This year I am beyond thrilled to introduce you to a revamped series here at LWSL called Handmade Holidays! In past years I have shared my own holiday gift ideas, but this year I thought it would be fun to get some inspiration elsewhere. I asked eight of my favorite up-and-coming bloggers to share a simple and frugal handmade gift idea. I was so blown away by all the amazing ideas they came up with, and I think you will be too. Each Monday, from now until Christmas, one of these talented women will be sharing their gift idea. Please be sure to welcome them here to LWSL, and to take the time to check out their blogs. You will be so glad you did!
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This is a guest post is from Gabby of Essentially Eclectic
Hello! My name is Gabby and I am super excited to be guest posting at LWSL! Today I’m going to be sharing with you how to make a quick, simple, and lovely handmade gift to give this holiday season!
My go-to gift during the holidays is normally some kind of food: Homemade hot chocolate mix, fresh baked frosted cookies, cherry cheese bread, peppermint bark, fudge…and the list goes on! I love giving these sorts of tasty gifts (and receiving them too! Yum!), but sometimes sweets are not quite the right fit for that special someone you have in mind. If this is the boat you find yourself in this holiday season, then I just might have a great gift idea for you.
There are three reasons I love giving homemade mason jar candles to friends during the holidays. First, they’re a surprisingly customizable: there are many different fragrance oils and colorants to choose from, and you can decorate your jar however you like!
Next, they’re very simple to make and therefore don’t take much time. It’s really just a matter of mixing, melting, and pouring (and maybe decorating, if you want!). Most of the time spent making this project is spent simply waiting for your wax to melt and cool once it’s poured. Best of all, the whole gift can be made for just a few dollars! (Remember that making them in bulk will be most cost effective, and be sure to use your coupons at the craft store!)
Here is what you need:
Soy candle wax (or a candle wax of your choice) Candle wick Mason Jar Hot glue gun A piece of card stock A double boiler (or a saucepan and a glass bowl big enough to sit over the pot) A food thermometer Oven mits Fragrance oil Colorants (optional) Container with spout (optional)
Before you begin, be sure you have the appropriate type and size wick for the size and kind of candle you are making. If you are using soy wax, for example, be sure your wick is suited to soy candles. If your mason jar is wide, make sure your wick is wide enough in diameter to burn optimally. In most craft stores where you can find these supplies, recommendations will be made on the packaging as to what type and size wick you should use depending on your project (and I promise it’s a lot simpler than it sounds!)
Step 1: Begin melting your wax. For this project I used soy wax that I melted in a make-shift double boiler made from a saucepan and a pyrex bowl sitting over it. I planned to fill one pint-sized mason jar, so I melted approximately 14 ounces of soy wax (I purchased a 1lb container of soy wax and had very little left over). I melted the wax on low to medium-low heat. Never leave melting wax unattended!
Step 2: While this is melting (and while you’re keeping an eye on your wax), secure your wick to the bottom of your mason jar. Apply a bit of hot glue to the center of your jar and hold it in place until it dries.
Step 3: Arrange your wick such that it stands upright. My wick was a bit stiff and stood upright reasonably well on its own, but I didn’t want to risk it falling over when it was sitting in a jar of hot wax. I ended up taking a piece of leftover thick card stock, cutting it into a circle, hole-punching the center, and then cutting away a section of the circle so I would have room to pour my hot wax.
I then put a dab of hot glue on the rim of my mason jar and glued the card stock down so it would not get bumped off accidentally. (Fortunately, dried hot glue applied to glass is relatively easy to peel off when you’re done!) This is just one of several ways you could balance your wick—there are no rules, as long as your wick is standing up straight!
Step 4: When your wax is melted, allow it to cool a bit before adding in your colorants (if desired) and fragrances. Wax purchased in craft stores will typically come with a guide that recommends an ideal temperature for adding fragrances and colorants to your wax depending on the type of wax you’re using. For my wax, it was recommended to add in fragrance oil when the wax had reached between 120 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. (This is because some fragrances can lose their scent when added to high-temperature liquids.)
To speed up the cooling process, I poured my hot wax into a room-temperature pyrex measuring cup with a spout.
If you purchased a fragrance oil or colorants designed for candle making, it should come with guidelines as to how much of each to use given the volume of wax you are working with. I ended up using approximately one ounce of a Milk and Honey fragrance oil from brambleberry.com. Bramble Berry’s website also offers a guide that suggests how much of their oils to use in a given project.
Step 5: Pour your wax into your mason jar and allow it to cool.
Step 6: When your wax has cooled completely, trim your wick to about 1/2”.
And viola! You have a lovely scented mason jar candle!
Step 7 (Optional): I decided to give my candle a sort of rustic look by decorating it with burlap and twine. I began by outlining my design in pen onto my burlap…
…before painting it with acrylic craft paint.
From there, I simply used hot glue to affix the burlap to the jar and tied on a twine bow.
And there you have it! An easy project and a lovely finished product. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!
Gabby Whitaker of Essentially Eclectic is a DIY/craft/lifestyle blogger from Phoenix, Arizona. After moving to Boston, Massachusetts in the summer of 2012, she started blogging as a way to share her crafting creations, cooking escapades, and adventures in Boston with friends and family across the country. Some of Gabby’s favorite things include chai lattes, Downton Abbey, cozy bookstores, Netflix marathons and, of course, blogging!
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What’s your favorite candle scent?
What a great tutorial! Love this idea & can’t wait to try it. Thanks!
I’ve never tried making homemade candles before. But after reading this tutorial, I may just give it a try. You make it seem very easy.
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Love this!
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I’ve always wanted to make my own candles, but never have. In order to get really strong smelling candles, can you use more of the scent? It’s so frustrating when candles smell good in a store, but you get them home and burn them, and there isn’t much scent. Also, does the wax peel easily off your tools, or do you have to dedicate a dish to candle making? Thanks!
U can put anything with wax in the freezer and it should pop right out. Pher wise dishsoap usually breaks wax down.
One more tip……wax on cloth or carpet u place the wax area with a paper sack, atwoel over the paper sack and iron the area on top of the towel. The wax should melt / soak into paper sack.
Hope this helps.
Try using fragrances specifically designed for candle making – these have the best “throw”, which is the term used to describe how well and strong they smell when burned. Soap or other bath product fragrances may not have as good a throw as candle fragrances. It will probably be fine to use more scent than a recipe calls for, as long as it’s a reasonable increase – for example, tripling the amount would be too much. Part of the fun of soaping and candle making is that the crafter is free to alter recipes to his or her unique tastes.
It’s a good idea to dedicate a dish to candle making only, and keep cooking and candle making appliances separate. 🙂
i love this
I made scented candles for all my family last year, went down so well! This candle is a lot better looking though! Now it’s just deciding what to make for this years festivities!
What a great post! I’ve got several family members who don’t like sweets and I’ve been stumped on what to get them. I’m thinking I’m going to have to try this out. 🙂
I love handmade gift ideas and I am curious to make this scented candle for this Christmas. You have provided me great idea as I am thinking to make some unique and special thing and making homemade candle is the best idea.
Oooh! I have been debating what to give my sister in law and mother in law for Christmas (I’m going completely DIY this year) and I think I have my answer now!! Thank you so much for this awesome tutorial!
Great tutorial, I look forward to trying it!
What’s your trick for not having the wax SINK IN THE MIDDLE?
Great question! I found that if you let the wax cool enough before you pour it (so not SO cool that you can’t pour it but not right-off-the-stove-hot either) it won’t sink–at least, it didn’t for me! Alternatively, you can pour your wax most of the way (3/4 or perhaps a bit more), let it solidify, poke small holes (like with a toothpick) into your wax, and then pour the rest of your melted wax in and fill to the top. (Why the holes? Honestly I’m not sure, but that is what The Google says!). Hope that helps!
Thank you! I made my first candles over the weekend. One of them sunk in real bad. Now I know what I did wrong. My wax was straight off the stove hot. Thank you again!
I tried it and it was awesome
Thank you so much for your candle making instructions, ive bought the supplies to make the wax, but it didn’t work. Now I know I can do it. just so you know gabby, I have never responded to any other blog’s. Theres something about you?? maybe a god thing??? thanks for your wisdom
MAGGIE, B
Wife, Mother , Grandma
Hi Ms Gabby!
Thank you for the awesome read!
I enjoyed reading your article and am very keen to try this out. Hmm.. Actually I am planning to make candles for my wedding favours! I was planning to do heart-shaped candles but I don’t see any articles that show me how to do so (as in, are there any heart-shaped moulds?) and can I ask, isit possible to add two colorants to a candle to get like a mixed colours candle? I hope you could advise me on this. Thank you in advance! 🙂
Hi Gabby!
Great tutorial. The picture grabbed my attention. I just love how you gave it a rustic finished look. I am doing a little research into candle making both for myself to save money but also as a gift for Christmas. I feel confident now to give this a try. Many thanks! 🙂
I really liked the instructions. I was able to make my first candle. I even made the same cut out with the card to hold the wick. Thank you so much
Lisa morales
Orlando, florida
Gabby and Ruth, thanks for this great tutorial! You inspired me to make my own candle using a kitchen canister I found at Anthropologie: http://www.toileandthyme.com/fancy-counters-diy-anthropologie-jar-candle/
Um Yes We Will Need AW Those Things, so that means help me please !
kayla like to smell butt
Just wondering if you could take a votive candle and put it in a square glass container and add more wax to fill the container around the candle
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This is a fabulous idea, I am definitely going to start making these early on time for the holiday season!! Love DIY items, i’m all about candle holders as well, they are also great gifts.
at the arena of candles it is the forerunner and that’s why it is the best for showing the better design
Question: I want to know how to make my melters white. I use a vegetable blend wax & then scent. If I don’t add any color (color block) it is a dirty white. What am I doing wrong? Any ideas? Do I add a bit of soy wax to it to fix this, I think my vege blend wax has some soy in it. ??? Help? Thanks.
Only use soy wax
What size wick shld I use for a 1/2 pint mason jar and also a pint size jar? Thanks a lot for your help
I made this candle, waited until it was 130 degrees Farenheight (sp?) to pour into the mason jar, and it still had a sinkhole in the middle…what am I doing wrong? I want to give these as Christmas gifts and not have a sinkhole.
What size wick wld be best to use with an 8 oz mason jar? Thanks
will a craft store like michaels or hobby lobby have everything that is needed for this craft???
Rather than the card stock for holding the wick, I used strips of masking tape, poked a hole for the wick, taped it to one side of the jar, poked the wick through, then taped to the other side of the jar, brought the tape back over (sticky side up), and stuck the end of the wick to it to hold it. Just a suggestion. No glue needed.
I was curious if you could give me an approximate cost of the candle you made?
I discovered chopsticks for holding the wick straight. Works really well. Love your ideas
I had no idea you could make scented candles on your own. I think this will be my go-to gift for the next couple of years. Who wouldn’t love receiving a homemade, glass jar candle? I love the way you decorated tweed to go over the candle as a decoration. I’ll have to use your ideas. The holidays are over, but I can just use a different pattern. http://www.tttaccents.com/listing.asp?dept_id=45010&nopopup=1
Soy wax DOES NOT work with essential oils, just a FYI; they do not mix.
i want to dip my own candles, Any suggestions? 🙂
I love candles!!!!!
Great article!
Very good I am now going to take the steps to start my own candle making business any ideas of best way to start as a beginner xx
What kind of colorant should I use? Can I used regular food coloring?
How much will it cost to make this candle? Can I get these supplies at Wal-mart? What should I use to color the candle?
Hi Amanda,
You can probably find the supplies at your local craft store. You can read more about soap making at: http://www.essentiallyeclectic.com/category/crafts-and-diy/easy-diy-soap-recipes I hope that helps 🙂
Amazing candle tutorial…thanks! Also check out http://Candles.Space with the funny slogan “Don’t Tell Your Light Bulb” lol
I had no idea you could make your own scented candles, love this idea! Will definitely give it a go, thanks for sharing!
what a crafty idea, definitely must give this a go!
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I like the comment about using chopsticks to keep the wick straight. I have always used masking tape as well.
This diy candle project is easy to handle.
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great post about making the handmade candle holiday gift. this post show that in a very easy way..
Great idea
thanks for sharing!