DIY Soy Candles for Holiday Gifts

Yes! A candle tutorial! Including what to Absolutely not do....I bet you can't wait to hear about it. 

Between a combination of jewelry, lip balm, and candles ... I think I almost have all of the gifts ready for my lady friends and family. Almost! 

Starting off with the lip balm (and having it come out so well) definitely gave me the false sense of "I CAN DO ANYTHING!!!*insert evil laughter*"

Let's just say someone didn't do their homework. Womppp womppp.

So here's what happened.

I took a few mason jars out of the garage (left over from my wedding decorations) and gave them a good wash. I don't have a working scale at the moment, so I thought I would be smart and fill the jars with the soy wax flakes to figure out how much wax I would need. This actually works pretty well. Basically, I filled a mason jar 2.5 times for 1 candle.

I filled my wax melting pot (that I got off amazon for super cheap) with the wax and turned the stove top to low. After about 10-20 minutes of continuous stirring, the wax was completely melted. I added the fragrance oil (about 1  ounce/per pound) to the mixture and stirred. This is where I made the mistake......

Almost immediately after I added the fragrance oil and stirred, I poured the wax into the jar. 

The next morning, I woke up to discover that my candle had a large catacomb(minus the skulls)at the top of it. Not understanding how this could have happened, I immediately looked to my right to see my suspicious cat staring back at me. No, it wasn't the cat....it was my mistake after all..but that didn't keep me from giving my cat the stink eye for the rest of the day. 

So, I searched and searched online to find out why oh why my candle had caved in and looked like someone had jabbed it with a butcher knife 100 times over. 

Here's what I found out:

After adding the fragrance oil, you are supposed to turn off the stove top, and stir (I stirred for about 1-2 minutes). Once the fragrance oil is well mixed in, and you have helped cool the wax, THEN you pour it into the jar. Who knew! Apparently Soy wax contracts as it cools. The lip balm also contracts, but it cools so quickly that you have to pour it almost immediately after you remove it from the stove top. So, in my attempt to be clever, I missed out on some vital chemistry with candle making. I learned my lesson, and I haven't had a "caved in" candle since..in fact, the tops of the candles have been perfectly smooth... I like to think that it's because of the dancing to Frank Sinatra I did while making the last batch.

I believe my cat has almost forgiven me for the accusation, and I will be sure to pick up an extra cat toy for his stocking.

The scoop on wooden wicks:

I got these really neat wicks that crackle when you burn them. They give off a light scent of wood that I really like. Here's where I got them.



Here's a few more pictures.

I had lots of fun making these, even with the cave-in issue.

Cheers,


Rachel

DIY Lip Balm for Holiday Gifts

 This year I went all out and decided that I was going to hand make all of our Christmas presents. I did quite a bit of research on how to make lip balms and decided on a list of ingredients I knew I wanted to use. Check out my post on research for more information.

I have to say that this seemed like it could be complicated, but it wasn't at all (probably because I did some research and didn't try to wing it like I usually do...). I really truly enjoyed making this stuff!

There are many sites that I referenced for direction but what it boils down to is....

• 1 Part Oil
• 1 Part Wax
• 2 Parts Butter

So for my test batch I did:

• 1 Teaspoon Jojoba Oil
• 1 Teaspoon Beeswax
• 2 Teaspoons Shea Butter (generous teaspoons)

I also added a few drops of Vitamin E Oil to help the balm last longer (1-2 years) and about 1/3 a Teaspoon of Clover Honey.

 

I added the jojoba oil, beeswax, and shea butter into a pyrex container and placed it in a large pot filled with 2 inches of water. 

I turned the stove top to Low (half way between low and medium to be exact). After about 5 to 6 minutes the butter started to melt...10 minutes later, it was completely melted into the mixture. 

The beeswax took the longest to melt and I ended up turning the stove top to Medium heat 15 minutes in. The mixture was completely melted at 19 minutes. This is when I mixed in the Honey and Vitamin E. 

I very quickly removed the pyrex and began to fill my little containers that I had setup up next to the stove. I placed a paper towel under the tubes just in case I got a little crazy while pouring it.

 Next time, I will add the Honey in with the mixture at the very beginning and add the Vitamin E Oil in right before the wax is completely melted. I say this because...1 The Oil didn't seem to mix in as well as I had hoped and 2 The honey mostly ended up in the last pot that I filled.

This recipe size made 4 tubes and 1 tin.

Taste and Texture

The balm came out great! It was silky smooth and soft with a nice bit of honey after taste...not enough to make you want to eat the balm. 

My husband enjoyed the balm also but commented that he thought it might be a little too "shiny" for guys to use. So next time I will add a tad bit more wax and butter to make it less "shiny" for the guys.

Soon I will be adding flavors and mixing the ingredients with different butters and oils to come up with something unique. 

I totally recommend doing this. Making your own lip balm is a great way to keep all of those nasty chemicals out of your body.   It saves money, makes for great gifts, and is a lot of fun. If you don't feel like making it yourself, you can buy homemade lip balms on Etsy or at your local farmer's market...but I do hope you try it!

Here is a list of a few sites that I found helpful:

Bramble Berry :Where I got my wax, butter, tubes and tins, and vitamin e (not to mention their great tips and tricks)

Amazon : Where I got my jojoba oil

Rustic Escentuals: Where I got my flavor oils (also great tips and tricks)

Cheers!

Rachel


UPDATE: I've been messing around with the texture of the balm and I have found that to make up for adding the vitamin E oil and honey, you need to add more wax and butter. the first batch became grainy after a few days, but melts as soon as it meets your lips.

I've been doing 1 part wax, 1 part oil, 3 parts butter.

Christmas Gift Idea : Homemade Lip Balm Research

It's that time of the year again and I'm very excited. In fact, I already have the christmas tree up and the stockings! After pondering for many days, I determined that due to my obsession with Etsy and Pinterest, that I would be making handmade gifts this year. 

Something that I have yet to write about is my etsy store that I started up in July. So far I have just done a few projects making zipper pouches and making wire wrapped jewelry...not many sales, but I am having a lot of fun doing it, and I think that that is all that matters. So of course for presents, I will be making pouches with personalized (probably monogrammed) jewelry inside...and homemade lip balm and soy candles. I've been researching some different techniques for making the homemade lip balm and decided on the following ingredients.


Rachel's Homemade Lip Balm:

Beeswax
Jojoba Oil
Shea Butter
Vanilla, Lavender Vanilla, Butter Toffee, Chai Tea (for flavor-must be edible(non-alcohol based, non-water based)
Vitamin E (to prolong the age of the balm)
Empty Balm Containers

There are many different options for lip balm ingredients, and the main thing to remember is that you always need a wax, an oil, and a butter. I did find it a bit confusing, but some sites refer to oils as "flavor oils" but they are not actually flavored, they are just scented. So if you are planning on making some lip balm, I would just keep this in mind. Also, the extracts that I have collected for this project are food grade. You can't use most essential oils unless they specifically say that they are edible. I would be very careful when shopping around for scents and flavors, especially if you are planning on selling the end product. Oh and if you do want to sell it, there are a few things you need to do legally to protect yourself and the consumers.

I also did some research on methods of preserving. If you want to prolong the life of the balm for 1 to 2 years, you need to find a nice anti-oxidant. Jojoba oil is naturally good at repelling oxidation. Grapefruit oil and Grape seed oil also have similar properties but may not be FDA approved. I would definitely do your research and shop around for the right ingredients.

So, I actually found that Amazon had a large amount of the items that I needed and they had them for a fair price, but I also found that Bramble Berry had everything I needed and they had helpful tips and tricks also. They were very affordable. 

So this week I will be experimenting with the right amount of each ingredient. I've read several posts from various sites stating that melting beeswax and shea butter can be difficult and the results can be "grainy". I plan on posting my discoveries (and hopefully good results) this week!

Cheers,


Rachel