Hello Crafty Friends!
Beware this is a long post. :) I hope your day is going well. We are half way thru our current Linky Party over at PDE. And is time for team B to share some ideas with all of you.
I have been making cinnamon scented candles for the last couple of weeks and though it would be a great project to share with you. I have made some candles in the past, but never as many as this time around. ;). These were created for my Nieces' 1st Communions. I made about 75!!!! And learnt a few tricks along the way.
I was so excited to find some molds with a wick hole at the bottom . It makes a huge difference in the final product and when unmolding since it prevents the sinkholes around the wick. But don't panic, if
yours don't have it is ok, I learnt a couple of tricks to reduce the unsightly sink holes. Shall we begin?
A few things to know:
Remember that sinkholes can occur regardless of how cautious you are and that patience and the right temperature are key for best results. Sinkholes occur as the wax sets up. When the wax melts, it expands and when it starts to cool it retracts. If the wax cools off too quickly it hardens without filling all the open spaces and without releasing the trapped air.
Possible causes of sinkholes are:
The wax is too hot when pouring it.
You are pouring your wax from a high point in your jar.
Air drafts and/ or temperature shocks
According with Nature's Garden Candles: The best working environment for setting up your candle making station is somewhere with ventilation as well as a controlled 70 degree temperature, without any drafts or breezes.
After reading their whole article I went to work, following their advice of keeping changes to a minimum and my molds at room temperature. Let your candle cool on its own, because if you want to speed up the cooling process you will end up with sinkholes and cracks, ask me how I know ;)...
Creative supplies:
Wax
Candle Molds
wick tabs
candle making scnted oil
Wax melting pot
Thermomether
The Process:
1. First spray each mold with a mold release spray, do this for every candle and follow manufacturer's instructions- let your molds sit at room temperature for at least an hour- this worked for me :) you might want to wait a little bit longer.
2. If your mold has a wick hole at the bottom, insert the wick and seal the hole using soft wax. For me it worked to use a wick tab to help reduce the spilling of melted wax.
3. Use a wick clip if available or a pencil to keep the wick in place when pouring your wax.
It is very important that you choose the correct kind of wick for the wax you are using, Candles and supplies.net shares this table.
3a. I added Cinnamon sticks to each corner of my molds and around my round mold. for this I cut my cinnamon sticks to the lenght I wanted my candle to be. I used new pruning shears to minimize excessive breaking.
4. Melt your wax according to manufacturers instructions. Remove from heat. Add your scented oil and mix well.
Begin to pour your wax slowly. start by pouring a small amount per mold. Place the cinammon sticks before your wax sets. Allow to cool for 2 hrs before repouring. A few pours reduced the sinkhole
size. I also added a few relief holes half way thru the candle before each repour.
Let cool completely and release from mold. On this picture the heart shaped candle was made using a regular mold, but the heptagonal one was made using a mold with the wick hole on the bottom, you can see the difference, but both work well gor me ;)
Well that is it for me folks, I would love to hear comments from those
Thank you for taking time to stop by, I do appreciate your comment, have a wonderful and blessed day!
Beware this is a long post. :) I hope your day is going well. We are half way thru our current Linky Party over at PDE. And is time for team B to share some ideas with all of you.
I have been making cinnamon scented candles for the last couple of weeks and though it would be a great project to share with you. I have made some candles in the past, but never as many as this time around. ;). These were created for my Nieces' 1st Communions. I made about 75!!!! And learnt a few tricks along the way.
I was so excited to find some molds with a wick hole at the bottom . It makes a huge difference in the final product and when unmolding since it prevents the sinkholes around the wick. But don't panic, if
yours don't have it is ok, I learnt a couple of tricks to reduce the unsightly sink holes. Shall we begin?
A few things to know:
Remember that sinkholes can occur regardless of how cautious you are and that patience and the right temperature are key for best results. Sinkholes occur as the wax sets up. When the wax melts, it expands and when it starts to cool it retracts. If the wax cools off too quickly it hardens without filling all the open spaces and without releasing the trapped air.
Possible causes of sinkholes are:
The wax is too hot when pouring it.
You are pouring your wax from a high point in your jar.
Air drafts and/ or temperature shocks
According with Nature's Garden Candles: The best working environment for setting up your candle making station is somewhere with ventilation as well as a controlled 70 degree temperature, without any drafts or breezes.
After reading their whole article I went to work, following their advice of keeping changes to a minimum and my molds at room temperature. Let your candle cool on its own, because if you want to speed up the cooling process you will end up with sinkholes and cracks, ask me how I know ;)...
Creative supplies:
Wax
Candle Molds
wick tabs
candle making scnted oil
Wax melting pot
Thermomether
The Process:
1. First spray each mold with a mold release spray, do this for every candle and follow manufacturer's instructions- let your molds sit at room temperature for at least an hour- this worked for me :) you might want to wait a little bit longer.
2. If your mold has a wick hole at the bottom, insert the wick and seal the hole using soft wax. For me it worked to use a wick tab to help reduce the spilling of melted wax.
3. Use a wick clip if available or a pencil to keep the wick in place when pouring your wax.
It is very important that you choose the correct kind of wick for the wax you are using, Candles and supplies.net shares this table.
3a. I added Cinnamon sticks to each corner of my molds and around my round mold. for this I cut my cinnamon sticks to the lenght I wanted my candle to be. I used new pruning shears to minimize excessive breaking.
4. Melt your wax according to manufacturers instructions. Remove from heat. Add your scented oil and mix well.
Begin to pour your wax slowly. start by pouring a small amount per mold. Place the cinammon sticks before your wax sets. Allow to cool for 2 hrs before repouring. A few pours reduced the sinkhole
size. I also added a few relief holes half way thru the candle before each repour.
Let cool completely and release from mold. On this picture the heart shaped candle was made using a regular mold, but the heptagonal one was made using a mold with the wick hole on the bottom, you can see the difference, but both work well gor me ;)
Lastly I used liquid silicone to glue them to their bases, put them on celophane bags and done!
Well that is it for me folks, I would love to hear comments from those
Thank you for taking time to stop by, I do appreciate your comment, have a wonderful and blessed day!
Gorgeous!!!!
ReplyDeletevery pretty!
ReplyDeleteGreat tutorial! I've made a few candles but never a project this size.
ReplyDelete