How to Make Decorative Candles

Making Your Own Candle

Pick your wax. Soy, paraffin, and beeswax are the most popular waxes for candle-making. Paraffin wax was traditionally used for candles, but as a petroleum product it may not be the best for the air in your home. Soy wax is easy to find, simple to use, and is a clean vegetable-based wax. Beeswax candles can actually purify the air, but the wax must be mixed with another oil to lower the melting point so that you can actually burn the candle. To use beeswax, consider blending it with palm oil at a half and half ratio. For a recycled candle project, keep the leftover wax from old candles and combine and use the wax to create new candles.

Choose a mold. You can use almost any mold you like to make a candle, as long as the mold is durable enough to withstand the heat from hot wax. Different molds will give you different candle shapes, so feel free to experiment. Craft stores and candle suppliers will have special candle molds to make free-standing pillar candles, but you can also use clean, empty juice boxes, tins, or milk cartons. Use clean glass jars, mason jars, or old candle jars to make a candle in a jar. Try cookie cutters or baking molds to create special candles, or muffin tins to make votive candles. For candles that stay in the mold, consider using hollowed fruit (such as an intact orange peel or pumpkin bottom), special tins, or sea shells.

Gather your remaining supplies. To make your own candle, you will also need a lead-free wick, double boiler to melt the wax, a thermometer, candle dye if you want a colored candle, and fragrance if you want a scented candle. Scents and dyes can be purchased from most craft or candle supply stores. Candle dyes come in the form of liquids, blocks, or chips, and scents can either be fragrance or essential oils. EXPERT TIP Joy Cho Joy Cho Designer & Style Expert, Oh Joy! Joy Cho is the Founder and Creative Director of the lifestyle brand and design studio, Oh Joy!, founded in 2005 and based in Los Angeles, California. She has authored six books and consulted for creative businesses around the world. Joy has lectured on business, leadership, and entrepreneurship at conferences and companies such as AltSummit, Pinterest, Target, and Hallmark, while her home and studio have been featured in magazines such as House Beautiful, Parents, and Domino. She has also been named one of Time's 30 Most Influential People on the Internet multiple times and has the most followed account on Pinterest with more than 14 million followers. Joy Cho Joy Cho Designer & Style Expert, Oh Joy! Make sure the fragrance oil you buy is made for candles. Choose an essential oil that is designed for candle making so that the scent comes through. You can find candle oils at most craft stores or even on Amazon.

Cut and melt the wax. Sometimes wax comes in chips, but sometimes it will come in a large block. If your wax is in a block, cut it into one-inch cubes. Place the wax into the top pot of your double boiler. Fill the bottom pot with an inch (2.5 cm) of water. Place the top pot inside the bottom pot and heat the double boiler on medium heat, stirring every few minutes. Consider using an old pot or a specially designated candle pot for this project that won’t be used for food as well, since the waxes, dyes, and scents may never fully wash out. You can find cheap pots at garage sales or thrift stores, or you can splurge on a special candle-making pot, which has a different handle and a pour spout. For a DIY double boiler, place a large, heat-safe glass bowl on top of a metal saucepan. Fill the saucepan with water and the glass bowl with wax. Two cups (227.5 g) of wax will yield an eight-ounce candle, four cups (455 g) of wax will yield a 16-ounce candle, and six cups of wax (682.5 g) will yield a 24-ounce candle.

Prepare the wick. While you're waiting for the wax to finish melting, you can prepare the wick by stiffening it with wax, which will make it easier to maneuver when you pour the candle. When enough candle wax has melted that you can access it easily, hold the wick by the base, dip it into the melted wax to coat it, and pull it out. Straighten the wick and let it dry. Once dry, take the wick and dip the base into the wax to coat it. Press the base of the wick into the bottom center of your candle mold (use a spoon or chopstick if necessary), and hold it there for a few seconds to allow the wax to dry and glue the wick in place. Lay a pencil across the rim of your candle mold and wrap the excess wick around it to keep the wick straight and in place when you pour the candle.

Dye and scent the wax. When your wax is fully melted, remove it from the heat and add your dye. If you're using dye chips or a block, cut them into smaller chunks before adding them. To make a multicolored candle, separate the wax into different containers and then add the individual dye colors. Stir well to evenly distribute the dye throughout the wax. Use a thermometer to keep an eye on the wax temperature, and when it reaches 185 F (85 C), add the fragrance. Add 15 drops of fragrance for an eight-ounce candle, 30 drops for a 16-ounce candle, and 45 drops for a 24-ounce candle.

Pour the wax into the mold or jar. Fill the mold with the wax, but leave a quarter-inch (63 mm) of space between the top of the candle and the top of the mold. To make a multicolored candle, pour your first color, and give it about an hour to dry (you may need to keep your other wax colors warm during this time). After the wax has started to harden, add your next wax color. Repeat until you have poured all the wax. When you’ve poured all your wax, wrap the candle in a towel to stop it from shrinking and cracking.

Finish the candle. Allow the candle to cure for 24 hours, then remove the pencil and trim the wick to one-half inch (1.3 cm). If you made a candle in a mold that needs to be removed, place the candle in the refrigerator for 15 minutes before removing the candle from the mold.

Decorating Your Candle

Use wax cut-outs. You can purchase thin sheets of wax from a craft store that can be punched or cut into shapes to decorate the surface of a pillar or free-standing candle. Using wax sheets in your desired colors, use a craft punch, cookie cutter, or sharp knife to cut the wax sheet into shapes. To affix the shapes to the candle: Use a heat gun or blow dryer to soften a wax cut-out, then warm the candle in the spot where you want to attach the shape. Press the shape into the outside of the candle, and hold it there for a minute to allow the wax to dry.

Decorate a candle with a paper transfer. This method will work best on a light candle that’s not in a mold, because you are going to use tissue paper to transfer a pattern, image, or decoration directly onto the candle. Choose the image or pattern you want to decorate your candle, and then: Gently tape a piece of white tissue paper to a piece of regular printer paper, and print the pattern onto the tissue paper. Wrap the printed tissue paper around the candle and cut the paper to size. Or, if you're using an image, cut out the shape of the image. Use a non-toxic glue to affix the tissue paper in place around the candle. Wrap the candle in wax paper, and apply heat from a heat gun or blow dryer. As the wax heats up, it will saturate and absorb the tissue paper, leaving only the image or pattern on the paper visible. Remove the wax paper and allow the candle to dry. To use this decorative method on a jar candle, print off your pattern onto tissue paper (of any color), and then use a paint brush to apply liquid craft glue to affix the tissue paper to the outside of the jar.

Paint the candles. You can use opaque paint markers and glitter pens to paint a jar candle or directly onto the candle itself. You can experiment with shapes, designs, images, or anything else you desire. Use the paint pen for the major design, and then add points of interest with the glitter pen. For festive ideas, consider painting a tree or ornaments for Christmas, leaves for fall or Thanksgiving, hearts for Valentine’s day, flowers for spring, and snowflakes for winter.

Create a frosted effect. Take a cup (240 g) of Epsom salts and stir in food coloring in your desired color (or leave them white). Start with 10 drops, and add more until you achieve the desired intensity. Lay them out on a plate. Then, dip a paint brush in a non-toxic liquid craft glue and use the glue to paint designs or patterns (or the entire thing) onto the jar or candle. When the glue is still wet, roll the candle or jar in the pile of Epsom salts.

Decorate a candle or jar with dried fruit and flowers. Thinly sliced dried fruit and flowers can be glued onto a candle or jar to create a rustic and earthy candle. Use a non-toxic craft glue to affix the flowers or fruits onto the candle or jar. Arrange the flowers any way you like. If you're attaching the flowers directly to the candle, consider dipping the candle in hot, clear wax one last time after the flowers are attached. This will help seal them and keep them in place.