Why I'm Making Candles

My first foray into candles was before I started making soap. It all started when I was about 12 or 13. My family didn’t go over-the-top with candles, but we did have them. Our holiday candles and dinner candles produced a lot of leftover wax.  So, my first candle making experience was to melt all of these down and try to turn them into a useable candle in a canning jar. This was mildly effective.

I got some paraffin from the local craft store and tried to make real candles. They were underwhelming. The quality of the ingredients just wasn’t there, which meant that the final product wasn’t all that interesting or successful.

Finally, I found a candle supply specialty shop. I have fond memories of a now-defunct crafting company out of Seattle. They had all kinds of specialty waxes, colorants, wicks, and molds. Best of all? They had a functioning customer service department that could help me figure out what to do to get a great candle, every time.

Over the years, I’ve continued to make candles. Bramble Berry has a selection of candle-making supplies, and, of course, Soap Queen has some great tutorials on simple candles to try like this goodie-but-oldie from 2010.

But, I’ll admit, as soon as I found soapmaking, it quickly eclipsed candle making as the number one creative love in my life. With the new Bramble Berry creative studios and more space, I’m pulling out all of my candle supplies and getting ready to play.

I’m planning on doing a multi-wick candle, some classic beeswax candles, a taper dipped candle and a few travel container candles. Look for a blog post on these projects in the next month. And join me on the handmade journey because love + creativity are essential.