DIY: Soy Candles

This past Christmas we decided to make scented soy candles with custom labels as gifts for family members. The response was great and we made a few extra for the bungalow as well. Neither of us had attempted this before, but it seemed fairly simple using a few online resources. So without further ado here's our version:

MATERIALS
*We bought our wax, wicks and scents at Southern Scentsations Everything arrived in a couple days and the products fit their descriptions perfectly!
Wax - We bought a 5 pound bag of soy wax ($8.75)
Wicks - We bought a bag of 100 wicks each with a small silver tab at the base ($6.99)
Scented Oil - Only if you care to include a scent ($4 for a 2 oz. sample)
Croc-Pot - To melt the wax, duh!
Tacky Glue - Or some other form of adhesive
Glassware - Or whatever else you decide to turn into a candle. We bought some  Crate&Barrel and Goodwill.
Stirrer - Something to stir the melted wax
Label - This is optional, but we made labels using the last names of our family members. The labels read "Lothes Candle Co." "Established 2010" along with the description, "A warm vanilla scent to keep you warm this holiday season."

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Take your wick and apply a small amount of tacky glue to the bottom of the base. Then plant the base in the middle of your container. Press firmly and allow the base to dry.

Like this!

2. Take a pen and wrap the top of the wick around the pen until the pen is resting on the top of the container like so. Other sources use a popsicle stick with a hole in the center & then thread the wick up through the hole. However you choose you want your wick to stand straight up and not lean especially after the wax is poured in the jar.

3. Measure out how much wax you'll need. Here's a calculator.

4. Crumple up the wax as much as posible. This will make melting & pouring much easier!

5. Dump wax into croc-pot and set on high.

The wax sitting in our croc-pot..

6. Stir occasionally and break up any clumps that may form.

7. The wax should melt to a liquid within 5-10 minutes.

8. Add a few drops of your fragrance if you choose to use one.

8. Having read several how-to's, it seemed everyone had a different take on what temperature the wax should be when pouring into your glassware (around 160-180), however we just waited till the wax melted to a clear liquid and then poured. This method seemed to work just fine for us.

9. When pouring, pour very slowly! Especially when you get near the top.

10. Make sure the base of your wick stays attached to the bottom of the container and stands up as straight as possible.

11. Allow wax to cool overnight. Do not speed up the cooling process. You want the wax to cool very slowly.

12. Trim your wick, add a label if you so choose and enjoy your final product!

Ta-da!

Since then we've tried other forms of containers as well and even making colors by melting crayons in the wax. Here's a few others:

Mason jar candle!

We cut the end of our Christmas tree off after it died. Let it dry out and then drilled the inside of it out!