*Enamel Coffee Mug Candles*
It's that time of year again! The trees are blooming, the birds are making their nests, and the world is coming alive after a long cold winter. It's time to venture out and enjoy the wild outdoors. Along with hiking, camping is always a great summer activity.
When you think about camping, it's pretty easy to picture a nice crackling fire
with toasted marshmallows slowly roasting
overhead and a tent with a cozy sleeping bag set up in the background.
And of course, a classic enamel cup of steaming coffee.
Materials you will need:
* Fragrance Oil (I used Fresh Brewed Coffee fragrance)
* CD series wicks (I used CD-14 wicks for these 3.5" mugs)
*Enamel coffee mugs (Can be found in the camping section at your local store)
Start melting your wax first. You can use any container wax for this project, however I used the EzSoy. While you are waiting for your wax to reach it's desired temperature, prepare your coffee mugs by adhering a wick to the center of the mug with a wick stickum. This will keep the wick in place as you pour the hot wax into the mug.
Once your wax has reached its desired temperature, go ahead and add the fragrance and the candle dye. For EzSoy, this temperature is 175°-180°.
When the candle dye and fragrance have been completely mixed with the wax, you can now pour the wax into heated containers once it reaches its ideal pouring temperature. *Note: For EzSoy, you will need to allow the
wax to cool to about 105° and start stirring. When the wax reaches a slushy
stage, it looks similar to an Icee starting to warm up, pour the wax into room
temperature jars. The actual pour temp of the wax is about 95° but because it
is not completely fluid at this point, an internal temp is hard to achieve.
Pouring hotter will result in more frosting and tops that are not completely
smooth.
When centering a wick, if you do not have a centering tool on-hand, sometimes you have to be a bit creative when creating a wick centering tool for a 3.5" container. A centered wick is crucial for a properly burning candle. A pair of wooden skewers worked perfectly to hold the wicks in place.
Some degree of
bloom or frost can occur with any soy wax (as shown below). Testing of fragrances and dyes as
well as pouring temps can in some cases decrease or eliminate this. EZ Soy is
manufactured in the USA from soybeans grown right here in America! Soy waxes produce little to no
black soot when made and burned properly. EZ Soy will hold up to a 10%
fragrance load however we have had the best hot scent throw results using 6%.
Once your candles have completely cooled, trim the excess wick from the candles.
As soon as all wicks are trimmed, you are all finished! The smell of freshly brewed coffee with be in the air. :)
These
mug candles look great when packaged in a cello bags or shrink wrap
bags, tied off with natural hemp twine or raffia. With Father's Day just
around the corner, these are a perfect gift for Dad!
If there is ever a fun Candle or Bath & Body product that you would like seen made, we would love to hear from you! Please send your requests to info@candlesupply.com :)
Happy Candle & Soap Making!
-Elya
