100 ideas: do-it-yourself candles: master classes for a cozy decor

As a source of light, candles were used in the third millennium BC. Such luxury was available only to wealthy families. To date, candles are not particularly valuable and are used in the interior for decoration and aromatherapy. Moreover, to make them at home is not difficult. This is not only a fascinating hobby, but also the opportunity to create something unique for a home or a gift. Today we’ll talk about materials and various options for creating candles with your own hands.

How to make a wax candle: master class

Prepare the following materials:

paraffin or wax;
cotton thread;
dishes in which wax will melt;
dishes for a water bath;
wooden sticks or pencils to secure the wick;
molds for candles (glass, plastic or tin.

Step 1. Put a cotton thread in the center of each tin. Fix its upper edge on a pencil.

Step 2. Place a bucket of wax or paraffin in the water bath. To speed up the process, cut it into small cubes. You need to melt the wax over low heat and stir constantly. As a result, the consistency should be smooth, without lumps of paraffin.

Step 3. Pour melted wax onto the bottom of the mold and fix the edge of the wick in the center. Wait a minute for the wax to thicken and the wick to solidify.

Step 4. Fill the entire form with the remaining wax.

Step 5. Leave the candle for 24 hours to completely harden the wax, cut the edge of the wick to the desired length.

Ready fully hardened candle can be used only after a day.

After making a candle, it can also be removed from the mold. But for this, the container should be with a straight straight edge, not narrowed up. Also suitable are plastic cups, home-made vessels made of tetrapack or ice molds.

DIY candles at home: a recipe for scented and colored candles

Having mastered the manufacturing principle, you can create more complex variations of the candles. To make colored candles, place wax pencils with paraffin in a bowl for melting. Imagine, experiment with combinations and at the exit you will get an amazing composition of bright rainbow candles.

Secrets of aromatherapy

In the process of making a new candle, use essential oils. In liquid (melted) wax, before pouring into the mold, add some favorite aromatic oil.

The composition of aromas of bergamot and lavender has a relaxing effect, rosemary and lemon - healing. A calming effect is a mixture of one part of rose oil and geranium and two parts of lavender. For mood, use the aromatic composition of cloves and orange, and to relieve stress - cedar and lemon.

Gel transparent candles at home

The technique for creating a gel candle is exactly the same as for a wax candle. Only in this case, the form is filled not with paraffin, but with a transparent candle gel. Inside such a candle, you can put stones, shells, twigs, flowers, beads, beads, buttons, fruit slices and all that is enough for imagination.

The arrangement of elements inside may be different. If you lower them to the bottom even before pouring with gel, then they will remain so at the bottom. Jewelry dipped in a flooded form will remain on the surface or hang in the middle.

You can give a candle a shade using gel dyes. Essential aromatic oils can also be added to such candles.

Note: Before pouring the melted gel, heat the mold. This will prevent the appearance of bubbles.

“Appetizing” candles

For lovers of creative and extraordinary decor, we also have some interesting and tasty ideas. Candles made from the fruit peel of lemon, orange, lime, grapefruit will be a special decoration of your home. Refined aroma and presentable appearance will give the candles coffee beans. Let's consider several options.

Lemon candle

To create a candle made from half a lemon, prepare:

wax (paraffin);
4 wicks made of cotton;
a saucepan for a water bath;
dishes for melting wax;
2 lemons;
purple food coloring;
dried lavender flowers;
aromatic lavender oil.

Step 1. Cut the lemons in half lengthwise. Gently remove the pulp so as not to damage the peel.

Step 2. Melt the wax, add dye, lavender flowers, aromatic oil to it and mix.

Step 3. In the center, fix the wick, fill the lemon candlesticks with prepared wax.

Step 4. Put the finished candles in a cool place, but not in the refrigerator, otherwise the wax will harden unevenly.

Coffee bean candles

One of the easiest ways to make a “coffee” candle is to just add grains to the melted paraffin (wax) or pour them into an already filled mold. Coffee beans have different shapes and sizes, and in wax they also set in different ways. Thus, each candle will have its own unique design.

Another option for creating a “coffee” candle is to decorate the standard with coffee beans. They can be glued to the hardened wax base, or you can do without glue, “lining” with grains the still-cooled soft candle, slightly pressing them with your fingers into the wax.

The idea for those who do not want to bother with wax is to place an ordinary candle in a wide glass jar, flask or other transparent glassware, and cover the empty area between the candle and the walls with coffee beans.

And, perhaps, the most fragrant option is to add ground coffee beans to the liquid wax before pouring the molds. A lighted candle will fill the room with an incomparable coffee fragrance.

Option for decorating the finished candle

A candle with a photo applied to it will become an original room decor. To do this, prepare:

ordinary wax candle;
tissue paper or tracing paper;
wax paper;
scissors, scotch tape;
hair dryer and printer.

Step 1. Select a photo to decorate the candle. Attach tracing paper to the printer paper with tape.

Step 2. Print a photo. To do this, you need to load paper into the printer so that the photo is printed on tracing paper. Next, separate the tracing paper from the paper and cut out the image. Leave a white frame around the photo.

Step 3. Wrap the candle tightly with wax paper, heat the image with a hairdryer.

Step 4. Warm up until the picture becomes bright and clear.

Step 5. Carefully remove waxed paper slowly.

In this way, you can decorate the candle with absolutely any pattern printed on the printer. Or you can draw your own work on a tracing-paper, an inscription, a pattern, or some dictum meaningful to you.

In addition to the techniques described above, there are many more ideas for decorating candles: