Soy Candle Making

Ideas, tips and tricks for making decorative soy candles (plus how-to videos)

Soy candle making can be as easy or as hard as you want to make it. But it's always a lot of fun!

This page shares all the great tips, tricks and resources I've come across in my candle making adventures.

If you're looking for step-by-step instructions for soy candle making read the linked page first, then jump back here for additional soy wax candle information.

Click on the links below to jump straight to each topic, or scroll down the page to browse through them.

Working with Wicks

Reusing Candle Jars

Preventing Candle Shrinkage

Decorating Candles

Making Candle Molds

Candle Making Chat

Okay, let's jump right into the soy candle making tips and tricks...

Tips for working with wicks for soy candles

For making soy container candles, I like using a pre-waxed wick with a metal tab on one end. Then you can just use a little bit of hot glue or wick putty to hold the metal tab in place in the bottom of the jar.
(Sometimes I'm lazy and I just mash it into place with my fingers - it usually sticks reasonably well.)

For small candles like votives, use a clothespin to keep the wick centered at the top of the container.

For larger aromatherapy candle recipes, if you're using a pre-waxed wick (which is slightly stiff) prop the top end of the wick against a pencil or popsicle stick laid across the top of the container to keep it centered.

If you're using a soft wick, tie the wick onto the pencil and lay the pencil over the top of the jar to keep it centered.

To re-use a jar that has already held a candle

If the wax is hard, put the container in the freezer overnight. Next morning, shake out the wax (it will be brittle) and warm the glass up to room temperature.

Scrape out as much of any remaining wax as possible using a spoon wrapped in a rag or paper towel (to avoid scratching the glass.)
Fill the glass with boiling water. Let it soak until the wax floats to the surface. After it cools, skim off the wax with a spoon.
Dump out the water and wash the container in hot, soapy water.

If there's any glue or other sticky gunk on the outside of the container, clean it off using a product like "Goo Gone", which you can usually find in office supply stores.

Preventing Shrinkage in Glass Jar Candles

Sometimes the soy wax can pull away from the sides of your jar and make funny looking blotches on the sides. (This is only a problem if you're using clear glass, of course.)

Photo courtesy of ecram1

One way to help prevent this is to group your candles closely together and wrap them in a towel once the wax is poured. You want to slow down the cooling process, because rapid cooling increases shrinkage.

Using a container such as a cup or frosted glass eliminates the problem entirely - and they still look pretty!

Crafty Ideas for Your Decorative Soy Candles

Here's a quick videa on wrapping the base of your candle with leaves and raffia. A row of them down the center of your table would be beautiful for a dinner party.

Simple, but so elegant!

Here's another wonderful soy candle making idea... My friend gave me a rustic candle holder I just love. She got a birch branch, cut it about 6" tall and drilled a hole in the top just the right size to hold a tea light. Then she tied some raffia around it and tucked in a sprig of plastic berries. It's so pretty, and when it runs out I just put in a new tea light.

The internet is packed with sites with great ideas for decorative soy candles. If you have a favorite candle site or decorating project to recommend, it would be lovely if you'd take a moment to share it. Just type it into the form below to create a web page with your ideas.

making soy candles
Here's another great soy candle making trick. People know I love candles, but they often don't realize that I don't love paraffin wax candles (how could I - they're toxic!) so I've been given some really pretty paraffin candles I'll never burn. So I cut out a tealight-sized hole in the top, and now I tuck soy wax tealight candles inside and burn them. I just replace them when they run out.

Making Your Own Candle Molds

I found this cool Martha Stewart video on making your own candle molds using a silicone mixture, and I thought it was such a great idea I included it here.

Isn't that great? I saw other videos of people making candle molds using tree branches, action figures, turtle statues - I can think of a million neat ideas to try!

If you've done this craft, we'd love to hear about it. I'd be delighted if you'd take a second to share your story in the candle making chat box below.

YOUR Great Candle Tips, Ideas... and Questions

Got a great tip for sure-fire candle making success?

Or... tell us about your candle making disaster!

What about a great candle decorating idea?
(Don't forget to include a picture of your project!)

... Or ask a candle making QUESTION?

Post your tip, project or question and watch as people add their own thoughts, solutions and responses. It's a lot of fun, and everyone will appreciate it!

Enter Your Title - Tip, Project, Story or Question (for example, "My Wick is Drowning in the Wax - Why?")

Click here to see the rest of the form and complete your submission.

What Other Candle Crafters Have Said

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

Sweet Oil vs Almond Oil Can I use sweet oil instead of almond oil in the massage candle recipe?

Candle Making Help - No Scent Throw I've experimented with different amounts of oil, I have a beautiful cold throw, but no hot throw when the candle is lit. Any ideas?

When the wax is ...

Scenting SoyTarts and Melts I am using soy golden blend GW444. I am making tarts/melts. After melting the wax, it cools a bit then I add me FO. The smell fills my home.

I pour ...

Problems Scenting Candle Hello. I am trying to make homemade scented soy candles as gifts. However, I am having a difficult time making the candle smell. I have made test batches ...

Making Soy Candles -- How to Get Rid of Craters After making my batch of soy candles and allowing to cool I was left with what I call small craters at the top of my candles. What tips do you have to ...

Do you use Ecosoya CB135 for your Soywax Container Candles with Esential Oils? I hear it works well with eo's and is gmo free. I love your web site... thank you... you are just what I have been looking for!

I want to make healthy,...

great cold throw, weak to non existent hot throw hi. when i make my soy candles using ecosya cb advanced, i get a great strong cold throw. so strong it can fill a room.

the tarts will fill a house ...

How much fragrance to use in soy wax candle making? Hi there. What is a good percentage so as to smell nice and intense?

Making Decorative Soy Candles I wish to put decorative paper around my soy candle jars - what kind of glue could I use?

Thanks

candle making with bees wax and soy Can you add bees wax to soy and would there be any advantage or disadvantage ???

Using essential oils in homemade soya candles I want to make natural candle with soya wax. I tried making one using essential oil in my candle, but when I burn the candle I cann't smell the EO I added....

Choosing Wicks for Making Lavender Soy Candles Hello,

I've been testing a few types of wicks and none of them are working for me.

My pillars are 3"x3" and my two main problems are the non-shiny ...

Soy Candle Making Help - Wax Stuck to Wicks After pouring the soy candles and after some time cooling, there is a small ring of wax stuck the the wick a millimeter above the candle surface. Any thought ...

Soy Candle Making Help - Cracking Around the Wick Hello,
When my soy candles set, I'm getting a slight crack around the wick.
It doesn't affect the burn but is a cosmetic issue for me.
I am also experiencing ...

Soy Candle issues - Wax mottling (white) and essential oils not fragrant enough Hi There,

I watched the soy candle making movie to ensure I am making my soy candles properly as I am having 2 big issues with my candles:

1) the ...

Soy wax got water in it - could you still use it? My soy wax got water in it... could you still use it?

Help for Aromatherapy Gel Container Candles Hi! Do you have any tips or guidance on working with flashpoints and gel candles with essential oils? I know the combinations are very different due to ...

Massage candle recipe: can I use ecosoy advanced wax? Can I add ecosoy advanced formula in a massage candle?

Massage Candle Recipe: Vanilla, Lavender, Sandalwood Firstly, I love your site and your info on massage candles.

I need assistance in combining vanilla, lavender & sandalwood in a massage candle with the ...

Question About Making Soy Container Candles When I pour a soy container candle, the instructions I follow are identical to yours. Here is my problem. After the poured candle cools for about an ...

Wicks to use when making soy candles with essential oils Hi!

I am making soy candles with both fragrance oils and essential oils. My problem is that the wicks I am using for the essential oil candles let off ...

Making Soy Wax Leather Candles I am just beginning to make candles and I have had several family members request leather candles. I have everything as far as supplies go but do have ...

What temperature to add essential oils to soy wax What temperature should I add essential oils at? I followed my wax instructions as well as used as much as the wax would hold and the cold throw is good,...

Why Don't My Soy Candles Have Enough Scent? Tips on how to use essential oils in soy wax candle making.

make a photo candle or hurricane shell with Soy wax Is it safe to make a photo embedded candle with Soy wax and also is it safe to make a hurricane candle shell with Soy wax. I have researched for hours ...

How Much Essential Oil Do I Use for Making Soy Candles? How much essential oil do I use for 1lb soy wax... Thank you

What are the best essential oils for candles? My candles smell really faint, and I'm wondering if my essential oils are too weak. What are the best essential oils to get the strongest scent?

How to Glue Ribbon onto Candles What type of glue to use to attach a wide ribbon on a soy wax pillar?

What Next?

Click on the links below to view the step-by-step instruction pages with how-to videos, essential oil blends to scent your handmade soy candles, and some ideas for buying soy candle making supplies.

Instructions for Soy Container Candles

Instructions for Scented Soy Pillar Candles

Essential Oils Blends for Soy Wax Scented Candles

Soy Candle Supplies

How to Clean up Wax Spills

Soy Candles Main Page

Aromatherapy Recipes Homepage from Soy Candle Making

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