I am a huge fan of candles cause nothing adds more coziness to a room than a lit up candle. So some weeks back I crafted these DIY Scented Soywax Candles. I even brought them with me so I can light them up in the camper van every night. In general, I have stopped buying commercial candles as I know how many chemicals and toxins most of them contain. Plus, most candles use beeswax, which is fine by me. But if there is a vegan option available, I’d say, go for it.
So around Christmas I usually get onto making a big batch of candles which last usually for a whole year. I buy a 2kg bag of organic soy wax melts which is usually enough to make 10 – 12 candles depending on the size. I use soywax melts for easiness, I place them into a spare jar, place the jar in pot with hot water (or on a low heat) and let them melt slowly. You place the wick in the jar and the wax is ready to pour. It is that easy.
I love to play with scents, organic essential oils, dried flowers, spices and natural dyes. I have made cinnamon candles, coffee candles, all sorts of flower candles or candles that smelled like pine cones. This year I decided to go for a classic lavender scent and a pine scented candle studded with rosemary twigs for an earty smell. I love the crafty part of this project but also the fact that I know exactly what goes in these candles, no nasty toxics and strong chemical smells.
In line with a more conscious approach, I always recycle pretty jam jars with neutral or colorful lids. Old biscuit tins or tea tins make really cool looking candles too. I love candles with lids because they make a great gift or you could take them along when travels. Give them a really good wash or put them into the dishwasher before use. Depending on the width of your glass, it pays off to use more than one wick so the candle burns evenly. I recommend using 1 wick for all jars with a width up to 10cm. For bigger jars/ tins, use two wicks or even three.
Side note on working with dried flowers/ herbs: be careful when adding dried flowers/ herbs to the candles as they might burn and create a big flame. I recommend only using small dried flowers and not too much of them.
DIY Scented Soywax Candles
Ingredients
- 1 kg of organic soy wax melts
- 10 drops organic essential oil for each candle lavendar, swiss pine
- 1 handful dried rosemary
- 1 handful dried lavendar flowers
- 10 small jars (to pour your candle into)
- 10 small wicks ( I used some old jam jars)
Instructions
- Melt the soy wax melts in a double boiler. I use a pot and fill it half with water and put it on medium to low heat. Grab a clean spare jar that you don't need anymore afterwards since it will have remains of the wax afterwards.
- Add the melts to your jar,transfer it into the water bath. It will take a while until the wax melts.
- Now prepare your candle jars by sticking the wick to the bottom of the jar. This way the wick won't move around when you pur in the hot wax.
- Once the wax is fully melted (you can tell once the wax is fully transparent), pour it carefully into your candle jars. Carefully sprinkle the top of the candle with dried flowers or rosemary twigs.
- Let the candles sit for at least 30 minutes until the wax has fully set. You can speed up the process by putting them into a cool place. Finally, carefully trim the wick and add a pretty label to your new candle!
If you loved my project for DIY Scented Soywax Candles, you might live my other zero-waste DIY’s too. DIY Natural Wildflower Soap, and my DIY Tooth Powder (with B12).