One of the biggest mistakes I make around Christmas is making more work for myself. I love making gifts for my friends and family but get so lost in the idea that what I’m making has to be incredibly elaborate and complicated to be received well.
It’s something I think a lot of my maker friends suffer from too. We think that if something is too simple or “easy” it’s not worth as much as a shop bought present. This is ridiculous. I know that if I buy a machine made, off the shelf candle, very little effort has gone into the making. Whereas if I make it myself (or buy handmade) it’s actually worth so much more. Putting time and effort into a gift makes it way more special! So this year instead of stressing myself out with over the top handmade gifts, I’m going to put together some simple but indulgent starting with these easy DIY scented candle gifts & free printable labels. I’ve made life even easier for you to do the same by creating these free printable labels with corresponding scent recipes.
I’m all about an easy handmade Christmas this year. For more of my favourite supplies to make it all SO MUCH easier click here! So for this tutorial I’ve bought the vessels to fill with the candle wax. I’ve gone for a simple glass votive and a beautiful handmade marbled, ceramic pinch pot which my good friend Katie has made. Unfortunately she has sold out (of course – they are so gorgeous!) of these pots but you can sign up to her mailing list to find out when she has made more over on her website. In the meantime you should totally take a look around and see all her beautiful ceramics!
I’ve paired this up with a shop bought tea light holder. Here are some of my favourites!
Now you have your holders let’s make some candles!
Materials
Candle Votives | Soy Wax | Essential Oils/Candle Fragrance | Wick and Holder | Peg | Pan
(I get a lot of my candle making supplies from Blitsy. They have great scents, wicks and also microwavable wax which makes life a lot easier! Just look under the “general tab” at “Candlemaking”)
Steps
1. Cut the wick much longer than you need it. It will help to hold it stead and you can easily trim later.
2. Thread the the wick holder and holding it close to the end squeeze the sides of the hole together (pliers are useful here), then trim any excess wick from the bottom.
3. Wrap the excess thread from the top of the wick around the peg. Place in the votive and adjust to make sure the holder sits on the bottom with a straight wick.
4. Melt the wax and add in your fragrance. Different oils and fragrances will need different ratios so check on the package for instructions. Scroll down for different recipes!
5. Pour the wax into the votive and center the wick. Leave to cool and harden.
Once the candle is cool print out your labels and adhere onto the side of the candle. I’ve used sticker paper but you can use a strong glue and paper. Here are the downloads and corresponding recipes below:
Lavender 2 parts lavender 3 parts vanilla 1 part sandlewood
Vanilla 2 parts vanilla 1 part orchid
Magnolia 3 parts vanilla 1 part Magnolia
Hi fallfordiy –
I’ve collected everything together to make these lovely candles, but I wondered if you could advise on any type of container that should not be used for candles? Is there anything that’s likely to crack when the candles are lit?
Thanks so much!
Maya.
If you don’t burn them continuously for over 4 hours i’ve found any glass will withstand the heat. I recycle old wine glasses the cheaper the thicker they usual are tea cups lollie jars etc. Just make sure your wick is large enough for your chosen diameter or you’ll get mushrooming in the burning and it’ll leave wax on the sides. Gohe this helps
P.S – once I’ve heard from you, I plan to raid my local charity shops for vessels :)
HAHA! Perfect ;) I’ve used glass containers that are made for holding candles. That way I know the glass is strong enough to handle the heat. Also clay pots that have been fired (most containers you will probably find in the charity shops) will be fine with the heat. Avoid plastic or thin glass and probably most metals as they might be dangerous when they get hot! Good luck on your charity raid :D
So lovely and elegant! I love the Magnolia scent, too!
I’m making soy candles for friends this year after I found a ‘christmas’ essential oils scent in Hobbycraft. I absolutely love getting candles and I think one can never have enough!
OMG, I’m literally so in love with this page <3. It shows the dedication and patience you have to make all this beautiful things so, congratulations! :)
I also fell in love with the font you use to write "Vanilla, lavender.." could you please tell me how is it called? Thx u a lot hun :)
Hey Francisco! Thank you :D I actually hand wrote the labels so I’m afraid it’s not a font. Perhaps I should make it into one :)
oh yas, you should definitely do it! Your hand writing is amazing! :) xo
Hi there,
Can’t wait to try this along with other fun scents I’ll try. Quick question, what font is that? Thanks for sharing!! :)
Thank you so much for the article. Your candles look so beautiful! I look forward to using this recipe. I couldn’t find the candle label template though. Sorry to bother you about this, but could you help point me in the right direction? The labels are so beautiful and I’d like to use them for Christmas coming up. Happy Holidays and a million thank yous.
Hey Dawn,
I’m so sorry about that! The links changed when we moved host. Click the links above each individual recipe for the labels.
Thanks,
Fran
Hi Fran,
I love your candle labels. Do you mind if I ask what you used to create the labels? I love the idea. Did you use canva.com or something like that?
Thanks,
Theresa
I’m also really curious of the other fonts you used. I am looking at making labels like yours. They’re gorgeous. I appreciate your feedback.
Hey Theresa! Thank you! I made these using Adobe illustrator and my own hand lettering. So they’re not a font. But I imagine you could make something similar in Canva. There are a lot of free fonts around! Try searching on Pinterest x
Thank you. Are the bottom two fonts handwritten too? I really love your label. Can one pay you for creating those?
What kind of wicks do you use I got one from hobby lobby but my candles wont burn for more than about 5 mins
Hallo, can you recommend somewhere else to get candle making supplies other than Blitsy? They aren’t taking online orders and I wanted to start making candles as a hobby.
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What a wonderful candle this is. I try to buy it and I simply loved it.