Home Economics: Candle Making

My friend Becky makes the best soy candles.  She has been making them in her kitchen for 9 years, and this year her business, Good Neighbors Candle Company,  has had its best year ever.  We are very happy for her.

In the midst of all her busyness, she kindly and happily said she'd love to teach the girls how to make candles for their Home Ec class!

Yesterday we meet in her busy candle kitchen and the girls made candles.

 The girls got to pick out a scent each and then they could make candles from all four scents.  Rachel, who has helped Becky before, chose a favorite scent Chocolate Hazelnut Cappuccino.  This one is made by mixing hazelnut cappuccino oil with a fudge brownie oil!  Yum!  Sarah chose Ginger Lime (this smells so fresh), Quinn chose Hot Chocolate (you mix the fudge brownie oil with Hot Cocoa oil), and Brooke chose French Vanilla.  Her kitchen smelled great yesterday!


This table shows the big blue wax melter, boxes of jars, the bags of  different size wicks, and bottles of oils and color.

 She buys her wax in 50 pound boxes.  It comes flaked like this which makes it easier to melt.

 Here Becky is talking to Sarah about the Ginger Lime candles she was going to make.  Becky has the bottle of scented oil.  

 This color added to the wax will make a very light green candle when it dries.  To get the darker green for some of the candles the color was nearly black in the measuring cup!

The girls each got to set their wicks.  You hot glue them in and press it down all around on the metal holder.  You then attach a wick holder to keep the wick taut.

Sarah is pouring one of the darker green candles.  See the color difference?

The girls helped Becky make French Vanilla tea lights.  They all got to help set the wicks.

 You pour almost to the top in the first pouring, then give them an hour to cure.  The second pour is small and just fills in any potential holes by the wick and smooths out the top of the candle.

 These are hot chocolate candles.  They will be a light brown when solid.

 This is French Vanilla.  You don't add color to this one, just scent since the soy wax is white already.

We had such a great time yesterday and Becky even feed us lunch!  She loves to teach and loves candle making so she had a great day too!

 Here is one of Rachel's Hazelnut Cappuccino candles.  See how light they turn out?

 Sarah made a few French Vanilla candles

and a few Ginger Lime candles.  

We are all so thankful for this opportunity for the girls.  Don't I have the niftiest friends?  Thank you again, Becky.  You made the girls (and their Mama's) very happy.