There are quite a few skills that you can learn that will help give you a bit of fun and a few savings in these tough times we have. Candlemaking is one of those skills, along with sopamaking and a sewing. One of the advantages of candlemaking though is that kids just love doing it. It’s simple enough that children can probably get a handle of it easily and you can have quite a bit of quality with your young ones as you go about teaching them the art of making candles.

Here’s what you need to start: you can start of with setting a double boiler. You can’t just boil wax in your favorite pot. Wax is notoriously difficult to get rid of and you’ll be playing a whole lot of wax when you start making candles. The words “double boiler” conjures images of a specialized machine that costs a lot of dollars but you just perish that thought. You can set up a double boiler by getting a large low bowl and a smaller, preferrably metal, can. You place the can inside the larger bowl and pouras much water into it as you can, while keeping the can stable. It should stand flat and not be floating. Then you place it on the stove, and you’ve got your double boiler.

Of course, we go on to the more material components of candlemaking. You’re gonna need a lot of wax. You can get your wax from any reasonably well-stocked department store; paraffin – the most basic of waxes that can be used for making candles is easily available in most of them. If you’re going for more exotic candles, bees wax and soy wax are also available in specialized hobby stores. Also, if you’re a really big penny pincher, you can recycle old candles and wax drippings easily. A good starting weight is a quarter of a pound of your preferred wax. Heat up the double boiler and drop the wax into the central can is easily manageable chunks – cut them up with scissors or knives that you won’t be using for cooking.

Now while you’re waiting for all of that wax to melt, you bettter go out and look for some molds. There are simple designer molds available in some stores but you can settle for a few old cups ot bowls – anything as long as it is easy for you to get your candles out of them later. Placing a layer of waxpaper inside your molds or vegetable oil also facilitates removal and makes sure you don’t have to break your molds to get your candles out.

Don’t forget about your melting wax though. Check on it every once in a while and stir the mixture a bit with a stick or something similar. If you used old candles or wax drippings, get the used wicks out of the mixture by using used wooden spoons. Also, try and make sure your wax doesn’t catch fire – if it does – cover the lid and turn off thats stove. Water on wax fires makes it worse and ruins the wax. A sure warning sign for wax about to go up in flames is if it’s starting to boil.

Finally, it’s time for you to pour the wax into the molds and set the wicks. Always cut you candle wicks a little longer than your molds to make sure that your candles can be lit. Wicks can be made from simple strings so it’ll be easy to make.

And there you have it – candles made right there in your own home.

So how do you start? Well, here’s a short list of what you’ll need: a double boiler, some wax – usually paraffin but there are other waxes available on the market, short wicks, molds for the wax, and, if you’re feeling confident, some perfume or dyes.

Let’s start with a double boiler. You can probably buy something like it one the market but if you’re pinching pennies, setting something up as a double boiler is simple. All you have to do is fill a large low boiling pot with water and place a coffee can or something similar in the center. That’s where you boil the wax. Make sure that the boiler you have in the pan is steady and standing, not floating. The water level should be enough to provide water but not have it disrupt melting the wax.

Once that’s ready, you just dump the wax into the center boiler and wait for it to melt. You can acquire fresh wax from different sources: beeswax, fresh paraffin wax, and other wax products are available on the market. You can even recycle old wax from spent candles. Just cut up the wax chunks into small manageable pieces so that they would melt faster. A good starting weight that you can work with would be a half-pound of any wax that you’re using.

Once you have completely melted the wax you can dump mix in anything that needs to be mixed. Dyes are usually put in during this stage to give the candles some color. Aromatic mixtures are also put in this to provide various scents when you are trying to make scented candles. When you’re starting out however, it is best to begin with simple wax candles. If you do want to be fancy on your first try. Crush a few crayons and mix them into the wax with a stick or something similar. Never use a cooking instrument when making candles unless you don’t plan to use it again.

Now take your molds – this can be anything from siple cups to shaped bowl, and pour in the wax. Be careful in selecting your molds. Empty cans are one of the products yo be avoided. You have to make sure your mold is something that can easily be broken or something from which your candles can be easily extracted from. A simple tip is to place some waxpaper around the inside of the mold so as to facilitate easy extraction.Another tip is to look for molds that have wide mouths so as to make sure your candles can be easily taken.

While the wax is cooling, you will have to place the wicks. It’s pretty simple really – you just dip the long wicks into the wax mixture as it cools. Cut them a bit longer tha your mold so you can be assured that your candle’s wick can be lit.

And there you are – candlemaking made easy.