Candle making instructions are really simple and uncomplicated, but a little practice and experience will help make the hobby more enjoyable. Beginning candle makers can benefit from the experiences of veteran candle makers. Listed below are 5 top tips that experienced candle makers have found to be helpful.

1. Use a double boiler to melt the wax. Candle wax is sensitive to heat and needs to be evenly and gently heated to avoid breaking down. A double boiler keeps the heat even across the surface of the melting pot, eliminating hot spots. It also makes it easier to keep the wax at its recommended working temperature while you add dyes and/or fragrance oil.
2. Heat glass containers before pouring in the wax. Heat glass containers in the oven to about 150 degrees F. before pouring wax into it. This will keep the glass from cracking when hot wax is added and will also help the wax adhere to the inside of the container, avoiding unsightly frosty or wet looking spots. Use an oven mitt or light gloves when removing the glassware from the oven.
3. Use wicks that have tabs attached to aid in centering the wick in the container. Candle wicks are available that have a small metal disk attached, making it easy to set the wick in the center of the container. Using a hot glue gun, put a liberal amount of glue on the bottom of the tab and place it in the center on the bottom of the container. A firm straw or thin walled aluminum tubing can aid in pressing the tab to the bottom. Simply place the straw or tube over the wick, running the wick up the center of the straw, and press the tab firmly to the bottom of the container.
4. Pour the wax into the container slowly. After the wax has been heated to the required temperature and the dye and fragrance oil have been thoroughly mixed in, slowly pour the wax into the container. Using an aluminum melting pot with a spout does away with the need to dip the wax out of the pot to pour into the candle container. If you don’t have this type of melting pot, a pyrex measuring cup can be used. Just be sure to warm up the cup first so that the wax won’t harden on it when you dip out the wax. Pour slowly to avoid trapping bubbles in the wax. The candle should sit on a level surface as it cools.
5. Hold the wick tightly centered in the container. Take a wooden stick, such as a popsicle stick, and put a hole in the center large enough to thread the end of the wick through. Rest the stick on the top of the container, pull the wick up so that it is tight, and clip the wick to the stick using a spring type clothespin or something similar such as an alligator clip. As the wax cools, it contracts and will form a small sink hole in the middle of the candle. If the wick is not held tightly in the middle it will tend to be pulled crooked.

Many more tips will probably be discovered with experience, but hopefully these five tips will help beginning candle makers create beautiful, fragrant soy container candles on the first try.

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You can start making candles for profit in your kitchen, garage, or basement. Supplies are simple, and you will want to do a little research on your own to find the best prices. Your profits will be maximized by finding the lowest prices for your supplies and by selling your candles for the highest price the market will support. In general buying large quantities of candle making supplies will result in lower costs per candle. Shopping for supplies on eBay® may occasionally result in good, low prices.

What supplies will you need? My previous blog describes the contents of a candle making kit that I purchased over the internet. It has all of the items needed to make soy wax container candles. The only item you need to supplies is a double boiler for melting the wax. Here is a list of supplies that are needed for candle making:

• Wax – paraffin, beeswax, soy wax
• Containers – tins, decorative glass jars, mason jars
• Wicks
• Coloring – liquid, solid
• Fragrances – essential oils, fragrance oils
• Thermometer
• Melting pot
• Pot for bottom of double boiler

In addition to these supplies, you will also want to have labels printed with the candle information and your business name. Packaging and shipping materials round out the items needed.
Once you have your candle making supplies and the creative process under control, where do you sell them? The first place to research is eBay®. A search for candles returns over 67,000 results. Categories include “Home & Garden”, “Collectibles”, “Crafts”, and “Health & Beauty”. Most of the candles listed for sale appear to be in the “Crafts” category. Another option would be the “Health & Beauty” category if you wanted to speicialize in spa related candles such as aromatherapy and environmentally friendly soy candles.

In the “Crafts” category, types of candles listed vary from flower-shaped candles to pillar and container candles. Looking at only the completed listings we can see what price the candle sold for, if it sold at all. Small flower shaped tart candles are generally selling for around $0.99 each. Medium sized jar candles sell for around $2.00 each and a large pillar candle is seen to have sold for $7.00. Unique and seasonal candles are good sellers and some may bring in a higher price than simple tart and pillar candles.

This research has only touched the surface, but there is a potential to make money selling hand made candles online. Other places to sell would be your own website with shopping cart, other online marketplaces, or local businesses. Make some extra money and have fun with the family while you pursue your home based candle making business.

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Since I’m new to making candles with soy wax, I decided I would buy a starter kit. One that gives me all the supplies that I will need to make a few different types of soy container candles. The first decision to make was what type of soy wax would work the best? A few minutes research on the internet showed many different blends and manufacturers. Looking for such things as natural additives and ease of use, I finally settled on Ecosoya™ soy candle wax. It is made from 100% soy beans and carefully selected botanical oils. This satisfied my desire to use a soy wax that’s as natural as possible. Another benefit is that it exhibits excellent adhesion to glass containers, alleviating the need to preheat glassware before pouring in the wax.

Next, where on the internet can I purchase a complete soy candle making kit with all the supplies a beginner needs? There are a number of suppliers of these as well, but I decided to select one with a shipping location near my home in Arizona. That led me to Peak Candle Supplies out of Denver, CO. I ordered their Soy Container Candle Starter Kit for $69.95 plus shipping. It shipped out later that day, and I received it in only 2 days. It was very well packed and contains the following, as well as their full catalog of candle making supplies.

Soy Container Kit Contents

• 10 Lb bag of Ecosoya Contaner Blend 135 Soy Wax
• 1 Seamless Melting Pot (capacity: 2 Lbs)
• 8 seamless 8 oz Tins with Lids
• 1 Glass Thermometer
• 2 oz Cranberry Citrus Fragrance Oil
• 2 oz lilac Fragrance Oil
• 2 oz Fruit Slices Fragrance Oil
• 2 oz French Vanilla Fragrance Oil
• 2 oz Clean Cotton Fragrance Oil
• 25 Pre-tabbed Cotton Core Wicks (C-60)
• 1 oz Blue/Sky Liguid Dye
• 1 oz Red/Pink Liguid Dye
• 1 oz Yellow Liquid Dye
• 3 Eyedroppers
• 16 pg Instruction Booklet

One thing that I want to caution those of you who buy this kit; DO NOT try to store the eyedropper in the bottle of liguid dye until you have used some first. I erroneously thought that I could remove the lid from the bottle of dye and use the eydropper as the new lid. To my shock as I inserted the eyedropper into the red dye bottle, red concentrated dye oozed all over the outside of the bottle and dripped onto the sink’s granite countertop! What a mess! It took a while to clean up, but I managed to get all the red coloring off the countertop and my hands. You can see the results on the bottle in the picture.

Armed with all the candle making supplies that I need to may soy aromatherapy candles, it’s time to make candles. The little instruction booklet covers candle making in general in the first 11 pages, then dedicates 2 pages each to paraffin and soy wax container candles. A couple of items you will need that aren’t in the kit are a pan to put the pouring pitcher in for use as a double boiler set up and a small wooden skewer to tie the end of the wick to. Also handy is a hot glue gun to glue the base of the wick to the bottom of the container. My next installment will share my experiences as a novice soy aromatherapy container candle maker.

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Now that I have decided to use soy candle wax in my candle making endeavors, what type of candles should I make? I want my first attempt to be simple, so I will try my hand at making soy jar candles. These types of candles use a container to hold the wax and won’t require the soft soy wax to stand up on its own. More specifically I will start out making soy jar candles for use in aromatherapy. The low burning temperature of the soy candle flame softly warms the wax to gently release the aroma into the air.

Aromatherapy uses essential oils to create an atmosphere or particular mood in the room. Some scents and how they relate to setting the moods are:

• Lavender – reduce stress, relaxation
• Citrus – energizing
• Basil – helps concentration
• Vanilla – peacefulness

Many other scents and combinations have their individual characteristics. A good book on aromatherapy will give a list of these and their benefits. Vanilla is a nice soft scent, so I think I will start with that one.

Most aromatherapy soy candles are left in their natural off white color. Different colors can have their own affects on mood, so most choose not to add to the affects of the aroma. I will start out with not coloring my soy candles.

Since I’m just a beginner in making soy candles, I have ordered a starter kit from an online supplier. This kit contains all of the components needed to make soy container candles. Included are a melting and mixing container, soy candle wax, wicks, coloring dyes, thermometer, assorted scents, tins with lids, and a small instruction booklet. The scents aren’t essential oils, so I may need to get that separately. My next blog will detail the kit and my first steps into making soy jar candles.

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Fragrances can be added to the soy candle wax, allowing the burning candle to fill the room with a pleasant scent. Common fragrances are vanilla, lavender, and even the fresh scent of warm laundry. The soft burning flame of the soy candle gently releases the scent into the air. An added benefit of using soy candle wax is that the flame produces approximately 90% less soot than traditional paraffin candles.

The making of candles from soy wax can be an easy, enjoyable hobby. The softness of soy candle wax makes it easier to work with than paraffin wax, and can even be melted in the microwave. It can cost more than paraffin or beeswax, but it burns more slowly and the candles last longer. Basic ingredients include the soy wax, containers, a wick, coloring, fragrance, and a container for mixing and melting the wax. The popularity of making candles from soy candle wax is increasing, and it may even be turned into a work-at-home money making opportunity.

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