Making Soy Wax Votive Candles

How To Make Votive Candlescontributed by Alan Wallace, Peak Candle Making Supplies
Votives are arguably one of the easiest kinds of molded candles to make. They add a great deal of charm to just about any setting. The typical votive will burn for approximately 15 hours and will consume just about all of the wax that was used to create it.

A properly crafted votive will liquefy to some degree as it burns. This is necessary to achieve good scent throw. Votives are not intended to be free standing candles. Therefore it is important to burn votives only in a holder that is intended for votives.

What you will need:
· Wax suitable for votives
· Wax additives (only if needed for your wax formulation)
· Fragrance oil (optional)
· Dye (optional)
· Pre-tabbed wicks suitable for votives (36-24-24 zinc core used here)
· Metal Votive Molds
· Mold release spray (optional)
· Pouring pot
· Thermometer


Step 1. Prepare your melted 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 for votives is 175° F. Once your wax has completely melted, add any additives you have selected and mix thoroughly, but try to avoid introducing air into the mixture.

Add them in the following order:
1. Additives such as vybar or stearic acid (but only if needed)
2. Fragrance Oil
3. Dye (this is done last so that you get visual confirmation that everything else has mixed well with the wax)
Before pouring your wax, you may want to lightly coat your molds with a very thin film of mold-release agent such as silicone spray or a Pam-type cooking spray. This helps aid the release of the finished candle from the mold. However, it is really only needed with new molds.


Step 2. Votives: Initial Wax Pour

Place your votive molds on a newspaper-lined surface to catch any spills. With your wax at the proper pouring temperature (about 175° F), fill your votive molds to the lip of the mold. The objective here is to get the wax just up to the lip without over flowing. If you pour to a level lower than the lip, you may get seam lines in your finished candle. Care should be taken to minimize the number of bubbles introduced while pouring.

Save about 20% of your wax for the re-pour at a later step. Do not return it to the heat source.


Step 3. Add Pre-tabbed Wicks.

Wait for your wax to cool for a short period of time. While it is cooling, prepare your wicks by straightening them. They do not need to be perfectly straight at this point; a loose approximation of "straight" is fine.

Once the wax just begins to congeal, insert your pre-tabbed wicks. The tab will "stick" to the bottom when it touches. Care should be taken to position the tab roughly in the center of the mold.

FYI: Why wait for the wax to begin congealing?
At the temperature of the congealing point, the wax is cool enough that it will not interfere with the firmness of the primed wick. It also is the temperature that allows the metal tab to "stick" to the base of the mold. At higher temperatures, the wick can be a little more difficult to manage (not impossible).

Once the tab has stuck to the base of the mold, it is very easy to manipulate the wick to straighten it. Sometimes you may wish to wait a few moments to allow the metal tab to form a stronger bond with the base of the mold before attempting to straighten the wick.

During the cooling process, the shrinking wax may pull the wick off-center. If this occurs, simply apply a light tug to straighten the wick from time to time. Do not use so much force as to free the metal tab on the base.

Allow your wax to completely cool before proceeding to the next step. This may take 3-4 hours.


4. Re-pour Wax

When the wax has completely cooled, it will have shrunken a bit, leaving a sink hole that needs to be filled. Melt down the wax that you saved from step 2 above. This time, your target pouring temperature will be 10-15 degrees hotter than the initial pour (pour at about 190 deg. F for this step). This increased temperature is to facilitate adhesion between layers.

Once your wax is at the proper temperature, fill the molds to a level just slightly above the lip of the mold. Care should be taken to avoid spills.

Allow your candles to completely cool.


5. Remove Votive from Mold

Once your votives are completely cool, remove them from the mold. They will usually slide right out without any difficulty if they are completely cool. If you attempt to take them out too soon, it will be more difficult to finally get them out.

If they are difficult to remove from the molds, place them in the freezer for about 5 minutes. This will usually do the trick.

If they are still difficult, place them back in the freezer for another 5 minutes and try again.

Also, for very stubborn candles, it sometimes helps to gently press the sides of the mold inward as you "roll" the mold in the palms of your hands.


6. Enjoy

Always burn votives in a votive holder. Remember that they are not intended to be free-standing candles and they will liquefy.

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Making Soy Wax Container Candles

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

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 Soy Wax, 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. Once your wax has completely melted, add any additives you have selected and mix thoroughly. Add them in the following order:
1. Fragrance Oil
2. Dye
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.
(I promise the next page won't have so many images)


Step 3) Secure the top of your wick.

Click image above for a larger view.
Using a clothespin, secure the top of your wick as shown. Clothespins work for containers with a opening diameter of up to three inches. For larger containers, you will have to improvise. Looping the wick around a wooden skewer also works. The objective here is to provide some sort of support to help keep the wick centered while the wax is cooling. You can actually carryout this step after you have poured your wax.


Step 4) Pre-heat your container.
Once your wax mixture is at the proper temperature, and you have thoroughly mixed in any additives, pre-heat your container to about 150 degrees F. In the photo we are using a heat gun. However, pre-heating can also be done in the oven on the lowest heat setting. If you are using a heat gun, exercise some care as heat guns can get much hotter than 150 degrees F.
Note: This step is not absolutely necessary, but it does improve the finished product. It permits us to pour our wax at lower temperatures without trapping bubbles and it improves the glass adhesion.


Step 5) Initial Pour.
With your wax at the proper temperature (160 degrees F), carefully fill your container to the desired level. If it is a container with a lid, remember to fill it only to a level that will leave enough room for the lid to properly fit back on the finished candle.
Save about 20% of the wax in the pouring pitcher for Step 6. Do NOT return it to the heat source.
In the photo, we have filled the container to a level that leaves some clearance for the wick and lid.
Allow the wax to completely cool before proceeding. This will typically be six or more hours. Slow cooling generally provides the best results when it comes to container candles. So, don't attempt to accelerate the cooling process.

Step 6) Re-pour
Once your candle has completely cooled, you will notice that the wax has sunken a bit in the middle.With the wax that you saved from the previous step, melt it back down and bring it to a temperature of 185 degrees F. We use a higher temperature for the second pour because it increases the adhesion between layers of wax.
Re-pour to a level that just barely covers the wax from the initial pour. Going to this level helps hide any seam lines.
Allow your candle to completely cool.

Step 7) Trim Wick
Once your candle has completely cooled, remove the clothespin and trim the wick to ¼"

Step 8) Enjoy!
Burn container candles only on a heat resistant surface. Containers can break.
Burn the candle for no more than 4 hours at a time.
Protect from drafts.
Keep the wick trimmed to ¼"
Keep away from children and pets.
Do no move the candle while it is burning or while there is molten wax in it.
Keep away from flammable objects.
NEVER LEAVE A BURNING CANDLE UNNATENTED.