Jamie's Hand Poured Candles

Candle Making Classes

2010-04-18T18:49:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder what you might need to start making a candle?? This is the set up I use for one of the candle making classes I teach. As you can see, most of the items used for candle making can be found in your home. For safety reasons, if you decide to use some of your kitchen utensils for making candles you shouldn't use them in the kitchen again. And as a reminder...keep solidified and liquid wax away from your kitchen sink. All wax is bad for your drain. Pour left over wax in either ice cube trays to reuse later or in a metal can to throw away. If you save the wax to reuse for later then remember to label what type of wax it is. Happy Candle Making!!

Candle Making Classes

2009-10-27T11:00:00.000-07:00

Explore the art of candle making!!! I currently offer candle making classes in San Antonio, Texas through Northside and Northeast Community Education.

Candles taught include: Container, pillar, tea lights, votive and tapers using soy wax, palm wax, beeswax and paraffin wax.

Contact me through my blog if you have any questions regarding the candle classes.

Candle Smiles!!
Jamie

Pine Cone Fire Starters!!!

2009-10-27T10:30:00.001-07:00

These Scented Pine Cone Fire Starters were very easy to make and make wonderful winter gifts! I used a six count muffin pan, sprayed the pan with mold release, filled each cup with some dry leaves, filled it half way up with scented/colored pillar palm wax, added wick and then set the pine cone or pine cones in the wax and let set. These are scented with a pine forest scent and smell wonderful!

Scented Snowball Votives!!

2009-10-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

These are Peppermint Patty Scented Snowball Votives! The votives are made from pillar palm wax. I added peppermint patty scent and no color. Then I melted a pillar paraffin wax with some steric acid. I added peppermint patty scent and no color. I waited for the paraffin wax to congeal and started to whip it like icing with a fork. When it started to get clumpy, but still very hot to the touch, I gobbed it on my votive. I made sure to get every inch of the sides and on the top. If all parts of the sides aren't covered well, then you could have a blow out and have hot wax spilling out from the side of your candle. This votive burned beautifully! It burned slow with a nice steady flame. The palm wax, a clean burning wax, burned and left a soft shell that was the paraffin wax. These still need to be treated like a pillar candle when burned and fold in the edges of the candle when warm if needed. It also needs to be burned on a candle holder in case there is any wax spillage. These are going to make wonderful holiday gifts!

Hurricane Coffee Bean Candle!

2009-10-27T09:56:00.000-07:00

I made this Coffee Bean Hurricane Candle for my friends birthday. I used hurricane paraffin wax with a melt point of 156 F and added steric acid to it. I also made Chai Tea scented soy wax tea lights to go with it. This way you are burning a clean burning candle inside. I added a layer of rice to the inside bottom of the hurricane candle after I made it. The tea lights sit on top of the rice and absorb the heat from the metal tea light container. This ensures the tea light will not melt the bottom inside of the hurricane candle.

Hurricane Candles!!!

2009-07-07T13:43:00.000-07:00

This was my first hurricane candle! I have always wanted to try one of these. I used a paraffin wax with a melt point of 160F. I should have added some micro but did not have any at the time, so I will see what happens with out it. As you can see the edge is uneven and ugly. There was shrinkage (have to figure out why) and I had to pour the wax out from the middle of the candle after the wall appeared solid and there was a skim of wax on the center top. To even it out I turned it upside down on a skillet to smooth it out. I also put some rice in the middle of the hurricane candle, so when the tea light burns it will not melt the bottom of the hurricane. I haven't tried this before but I heard it works. Next on my list is one made with coffee beans!!!!

Water Candles!!!

2009-06-18T21:46:00.000-07:00

These water candles were really fun to make. The pillars were made from a paraffin wax with stearic acid added, no color and Apricot Freesia as the fragrance. The wax around the pillar was paraffin wax with vybar 103 and a bit of an orange color block. I am wondering if a pigment or liquid dye would have produced more vibrant colors? Many books suggested using micro wax but I did not have any on hand so I kept searching and found that someone had tried vybar 103 instead. Hope it works just as well. I can't wait to make some more of these!!!!!!

Toilet Paper Air Freshener and Floating Candles!!!

2009-06-17T12:48:00.000-07:00

This is an example of what some of my students will make in this class. Pictured here is a toilet paper roll dipped in scented paraffin wax, three floater candles and three hand molded floater candles. I found that it is better to use an ivory or cream color for the toilet paper roll as it will blend in better with the whiteness of the toilet paper. The molded stars were made from the same wax as the toilet paper dip. The hand molded floating flowers were colored using a pink block and cut-n-carve was was used. It's always fun to be creative and use different waxes to see how they work! This will be a very fun class!!!

Hand Molded Floating Candles!!

2009-06-13T09:09:00.001-07:00

These hand molded floating candles were a bit challenging to make. I used cut-n-carve wax and dyed it lightly with a pink color block. I did not use use any fragrance for these because some fragrances are not meant to be on the skin. These do take some practice but are really fun to make. I made one rose, two flowers, one pull apart flower and one very thin petaled flower. Timing is everything when making these flowers. If anyone needs some tips on how to make these just e-mail me. Happy Candle Floating!!!

Coffee Mug Soy Wax Candles!

2009-06-08T11:36:00.000-07:00

A customer came to me and asked if I could fill some of her special mugs with wax (I used soy wax) and they turned out great. I filled theses with Coffee, Vanilla Pear and Chardonnay & Vanilla fragrances. I left the wick a bit long on these because she will be displaying them for a while. In soy wax candles, the soy wax tends to separate from the fragrance and raise up. If your wick is too short and this happens you may loose your wick. You can fix this problem by running a heat gun or blow dryer over it and the wax level will go back down. This is a great way to display your favorite mug!

Dipped Beeswax Birthday Candles!

2009-05-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

These hand dipped beeswax dips were fun to make. I made them for my son so we could celebrate his birthday at school since his birthday is in the summer. I tried two different size wicks and did not like how they burned. I want them to burn slower and longer with a smaller flame. Both candles burned about eleven minutes and only one of them dripped a bit. They were a bit thin on the bottom as I dipped them. This was probably a result of the wax being a bit hotter near the bottom of the dipping vat although easy to trim off when done. I was trying to use the least amount of wax when dipping-big mistake. Sometimes more is better and I can reuse the rest of the wax for other dips. If there is not enough wax in the dipping vat you may start to get lines at the top of the candle because with each dip there is less wax in the vat, lowering the level of wax. Will give it another try when birthday candles are needed again!

Beeswax Pillar Candles!!

2009-03-27T16:55:00.000-07:00

I made these pillars with honeycomb beeswax sheets with the outer layer being a smooth beeswax sheet. Each candle took a few sheets to get the thickness I wanted. I wanted to see how easy it was to join the sheets together as they were rolled to make bigger beeswax pillar candles. It was not that hard at all and they ended up burning very nicely!!

Hammered Paraffin Pillar Candle!

2009-03-12T05:41:00.000-07:00

O.K. for this this one I used the same wax as some of the other ones. It is Mulberry scented. I used a ball pen hammer and just kept hammering the candle with a very light touch from different directions. This would be great to do on a boring candle you already have at home! Some candles just need a new look!

Layered Paraffin Pillar Candle!

2009-03-09T13:37:00.000-07:00

This candle is a kelly green layered paraffin pillar candle. I made this one for a friend as well. For each layer I added just a bit more color and the two middle layers I poured a bit cooler than the top and bottom layer to give it a rustic look. This is not one of my better candles though- I accidentally dropped it when I took it out of the freezer and it has a little ding on it at the bottom. Luckly I did not damage the mold!!! Once a mold is dented it is trashed! I had to cool it down a bit so it would release from the mold. I am always amazed at how many variations there are when making a candle!

Paraffin Pillar Candles!!!

2009-03-06T08:45:00.000-08:00

I made these for a friend using some Mulberry scented/colored wax. The one on the left is a basic pillar candle and then I tapped it using a ball pen hammer to create the indention's. I love this look!! The one on the right is made with the same wax but I poured the the first layer at a very cool temperature (which is the top of the candle) and remelted the wax and poured a second layer. I like the variation in texture between the two layers!

Wax Dipped Toilet Paper!!

2009-02-09T18:02:00.001-08:00

I saw these on the internet and just had to try them! They are toilet paper rolls dipped in scented wax. They are bathroom air fresheners! The one on the right is just dipped and the one on the left is dipped and then I poured wax on top of it to make it look grungy. These two are not full rolls. This makes it easier to dip them in a smaller can. The one at the very top is a full roll and needed a bigger pot of wax to dip in. Very easy to make and cheaper than a candle. I can't burn a candle in my toilet area so this is perfect! Jamie

Teardrop Luminaries

2009-01-13T19:33:00.000-08:00

These teardrop luminaries were fun and easy to make. Water balloons dipped in paraffin wax. I added stearin to the wax and found that the wax did not harden as much as I would have liked it to. The edges started to melt a bit, as well as underneath the soy wax tea lights I put inside them to light them up. I will try adding F-T to the wax and see if that makes a difference in the hardness. I just have to find it first. Even though they melted a bit (the snowball hardly at all) they are beautiful when they are lit up! Jamie

Pumpkin Candles

2009-01-13T08:55:00.001-08:00

I made these for Thanksgiving. I used a pour-n-pour-out technique and they turned out great! I used paraffin wax because it is a harder wax and better for molded candles. These make great hostess gifts!!! Jamie

Candle Tip!!!

2009-01-08T17:57:00.000-08:00

Are you having a hard time lighting a candle where the wick is too deep? Try lighting a piece of spaghetti and using the lit part to light the wick.

Let's talk candles!!!

2009-01-08T14:19:00.000-08:00