candle making

sillyvixen

i tried it once!! i used old candles from church carol service (free to a good home) i did it with kids club - we melted them in a double boiler and added wax crayons for the colour - put them in cake cases with wicks into cake tins and left them to set. they made lovely floating candles!!

simple for begginers!

MoJo

You've just reminded me I need to dig my candle making gear out of the garage, and then try to locate the stubs I've been collecting to throw into the melting pot

Why does it sound scary? Is it the hot wax that's putting you off?

AlwaysSomething

I have a load of candles which have burned out, leaving a lump of wax behnd. I would like to melt them all into one, and make a new candle. So I have two questions.
1. Is this leftover wax inferior or unburnable, or is it just the stuff that happened to be left over at the end?
2. What is special about candle wick? Can I make a wick out of a piece of string? What do I have to do to turn string into wick?
Thanks

Penelope_Penguin

Hi there! Yes, it can be done :beer: Wicks can be bought from craft shops or eBay.

I'll add this to an existing thread on this subject for more ideas

Penny. x

oystercatcher

I've used up ends of old candles by grating them up into an old glass candle pot. For a wick I've used birthday cake candles which have been used and blown out. I just squish the gratings down around the birthday candle without all the messy melting.
You don't get a huge pretty candle but it works and is practical and minimal spending to use up odds and ends. Keep the nice new candles for when there are visitors expected!

Oystercatcher

ZoeGirl_3

Ohh I have been saving wax scraps too, will have to try this out.

lostinrates

I hope this is a suitable place for this question.:o

I would really like to make some candles, in particular scented ones in glasses. They are expensive to buy (especially the really lovley ones ) and I never buy thn full price but I do love them.

Having saved lots of the glasses I was wondering if anyone would be able to suggest a good supplier for the other things, e.g. wicks, and offer any experience of trying this and dos and don'ts.

Psykicpup

I used to do this for my ex-boyfriends mum. She didnt like the smell when we smoked & would save money on candles to burn to help take away the smell by getting me to melt down the old bits & bobs of candles in an old saucepan (used just for this) & pour the wax into old tealight or other holders. Worst bit was treading the wick through the little metal holder for the tealights & having to keep a really close eye on the pan as it melted - just in case!:eek:

unfortunately I dont where she bought the wicks - although I know some were recycled from old broken candles! :money: This was long before 'crafts' became fashionable so to speak but if she could find them back them I doubt they would be tooo hard to find! (maybe she bought one of those kids kits & never let on! guess I'll never know :rotfl: )

picklepick

if you on the 'up your income' boards theres a thread on their called 'start a cottage industry' if you post your question over there you should get some more responses. ive seen a few candle makers on there! good luck!

champys

Beekeeping suppliers like Thornes usually sell most things you need for candle making - worth a try. I have seen it in the catalogues.
I still mean to have a go at making candles using beeswax from our hives, but it's project no. 743 or thereabouts :-)! Good luck and let us know how you get on.