DIY – Page 3 – okay andie

With the holidays just around the corner, I’ve been wracking my brain trying to think of good home made gift ideas. Soy wax candles might be one of the easiest crafts to make, with the most satisfying results, and they make really pretty presents! So please enjoy my amateur how-to guide on making these glowing little gems!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Wax (I bought ten pounds of this wax, but really you can go with any container wax – my first 5lb bag yielded about 18-20 medium sized candles)

Wicks & Wick pins (I opted for longer wicks in case I wanted to make candles in larger containers. They’re easy to cut if you use them in a shorter container too. The wicks I used came with wick pins attached, but most wax supplier websites offer a few options for wicks and wick pins depending on what you are making)

Any container that can handle heat (my favourite ones are teacups and mason jars, but it can be really fun to go to thrift stores and see what other cool receptacles you find!)

A double boiler (Make sure you use a pot that you don’t intend on using for cooking again, because the wax is next to impossible to completely clean out)

Any kind of crazy glue (for glueing the wick tabs to the bottom of the containers)

ADDITIONAL/OPTIONAL SUPPLIES

Essential Oil (I won’t lie, I didn’t make it to the store before writing up this post, and instead of essential oil I just used vanilla extract – like the kind you use for baking – and it made this cool sort of speckled effect, but it didn’t really make for a scented candle)

Dye (I didn’t use any, but dyed candles can look really cool!)

STEP ONE:

Make sure the receptacle you are using is clean and dry. For these candles I used teacups that I bought at Salvation Army for about fifty cents.

STEP TWO:

Crazy glue your wick tab (with the wick attached) to the bottom of the container you are using.

Note: crazy glue is CRAZY and will stick to your fingers and make your skin feel like it’s falling off, so we used pens and pencils to stick them down.

STEP THREE:

Set up your double boiler and scoop your wax in. I wish I could offer you a measurement, but I don’t actually know. I always kind of play it by ear and start out with a cup or two of wax and make more if I need to. It’s always easier to add more wax than to have a bunch of wax that is melted and nowhere to pour it!

STEP FOUR:

Pour your melted wax into your clean receptacles (the ones with the wicks glued down) and use any long straight objects (pens, pencils, chopsticks, etc.) to hold the wick straight and in place. (if the wick sags in the wax, the candle won’t burn evenly)

STEP FIVE (FINAL STEP):

Let the wax solidify fully, then cut the wicks, and enjoy your new candles, or, wrap them pretty and give them to your favourite people!

Posted by: Meaghan

Recently, it was my friend Kira‘s birthday. I decided I would make some bath salts as a gift for her. I thought I’d share with you guys a little tutorial on how to make these. It’s a super fast and easy gift to make, and with the amount of salts I have now, I could probably make jars and jars and jars of bath salts for myself.

What you’ll need:

Epsom Salts
Sea Salt
an Essential Oil (I chose Juniper)
Food Coloring
Bowl (preferably something metal, so it doesn’t stain)
Spoon
Jar of any kind (I used a mason jar)

First step is to measure out how much Epsom and Sea Salts you will need to fit in the jar you have chosen. I did about 1/4 Sea Salt and the rest Epsom Salt. It’s up to you how much of each you would like. I would do no more than 1/2 Sea Salt, it does not take food colouring as well as Epsom Salt, so that is always something to consider.

After measuring your salts, pour into your bowl. I decided I wanted to do tricolour bath salts of Red White and Blue (Kira loves the USA). So I did each 1/3 separately. I didn’t need any colouring for the white 1/3, so I left that for after. I added about 5 drops of blue, and the same for the red. You can eye it out yourself though, depending on how dark (or light) you would like them. After stirring the salts well – so the colour spreads over all the salts – I added a few drops of Juniper Essential Oil. To each separate 1/3 I added about 2-3 drops. Essential Oils are very strong! So try not to over do it. In this case, less is more.

Once you have finished all the stirring, oil adding and colour, you can leave the salts out to dry. I put them on tin foil because that is all I had at the time, but a baking sheet would work just as well. Let them dry for about 2 hrs. I suggest putting them in a different room than the one you are in, or near a window. I had them in the Livingroom, but the smell became so overwhelming I had to move them into the Bedroom by a window.

When they have dried you can pour them into your jar – I made the tin foil into a kind of funnel so I could pour it easily into the jar with no mess. You can also add some decorative things to the jar if you want. After pouring the salts into my jar I decided it needed something else , so I wrapped some twine and tied it into a bow at the top of the jar to make it a little more cute looking.

And voila! All done!

Quick, easy and will make baths even more enjoyable.

-Alex

[Editor’s note: A few people have asked where you can get some of the ingredients, so I thought I would include them in the post. You can purchase Epsom and Bath Salts at any drug store. I got the Essential Oil at a health food store. Food coloring is from the grocery store. Mason jars can be found at Zellers, Walmart etc. In this case I got my mason jar at a vintage clothing store that sells some house wares and antique furniture. Hope that helps!]

Posted by: Alex