We turned excess beeswax from drained honey into deliciously sweet honey-smelling candles using a few simple tools! Beeswax can be purchased from stores so even if you don’t have a hive, you can still try these easy homemade candles. What a great way to get the most out of your beehive – delicious candles that use natural ingredients.
You will need:
Beeswax
Coconut oil
A pot to boil the wax and a strainer
Empty jars /containers
Candlewicks
Decorative supplies such as twine
Its easy enough to find any type of glass jar to house you candle in. If ours look familiar, its because they are actually the lids from Moccona coffee jars! They created a wide, shallow candle shape that we could use to place a few wicks in the one jar. There is a plastic seal on the Moccona lids that can easily be removed by levering it up with a screwdriver, leaving you with a perfectly cute and unique candle jar shape!
Because we used beeswax that had come straight from hives (as opposed to bought wax), we had to strain the excess honey out of it once it had melted. Once you have the pure melted wax, add in the coconut oil to the mix. Beeswax is very firm and burns very hot and fast by itself, so the coconut oil helps slow the burning of the candles.
Use a dab of wax on the bottom of the jars to press your trimmed wicks into the base of the jar. This allows the wicks to stand upright without having to tie them to an object above. Carefully pour the wax into the jars until they are nearly full. Allow the wax to set in the pots. The colour will change as they set.
I almost wish they stayed this creamy delish colour! Once they are set, you can decorate your jars using anything you like. We used twine and a string of beads around the edges, and even cut small labels using old laminate samples.
Even though all the honey has been strained out, the beeswax candles still hold the smell – there’s no need to add any extra scents! What do you think? Have you tried making your own beeswax candles at home?
Special thanks to Mum for the making of these candles.
