What You'll Need:
- Old crayons, wax, candles, etc
- Craft pot (that you won’t use for cooking)
- Twine
- Toothpicks
- Cup cake pan
- Christmas cookie cutters
- Foil
- You can melt down your old wax ahead of time and store them with your craft supplies for later use. Just add your desired colors to an old pot and melt over medium heat (make sure you use a pot designated for craft use – you don’t want to use the pot for cooking later since the wax will ruin your food). Mix your colors and experiment – try to make pretty new colors. Once the wax is melted, pour it into old plastic containers (I like to use recycled yogurt containers). Make sure that you only pour in the top layer of melted wax form your pan, because the bottom of your melted wax will usually be littered with debris (like old wicks, burnt bits of paper, crayon wrappers, etc).
When you’re ready to make candles, begin by preparing your molds. Cup cake tins are probably the easiest mold to begin with since they’re such a simple shape. Line the molds with foil and they’re ready to go. Cookie cutters make good molds, too. Just line the inside with foil while making sure not to tear your foil mold, otherwise your wax will leak out. The simpler the shape, the easier it’ll be to prepare the foil.- Next, make your wick. You can buy pre-made wicks at craft supply stores, but I like to use twine and it seems to work just as well. Tie a piece of twine to a toothpick then cut the length of the twine to match the depth of your mold. Set aside.
- Now you’re ready to break out your wax supply. Just re-melt your wax over medium heat in your craft pot. When the wax is melted, pour it into your mold, insert your wick by laying the toothpick across the mold, and let cool. When your candle is ready, pop it out of the mold, remove the foil, and cut the toothpick off your wick. You’re done!
Tips & Tricks: Christmas is a time full of color and light! Dropping pretty pebbles or |Autum leaves into your melted wax adds interest to your candle and it’s fun to watch the objects emerge as the candle melts! Another way to add dimension to your candle is to layer your colors. Instead of filling your mold to the top, fill it half way, let the wax cool, then add a complimentary color on top. Now you have a bi-colored candle!