How to Create a Mold for Candles

Make your own candle molds with polymer clay.

If you want to make your own candles that aren't just votives or tea light candles, you need a mold. Making candle molds gives you the freedom to create candles in almost any shape. Polymer clay is easy to work with and inexpensive. If you follow the right procedures, you will be able to create colorful novelty candles in a variety of sizes.

Things You'll Need

• Small figurine or candle
• Polymer clay
• Cookie sheet
• Wood skewer
• Timer
• Oven mitt

Instructions

1. Find a small figurine or candle in an unusual shape. The object should be no larger than 4 inches wide or tall and have no large bumps or appendages.

2. Work the polymer clay in your hands to soften it. Form the clay into a block that is about 1/2 inch larger than the figurine or candle in all directions. Place the block on a cookie sheet. Let the clay sit for a minute to let it cool a little.

3. Preheat your oven to the temperature specified on the polymer clay instructions. Hold the object upside down. Slowly lower it straight down into the block; press the sides of the clay up against the object as you lower it. The sides will squish down slightly.

4. Poke a hole in the bottom of the mold (which would be the top of the candle) with a wooden skewer to about 1/4 inch (not all the way through to the bottom). This is the hole that you will feed the wick into when you make your candles.

5. Pull the figurine or candle slowly out of the clay. Place the clay mold in the oven. Set a timer for the time indicated on the package of polymer clay. When the timer goes off, put on an oven mitt. Take the cookie sheet out of the oven. Wait at least 30 minutes before touching the clay and 24 hours before making candles.