How to Prepare to Make Candles

Don't get started making your candles just to find out you forgot one vital element. Set up your workspace and keep everything handy.

Things You'll Need

• Wooden Skewers
• Aluminum Foil
• Candle Dyes
• Candle Molds
• Candle Scents
• Ice Picks
• Stoves
• Wick Tabs
• Wicks
• Baking Soda
• Paraffin Waxes Or Beeswax
• Silicone Lubricants
• Aprons
• Candy Thermometer
• Double Boilers
• Pot Holders
• Scissors
• Wooden Spoons
• Fire Extinguishers
• Hammers
• Pot holders

Instructions

1. Don some old clothes, an apron, or a smock.

2. Find a clean, level work area that has access to water and heat.

3. Cover the surfaces with brown or waxed paper or aluminum foil, or use a large cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Avoid using newspapers ' ink could get imbedded in the wax.

4. Buy paraffin wax or beeswax and wicks at a candle supply shop. Use 18-ply wicks for 2-inch candles, 24-ply for 3-inch candles, and 30-ply for 4-inch candles.

5. Choose a mold. These can be bought or you can use objects around the house: milk cartons, glasses, plastic gelatin molds, coffee cans, bowls, muffin tins, or rubber balls. Just be sure that your mold can resist and endure the heat and weight of molten wax.

6. Make sure the mold is clean and completely dry.

7. Set your other gear nearby where you can easily reach it. You'll need a candy thermometer, double boiler, hammer or ice pick for breaking up the wax block, a hot plate or stovetop, pot holders, color and scent for your candles, scissors, vegetable oil or silicone spray, wood skewers or chopsticks, and a wooden spoon for stirring wax.

Tips & Warnings

• If using ceramic or glass molds, select ones that are wider at the top than at the bottom to allow candle to slip smoothly out of the mold. You don't want to have to break the mold to release the candle.

• Paraffin wax is cheaper and works just as well as beeswax.

• All of these supplies can be found at a candle supply store. Ask the supplier for recommendations on how much wax to purchase.

• Be sure that small children and pets are kept out of the candlemaking area.

• Don't pour wax down your sink - it will cool there and plug up the pipe.

• Wax is flammable at high temperatures and should never be left unattended.

• Use a fire extinguisher or baking soda rather than water if you have a wax fire.