Candlemaking is such a rewarding experience. The scents and the colors and textures ,designs you can create with your own hands is what draws people to candle making and of course the romantic and soothing light.Its important to know what to look for when you are a beginner at candlemaking so you get the most for your money.

Many people though have the misconception that you can put any old wax and any old wick in a jar and it will be a great candle.What they dont realize is if you do not use the correct wick size ,wax,fragrance and coloring you will not only have a mess on your hands but a potential fire hazard.Wick size is very important and not only does it judge the type of burn you will have but also the melt pool.If your wick is too large your candle will burn too fast and drip and be quite a fire hazard as well as smoke and leave soot on the walls and possibly even your ceiling.Wicks that are too small for a candle will leave a large rim of unburned wax around the outside of the candle or inside container and will just drown in the pool of wax that gathers.

Types of wicks

cored:This wick is used in candles that require a self supporting wick, such as a container, votives, pillars and novelty candles(bakery candles). Pre-waxing of these candle wicks in recommended for ease of use. There are three types of cored candle wicks, cotton, paper & zinc. Zinc is the most rigid followed by paper and cotton

HTP:This is a new Type of wick that is not only a self-trimming wick but also has the firmness found in cored candle wicks. The increased rigidity of these new candle wicks provide improved wax pool and less carbon build up than the traditional cored candle wicks.

Square braid wick:  is designed to give a slight bend at its tip when burning. used in beeswax candles and pillars and tapers.

Flat braid wick:This wick is designed to slightly bend at the end which allows the candle to evenly burn and doesnt allow the wick to mushroom.Used in free standing candles like your tapers and pillars

Choosing your wax

Its important to figure out what type of candle you want to make and then search ebay for the melt point of wax you choose.Each melt point can be used for a different type candle.You also may choose from a straight paraffin and add additives or choose the easier route of a blended wax which has the additives already added.

According to what ype of candle you are making you may require different types of waxes. A votive or container needs low melt point wax between 124 and 130 degrees melt point.Molded candles(bakery candles)novelty candles and taper candles need a higher melt point wax from 140 to 146 degree melt point and wax embeds and hurricane candles and candle lamps need the highest melt point at between 148 to 160 degree melt point. For a beginner I always suggest a wax blend.This gives you a wax that has addtives already added so that you do not have to worry about mixing addtives to your wax for the time being.

CHOOSING YOUR FRAGRANCES

 According to the type of wax you use you pick and choose your fragrances. Say for instance you are doing a pie candle and will be using both a paraffin blend and high melt point gel(penreco),some fragrances are not gel safe. Make sure your fragrances you choose are for the purpose that you desire.Try to buy in bulk ..a good price for good industrial strength oil is $10.00 a pound and pay no more than $15.00 per pound.Use search words like wholesale candle fragrance,candle fragrance,candle fragrance oil and most of all check a sellers feedback.Many times people will comment on the scents they buy.It will save you quite a bit of cash in the long run to do this simple task...

Choosing your dyes

Dye is a tricky thing. It takes alot of trial and error to get that color you want for your particular candle. I find that when I began I used block dyes and did quite well with those as a beginner.I then tried liquid dye and I was hooked. Not only does it give you vibrant colors but for me personally its just much easier to work with.Messier but easier.

KEEPING YOUR CANDLES FROM FADING

Whether or not you use a blend of wax or straight paraffin its always good to use a uv inhibitor in your wax. This keeps your candle from fading. Always use a uv inhibitor in your wax embeds so that your embeds do not fade.There is nothing worse than making a beautiful peach pie candle and have your peaches fade....uv inhibitor is inexpensive and saves you alot of money in the long run and keep your candles vibrant and beautiful.

SAFETY

Label your candles ! always use a label when making candles so that someone knows how to properly burn your candle.Labels can also be found here on ebay for your candles. Make sure you use the proper label.Gel for gel candles, pillar and votive labels for the pillar and votives and container labels for containers.etc etc.

 conclusion

So now all you have to do is figure out what you want to make.There are alot of informative candle making guides and dvds on candle making on ebay.I wish you much luck and happy creating !

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