Oooooooooh, I have just made candles with 10% oils and they really are as good as Diptyque/Jo Malone

[LaurieFairyCake]

First time I've ever made candles and I wanted really smelly ones as I like dead posh ones

I made Amber and Lavender (my fave Jo Malone fragrance) and Lime and Fig.

I used soy wax so environmentally friendly and no paraffin and bought tea cups from charity shops so no waste, the ones I've made are actually giant french pottery cups that I got today.

The french cups worked out at £5.40 each as none of the stuff I bought was cheap. Not cheap as chips and if you used paraffin and cheap oils you could make it a lot cheaper. But one heck of a lot cheaper than posh candles.

Dead chuffed me and my home smells lovely.

I have another 15 oils to try - guess what everyone is getting for Christmas this year

bootygirlI went on a candle making course and he made pillar type candles in a pringles tube which you just peeled off when the candle was set. They were beautiful

tanxs will have a look for them

Hello all you clever candle people.

Can I ask - where did you all get your double boilers from?

I don't trust myself with the bowl in the pan of boiling water scenerio (i always get water in the chocolate)

also, how do you get the last bit of wax out of the pan when you've finished?

I can't wait to start . . . .

I just use a pan with a metal milk jug thing inside it. I sit the jug on top of a metal cookie cutter in the pot to keep it steady and off the base of the pot (as the wax, if it is paraffin, can get too hot and dangerous so you need to keep it off the base of the pot). Also, because it's sitting on the cookie cutter, the water can't get high enough to get in with the wax.

Once it is all melted, the wax just runs straight out when you pour. I've had tiny bits of residue which I've just scrubbed off with a dishwashing brush and hot water.

I 'think' other ladies have been putting soya wax in the microwave? Have a check back on the thread, it is mentioned somewhere. Just remember - DON'T put paraffin wax in the microwave.

Thanks Holy

i don't know why i did think of that!

Plopper where did you get the square glass containers from for the orange candles you made?

Oh and has anyone tried doing them in wine glasses?

these look nice too.

what's the difference with essential oils and fragrance oils?

Just seen this and thinking about getting started on christmas :D Never owned a 'nice' candle before though! lol

and any ideas on 'modern' looking holders please? I love lauries tea cups but possibly a tiny bit 'quaint' for the people I hope to give to

laurie - also did you not spend an absolute fortune on oils????!!! You said you had 20!!!

wooo hoo I am well up for this

BTW I saw these gorgeous boxes of matches in coxandcox and thought they would be lovely tied onto a candle like this

Nappy - I got the square ones in Ikea.

Vulgar.
Dont bother with a double boiler. Make your own Bain Marie.
Keep all your old tin cans from recycling, wash them out and put your wax in them and then into a large tin /pan of water bubbling away on the heat.

After reading this entire thread last night, I started to think about making these too. I had talked myself out of it this morning but while trying to de-clutter my kitchen I found loads of lovely shaped jam jars that I've been hoarding saving for something. I thought maybe I could fill these with wax and nice smells and give as gifts for Christmas. I have some mini sized jars too which I thought would make lovely stocking fillers.

Any suggestions for christmas smells?

PS I also found about 5 Nutella jars so am borrowing the idea of filling them too!!

This thread's going to run and run!

Can anyone link me to an online shop for a good fig fragrance oil? There don't seem to be any on either Laurie's first link or the one Claireybee linked to later.

I love the Jo Malone Wild Fig scent. Just about to but wax, etc to give this a go - thanks Laurie!

Having been inspired by this thread I now have my wax and wicks but am finding it difficult getting all the oils I want. Does anyone know if you can just use essential oils or do you have to combine it with fragrance oils?

Very excited about all this. Even got my pots from the charity shop.

Thank you for the fabulous ideas and link. I now have a house that smells of gorgeous lavender and amber. Thanks again

Daft question, have just found this thread, what a fab idea

How much wax in weight (roughly) per cup candle? I get that it is about 3-400ml, but I am trying to work out how much to order.

TIA

Loving this thread - think I might try this for Christmas too! Thanks Laurie!

Leeka - there is a fig scented oil on Laurie's link - go to the US oils bit and on the drop down menu, it's called Mediterranean Fig. I love fig too

Which soya wax did you all order? There are a few on Laurie's site.

ok, am going to have a go at this but need someone to tell me exactly what to buy(cheapest option)I can buy oils locally, but need wax and wicks,which wax? and what size wick?.how much do i need. I want to make some small teacup size candles. at least 6.Ideally i would like to buy from same site, to save on postage.

bump

I made my order from the Candlelights website 2 weeks ago and have heard nothing, I've also sent a couple of emails and had no replies - but they've taken my £50.00 payment. Anybody else experiencing any difficulties with this website at the moment. I was really looking forward to making these candles this weekend.