I know this is a tad late but I wanted to share the candles I made for Christmas presents this year. I don’t often craft but I wanted to give myself a challenge this year, not to mention save some money on presents. I got the idea of handmade candles from Pinterest with the intention of finding some really neat tins to make them in. I went to a few antique shops and didn’t have much luck, so instead I bought a bunch of small jam jars and got to work fancying them up.

I cut the lacy bits from some old table runners and doilies that I had lying around and used homemade modge podge to glue them to the otherwise boring jars I bought. The modge podge concoction is simply 1/3 warm water and 2/3 white school glue. I let the pieces dry overnight before pouring in the melted wax.

I have to admit I was pretty paranoid of blowing up my kitchen while I was making these. Mostly thanks to a story my roommate told me about such an incident that happened to her when she was younger, but also thanks to the fairly serious warnings on the package of wax. Here’s a rundown of what I did and the supplies I used:

• 2 packages of cream coloured wax (From Michaels)
• 1 package of wicks with metal feet
• 1 bottle of vanilla scent
• 12 one cup jam jars
• 1 old pot from value village (to make a double boiler)
• Lace
• White glue and a paintbrush
• something to hold the wicks in place while the wax sets (I used clothespins)

Prepare the jars first, cut the lace into strips and glue the pieces to the jars any way you want. Place the jars on some newspaper to catch any dripping glue. Once the jars are dry start melting the wax in a double boiler, I used the old pot I got from the dollar store to melt the wax and then placed the pot in a larger one filled half-way with water. Bring the water to a boil and watch the wax carefully. Once the wax is melted entirely add the scent and if you so desire you can add a crayon to change the colour of your candles. Pour the wax into the jars and set the wicks in place, make sure you reserve some of the wax to top up any candles that harden with bubbles in them. I put my candles out in my sunroom for a few hours and left them to set in the cold.

I am thoroughly happy with the way these turned! Also, it was really touching to see how much the recipients appreciated these handmade presents. Happy crafting!