Easy DIY Holiday Gifts
Usually, my daughter gives her teachers a Christmas card that contains a Barnes and Noble gift card. This year, she was feeling crafty, and wanted to make teacher gifts. We decided to do candles. These holiday mugs from Crate and Barrel were perfect for our project.
I went to AAA Candle Supply for everything we'd need. I purchased a beginners kit with all the materials and directions. This is a huge slab of wax. With 16 ounce mugs, I knew we'd need a lot.
First, we covered the kitchen island with foil. Then, we prepared the mugs. These are adhesive stickers that you put on the bottom of your wick and attach to the inside center of your container.
Our mugs were more than 4 inches in diameter, so we needed to use two wicks.
After the mugs were ready, we measured and melted the wax.
When the wax reaches 160 degrees, it's time to add the fragrance. We chose hazelnut since the containers were coffee mugs. We had placed the mugs on a cookie sheet in the oven on low for 5 minutes to reduce the difference in temperature.
After pouring the wax, some of the wicks were leaning, so we used bendy straws to keep them upright. We left them where we had poured them overnight.
The next morning, we moved them out of the kitchen to keep them out of the way while they cured. This takes 24 hours.
After 24 hours you're supposed to do a test burn. We chose a candle that had the wicks too close together for our test. We cut the wicks to a 1/2 inch. Since we're beginners, we were happy there was no explosion or fire. We kept it lit for several hours to make sure the fragrance worked and it burned properly. We loved the hazelnut fragrance that filled our house.
Have you ever attempted candle making? We thought it was actually fun and easy. With my daughter being only 13, she wasn't allowed to pour melted wax, but there was plenty for her to do that was easy and safe. I won't be surprised if she has the idea to make Valentine candles!
