Folksy

Folksy

Tuesday 16 November 2010

Super Sundae Candles

Just made some of these for a craft fair coming up in December. Easy-peasy lemon-squeasy. You'll need soya wax, wick string, wick holders and something to hold the wick in place while the wax sets (I use two wooden skewers taped together but you can get properly made holders). All these supplies are easily found online - I use http://www.4candles.co.uk/ (good service and a nice namecheck to the Two Ronnies sketch):
  • Get yourself some sundae glasses (cheap as chips from charity shops), wash and dry.
  • Boil the kettle and fill the glasses with hot water to ensure they don't crack when you pour in the wax. Empty and dry well before you add the wax (naturally!).
  • Cut the wick to the appropriate length for the sundae dish and push through the wick holder. Suspend the wick and holder in the sundae dish by balancing the skewers on the top of the dish.
  • Measure out your wax - I find normally twice the volume of the dish works well.
  • Melt the wax in a bain-marie (smaller saucepan floating in the larger saucepan full of water). You can also melt wax in the microwave but CAREFULLY as the flashpoint of wax is quite low and you don't want some kind of horrible, skin-graft-needed type of accident to occur...
  • When the wax is liquid, you can add a few drops of fragrance (vanilla always nice, I find).
  • Pour carefully into the sundae dish.
  • Let the wax set (it will start off clear and gradually cloud over) over 24 hours. Then trim the wick and you have a sundae candle!
  • I find soya wax tends to shrink away from the side of the dish as it cools so you can always top up with some more melted wax or smooth the surface with a heat gun if you want to get really technical.
Also works well with teacups. I would post pictures but unfortunately my camera suffered a sea-water and baby-drool related accident and died.

Safety bit: Never leave a burning candle unattended.

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