How to DIY Non-Toxic Candles for a Cozy Hobbyist

Lets DIY some candles!! I love candles! Love the cozy wisps of candlelight flickering in the jar, the way the scent fills a room and the satisfaction of watching from that first lick of flame on a new wick to the last centimeter of wax dissipating after many uses.

I remember my mom’s love of stopping at YANKEE CANDLE at the mall growing up and still enjoy my future mother-in-law’s excitement of Bath & Body sales from candles to soaps, sprays and washes! 

I had all of this in mind when I decided I needed to DIY my own candles.

How it started?

Like most of my hobbies… It all started with a whim. A brief I wonder if this would be a fun project for me which IMMEDIATELY resulted in a few hours of neck craning, article binging research on my phone while John drove us from Texas back home to Georgia last November. 

Of course, I didn’t need to spend this much time on it (there are COUNTLESS quick and easy TikTok tutorials and whatnot) but I have always been just a little extra! Not only did I want to DIY some candles, but I wanted to make them as clean as possible. 

Now I wouldn’t consider myself particularly crunchy in most areas of my life, but who doesn’t love a little granola on their yogurt? Iykyk!

Gather your materials

This was my material checklist (none of these are currently affiliate links and I will place a disclaimer on affiliate links in the future):

Now for the fun part…

**Cue Captain America Voice**

Candles…. ASSEMBLE!!!

No, but for real… this is fairly simple now that you’ve got the goods!

I started by cleaning all of the glass jars I had ordered and then adding the wicks to the bottom as centered as I could! Using those little candle wick tabs make this easy-peasy BUT I did not do that… just used glued and a prayer!

Melting Your Wax

I used the good ole microwave in order to melt my wax, heating with 30 second increments and stirring in between. You DO NOT need to nuke this wax; it melts fairly quickly and if it is too hot going into your jar it can cause cracking or leave pockets in the candle as it cools. For similar reason, you want to ensure it has been stirred so that the heat is equally distributed.

My method was good for individual candles as I melted exactly what I needed for each candle in one bowl. Not the most scientific methodology for ensuring I had enough wax but basically I measured the room temp wax pellets by filling the jar 1.5 times and melting away!

Adding Oil

In terms of how much oil to use… this I will admit I am still working on in terms of the ratio. My go-to oils for candle-making right now are from P&J Trading. They have themes packs if you want to get only a few to play with. I started with the Nature, Romance and Gentleman’s kits and later bought a Christmas kit (with Mistletoe being the very best scent IMO). I am going to use these up first before buying more… or at least, that is what I am telling myself. As for using essential oils to keep myself calm, cool, collected and focused I have a diffuser from doTERRA https://a.co/d/fMOsKyL.

While my entire apartment smelled divine and I truly thought I would drown in the scent of clove and brown sugared one I lit my first candle. Having used 45 drops of essential oil in an 8oz jar, I noted the fragrance was perfectly satisfying when the candle had cooled just when sniffing BUT I did feel that when it burned the scent was much lighter than I wanted. For the last few I have made I have used 60 or so drops (and yes I count them… it doesn’t take as long as it sounds like it might) and in the future I may get a eye dropper and start measuring oil that way (I will update these ratios as soon as I get it PERFECT).

**Remember: I’m not a professional, I’m a hobbyists!

**It is during this stage that you would need to add color/florals or glitter if that floats your boat!

Fill your jar… carefully!

Leave your filled candle to cool at room temperature (this only takes a few hours but I like to leave mine overnight when I can). To ensure that the wick stays where you’d like (be that centered/off center/sideways… your choice) you can either use a wick stabilizer (I did end us finding some silver ones which sit on top of the jar and hold the wick straight up) OR use tape… a very DIY/hobbyists kind of move!

I’m not gonna lie… I was pretty proud of my scotch-tape-lattice-work for my first few (I had neglected to think about this before I already had one candle filled and no other options) but if you’re reading this… you may want to consider DIYing your candles smarter not harder.

I also highly recommend that you label the bottom of your jars with the scents you are using/your blend in case you fall in love and need to recreate that exact mix again!

My sister just sent me some Spooky Season crafts and among them were spooky candles which I am VERY much looking forward to working on. Let me know your favorite scents/combos or decorative additions to your own DIY.

These Candles make for GREAT gifts; I loved picking out scents for my coworkers and family members this past Christmas! It would also be a great addition to the DIY serving tray project I just posted for Mother’s Day which you can check out here: https://sth.mrn.mybluehost.me/website_fce82976/best-diy-gifts-painted-floral-serving-trays/

Have a beautiful day you little hobbyists!