Making Container Candles

container candles burning

empty glass containers

What you will need:

— Wax suitable for container candles and any desired additives such as dye, fragrance oil, etc.

— Containers suitable for candles; many ceramics, glassware and tins fit the bill for this.

— Some kind of double-boiler set-up to melt your wax.

— Pre-tabbed wicks of a size that is suitable for the diameter of your container.

— Hot glue - from a hot glue gun or a hot glue pot

— Bic Pen

— Clothespins

— Thermometer - always use a thermometer when melting wax.

How To Make Container Candles
contributed by Alan Wallace, Peak Candle Making Supplies

Essentially, a container candle is a non-flammable container filled with wax and a wick. They have several advantages that make them popular: First of all, they are a bit like a candle and a candle holder rolled into one. They never drip. Also, because they are in a container, we can get away with using lower melting point waxes that enhance scent throw. That fact alone gives scented container candles the ability to effectively throw more scent than their free-standing counterparts.

There are probably as many different ways to make container candles as there are candle makers. What I will do here is present a set of step-by-step instructions that works for me. The wax that I will be using is IGI-4786, a pre-blended container wax that requires no additives. There are other great waxes available for making container candles and you may need to modify some of the instructions to reflect differences in the wax you are using. Straight general-purpose paraffin will work, but it is less than ideal.

Step 1) Prepare your molten wax mixture.

You should be able to review these instructions while your wax is melting. Before continuing, set up a double boiler to melt your wax. A good target temperature is 170-175° F (for IGI-4786). Once your wax has completely melted, add any additives you have selected and mix thoroughly. Add them in the following order:

Additives such as vybar or stearic acid (not needed for IGI-4786)
Fragrance Oil
Dye (this is done last so that you get visual confirmation that everything else has mixed well with the wax)

While your wax is melting, proceed through the next few steps. But, monitor your

Step 2) Add pre-tabbed wicks to your containers.
	Disassemble a Bic pen. What you are after is the barrel (white). Discard the rest.
	Straighten your pre-tabbed wicks out. They don't need to be perfectly straight.
	Insert a pre-tabbed wick through the barrel of the pen as shown. 6" wicks are good for this. If you have a different length, you may have to improvise. The point of the barrel is that it makes handling the wick much easier.
	While holding the wick within the barrel, apply hot-glue to the base of the wick tab. In the photo to the left, we are using a glue pot. However, a hot-glue gun will work just as well.
	Using the barrel to guide the wick, press the tab to the center of your container.
	Slide the barrel off the wick.
	Proceed to the next step. Home Search Site Map