Want To Make Gel Candles?

Candle making is a great craft. Candles are lovely to see, especially coloful gel candles, which are not only pretty to look at, but user-friendly becasue they’re easy to light and slow burning, not to mention money savers.

Gel candles are affordable and easy to make, and the craft is a breeze to learn. There are many different additions you can make to the basic gel candle such as aroma and embeds. So, let’s learn the basics of how to make gel candles.

To begin, gather together gel wax, scented oil, zinc wicks and color. When you’re buying supplies, make sure to only use zinc wicks because cotton wicks will not light well due to the gel being absorbed into the cotton. Most craft stores have a nice selection of candle supplies, either online or at a store.

What kind of container should you use for your gel candle? Usually you find gel candles in clear glass containers, but any noncombustible jar or glass is acceptable. Consider pouring your gel wax into wine glasses or clear vases and include different embeds such as colorful rocks, marbles or shells in the gel.

Use a hot glue gun to attach the wick into the bottom of the container. Make sure you’ve allowed enough wick length to stick out of the top of the container.

Using a double boiler, melt small pieces of the gel until reaching 200 degrees F. You must pay close attention to the temperature because it the wax temp gets too high or too low it can ruin your candle. Heat the wax too high and your gel color will not be vibrant, too low and the gel will not set properly.

It’s a sinch to add color to your gel candle and you use less because gel wax is naturally vibrant. Slowly add the color you prefer into the melted wax and add more until you get the color desired. Use less color if you are adding embeds to the candle so the article is visible through the gel color. Placing the embeds around the edges of the container so they’re easy to see is a good tip to follow.

Another tip is to heat the container in the microwave for a minute to get it good and hot before adding the gel so you don’t have those ugly bubbles that are often seen in bad gel candles. Put the embeds in after you heat the jar while keeping the gel hot. Make sure to hold the wick out the top or hang over the edge before pouring the gel. Once the gel is set, cut the wick to the length you desire.  The next thing to add is scent if you want.

You can learn to make candles at home, it’s an easy and affordable hobby. Make gifts for family and friends or create beautiful decorative gel candles for your own home.