Candles make great gifts for any occasion. The holidays offer an excellent excuse to give someone a beautiful candle, but purchasing a nice candle can cost a lot of money for something that’s going to be burned anyway. Learn to make your own citrus scented candle. It makes a much better gift than a holiday candle because it is hand-crafted and it can be used all year.
Materials:
Empty quart-sized cardboard drink carton
1 and ½ pounds of orange wax for candlemaking
1 piece of wick, 8inches
1 pencil
10 drops of orange essential oil
5 drops of lemon essential oil
ruler and a pencil
double boiler
whisk
Preparation:
If the wax is not already in small beads or pieces, then the wax will need to be cut into small pieces before heating it in the double boiler. This helps the wax melt faster and more evenly.
When it is cut heat it over the stove in a double boiler.
While the wax is beginning to melt, cut the top off of the drink carton but don’t cut the sides. Poke a hole in the bottom with your pencil. The hole should be centered. To locate and exact center, measure with the ruler if necessary.
Then, measure up 6 inches with the ruler and mark it on all sides. This will be the height of your candle.
Measure the length of the wick. If it is longer than 9 inches, cut it down.
When the wax is melted, turn the heat from the burner either down to low or all the way off.
Making the Candle:
1) If the wick needs to be straightened, dip all but the top 2 inches into the melted wax. Wait for it to cool off slightly, just enough so that it is slightly hardened. Take the wick between your thumb and forefinger and run it down the wick to make it straight. Allow the wax on the wick to finish cooling.
2) When the wick has been set straight, string it through the hole in the bottom of the drink container. Pull it all the way up, making sure that what sticks out at the top is the un-waxed top 2 inches. Wrap the top 2 inches around a pencil and lay the pencil down across the top of the carton. A small bit of the wick should be left poking out of the hole to be sure that the wick goes all the way down to the end of the candle.
3) The hole in the bottom of the drink carton, though partially filled in with the wick, still needs to be filled. Allow a small piece of the wax to cool until it is soft. Plug it into the hole on the outside of the carton. This will prevent wax from leaking out.
4) Add oils to the melted wax
5) Wisk the wax until it is foamy. (The wax must still be well melted to achieve foam.)
6) Pour the foamy wax into the carton up to the measured height. Let it sit for 5-7 minutes until it has cooled
7) If the top of the candle shows an indentation around the wick pout a teaspoon of leftover wax at a time over the indentation.
8) Allow the candle to harden.
Take the candle out of its mold once it has hardened and the candle is complete. For a nice presentation, wrap some rafia around the outside of the finished candle.
