It’s easy, doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, and it’s a way to make use of all those jars that you’ve been feeling bad for throwing away-jar or container candles. You can get everything you need to turn all those leftover jars into candles online for relatively cheap. There are a wide variety of fragrances and colors to choose from, and you don’t really need any special equipment. Want to turn all of those empty baby food jars into candles? Here’s what you need:
-Soy wax flakes, there are other wax options, but I’ve found soy wax to be best. It burns longer, and gives off better scent than the others I tried. Soy wax also doesn’t create soot like some other candle materials.
-Color chips, these are highly concentrated color in wax chips. Generally 1 chip will color 1 lb of wax, but you can add more or less to make the candle color lighter or darker.
-Fragrance, 1 ounce for 1 lb is the standard ratio, but it can be adjusted to make the candle a little more or less fragrant.
-Wicks, you don’t want a roll of wick, you want pre-tabbed wicks, they already have the metal base at the bottom.
-Wick stickums, these help secure the wick to the bottom of the jar, so they don’t move around when you pour the wax into the jar.
You will also need something to hold the wick in place at the top of the jar and keep it centered. I like to use a pair of chopsticks held together with a clothes pin. It’s also useful to have a pen that you can remove the ink from (those blue and white bic pens work great), to set the wick in place. Personally, I like to buy my supplies on ebay. There are a lot of listings at any given time that include everything you need including a couple of pounds of wax, fragrance and color. An added bonus of buying these kits is that most of the sellers will match the wick size to the diameter of the container you’re using if you ask them-make sure it’s a service they offer before bidding/buying though.
To begin, find out how much wax you need for your containers. With a quick online search you can find one of several candle calculators, which use the weight of the jar empty and filled with water to tell you how much wax (by weight) you need for the candle.
Once you know how much wax to use for your candle, you need something to melt the wax in. I use a 4-cup glass Pyrex measuring cup. It’s very important to remember that glass and metal can be used to make candles, then thoroughly washed and used for food-plastic cannot. Place whatever you’re melting your wax in on your scale and zero the scale. Add the amount of wax the calculator indicated plus a little extra (.5 ounce or so) for sinking, and your color chip.
Microwave the wax 1 minute at a time until melted; if the dye chip hasn’t melted yet, it’s ok. Remove from the microwave and stir with a metal or disposable spoon until the dye chip is melted.
While the wax is melting, set the wick in the jar. To do this, remove the ink from the pen and insert the wick into the empty tube. On the tab (the flat metal piece), apply one of the wick stickums and then press into the center of the jar using the pen tube.
After the wax and dye chip is melted, stir in the desired fragrance. Once it’s scented, pour the wax into the jar, setting aside the extra.
Candles should be allowed to cool and set at room temperature. You may notice that as the wax cools the center of the candle sinks a little bit. If it bothers you, re-melt the extra wax that you set aside before and top off your candle. Otherwise, it’s not necessary. It doesn’t have an affect on the way the candle burns. Clean up with soy wax is easy, all you need is soap and water.
Once your candles have set, you’re free to enjoy them however you like. They can be for personal use, or given as gifts. The possibilities are almost as vast as the number color and fragrance combinations.
