Homesteading Fun: Homemade Candles!

These were so fun to make, and a great simple Christmas gift for friends or family.

First, I bought microwaveable soy wax (hey, soy is good for something!). I was glad I went for microwaveable…it saved a lot of time.

The wax is in shavings in a big bag:

I also bought concentrated candle dye:

And cinnamon candle scent:

Candle wicks:

And a candle thermometer (probably not completely necessary, but it was on sale for $5 at Michael’s, so I picked one up):

I melted a few cups of the shavings in a big bowl in the microwave for a few minutes, stirred and microwaved a bit more. Then I added a piece of the concentrated dye (read label for how much to use) and a few drops of scent and let it cool until it got to 175 degrees. Meanwhile, I dipped the bottom of each wick in a bit of the wax and stuck them to the bottom of the 6 oz. jars that I bought. Then poured the melted wax to partially fill the jars:

Let that cool until hardened:

Repeated the process and poured a second layer on. This time I didn’t add dye so it would be a layer of white on top:

Let that cool and voila! Homemade Christmas gifts! As you can see, my red dye ended up cooling to pink. I’ve come to terms with that. Next time I’ll add more dye.

I ended up making 10 candles, and the total cost was about $2.50/candle.  Not bad!