Things You'll Need:
- Metal pan or pouring pot
- Paraffin wax
- Stearin
- Candle scent
- Candle color
- Candle thermometer
- Wick
- Candle mold
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Step 1
Mix paraffin wax and candle scent in a metal pan or a pouring pot. Wax pouring pots, which have wide spouts and are made specifically for candle making, can be found in most hobby stores. For each pound of paraffin wax you use, add about 0.5 to 1.0 ounces of liquid candle scent.
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Step 2
Heat the wax and scent. Keep a candle thermometer in the pot at all times. Wax thermometers are marked with a red danger zone indicating the typical flash point of wax--the temperature at which the wax catches on fire. The exact flash point varies for different wax formulations, so keep the temperature well below the red zone for safety.
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Step 3
Add candle color until you achieve the desired shade. This can be done by cutting off tiny pieces of a color block and adding it to the pot. Once the candle color melts and mixes with the wax in the pot, you will see the color that the finished candle will be. To make the color darker, add more pigment from the color block. To make the color lighter, add more wax to the pot.
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Step 4
Measure about 3 tsp. of powdered stearin for each pound of paraffin and add it to the pot. It may take several minutes for the stearin to dissolve into the wax. In some cases, you may need to turn up the temperature to allow it to melt. Some paraffins melt at a temperature too low for the stearin to dissolve. A temperature of 200 is generally enough to melt stearin quickly while staying well below the flash point of paraffin wax.
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Step 5
Pour the contents of the pot into a candle mold once all of the ingredients have melted and blended together. The mold should have a wick attached to the bottom. This can be done by either attaching a wick tab to the wick and placing it in the bottom of the mold or by putting the candle wick through a hole at the bottom of the mold and screwing a small screw tightly into the hole.
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Step 6
Hit the side of the candle mold several times with a piece of flatware or another small object to knock any air bubbles loose from the wax.
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Step 7
Remove the candle from the mold after it has cooled. You can tell that the wax is cool by touching the outside of the mold. If it feels at all warm, the core of the candle may still be liquid. When it feels cool, turn the mold upside down and tap gently on the flat side to allow the candle to slide out.
