A True Candle Maker's Guide to Making Safe Candles

As you will notice there are tons of how tutorials online about how to make candles. I know because I have looked at many of them while I was learning and even later on to see new ideas. What surprises me is a lot of them give you the basics. The problem with the basics, if you had read my other article on the warnings off a handmade candles you will understand this a little better is that they do not fully explain to you about proper wick size, types of wax, melt points, fragrance oils, etc. So in this article I am going to take you through making regular 8 ounce jar candles. We are going to do this the easiest way possible using the supplies from one candle company I know and trust.

I decided to do this article because of my article awhile back about how unsafe some homemade candles are they people are selling. I wrote that article to help people understand that sometimes a candle maker will put out an untested candle that might not have been properly made. If you missed it you can read it here: The Handmade Candle Warning

Please note: If you are going to start this process. Be aware you can not leave any of this unattended. Candle wax and fragrance oils are highly flammable.

Wholesale Supplies Plus you can view the products at their website: Wholesale Supplies Plus

These are the items we will be needing to start off with.

1. (4) 8 ounce Jelly Jars
2. Lids for Jars
3. Container Wax (IGI Wax 4786)
4. Wicks
5. Candle Safe Fragrance Oils
6. Glue Gun & High Temp Glue Sticks
7. Melting Pot
8. Thermometer
9. Wick Holders
10. Candle Dye
11. Box big enough to go over jar candles

NEVER use a gas stove. Wax is highly flammable. If you do not have an electric stove. Purchase a plug in type cook top.

First we are going to prepare the jars. You want to make sure your jars are warm. You can do this one of two ways. You can preheat the oven to 200F, turn it off then place jars upside down on a cookie sheet or you can leave them out in a warm room. Never poor hot wax into a cold jar. This can cause the glass to break or even explode.