Homemade Candles

There's something magically romantic about candlelight and what better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than by lighting up your room with an assortment of candles in every shape, size and colourNULL

If the candles were made by you, wouldn't it make the day even more special? So check out our step to step guide on candle making, and light up your life this Valentine's Day.

First of all, make sure you have everything in place. You can't start heating the wax and suddenly realize that you don't have string for the wick! Be a little organized, and pay attention to the checklist.

From darkness, lead me to light.

Checklist:

1. Scented oils, scented herbs and spices, like mint or cinnamon.
2. Paraffin Wax
3. Colour for the candles. You don't want them all white, do you? Food colouring dyes are easily available.
4. Heavy thread or a string, which you could use as a wick.
5. Pencils. You will need them to help you hold the wicks.
6. A double boiler for heating the wax. If you don't have a double boiler, fill a saucepan with water, and place the wax in a tin, in the saucepan. Never heat wax directly over the fire.
7. You need to give your candle a shape, for which you need a mold. Start off by using a simple mold, like a glass.
8. Some butter to coat the mold, so you will be able to remove the candle without damaging it.
9. You could either remove the candle from the mold, or keep it the mold itself, in which case you would need a decorative holder.
10. Wooden spoon.
11. While decorative items are not necessary, they do add an interesting touch to the candles. Be creative. You could use anything from petals to spices.

Remember:

• Wax fumes are very harmful for your system, and they can damage your lungs, so take care that you don't overheat the wax.
• The temperature of the wax should never go above 375 degrees.
• Generally, a temperature of 140-degrees should suffice.
• If possible, get hold of a cooking thermometer so you can measure the temperature.

Method

1. For the wick: Heat some wax and dip the thread into it. Lay it out on a sheet of wax paper until it dries.
2. Heat the wax in a double boiler, to 140 degrees. Keep stirring gently with a wooden spoon.
3. Line your molds with butter or oil.
4. Tie the wicks to pencils, in the middle, so that an inch more than the length of the candle is hanging from the center.
5. Once the wax has melted, add your decorations and the scent.
6. Add the colour.
7. Remove the wax, and pour it slowly into the molds.
8. Dip the wicks into the centre of the mold, and place the pencil on top so the wick doesn't fall into the wax.
9. Leave overnight, and remove the candles from the molds carefully, the next morning.
10. Instead of removing the candles from the molds, you could use decorative molds, as mentioned earlier, and leave the candles in them. A white candle in a transparent glass with pink flowers could look so pretty.

Be creative. Make good use of ribbons and colourful strings to decorate the candles. Remember, the only limit is your imagination!