When a loved-one or any special person celebrates a memorable day of his or her life, gifts would always be at the top of your mind. Gifts may vary from the simple greeting card to the most luxurious car (yes, darling, a porshe for my next birthday). However, the cost is not the most important thing when we are thinking about gifts. As elder people always said, it is the “thought” that counts.Though for most people the tag price of your present may “tickle the spine”, it is beyond denial that a “personal” touch expresses more sincerity for the receiver. Your creativity plus a few tips from us would make that special person feel extra special because of your own custom made gel candles.

1. Prepare the following materials:
   • Ceramic containers like mugs or any fancy-shaped figurine that could hold the candle wax when melted and cooled. Glasses are also great.
   • Gel wax
   • Candle wicks
   • Pencils
   • Pot (for melting wax)
   • Candle scent and color (non alcohol-base)
   • Sharp scissors
2. With the use of a pencil, twine the wick around it but leave some of the wick free that it could reach the bottom part of the candle container. It must be straight down the center of the container.
3. Put the pencil with the twined wick on top of the container; allow the wick to hang down the center of the container. As what the directions tell, melt the wax by cutting them into cubes first to hasten the melting.
4. Add color and scent but make sure that they will not make the wax cloudy.
5. After the melting, pour the gel wax into the container you have prepared. Fill the container but set a limit. Before getting to the next step, make sure that the wax turned gel fully cools down.
6. Check out the wick if it really takes the focal point of the container.
7. Trim the wick to ¼ of its total length.
8. You could tie a ribbon around it or stick a piece of fancy paper with a special message or a mini-picture of the receiver. Give it with the purest sincerity.

As you follow these quick and easy steps, you could unravel both the artist and entrepreneur inside of you. This way of preparing gifts might tickle your resourcefulness and creativity and may lead to long lasting friendship with your special one.

Creative Crafts:How To Make Scented Candles

Easy as it is, making candles only need you to follow a few simple steps and you could craft the decorative candle that you pictured in your mind. There are a lot of ways to make candles: a lot of small adjustments, that allow you to create different and original candles. You could try using simple quick steps from the internet or some more complex methods recommended by your neighbour who is into candle making. Or better yet, find an old book about decorative candle making.

Whatever it is, injecting some dose of your own creative ideas would make a whole lot of difference. What are some tools you could use in making gel candles with your own brand of style?

As you follow the conventional steps of making decorative gel candles, it would add up the fun if you consider the following tips:

• Use other materials that would let you have fun exploring your creativity while adding more elements of style. Non-flammable things like sand, shells, metal charms, beads, marbles, pebbles, glitters, aquarium gravel, artificial jewel or pearls, and the like are among the most attractive things to have in your gel candle.
• Add colors that suit the little things you add with your gel candle. If you want the touch of “beach”, you use aqua blue while you put some shells, aquarium pebbles or gravel and miniature star fish in your candle. You could also match the style you want to customize by mixing beads with glitters but consider color harmony as well.
• Place some of these little objects at the bottom part of the container before freely putting them in the other portions of the container. This would hide the wick tab.
• As you pour gel, add these tiny objects in layers. Take note that you need to place these objects away from the wick. The tip is – the closer these objects to the outside portion of the container, the more “visible” they could be.
• As you make the candles, you should enjoy the fact that you are playing with colors and style. What makes gel candles is that they were created out of pure pleasure and fun. Personalizing these gel candles is another great idea. You could try to use cut-outs of your name.

As you insert your own brand of style, do not forget to work safely and do not risk quality of the product over appearance only. There must be a balance of both.

You could see these things in drinking places, poured with liquor being shared by fun-loving people. This is of course an instant when a single shot glass means a lot. Have you ever wondered about the other benefits of just a shot glass? Well, there is one exciting and very useful innovation with a shot glass, which is using them to make decorative candles. Yes, we call them shot glass candles.
Shot glass candles are really artistic and they could be very useful for the home and whatever place you think you would need them, not as mere light source but as well as having decorative purposes. Shot glass candles are one of the best type of decorative candles.

You could make your own shot glass candles. The steps to make these decorative candles are easy and economical. With these easy steps and with a small sum of money, you would be able to start a good hobby, a good small business and a good polish for your creativity. This is also a means of recycling or re-using old candles.

• Cut old candles into pieces and place these pieces in a container. When you want to use a certain color, you could use uncolored wax for your convenience.
• Place the container into another container of boiling water. Wait until the candle pieces melt.
• When you see that the wax has melted, his is the right time o put some dye for color.
• Prepare your wicks. Cut them as they fit to the shot glasses.
• Place these wicks to the shot glasses.
• Pour the wax into the shot glasses but make sure that it does not submerge the entire length of the wick.
• When the wax has nearly set, you see to it that you adjust the wick to the center of the shot glass. Leave the shot glasses in order for the wax to completely set.

These are so simple steps to follow, make sure also that when you choose shot glasses for candle making, and choose the thicker ones for they are much safer. For wicks, you could tie it around a toothpick before letting it lay in a shot glass. Remember to cut ¼ of it before lighting it up.

The art of making candles has been around since primitive times. Of course, as time went by they become much different in design than what they were back then. In the early days, candles were a necessity for heat and light. Today they serve as decorations (i.e. decorative candles, scented candles), wonderfully smelling mechanisms in our homes, and offer light for romantic dinners and baths.

The first known use of candles is not completely known. The remains of clay candle holders that date back to 4 BC have given us the knowledge that they have been in use for a very long time. Those clay candle holders were found in Egypt.

Candles were also used in ancient times in both China and Japan. These candles were made of wax extracted from insects and seeds. The taper candles of India were made from the wax extracted from boiled cinnamon. Candles are not known to exist in American until 1 AD. It is believed Native American’s burned oily fish and the back of the Cerio tree. When settlers came to New England, they used similar techniques to extract wax from bayberries. Many modern candle makers still use that process to make bayberry candles. However, it is quite expensive to do so.

Tallow was the product used to make candles in the 1600’s and 1700’s. This is a byproduct from animal fat. The product worked well but had a foul odor, especially when it was burning. Bees wax and paraffin wax both were introduced in the early 1800’s, and tallow stopped being used.

The dipping process for taper candles as we know it today began in 13 AD. Traveler merchants went door to door from town to town. While there, they made taper candles for individuals in their homes. Around 15 AD the idea to use molds for various types of candles was introduced in Paris. While this greatly improved the candle making process, there were still issues with getting the candles to burn properly.

Read The History of Candle Making – part 2.

Making decorative candles is fun and relaxing. While it does give you the opportunity to be creative, there are some basic candle making steps you need to follow to make the process flow well. Nothing is more disappointing than discovering your candles didn’t form correctly. Safety is very important in candle making. Most people make decorative candles in their own kitchen. You will want to have a fire extinguisher handy as well as a non slip mat placed in front of your stove. Always wear old clothing and long sleeves. However, make sure your sleeves don’t dangle where they can fall into the hot wax.

Since you will have to get the candle wax very hot to melt completely, there is the risk of severe burns. You also have the risk of starting a fire. It is important to clean up all spilled wax immediately. It won’t take long for it to harden, thus becoming very slippery. The dyes and scents used in candle making can leave stains. However, instead of being afraid, just take needed precautions.

The best way to set up your work area for decorative candle making is to divide it into three specific work stations for preparation, the melting process, and the cooling process. The preparation area does not need to be large, just a flat surface that is well organized. To make the process flow best, use a counter in close proximity to the stove. You will want to keep your utensils, thermometer, additives, and other candle making supplies in this area. It is a good idea to know what types of candles you will be making ahead of time so that you have all the necessary items ready to go.

Your melting work station will likely be the stove. You will need to use a double boiler to melt the wax to a temperature that is hot enough without scorching it. The molecular structure of the wax can be damaged if the direct heat to it is too much. This means your decorative candles won’t form well or hold up well when they are used. Wax comes in sheets or blocks. You will need to chip off chunks to melt. A hammer and flat head screwdriver work well for this.

Chipping wax should be done in the preparation stage so that you can simply add more pieces throughout the melting process. You will want to weigh each piece of wax before you add it to the pot for melting. This will help you determine how much scent and dye to add, which is based on weight.

The cooling station needs to be a flat area such as a countertop or table. The wax needs to cool for several hours so this area needs to be able to withstand high temperatures as well as remain undisturbed for long periods of time. The area should not be directly in the path of sunlight or heating/cooling systems. If it is, the candles will not set properly. If you plan to use molds for your candles, have them set up in the cooling area while the wax is melting. Once it is done melting, you will need to pour it immediately into the molds. To prevent a mess from spills, use an old cookie sheet for the molds to rest on.

The candle making process will run smooth and efficient if you follow these tips for establishing three work stations. While the process should be fun, it is important that you understand the dangers of candle making including burns and fires. Taking the proper safety precautions will help ensure the creation of candles in your home is a great way to spend your time.