Article Categories

»	Arts & Entertainment
»	Automotive
»	Business
»	Careers & Jobs
»	Education & Reference
»	Finance
»	Food & Drink
»	Health & Fitness
»	Home & Family
»	Internet & Online Businesses
»	Miscellaneous
»	Self Improvement
»	Shopping
»	Society & News
»	Sports & Recreation
»	Technology
»	Travel & Leisure
»	Writing & Speaking

Reprint Article Code

Category: Articles » Sports & Recreation » Hobbies » Article » Article Code

How to Make Gel Candles - 11 Easy Steps

Do you love burning beautiful, scented candles? And do you know that you can easily make them yourself? It is exciting and not at all difficult. Here are 12 easy steps to creating unique candles that you can burn at home, give as gifts, or even sell. Materials for gel candle making You will need: gel zinc wicks (cotton wicks can't be used for gel candles because they absorb too much gel) essential oil for fragrance liquid color dye embeds (optional) All these materials can be obtained online from candle making suppliers. It is important to use ... read more

Article Title:

Article Body:

Do you love burning beautiful, scented candles? And do you know that you can easily make them yourself? It is exciting and not at all difficult. Here are 12 easy steps to creating unique candles that you can burn at home, give as gifts, or even sell.

Materials for gel candle making

You will need:
<ul>
gel
zinc wicks (cotton wicks can't be used for gel candles because they absorb too much gel)
essential oil for fragrance
liquid color dye
embeds (optional)
</ul>
All these materials can be obtained online from candle making suppliers. It is important to use essential oils and colors specially made for gel candles; fragrance oils you can buy in a cosmetic shop are not suitable. Also, you can buy a gel candle making kit. Getting a kit is the best solution for a beginner, because it will include everything you need to make your first few candles.

And of course you will need a container. The best container for a gel candle is glass, so people can see the embeds you put inside the candle, but any non-flammable container would do. You can use any glass, wine glass, or even a small wide vase, but your container should be at least 2 inches in diameter. Garage sales and second hand stores are gold mines, when it comes to candle containers. See examples of <a href="http://www.bestscentedcandles.info/candle-holders.htm">candle containers and holders</a>.

For embeds you can use anything non-flammable - colored aquarium gravel, marbles, glitter, sand, sea shells, pebbles, crystals, polished stones, artificial jewels or pearls.

Steps to making a gel candle
<ol>
Place a little bit of hot glue in the center of the container bottom. Stick the wick in it and let the glue set.

Cut the gel into small pieces so it melts faster and more evenly. Melt it in a stainless steel pot over a medium heat.

The trickiest part is the temperature - you should get it to exactly 200°F, because overheated gel looses its clarity. For that, you will need a suitable thermometer.

Maintain the temperature at 200°; all the gel should melt and become smooth, like syrup.

Add color dye to the melted gel, a little bit at a time, until you get the desired color - remember, you can always add more dye to make the color stronger, but you can't take dye away. For a candle with embedded objects, you should use only a little color, so the objects remain visible

Add the fragrance - 1/3 teaspoon for each glass of melted gel will give it a nice scent. For a stronger scent, add a bit more fragrance.

Heat the container in the oven or microwave to about 150-160°F. This will help to reduce the appearance of bubbles

If you want to use embeds, dip them in hot gel first and then arrange them in the container as you like. It is better to keep the objects closer to the sides of the container - they will be easier to see, this way.

Now it is time to pour your gel into the container. Place your container on a level surface and pour the gel slowly and carefully down the side. If it is your first time, you will probably get a few bubbles; to avoid that, the gel should be still very hot.

Pull the wick up. Roll it on a pencil to keep it straight.

Let the candle cool. Trim the wick and you are done! You have a beautiful, unique gel candle, made by yourself.
</ol>

Author Bio:

Some other recently published hobbies articles

Exercise Equipment for a Home Gym by Darren O Connell
Attending a Gym or Health Club can be a very rewarding pastime. Those that go to the gym love to exercise and stay fit, they love that feeling of being ...

Accessories for Your Coin Collection by Rina James
An understanding of the long history of coin collecting, once known as "the hobby of kings," will make this pastime ...

Safe to Sell Coins to a Dealer? by Henry James
The Origin of Coins and Coin Collecting The hobby of coin collecting began nearly as soon as the first coins were minted in Asia Minor, around 650 B.C. The ...

Coin buying 101 by Neo Smith
The Origin of Coins and Coin Collecting The hobby of coin collecting began nearly as soon as the first coins were minted in Asia Minor, around 650 B.C. ...

How to Detect Counterfeit Coins by Neo Smith
An understanding of the long history of coin collecting, once known as "the hobby of kings," will make this pastime ...

What are Commemorative Coins? by Barry Smith
With so much information and beauty contained in so small a package, it is no surprise that coin collecting has been a hobby nearly as long as the concept of coins themselves. ...

Publisher Guidelines

You may reprint this article electronically in your newsletter or on your website, free of charge.

If you reprint this article from our site, then you must keep everything intact. This includes the articles title, author name, articles body, authors bio / resource box, the links contained within the article, all copyright notices and the link pointing back to our site. All links within the article must also be made active / hyperlinks.