Last Christmas I got a beautiful gift of 5 Kusmi teas
in their gorgeously decorated tins, and even though I’ve made an effort not to finish them too quickly, I don’t feel I’ve succeeded. One of them is already finished since a few weeks ago, and the others are two or three teaspoons away. That’s also a testimony to how good they are! However, and as you’ll agree with me, these tins are just too pretty to do away with them, and that’s how I decided to turn them into pretty candles that will decorate my bedroom.
When I was little, I visited a candle workshop with my dad and it left such an impression on me, that the next morning while everyone was still sleeping I tried doing it at home using all the leftover candles I got my hands on. A brief summary: the sink in the kitchen ended up clogged due to all the wax I thought was perfectly safe to pour down the drain. It was as easy as pouring boiled water down the drain, but as you can imagine my dad was not impressed.
And that’s all the experience I’ve had at candle making! However, I’m a big girl now and I really want to have a proper go with the proper tools and proper information which I’ve collected from tutorials and the like. Also, I’m making an effort and put some extra money into making it environmentally friendly by purchasing beeswax instead of paraffin. I hope you will enjoy this tutorial enough to join me! You will need the following:
- candle wick
- beeswax (I chose not to use paraffin as it comes from petroleum)
- dried flowers (I used lavender and rose) or essential oils (I use the Young Living brand)
- empty tins or a different type of container (small flower pots or glass jars, nothing plastic)
- an old cooking pot or a double boiler with a handle, plus another pot for boiling water
- chopsticks or pencils
and rose
) or essential oils (I use the 
Obviously, the amounts will depend on how many candles you want to make. I had 6 small tins and used the following amounts per tin: about 3cm of candle wick, 50g of beeswax, and half a teaspoon of dried flowers or 2 drops of essential oil.
- Put the beeswax in the double boiler (I used a very old pot that will no longer be used for food). Then put water in the pot and the double boiler over it, and bring to a boil.
- Once the beeswax is melted, add the dried flowers or essential oils.
- Take the empty container for your candle and place the wick on it, held up with chopsticks or pencils (see picture below).
- While you were preparing the wick, the beeswax will have cooled a bit. You can now carefully pour it into the prepared containers as the melted wax can burn. Make sure you allow them to cool before you handle them, and that they’re out of the way so no one can bump into them to avoid accidents.
BONUS TIPS:
- the best thing about using essential oils is that you can custom what kind of mood you want your candles to create: lavender for relax, mint for vigor, frankincense for when you do yoga, eucalyptus for a cold… There’s millions of possibilities, if you’re curious about essential oils just ask me!
