Friday, March 2, 2012

Gel Chunk Candles

Chunk Gel Candle Making

I decided to try playing with my gel again after another hiatus from it. Every once in a while I get this urge to be super creative. Gel is an awesome medium for creativity!

Today my project is a gel & paraffin creation! I think with spring coming, or at least in some places, (we got almost a foot of snow this week but I remain hopeful that spring really is near!) that it's time to break out some new ideas!

For this project you will need the following:
GelWix or Zinc Core Wicks (Testing will be essential for this!)
Wick Stickums
Liquid Candle Dye (for my gel I used orange and red for the over pour I used Ivory on this one)
Low Density Gel Wax
Low Shrink Container Wax (I used IGI 4630)
Gel Aroma Fragrance (I blended Champagne, PeachPreserves and Apple Juice. It's awesome!)
And a Container (I am upcycling a jar I had on hand for this but these look great in any glass jar!)

Start by melting down the appropriate amount of gel for your container. I usually use about 2/3 of what the jar will hold in weight. For this jar I poured it into a Pyrex Pie Plate.















Once it is cooled completely, I then tore up the gel using my hands and placed the chunks into my already wicked container as shown below.















After that is complete, I melt my paraffin wax for the over pour. For this I use anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 of the total capacity of the jar. It depends largely on your chunks. After a few you will get the swing of how much to use for each depending on your technique. Pour the hot wax over the gel chunks.















Once the candle has cooled, you are ready to clip the wicks and package per your likings. This is a simple project that looks great and takes very little time to complete.

Be sure to always use only scents that are gel safe when using gel waxes. Not doing so you can risk flash fires. Bitter Creek sells Gel Aroma scents for gel candle making. Most fragrances are not gel safe but those are guaranteed. For more info on testing fragrances for gel safety and more info on gel, please see http://www.gelcandlemaking.com

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