Get back to the basics by using natural products like Bramble Berry’s new Naturewax. It is skin safe, 100% vegetable based and made from soy which is an environmentally friendly renewable resource. Reuse your old canning jars, mason jars or baby food containers for a variety of eco-friendly container candles.
ONE: Melt the Naturewax wax in the microwave in a heat safe container. Make sure to melt it in 1 minute bursts, stirring in between with a spoon. Normally we recommend a double boiler for wax melting but his particular wax has a melt point of 125°F so it melts nicely in the microwave. Also, for paraffin based waxes, I always recommend specialty candle containers. Again, because of the super low melt point, they are not needed for this Naturewax based project. For more tips on candle making, check out the Soap Queen TV Episode on Travel Candles.
TWO: Fill one jar with melted wax, leaving at least 1/2″ from the top of the jar. Mix in your essential oil blend (we used 5 ml Orange EO, 4 ml Grapefruit EO, 3 ml Lime EO). Blend well. Note: we used a 4 oz. baby food jar and found it held 3.2 oz. (by weight) of Soy Wax.
THREE: Dip the base of the wick into the melted wax and center on the bottom of the container.
TIP: If you’re having problems with leaning wicks, make sure that your wick can stand on “dry land” before putting it in your wax, bending the wick if necessary. Once the wick is centered in the candle, place 2 pencils horizontally on the jar on each side of the wick. This will give the wick a little support as you pour the wax and the candle cools.
Lovely! Been looking for a use for empty baby food jars. Great tutorial! Had to share it on my own blog (with credit back of course!) Hope you don’t mind.
http://salttree.blogspot.com/2011/04/101-uses-for-baby-food-jars.html
Thanks for the link love! I can’t wait to go see your blog post =)
I did that too! I Dremelled a hold in the middle of the pop stick, and put the wick through it, the pop stick lies flat on top if the jar (like your pencils to, A-M). A bit more complicated but I love using my Dremel 🙂
Wow. What a great suggestion – thank you for sharing. That is just such a simple (yet brilliant!) solution.
i make candles for my own use and to give as gifts…instead of using pencils to hold up the wick, i use craft sticks (like popsicle sticks) which have bunches of grooves already cut into them…i place the wick into the jar first, push the wick into the groove in the stick and it stays in place across the jar while i pour the wax…the sticks are inexpensive and can be found at craft stores…i do use a bit of sticky wax to hold the wick to the bottom of the jar as well
Great way to use old jars ~ AND it’s amazing how many spaghetti sauce jars would make great candles too!
My cat eats a lot of baby food, so I have a king’s ransom in these little jars in the house. Ill have to try this!