Candle making has been around for thousands of years. It was once a necessity in order to have light at night; it is now a hobby that many people enjoy. Candle making continues to be a popular hobby for a variety of reasons. People make candles for their own personal use, it is a great craft project to do with older children, people make candle to give away as gifts, and people even make candles to sell and create a business out of it.
Making candles for your own personal use or to give away as gifts is extremely rewarding and easy to do. Many of the local craft stores supply all of the tools you will need in order to make your own candles. You can buy wax, wicks, and molds from almost any craft stores. With the popularity of the hobby, craft suppliers have also made things like color, decorations, and fragrance readily available for homemade candles. The rest of the supplies needed for candle making can be supplied by the hobbyist. The first step in candle making is to prepare the wax. You do this by melting it in a double boiler. A double boiler is simply one large pot filled with water and placed on the stove top. Another smaller pot that contains the un-melted wax is sat inside the larger pot. Wax will burn when you try to melt it so using a double boiler makes it easy. Once the wax is melted, hold the wick in place in the middle of the mold and pour in the wax. Allow the wax to cool for about four to six hours before you attempt to remove it fro the mold. Sometimes putting the entire thing into the freezer for about a half an hour will make it easier to remove the candle from the mold. You can also spray non-stick cooking spray into the mold before you pour the wax into it so it is easier to remove the finished candle.
There is almost no end to the different types of candles you can make at home. With the different fragrances, colors, and decorations your only limit is your imagination. Some candle making enthusiasts have gone as far as to make their own molds using liquid latex in order to create amazing candles. The only problem with using latex molds is that they typically are too flexible to stand on end to pour the wax into the bottom of them. What you will need to do is to cut a hole in a piece of sturdy cardboard. The whole needs to be big enough for the mold to slip through but only up to the lip. All latex molds need a lip on the bottom for this purpose. The wax can then be poured into the bottom of the mold and the cardboard will act as support.
Some entrepreneurs have found that selling candles can be a lucrative business. They have taken their love of the hobby and their talent and turned it into a great way to make money. They do this by buying their supplies in bulk at discount prices. They also take time and effort into packaging their products attractively. The thing that really drives them is their imagination. People are always looking for something new when it comes to this old custom.
