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I can always count on coworkers and readers to bring great ideas to this series. The series within a series or at least pattern of these last couple weeks involving danger and fire is either coincidence, or I’m becoming paranoid.
Dana Smith suggested looking at candle-making, and I’m thrilled because I’ve always wanted to make candles and never have! There is a small shop near me that I’ve never made it to, but after piddling with this at home, I for sure will be visiting them soon.
Without even searching, I like that I already know I have some of the elements. Glass jar/ container, have a million in the garage, aka borderline hoarder (like most crafters). Essential oils. Do I need them? Are those things flammable? Food coloring? I feel like maybe. Wicks. Nope, I don’t think so. Wax, for sure not.
Before I get ahead of myself and start shopping, I need to find some useful online resources. The surprising thing I saw right away is there are dozens of how to start your candle making business videos. Quarantine hobby turned small business? I don’t know, but there are luxury candles, soy, beeswax, etc., all focusing on the business side.
After a little more digging, SoyYo Candle’s channel has a step by step candle making tutorial. Our instructor said this is her number one most requested video by far. I felt like this must be organized and simple to follow. She also provided a materials list.
First, you need a vessel. A jar. An old vase, perhaps? She doesn’t give specifics, which is both a blessing and a curse. She was super excited about candle making and rolling along to the next step.
Wick. Again, no real suggestion, but she does show us her favorite, which she stores in a big plastic storage bag. As she displayed her bag of wicks, she goes into detail about why it’s her favorite. I’m going to have to trust her because I have no comparison.
Wick stickers, which are used to tape the wick to the bottom of the jar. Scale to measure your wax. Wick bar, which seems like it holds the wick in place vertically, but she said you could use clothespins. Measuring cup for essential oils, two pots, pitchers, wooden spoon, and something called a wick setter, oh and wax. She had a 50lb.-box of wax. Yeah, I’m going to have to look for a smaller box.
Ugh, this is a lot. Fast forward, I gathered up all my supplies. And I won’t lie, I had to place a small curbside pickup order from the craft store to do this, but I’m trying to get by with purchasing the fewest items I have to. I got a two-pound bag of soy wax and five wicks for around $12.
Back to the video, she measured out her wax; I can do that part. I do have a scale, but seeing as I’m making a much smaller batch than she was, I just used the whole bag. She put the wax in the double boiler, which already had the water at a rolling boil. She said that to be efficient with our time, she went ahead and wicked her candles. This is great, except she uses a wick-setter, a clever little tool I don’t have since I’m making just a couple of these.
I placed my glass bowl on top of a pot with water in the bottom just as she did.
She jumped to talking about when to pour in essential oils, which is at 185 degrees. She pulled her wax off the heat and is waiting for it to cool. I paused and reviewed the sections with the temperatures a couple of times to make sure I had it down.
Measuring her fragrance oils took me by surprise. Stating that she posted a link for those, but I think the fragrance part would have to be unique to your project, what kind of oil, etc., but literally, measure and stir the oil in. You have to let the wax get too cool, put it in at the right time, and stir for 20 seconds.
She also noted that she keeps her room at 70 degrees, and it keeps her from getting holes or craters, but if we do, we can use a heat gun to level it off.
At this point, I jumped out and searched for a video on essential oil candles. We have boxes of essential oils, and two, it seemed redundant to buy a bottle of candle fragrance to mimic essential oils.
The video I found with Hanna at Pro Candle Supply had some great information regarding the oils. Namely that you can't compare the two products and that both require experimentation. The quantities won't be the same either, and because the amount of fragrance would depend on the size of the vessel. Well, you get the idea that there is a lot of trial and error in the fragrance step of candle making.
Hanna explained that when comparing lavender fragrance oil to essential oils, the fragrance oils have stabilizers, and it will take a lot less fragrance. Likewise, the essential oils will have a more light and botanical scent. To reiterate, the quantities of the oils or fragrances will not be the same.
One benefit though if you have oils, you can mix and match scents and make a custom blend that you’ll love. My daughter loved the blending and design element of all of this.
However, our host quickly put out my flame of excitement as she warns several times about flammability. She instructs to stir the oils thoroughly. If not, the oil can puddle on the surface and ignite. Perfect.
All the videos agree to heat the wax at 185 degrees Fahrenheit and then set the wax aside to cool. With the fragrance, you can add the scent at 170, but she stresses letting the wax cool to 130 if you’re using the essential oils.
Next, she held the wick straight up and used her wick bar to center and stabilize the wick. This was the moment that I realized our wicks didn’t come with wick stickers. After a couple of minutes of discussing what we may have around the house that wouldn’t increase the probability of a house fire, we opted to skip it and hope it stayed in place.
The wax set up so quickly on our granite countertops that holding the wick there worked just fine. But, this is where I altered my process and used the clothespins. I will say, though, your vessel can’t be very wide across to use the clothespin method.
She said to let the candles sit for 24 hours to cure fully. That’s tough because we, of course, want to light it and enjoy it the right way, but we resisted.
Eric at Memory Box Candle Company also has a video called “What I wish I would have known…” which I think I could write part of. I will say cutting corners like not using a wick stabilizer, stickers, etc., is doable, but the other add-on items would make it easier. Also, there are colorings for the candles if you want to splurge, but food-grade colorings were discouraged.
If you want to jump into this, plan and use those 40 percent off coupons, you know the ones for the craft supply stores, so that you can get some deals. But the expenses weren’t that much.
What would you like me to virtually visit or try out next? Email me at Michelle.J.Young10.civ@mail.mil and give me your suggestions. Your dedicated online review partner—Micki
| Date Taken: | 02.05.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 12.28.2021 12:41 |
| Story ID: | 412027 |
| Location: | COLUMBUS, OHIO, US |
| Web Views: | 29 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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