DIY | Soy Candles

The final thing I decided to make for my perfect stranger was a candle.

Having had a quick google, I decided I wanted to go for Soy, as it is a more environmental friendly product, and burns slower than regular candles.

I picked up a kit from MakingYourOwnCandles, which contained enough soy and wicks for approximately 10 candles (and some vanilla fragrance at a discounted price).

Once the candle kit had arrived, I began transforming my old jam jar into something beautiful.

I started by decorating the lid; I toyed with the idea of covering it in fabric, but decided in the end to go with a liberal application of PVA and glitter!

Following a combination of the instructions provided with the kit, and these from the Lorna Jane blog, I set about making my own candle.

To work out how much wax I would need, I measured how much water my jar held (in milliliters), deducted 20% from that figure, and then used that number in grams (I think for my candle, that was about 100g). I then added a handful of extra wax for good measure.

Candle making is a pretty exact art.. ;)

I popped my wax into a ban marie (double boiler) and left it on a very low heat to melt.

Whilst the wax was doing its thing, I washed and dried my jar, and left it on a dish cloth on the AGA to keep warm (the Lorna Jane blog warned that the glass might shatter if the wax was too hot.. I don't know if that's true, but figured it was better to be on the safe side..)

I then had to make a 'waxed wick', which consisted of dropping a length of wick into the melted wax, pulling it out, and holding it taught till it was dry.

With the wick prepared, I poured 1cm of wax into the Jar, and placed my wick in the bottom, held upright by a lolly stick with a hole in the center (kindly provided as part of the kit). *

Once the first pour had solidified, I added two pipets of vanilla scent to the wax, before pouring poured almost all of it into the jar (the instructions in the kit said to leave a little wax to pour over right at the end to fill the dip that forms as the candle cools (like a cake that has sunk).

After an hour, I poured the last bit of wax into the jar (probably not very well, as there was a quite obvious lip where the new wax joined the old, but its all a leaning process; I'll know to use more wax next time).

Once the candle had been left to cool over night, it was almost ready to package up and sent away.

Almost.

A while back, I was reading through an old issue of Kinfolk, when I stumbled across the most beautiful description of a home; Austin Sailsbury described the things he has learned about creating a home over the years.

'A good kettle and a faithful oven are worthy investments for their work is never done. You cant put a price on dependable neighbors or a view of the sea. And lastly we've learned to put candles in the windows like tiny flickering lighthouses so that friends and loved ones will always be safely guided home.' 

A quote that proved particularly apt as I have since discovered that my perfect stranger has just recently moved house.

The candle quote just just so sweet that I just had to share it with her; I wrote it out on a luggage tag, and attached it to the candle. ♥

One vanilla candle, completely free, sort of..

Have you ever tried your hand at candle making? What scent did you use?

Much Love

Jess

xxxx

*I made three candles last night, and was wandering how best to support the wicks of the second and third jars (I only have the one lolly stick). In the end I used clothes pegs, which worked just as well, if not better!