Valentine Embedded Candle Tutorial (Variation)

A great variation to this tutorial is to give the embedded chunks some shape. When you are ready to cut your chunks, instead of using a paring knife to cut squares, use a small cookie cutter and cut the sheet of wax into hearts or other desired shapes.

There is more than one variation you can choose to do. You can fill your mold or container with the heart shapes and pour your final wax over the top. Or you can try another variation, which works great in a container or a molded candle.

After cutting a few heart shapes, set them on a warm pan until they melt slightly. Press the melted side of the heart shape on to the inside of the container. It should cool and hold in place.

When your shapes are all set, pour your final wax. The shapes will appear perfectly on the outer side of the candle. You can change the shapes and colors to make new candle variations. Make gingerbread embedded candles near the Christmas holidays, shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day, bats in your Halloween candles or red and blue stars for Independence Day. You can even mix different shapes together to create one of a
kind designs.

You can also layer the candles. Just use smaller amounts of wax for each color. Do not mix your chunks or shapes. Instead place your first color of chunks or shapes into your mold, partially filling it. Add another color for the next layer and so on. Then pour your final wax.

You also do not have to use white for your final pour. Choose any complementary color. If you layer a candle with different final pours, you would place your first layer of chunks in the mold. Then pour a layer of your desired colored wax over the chunks just covering them. Allow to cool. Add each new layer of chunks and colored wax to achieve a lovely layered embedded candle.

Embedded candles are lots of fun to make. You can also get very creative and design embedded candles with various shapes and color combinations with endless possibilities.

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Embedded Candle Tutorial

One of the things soap makers love about making candles is that many of the techniques used in making candles are similar to those in soap making. If you know how to do one, you can apply it to the other with ease. You can layer soaps and candles, add embedded shapes, mold them, and play with different colors and scents, creating one of a kind products.

This tutorial will walk you through making embedded candles. Much like embedding soaps, you can make unique candles by embedding them with chunks or shapes made from wax. Embedded candles can be made into pillars, votives, and container candles. With a little imagination, you can come up with endless possible color combinations and themes.

Just like embedded soaps, making chunk candles is a multiple step process. The ingredients, tools, and instructions shown below are for a 12 ounce pillar candle, but you can easily adjust for votives or container candles of various sizes and shapes.

Embedded Pillar

Supplies needed:
A shallow pan or baking sheet
12 oz paraffin wax
4 tsp microcrystalline hard
Melting pan or double boiler
Paring knife
12 oz pillar mold (3 oz diameter)
Wick for pillar 3 inches in diameter
Wick seal
Wick holder
1 tbsp stearin
Thermometer
Water bath
2 dye colors
Fragrance oil

The amount of wax you will need depends on the pillar mold selected. If you are not sure how
much wax to use for a particular mold, you can fill the mold with water. Pour the water into a measuring cup. If the mold held 12 oz of water, you will use 12 oz of wax. This method will provide an ample amount of melted wax to fill your mold or container. You then need to determine how chunky you want the candle. For simplicity in this tutorial, we will use 2/3 of the wax to make 2 colors of chunks and 1/3 of the wax for the final pour.

Melt 2 teaspoons of microcrystalline hard and add 4 ounces of paraffin wax in a melting pan or double boiler and bring it to about 190 degrees F. The microcrystalline hard will help prevent the chunks or shapes from melting as you pour your final wax over them. Add one color of dye and fragrance oil. Pour the melted wax into a shallow pan and allow the sheet of wax to cool until it is firm but flexible.

Remove the sheet of wax from the shallow pan and place on a cutting board. You may find that a thin layer of cooking spray may need to be applied to your shallow pan if removing the wax is
difficult. Using your paring knife, cut the sheet of wax into the desired size squares, by cutting strips in from side to side and then from top to bottom.

You can make the chunks uniform or cut them in various sizes. Allow the pieces to completely cool and harden. Repeat the entire process for your second color choice of chunks while the first color of wax cools. Wick your pillar mold, securing the bottom and positioning your wick rod on the top of the mold. Mix your chunks together and then fill the mold with the chunks. You can fill until the molds reach the top or you can overfill your mold so that the top of the candle has unlevel protruding chunks on the top.

Melt the remaining wax with the stearin until it reaches 175 degrees F. The stearin aids in the
removal of the candle from the mold and increases the length of burn time of the candle. If you are making a container candle or a candle in a latex mold, do NOT use stearin. Add your fragrance, but no color. Pour the melted wax into the mold over the chunks. Immediately place the mold in a water bath to prevent the chunks from re-melting. Allow the wax to cool.

Once the candle has cooled, you may need to pierce and top off the center with more wax if
there is a depression. If no depression is present, slide the candle from the mold, trim the wick, and flatten the base. You now have a lovely tri-colored chunk candle.

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