformity when burning.Paraffin wax came into use after the identification in 1830 of certain alkaline hydrocarbons in petroleum that, when solidified, would hold a form but would then liquefy at a melting point of approximately 115 to 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Paraffin wax has been widely used as a candle making wax due to an ability to maintain its form while melting at a slower rate than tallow or beeswax. This consistency of form lends itself well to making a variety of candle shapes.Bayberries were discovered for candle making by early American colonists who sought an alternative to the excessive smoke and soot that is created by burning tallow. The berries from bayberry shrubs are collected and boiled down, and the liquid is then allowed to dry into a waxy substance that was used for candles. Although bayberry wax has a pleasant natural scent and produces less soot, it requires somewhere between 5 to 15 pounds of bayberries to make one pound of wax.Soy has been recently discovered to be a viable source of candle making wax. Soybean wax is a derivative by-product of the oil found in soybeans, and is generally much softer than any other candle making wax. It is more often used to make container candles because for this reason. Soybean wax is also colorless and odorless, and therefore dyes and fragrances are often used in the candle making process when using soybean wax. So thats it , just a little history on the evolution of candle wax

By Lee Martin http://www.EasyMadeCandles.com

Candle Making Jars

Admin — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:19:04 +0000

Homemade candle making has come a long way in the past decade. I remember when I was a child, we used to make candles using a 1/2 gallon milk container. We’d fill it up with ice and pour melted candle wax in. After it had set, we’d peel off the milk carton and you’d have a very interesting homemade candle. It kind of looked like, frozen colored ice.Nowadays with places like Micheal’s Crafts, and other large craft stores, the home crafter has access to a plethora of tools. There are different types of candle wax so that homemade candle making has gotten to be much easier than in the past. You can purchase metal and poly molds or you could actually use any jar that you like. All you have to do is fill it with the candle wax and a wick.A very inexpensive way to do your homemade candle making, is to go to your local dollar store and purchase different glass votive or glass jars, actually any glass container can be used as candle making jars. Here is a quick overview of how to make a glass jar candle. The main thing here is to use your imagination.

Almost any glass jar can be used to make candles. Tall , thin, short, fat whatever. If you are using various colored waxes the tall clear jars make a beautiful impression. Just make sure you have plenty of clearance between the burning wick and glass so it does not get to hot and break. For more information on this visit the web site at the bottom of this article. So to do your own homemade candle making, you’ll need a crock pot or double boiler to melt the wax to 160 degrees. Then you can add scented oils and food coloring. Put a dot of glue on the bottom of the metal part of the wick and place it in the candle making jars. Then pour the melted wax into the candle making jars or glass containers that you’ve purchased. Let the wax cool to a semi-hardened crust and then you can straighten out the wicks and get it centered. Let the candle cool at room temperature completely, which will be about 6-8 hours.

You’ll see that the wax has sunken a little in the middle. Now you are going to re heat the leftover wax to about 185 degrees and pour some in to your jar to level it off. Let that cool again and trim your wick to about a quarter inch, and you now have your very own homemade jar candle.The possibilities are endless; you can use any type of glass containers for your candle making jars that you like, so let your imagination go wild! Have fun with it!

By: Lee Martin Resource: http://www.EasyMadeCandles.com