How to make candles from wax with your own hands?

Foundation candles look very impressive, helping to create an atmosphere of comfort and relaxation in the room. They are even considered magical because they can literally make you feel better. But there is no magic here: in natural wax there are many useful components that are released during combustion, filling the air with phytoncides and even immunostimulating substances. I am glad that you can create such beautiful and useful candles with your own hands.

Foundation is the name given to faded yellow wax plates that have extruded hexagons of the bottoms of the honeycomb. You can buy foundation in a beekeeping shop or order it online. In short, it is not necessary to be the owner of a beekeeping farm in order to have the basic materials. By the way, the price will not be very high: about 250-350 rubles per kg.

The foundation is stored for quite a long time, you just need to wrap it well in paper, and then send it to a dark suitable place. This material is also good because it is completely natural.

Important points of preparation.

• Selection of foundation sheets. They must be extremely clean so that the candle can burn beautifully and not crack. The thickness of the sheet is also important - if it is thin, such a candle will quickly burn out.
• Preparing the filaments of the wicks. These should be exclusively cotton threads, a different composition simply will not support combustion. For example, cotton floss do an excellent job with this purpose. It is better if it is one thick thread, consisting of several thin ones.To make such a thread yourself, you need to bend a thin thread in half, fix one tip, pull it, roll it up to the desired density state. Without letting go of the thread, you need to bend it in half again. This cord is used as a wick. The length of such a lace is equal to the length of the candle, leaving 2 cm for the allowance.
• Flame color. Surprisingly, it can also be changed. It will depend on what solution the candle is impregnated with. To make a candle burn bright red, for example, strontium chloride is used. But copper sulfate will make the flame blue, magnesium sulfate white.

There are many nuances in the work of making candles. For example, a finished wick must be salted with melted wax. They drown it using a water bath. The pieces are placed in a container, a jug with a spout will do. He goes into a large pot filled with water. When the pieces are completely melted, ready-made threads are dipped into the jug, and they will stay there for 30 seconds. It is not necessary to completely lower them, you can only have a couple of centimeters of the tips. And you need to grind them so that the thread melts, but does not burn.

When the threads are already reliably saturated, they are laid on a clean board and allowed to dry. Long drying is beneficial to the threads, because if even a little moisture remains in them, the candle can spark, which is unsafe.

Obviously, both the preparation of materials and their acquisition is a process that requires immersion in the topic. But some specialty markets sell whole sets for forming candles, which are supplied with detailed instructions.

This will be a candle in a mold - a very simple option designed for beginners.

Here's how to make a DIY candle shape.

1. The wax needs to be cut into small fragments, sent to a water bath, put on a small fire.
2. We must wait for the foundation to melt. This process should not be left unattended, because the wax is capable of burning. You can cover the pot with a lid if this has already happened.
3. When the wax is completely melted and the substance becomes homogeneous, the thread should be dipped into the wax. It, as noted in the paragraph above, should consist of several thin threads that are tightly twisted.
4. Toothpicks will help keep the wick in shape. And if the candle is to be taken out of the mold, the walls of the latter should be greased with vegetable oil.
5. Spices are often added to such homemade candles: the same vanilla or cinnamon.
6. Pour the wax in half, add the spices, and then add the second part of the wax.
7. When the candle hardens, you need to remove the toothpicks, cut the wick to the required length.

All is ready! This all-natural candle master class does not form that honeycomb structure of the product, but there is no such task here. And yet, it is good because a completely unprepared person will learn to handle wax, with additives, and get the result quite quickly and without much difficulty. And now you can consolidate the success by creating a textured honey candle with herbs.

Such candles made of foundation are often called protective candles. For the home, they play the role of both a natural decor and an object that helps to maintain peace and tranquility in the house, and maintain a healthy microclimate.

To make such a candle, the following are procured: a sheet of foundation, a wick made in advance, any herbs (of your choice), a powder spray brush, scissors, and also a knife and a ruler.

Let's figure out how to make a candle correctly.

1. Preliminary stage. On it, you need to check (or organize) the readiness of all components. For example, you need to make a cotton wick, 2-3 cm of which are poisoned in advance into melted wax, so that the wick does not burn when the candle is lit, but simply melts. But the herbs must be pre-dried, and then grinded in a coffee grinder so that they actually become dust.Large pieces should not be, otherwise they will crack strongly when burning.
2. Working with foundation. It is necessary to cut off a fragment of foundation, in this MK it is 21.8 cm by 8.5 cm. It is convenient to do this with a knife, but some craftsmen are used to using scissors. The foundation has to be heated a little so that it gains plasticity for easier twisting. They do this both above the stove and on the street, under the sun.
3. Working with a wick. It must be cut in such a size that will be convenient for a particular candle. In this case - 11.5 cm. The wick is placed on the edge of the foundation, slightly pressed into it.
4. Herbs. The selected herbs can already be poured (they should be in powder form), you do not need to make the layer thick. It is convenient to distribute them over the foundation with a cosmetic brush.
5. Twisting. Now the foundation must be twisted tightly, not allowing voids to form. If there are voids, it is bad, the candle will not be able to burn out completely.

Experts advise making a small notch at the base of the candle with a knife. If the rest of the candles are without herbs, you will have to somehow distinguish them. The foundation smells very much of honey, and just by the smell, it will be impossible to distinguish the candles before the combustion process begins.

Important tips:

• you can warm up wax in the oven, and even with a hairdryer, it should become soft and plastic;
• when the strips warm up, they are put on the board, but if there is no board, a regular table, but covered with oilcloth, will do;
• the process of twisting / rolling the plates does not tolerate delay, if the wax cools down, it will no longer be possible to twist them, you will have to warm up again;
• after being ready, the candles can be decorated with lace, braid and other decorative materials - during the burning process it is unsafe, but when donated or sold, such candles look more presentable.

An equally interesting solution would be to get curly candles.

To get candles, for example, a spiral shape, a sheet of foundation is cut diagonally into two triangles. And then, twisting the details, a visually interesting shape is formed. The sides of the candle are sometimes decorated with different decorations, which are formed from thinly cut strips of foundation.

How to make floating candles from foundation in the form of a heart, stars, Christmas trees and others:

• the easiest option is to use metal (but plastic will also work) cookie cutters;
• they are placed on a sheet of foundation laid out on an oilcloth and pressed into it, forming a figure - there should be several such figures;
• then several formed figures (for example, stars) are stacked on top of each other, they must be well pressed;
• between the layers of the figures, you can shade the herbal powder - just do it with a brush so as not to get your hands dirty;
• after the candle has acquired the desired shape, all layers must be pierced with a toothpick, and this should be done preferably in the middle;
• a cotton thread is pulled into the hole formed with a toothpick, quite thick, 1.5 cm of thread should be left on both sides;
• on the lower side of the candle, the rest of the thread must be closed with another asterisk;
• to obtain a candle, you will need 8 stars, this is both the optimal thickness of the product, and a hassle-free opportunity to close the edges of the candle with a strip of 3 cells;
• you need to start closing the edges of the candle with a strip from any depression, while closing the foundation you need to press down with your fingers for better fixation.

And to make a colored candle, you can use wax crayons. Or purchase a special dye for wax, which is sold in online stores.

Enjoy your creativity!

A master class on making amazing floating curly candles from foundation with your own hands, see the next video.