by Texas Homesteader ~

I love candles, don’t you? These days I prefer an all-natural beeswax candle. And you’re not gonna believe how easy it is to make one yourself. Makes a cute gift idea too!

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But back in ‘the day‘ I had lots of regular scented candles and I burned them often. I loved the gentle flicker of the flame and the scent of the candle itself.

Then years ago I heard of the nasties that can be released by burning traditional paraffin wax candles. So as time went on I burned those paraffin candles less & less. When they were gone I just did without.

Now I opt for a candle without the toxins since we have our own apiary and I have access to that precious all-natural beeswax.

So today I think I’ll make beeswax candles with some of it. (These homemade beeswax candles make a great homemade gift idea too!)

Preparing Your Candle Jars

There are lots of options for the jars for your candles. You can use canning jars – I like to use the small 1/4-pint sized crystal design ones. They’re pretty and I love the smaller size.

If you have jar candles that no longer have burnable candles in them, you can repurpose those jars too. Just remove any remaining wax and clean the jar well before making your new jar candle.

Of course I love to repurpose. Since I no longer have candle jars I really like to use those handy Oui yogurt jars. They come in a 5-oz size and a mini 3.5-oz size.

My aunt saved me several of the cute 3.5 oz size. The glass is very thick on these jars.

These adorable 3.5 oz jars are the ones I’ll be using today. So I removed the labels, cleaned the jars well and set them on a piece of newspaper to catch any drips.

What Candle Wicks To Use For Homemade Candles?

I like to use *9 cm cotton-core candle wicks. They work great for my small candles.

I’ve also read about *Candle Wick Stickers you can buy to press the wick into place on the bottom of your jar.

They’re pretty cheap so if that suits you best, go ahead & pick them up too. I’ll be using another method that doesn’t require adhesive tabs.

Anchoring A Wick To Bottom Of A Candle Jar

To anchor the wick to the bottom of the jar you can of course use those adhesive tabs. And that would be easier and probably cleaner too.

But instead I dip the metal disk of each wick into some melted wax and center it on the bottom of the jar. I use a chopstick to press it gently to make sure the everything adheres well to the bottom of the jar.

Securing The Wick Before Pouring Wax

Now I need to secure the length of my wick so that it doesn’t just collapse into the jar when the hot wax is poured in. There are various ways to do this:

Roll Candle Wick Around Pencil

Most people use a pencil or chopstick to secure the wick. The metal tab is affixed to the bottom of the jar and the top of the wick is wrapped around the pencil.

Then they set the pencil on top of the glass jar with each end resting on opposite sides. That results in the wick bein held straight when the hot wax is poured in the jar. This would work great with longer wicks.

But I have wicks that are shorter – not much longer than what I’ll need for my jar candle. So this is not a method I typically use.

Use The Clip Of A Pen To Hold Candle Wick

Other people use the clip on a pen. I do this too from time to time. But I’ve found that depending upon the style of either the clip or the pen, it doesn’t always sit steady.

The pen can tilt or roll slightly on top of the jar and not hold the wick as steady or straight as I like.

So I reserve this for just the few pens I’ve ascertained will lay firmly and hold the wick steady.

Use A Wooden Clothespin To Hold Candle Wick

But what I usually use is my wooden clothespins. The wick threads right through the hole in the spring located in the center of the clothespin.

For these small jars the clothespin easily reaches each side of the jar and holds the wick steady. For me this is perfect and is typically the method I use to steady the wick before pouring in the wax.

(Note, I often sell blocks of our natural beeswax in our online store – check it out!)

Now that your jars are ready, let’s melt the beeswax!

Melting The Beeswax

Beeswax is flammable and can be dangerous. Never put the hardened wax in a pot & just put it on the stove to melt!

That close contact with the higher heat source can easily make the wax reach flash-point and catch fire.

The safest way to melt beeswax is the double-boiler method. But it’s important to use a vessel you want to use only for beeswax in the future. (trust me on this one – you’ll never fully get beeswax cleaned off it again!) Many people just use a clean tin can.

Then place the hardened beeswax pieces in your heat-proof vessel and place it in a pot with water in the bottom. Turn on the stove & heat the water slowly.

As the water heats up it will heat the beeswax and melt it into pourable wonderfulness. Now see how easy that was?

Alternative Wax-Melting Method

But I typically use my *Solar Oven to melt my beeswax. There’s no direct contact with intense heat source overheating the wax that way.

I simply place chunked-up hardened wax into an old 2-cup glass measuring cup (that I use only for beeswax) & place it in my solar oven. The sun will melt the wax gently for me.

I’m careful to watch & pull the container of melted wax as soon as it’s liquefied.

Whatever method you choose, once you get the wax all melted it’s time to pour it into your glass jars.

OK, my jars and cleaned and readied. The wicks have been dipped in melted wax and pressed to the bottom of the jar. The tops of the wicks are steadied. It’s showtime. Let’s make that candle!

Pouring Melted Wax Into Prepared Candle Jar

Now all that’s left to do is pour the melted wax into the candle jar. Careful, this is not a good time to have the children or pets at your feet.

Pouring hot wax is one of the main reasons I love to melt my wax in an old second-hand repurposed 2-cup glass measuring cup. That handle & pouring spout makes it so easy!

I gently pour melted wax into my jar, filling to about 1/2″ or so below the rim of the jar.

Let The Homemade Candle Wax Cool

Everything will be left undisturbed until the wax is completely cooled and hardened. It’s important to allow the wax to cool slowly. I’ve heard that if you try to cool it too fast the wax can crack.

Finally when the wax has cooled (about 2-3 hours) and is solid I’ll remove the clothespin & trim the wick to about 1/4″.

Now I’m done!

These beautiful beeswax candles are lightly and delightfully scented of honey. No artificial scents and nothing added. Just pure, natural beeswax.

Candle-Burning Safety Notes

Common sense, but never leave a candle burning unattended. And the jars themselves can get really warm, so keep them away from anything flammable or where children or pets can disturb them. And don’t burn the candle so far down that the actual flame is close enough to crack the glass container. Always practice safety around an open flame!

~TxH~

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