Vanessa D. Langton - Candle Making Like A Pro: A Complete Guide on How to Make Perfect Candles at Home for Fun & Profit

Vanessa D. Langton

Copyright 2013 by Vanessa D. Langton

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013. All Rights Reserved.

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What is moreromantic than a spa tub ringed with softly lit candles or candleson the fireplace, glowing brightly over your meal? Candles havelong been associated with love and romance. They make beautifulgifts for just about anyone and, when scented, they offer you anaroma that brings out the best in people. When theres a storm andthe lights go out, candles make for a peaceful environment as youwait out the storm.

Not long ago, candles were more utilitarian,used to light rooms at night in homes that had no electricity. Suchcandles were simple and usually unadorned. They were used forceremonial purposes in religious ceremonies and, in many parts ofthe world, they still are used in that fashion. These candles arealso unadorned in most cases. You, however, have a wealth ofinformation available to you in this guide to help you make candlesthat are not only functional but beautiful.

Perhaps this is your first attempt at makingcandles or maybe youve made some candles and are consideringstarting a candle making business. This guide will, of necessity,start with the premise that you dont know anything about candlemaking and will show you how to make candles of increasingcomplexity so you can make just about any type of candle, includingdipped candles or tapers, sand candles and pillar candles.

There are actually many different types ofcandles youll be able to make after reading this guide. Theseinclude candles of many different shapes, sizes and candle makingtechniques. Lets look at the various types of candles youll beable to make after reading this guide.

Container Candles. This is a candle inwhich you pour the hot wax into a container that has a wick affixedto it. The container you pour the wax into can be anything and thecandle forms the shape of the candle. The candle is burned in thecontainer as well. Glass jars are often used because you can seethe whole candle and the process offers you the chance to put inlayers of candle wax.

Votive Candles. These commonly usedcandles are a split between a pillar candle and a container candle.They are usually free standing candles in a cylindrical shape andare placed into a small glass container. As the candle burns down,it forms the shape of the glass container that it is placed in.

Pillar Candles. These are moldedcandles that are thick enough to stand up on their own. They canburn freely on a heat-resistant surface or can be placed into alarge container. They tend to burn evenly and not drip wax onto thesurface they are placed on.

Dipped Candles. Also called taperedcandles, these are dipped multiple times by placing a primed wickinto hot wax over and over again until a thin candle is formed witha wick at the top. Multiple layers of wax make up the candle.

Rolled Candles. These are often madewith pliable beeswax sheets that can be tightly rolled around awick until it makes a candle that is much the shape of a taperedcandle except it is not tapered at the top. These candles tend tobe textured because the sheets used are textured as well.

Tea Light Candles. These are tinycylindrical candles that are housed within an aluminum holder andplaced within a glass container. The height is less than aninch.

Hurricane Candles. These are funcandles that have shells or dried flowers imbedded in the outerpart of a pillar-like candle. The candle burns from within so thatit highlights the natural designs put in the wax.

Are you excited yet? Candle making can be afun and profitable endeavor and the designs you create are onlylimited by your imagination. Lets first take some time to learnabout the history of candle making and then learn how make somecool candles, possibly to sell for profit.

Candleshave been used for utilitarian purposes and for religiousceremonies (and other types of celebrations) for more than fivethousand years although the exact date that candles were first usedis not known. They were used around 3000 BCE by the AncientEgyptians. The ancient Egyptian candles had no wicks. These peopleused rush lights, which were torches created by soaking thecentral portion of reeds in melted tallow or animal fat.

Eventually, the Egyptians invented wickedcandles. The ancient Romans, too, developed wicked candles byrolling papyrus into a wick and dipping it in tallow or beeswax. Asthere was no electricity, candles lit homes by night and were usedto help travelers find their way at night. They found their wayinto ancient Roman pagan religious ceremonies.

Even the early Chinese people found a way tomake wicked candles by using rolled rice paper as a wick andmolding candles in paper tubes. The wax came from a local insectcombined with seeds. Several tombs of ancient Chinese rulers werefound to contain preserved candles that were made from whale fat.They also used beeswax candles, dating back to about 40 BCE.Japanese also made candles out of a waxy substance extracted fromtree nuts. In India, candle makers boiled cinnamon fruit to get waxout of it, from which they made candles.

The use of candles in religious ceremoniesdates back many centuries. The Festival of Lights in Hanukkah hasits origins in 165 BCE. Candles are mentioned in the Bible and,when Rome was Christianized in 300 AD, candles were used tocelebrate Christian religious services like Easter Sunday.

While beeswax was in limited use before theMiddle Ages, most candles prior to that time were made from tallow,which was rendered from cattle or sheep fat. By the Middle Ages,however, many candle makers strictly used beeswax, secreted byhoneybees, to make their wax candles. Beeswax was preferred becausethe flame produced no smoke and there was no odor when the candleswere burned. As beeswax was a limited commodity, only wealthypeople could afford to use them; everyone else used tallow candles.They were also used in many religious ceremonies because theyburned so cleanly.

In certain parts of the world where oliveswere plentiful (Southern Europe, the Middle East and Africa),people made lamp oil out of the olives and used a wick made of asubstance that would burn and these were used like candles.