Be A BuZy BeE and Make Your Own Candles!

The art of candle making. Recently I have been tackling this new art 16th century style and in this blog I will give you step-by-step instructions on reasons to pick beeswax candles, how to choose your wax provider, and how to make your candles. 

There are many reasons to use beeswax candles in your home. Here are my top reasons,

1. Beeswax is a clean burning wax that does not ruin the air quality in your home.

2. It makes your house smell wonderfully of honey

3. Save money and the planet by conserving energy with a little mood lighting

4. Low impact, high reward

Before I began this project I knew that I wanted fresh, raw wax from a eco-minded bee keeper. After some research I found Owl Naturals on Etsy. When the wax arrived it smelled like heaven, my husband kept trying to eat it! Here is a little bit of fun info on Owl Naturals...

~ Meet Nicole ~ wife to lover of life and mama of two young boys. ~ She loves ~ family, keeping house, soap making, reading, natural and simple ways of living and being in nature. ~ Her Products ~ are well thought out and come from hours of research. All natural,  biodegradable ingredients. ~ Her inspiration ~ natural, practical and simple ways. She drawn to recipes with the least ingredients necessary. Good stewardship is very important.             ~ Why bees? ~ Bees have been interesting to me for years. Honey replaced sugar in her kitchen years ago. She has been using honey and beeswax to make products for about two years. She recently joined a local beekeeper's association and hopes to keep her own bees in the next year. Currently she is using honey and beeswax from local and Midwest beekeepers. ~ Her favorite products ~ the fresh peppermint lip balm, her fair trade body butter and her salt soap bars. She is also very excited to say that she is now making goat milk soaps, with goat milk from her neighbor's farm. They are definitely her new favorite item that will be in the shop in the next few weeks! ~ How to find her products ~ visit her shop at www.owlnaturals.etsy.com and owlnaturals@gmail.com.

So here is how to create your very own candles in 8 simple steps.

Step 1 - break your beeswax into smaller pieces and place them in a glass bowl or cup

Step 2 - place the cup of wax pieces in a pot filled with water, make sure the cup weighs more then the water so it will not tip over!

Step 3 - bring the water to a boil and then lower the temperature to a medium setting, let the wax melt slowly and wait until all the pieces are melted before moving on.

Step 4 - while the wax is melting cut the right length of wicking for the mold you want to use. Dip the wick once in the wax to give it a single coat, this will prevent the wick soaking up the wax for the candle. 

Step 5 - if you are not planning on burning the candle in the mold then you must rub a tiny bit of oil on the inside of the mold so the candle will release from the sides.

Step 6 - place a tiny dot of wax at the bottom of your mold and stick your wick to the wax by using a stick of some kind, I used a BBQ kabob stick. Now place another stick across the top of the mold and use a bobby pin to hold the top of the wick to the stick. This will prevent the wick from slipping down while the wax cools.

Step 7 - carefully pour the wax into the mold in one motion, do not pause or you will get a crack in your candle. Make sure that the wick is still position in the middle of the candle and let it sit for a few hours.

Step 8 - remove the bobby pin and stick, turn the mold upside down and gently hit the bottom of the mold so the candle will fall into your hand. If it does not come out you can push down on the candle gently to break it away from the walls. 

I hope this post inspires you to create some candles of your own! Don't forget to enter my current giveaway!