~Holiday Santa Candles~
Christmas time is once again nearly upon us, as we prepare for the busiest time of year.
Family, friends, wintery bliss... what's not to love about the holiday season?!
Whether you prepared early for the holiday rush, or if you are still searching for those perfect items to make for family, friends (and customers), one item in specific here at Bitter Creek is worthy of a shout-out at this certain time of year. Our Glass Santa Jars!
10 ounces of Christmas perfection topped off with a matching bubble lid. Do I hear jingle bells?!
Anyhow, let's get started :)
Materials you will need:
~Christmas Garland, Candy, Confetti to fill the lid (optional)
For the first step, prepare your containers. To make sure your containers are completely clean, wash them thoroughly with soap and water. This will guarantee your wick to hold firmly to the bottom of the container once the Wick Stickum has been applied to the tab. Also, so that there is no trace of dust or debris that you may not see with the naked eye. Be sure to dry your jars thoroughly before attempting to make your candles. Water will not mix with the wax.
Once your containers are cleaned, go ahead and measure out your wax. EzSoy comes in flake form for easy handling, and can be melted by either melting pot, the double boiler method, or even by microwave! Heat your wax to approx. 175°-180°F.
While your wax is melting, finish preparing your candle jars, by attaching the Wick Stickums to the bottom of the wick tabs of each wick, then securing the wicks to the center of each jar. Once each jar has a wick, you can then place your Round Black Wick Centering Tools around each wick to hold the wick centered as the candle cools.
Once the desired temp. has been met, remove from heat. Immediately add your choice of Fragrance, along with your choice of Candle Dye. Dye Chips, Flakes, Blocks and Powders work well in EzSoy. Be sure to mix thoroughly!
A good fragrance usage level to use when making candles with EzSoy wax, is a 6% usage rate per pound of wax.For this "Christmas" theme, I chose two of our best selling "Spiced Cranberry" and
our new "Alpine Cheer" fragrances.
our new "Alpine Cheer" fragrances.
It is recommended to allow your wax mixture to cool to about 105°F
before you start pouring, to avoid white "frosting" , and to achieve a smoother surface on your finished candle. I let my wax cool to roughly 140°F, as I was
looking to achieve a bit of frosting on these specific candles.)
Patience is the next step! Allow your candles to completely cool. Do not attempt to remove the Wick Centering Tools before the wax has hardened, as the wick will be likely to fall aside and off-center.
As your candles are cooling over the next couple hours, you can dress up the bubble lids a bit by filling them with some fun items that will go along with the candles. Each lid has a removable plastic fitment, that can be snapped back on once you fill your lid. I used a bit of holiday tinsel garland to add a shimmery Christmas look. They turned out really cute with hardly any effort!
Once your candles have completely cooled, remove the wick centering tools and trim the wicks to roughly 1/4" in height. If you notice a rough frosted look on the surface of your candles, that you were not wanting, a quick run-over with a heat gun clears up that issue rather quickly.
^Before Heat Gun
^Heated up with Heat Gun
After all candles have their wicks trimmed and are just the way you want them, snap the lids on the jars and admire your work! The Santa Jars are the perfect size to fit right in your hand. Not too big and not too small; just a very perfect gift for the Christmas season. :)
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
Please send your requests to info@candlesupply.com.
Happy Candle & Soap Making!
-Elya
