I have always loved crafts, just bring able to are things for yourself and being proud of what you have produced. Obe thing I have never done but wanted to us make my own candles. Now I do love candles, I have my reservations about the safety of them, but when you are using them safety and caution, I love them. I love the different colours and smells and looks. Yes you're typical girl here. But just watching a flame flicker will always be somewhat magical...
Okay enough with the soppy stuff. This is a review of the House of Crafts Candle Starter Kit and my first attempt at making candles. Let's go!
I remember always seeing this kits around, especially when I was younger and it look an OK kit to get a feel for making candles. They had other candles kits, but I felt the starter kit was the best place to start for a novice. Only after purchasing did I read the reviews on Amazon. I am still glad I purchased it despite agreeing with some of the negative reviews though.
What do you get inside the box?
Inside the box you get a bag of candle wax flakes, it's probably enough to to make 4 candles with the moulds you get. The moulds are quite tough plastic sort of material and you get a star and a round one. You get two colour dyes, blue and yellow which you can mix together if wanted. You get two bits of dowels which seem to be lollipop sticks. There also a good length of wick which you can use quite a few times and some mould sealer which is reusable. The mould sealer is basically a glorified blue tack.
How I made the Candles.
There are instructions included in the packet which are pretty easy to follow.
NOTE: Make sure you follow all the safety advice and for children, adult supervision will be needed. (The product is not recommended for under 14s on the box).
First I had to coat the inside of the mould in washing up liquid to make it easier for the candle to be released at the end. This was difficult with shape of the moulds given but it makes all the difference at the end.
Next I had to make a small incision in the top of the moulds so that the wick could go through. A lot of reviews weren't happy with this part, and I have to agree. It was difficult to make the incisions, we tried with scissors but reverted to using a knife instead. The mould was quite tough material, however it would crack easily once you have made the hole. I think it would not have been too difficult to either include a tool to make it easier to pierce the mould, or have the moulds come with the holes in the first place. Luckily the mould sealer comes in handy if you make a too big hole or split the mould a little.
Next you have to thread the wick through the mould, using the mould sealer to fix it on the outside and then tie it to the lollipop stick the other. I found this easy for the first one, but difficult for the second one as trying to make the wick tight after tying it on the lollipop stick was fiddly. As with the most of the kit, it was pretty easy but some bits were a bit more fiddly than others.
When melting the wax you can't directly heat the wax itself. I used two saucepans, the larger one filled with water and then a smaller one on top with the wax in. I ended up using half the wax to make two candles, however the instructions don't tell you how much to use which is frustrating and ended up with me having to melt more wax a couple of times to get the amount required for the moulds to be full.
With melting the wax you add in a couple of the chips of dye depending on the shade of colour you want. A tiny amount would make the colour quite bright so you don't need anywhere near as much dye as they give you, but the extra dye I will find uses for in the future.
It was important to keep stiring the wax and once the last bit is melted to take it off the heat. This was the bit I then got stuck on. You have to allow the melted wax to cool a little, but not so much that the wax begins to set. Trying to get the timing right on this I found difficult, a few times I had to heat it back up a little again.
I poured the wax straight from the saucepan into the mould which was probably not the best idea as we lost some wax that way. The box comes with a cardboard stand that the moulds can sit in, I suggest keeping it in the box to prevent getting wax everywhere. Next time I will perhaps pour it into a jug, or maybe purchase a candle making jug that is often used to melt the wax in.
Once the moulds are full I left it to dry for a few hours whilst at work. Sometimes the wax will shrink a bit when cooling so they advice you to top the candle up with a little bit more melted wax.
Getting them out wasn't too difficult, Although when you cut the wick the sticks that the wick in place are pretty much rendered unusable after.
I was happy with the end results, you can dip them in melted wax after to make them a bit less dull and more smooth, but I wasn't as fussed about that.
Next came the lighting test. One of them lit pretty easily but both of them kind of crackled when I first lit them. I don't know if thats okay though. The second one had some trouble lighting, we found it kept going out after a few seconds. But after a few attempts it managed to light back up again. As candles they are simple and good. I would have preferred some scents to add in, but I think the other kits offer that.
Pictures
Pros and Cons
+ Great for starters who don't know much about candle making and want to see if they want to do more candle making in the future.
+ Cost. I got the box for about a tenner on amazon which I was quite happy to pay.
+ You get to make your own Candles :D
- The products in the box could have been a bit better. e.g.: Holes already there for the wicks and a couple more wick rods, because I now have everything apart from them to make another set of candles with.
- Instructions would have been helpful with measurements for how much to melt of the wax.
* It would be good to offer in the future youtube video links via a QR Code to view how to make it*
All in All I am glad I brought the product despite it's flaws. I really enjoyed learning how to make candles and can't wait to try some more. I think I may prefer wicks that already have the metal base and glass jar candles more in the future though as I found do candles in moulds this way was a bit too fiddly.
