- Votive candles can be made either with an industrial votive candle machine or at home with a few basic candle making supplies. Both methods require the use of paraffin wax, candle pigment, candle wicks and fragrance if the candles are to be scented. Additional candle making supplies may be needed for the home method, including a votive mold and a wick tab for holding the wick in the bottom of the mold.
- An industrial votive maker is a large machine that is outfitted with hundreds of votive molds. Larger machines have a separate vat for melting wax, which is then automatically poured over the surface of the mold area. The wax runs down into the votive molds where a wick has been threaded into each place by the machine. A cooling tank cold cool water below the molds to cool the wax. The machine scrapes the excess wax off the top of the mold before it fully hardens. Once the votive candles are cooled, they are pushed up through the top of the molds and loaded onto a separate machine that will package them. Smaller candle-making machines may need a person to pour the wax over the molds and to remove the candles once the wax has hardened.
- To hand pour a candle, melt a few ounces of wax into a metal pouring pot that is placed on a heat surface such as a stove or a hot plate. Once the wax melts, add in some candle color and scent, enough to create the hue and scent level that you want. Thread a wick through a wick tab and place the tab at the bottom of a votive mold. If you are using a zinc wick, the wick should stand up by itself. If you are using a braided wick, you may need to tie it around something flat that you can lay across the mold top. Once the wax is liquid, pour the wax slowly into the votive mold. Allow the wax about two hours to completely harden before you remove it.
