I love having candles all over our home, they smell and look fabulous and make every room feel cozy and warm but the only downfall is great candles can be expensive. I am not one of those woman who will splurge on candles, a really great soy candle can cost anywhere from $30-$50.
That is just insanity to me.
I’ve always wanted to make my own candles and since Mother’s Day is right around the corner and candles are always such fantastic gifts I thought, what better time than the present to take a whack at it. These also make for a great activity to do with your teeneage daughters, I made these with my fiancé, Nikki’s teenage daughter and she love it, then she put some in her room and gave them away as gifts to her girlfriends.
I headed over to Home Depot and bought a few Terra Cotta pots from $.79 to $3 a pot. Next I headed over to Michael’s to find really cool paper to decoupage the pots in $.79-$.99 per sheet, I picked up a bottle of Mod Podge, $3.99, a package of candle wicks (they come in packs of 9) $3.99 and two boxes of Soy Candle Wax $8.99 each.
First I started out by painting the inside of my pots with a metallic gold pray paint, this is totally optional and you can paint the inside any color you choose or leave plain if you want. Using a hot glue gun I glued the candlewicks in place at the bottom of each pot.
Next. I cut my paper into strips, then using a sponge and Mod Podge I adhered the paper to the pots, really soaking each piece in the Mod Podge first and then placing the paper on the surface and going over it with my sponge.
It will look like white glue at first, but it dries clear.
*The thinner the paper is, the easier it is to adhere. Next, I put my pots aside to dry.
Now for the really fun part, melting the wax!
I poured all of my soy wax flakes into a large saucepan over low heat on my stovetop.
As it melted I took some yummy scented oils I had lying around the house like Lavender and Eucalyptus and added them into the melted wax.
Next, I added some food coloring to my wax to make it purple, but this is completely optional.
Next, using aluminum foil I covered the bottom outside of my pots to prevent the wax from draining when pouring the it into the pot.
Now pour the wax into your pots. I put mine in the fridge after to help the wax cool down because it I usually have the heat on in my house but if you’re home is cool enough then you can let the wax cool off on it’s own without needing to refrigerate it.
These make great gifts for friends, co-workers, teachers or even your neighbors. I hope you enjoy making these as much as I did.
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