Having plenty of candles on hand is not only a way to decorate empty shelves in your home, but can help you set a warm ambiance or freshen up the smell in a room. Unfortunately, many commercial candles on the market today are filled with artificial fragrance chemicals, emit toxic soot, increase CO2 levels in your home, and can even be made with animal by-products.

It’s simple to improve the air quality in your home while still enjoying a sweet-smelling burning candle. Soy candles offer a great alternative to traditional candles. While soy candles are easy to find in stores, they are also easy to make on your own. You only need a few ingredients. You can find pretty much everything you need at your local craft store.

For starters, you need a nice container to hold your candle. Great options include large and small mason jars or baby food jars. You can also clean out the wax in your store-bought candles and re-use the jars. To remove the wax you can either freeze the jar and scrape out the leftover bits once it’s frozen or boil the jar in some hot water and simply pour out any leftover wax.

Here are rest of the items you’ll need to make your own candles:

• Soy Wax flakes
• Natural Essential Oils
• Wicks
• A Clothespin

First, you need to melt the wax. You can do this using a double boiler or in the microwave. Heat the wax until soft. Let it cool to around 120 degrees. Then add 5-10 drops of your preferred fragrance oil. Take a small amount of the wax and spoon it onto the center of the inside of your glass container. Drop one end of the wick into the wax. Hold the wick in place until it hardens. Pinch the top end of your wick with a clothespin and lay it across the top of the jar. Finally, pour the remaining wax into your glass jar. Let it sit overnight to harden.

You can try layering different scents to find a fragrance you enjoy. You can try decorating your candles with dried flowers or herbs for added beauty.

Homemade candles are great around the house and make a fantastic housewarming or holiday gift. Dress it up with a ribbon and voila!

Posted in: Natural Foods | Comments (0) | Join Discussion