Imagine the soft, warm glow of a candle on a snowy winter evening from your very own DIY soy wax candles. Isn’t that cozy?

Candles, especially in the winter time, are so comforting. They make your home feel extra special on those cold evenings. This project is simple, inexpensive, and creative. These candles also make excellent homemade gifts. By following the DIY soy wax candles tutorial below, you too will be able to add extra coziness to your home this winter season!

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Materials

• glass jars
• soy wax
• candle wicks
• small pot (for stove option) or glass bowl (for microwave option)
• long stir spoon
• essential oils (pure oils like doTERRA are what I prefer but you can use what you like)
• scissors
• hot pad or mitts
• wooden skewers or long chip clips
• measuring cup
• spoon for scooping
• food thermometer
• double sided tape (optional)

Step 1: The Containers

Glass containers and jars are easily found at thrift stores for under $1.00. I found 4 of them to use for this DIY and the total bill came in at just under $4.00. You can use typical clear glass jars but feel free to get creative and use mason jars, ceramic tea cups, or even small coffee mugs! Be sure to wash your containers well with warm soapy water to remove any debris.

Step 2: The Wicks

If your wicks came with sticky bottoms, all you need to do is adhere them to the bottoms of each jar .

If your wicks didn’t come with sticky bottoms, double sided tape is best to attach them to the jar. Once you have each wick secured, you will need to lay a skewer, chip clip, or wooden dowel across the top of each jar to wrap each wick around so that is taut and centered in the jar. I used a long chip clip to hold the wick up and that worked well.

Step 3: The Wax

For this step, you will first need to find the capacity of each jar then double the amount of wax flakes. For example, if your jar holds one cup of liquid, then you will need to measure out 2 cups of wax flakes.

Tip: The easiest way I found while doing this is to use the actual jar that you want to use next, scoop the wax flakes into it with a spoon, pour those flakes into a measuring cup, then repeat. That way you have the exact amount of wax needed for each particular jar while not wasting any wax.

Pour all of the wax flakes into a heat safe container. You have the option now to either heat your wax on the stovetop until melted, stirring regularly, or in the microwave, stirring every 20 seconds. I much prefer melting the wax on the stovetop. For me it’s much easier to control and I like the fact that I don’t have to keep opening and closing the microwave to stir the wax as it melts.

Step 4: Adding Scents

Allow the wax to cool to roughly 130 degrees in the pot. Use an instant read thermometer to stick in the wax to check the temperature. This is a very important step because if you add the oils when the wax is too hot you run the risk of the scent evaporating before the wax solidifies. You’ll also need to use a lot of oil to get a good sent, at least 70 drops combined. I’ll talk about this in more detail below.

Tip: It’s important to add an oil from each of the top, middle, and base notes.

Basically, top note oils are the first oils you smell when you light the candle and will dissipate into the air first. Some oils in this category include Cinnamon, Eucalyptus, Orange, Peppermint and Tea Tree. Middle note oils have a bit of a softer scent and these include Lavender and Rosemary. Base note oils last the longest and evaporate the slowest. Some oils in this category include Cedarwood, Clove, Frankincense and Patchouli.

How To Create A Blend

Go through some of the oils listed above (or other ones you may have) and pick 1 scent from each note category. For example, some scents that pair nicely together are Clove, Peppermint, Orange and Cinnamon. Alternatively you could try Eucalyptus, Orange and Patchouli. There are endless combinations so just go with whatever smells pretty to you! Again, Whatever oils you choose, you need to use at least 70 drops combined (example 20 drops clove, 50 drops cinnamon). Essential oils are not as strong as artificial scents in candles. Give the melted wax a good stir with a wooden spoon to mix in the oils well.

Step 5: Pour

After you have a scent that seems nice to you, pour the wax into your jars, leaving about a half inch of clearance at the top of each jar.

Be sure the wicks are centered and straight as you do this. Leave the jars to stand for at least 12 hours before moving or touching them!

Step 6: Trim

After the 12 hours are up, use a scissors to trim each wick down to 1 inch.

There you have it… your very own homemade candles! I hope these simple candles enrich your home during this winter season.

Let me know in the comments how it went for you and what oils you used! Happy candle making!

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