Some people really like tea light candles as they are inexpensive, small, and are a great home decor item. These are both handy and functional and can be used anywhere around the home, especially the kitchen. Tea lights can be used as gifts, party favors, or even baby shower candles.
Tea light candles lend an aura of mystery and romance when lit in the bedroom or the bathroom. Surprisingly though, the most use it has is in the kitchen especially when cutting onions and garlic. The lit tea light will successfully remove that crying ingredient that comes from cutting onions. When cooking fish, it can also successfully dispense with the fishy odor that can permeate through the house.
Tea lights are sold everywhere and there are lots of choices out there that will satisfy the whimsical needs as well as the more practical ones. There are even some shaped into cartoon characters and animals. The colors are simply delightful and sometimes come glittered and embellished to fit any occasion. However, buying them can also cost a lot even when the cost of making them is really low.
Tea light candles also are a great gift idea and there are a couple of ways to give these as a gift. One does not involve much work, the other takes a little bit of time and patience. One is to simply pack a tea light making kit complete with instructions on how to make one easily in the kitchen. The next way is to make the tea lights in the kitchen and the finished product can be given to the guests and the parents. The choice really depends on the guests’ attitudes toward do it yourself projects. As a friend, the decision can be easily made to give a kit or a finished product.
If the choice is to make the candles then it is pretty simple. Simply go to an arts craft store and get a kit which includes all the materials in candle making. Buy several to reach the number of tea lights needed for the giveaways. Also, get some tea light cups or cups of any shape to hold the candle in. Gloves, tongs, hot pan holder, hot glue gun and apron should complete the preparation.
Choose the flattest surface in the kitchen and begin by melting the wax. Melt on low heat so that the wax doesn’t scorch the pan. If the kit does not include dyes, simply get some crayons and shave off some into the melting wax until the desired color is reached. There are also powdered dyes available for candles as well.
While the wax is melting, prepare on a tray the tea light cups. Set the wick in the center and secure with a hot glue gun. This is important as the wick may move around once the wax is poured and effect would not come out as nice.
Once the waxes are all melted, slowly lift the pot and gently pour into the cups. Use the potholder and make sure to use an apron when doing this. Sometimes there might be splatters and hot wax burns. Do not fill the cups to the brim. Allow the wax to cool by leaving it alone.
After half a day, the candles should be cool enough to handle. If they are cool, embellish the cups with ribbons, glitter dust, decorative clips, etc. Either place in boxes that is similarly decorated or simply give as is.
Showing posts with label candle making. Show all posts
Showing posts with label candle making. Show all posts
Monday, November 1, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Creating and Selling Your Own Candles for Profit
Candle making business is increasing on a large scale as readymade as well as homemade candles are growing in demand. Hence it becomes absolutely essential in this competitive market for manufacturers to come up with creative ideas to develop and present their candles in completely new and attractive packages so that they are irresistible for potential buyers.
Let us look at a few ideas to develop and present candles more innovatively for increased sales:
Use of creative and unique ingredients for candle making:
Using the latest and unique ingredients to manufacture candles as compared to the commonly used materials can be one of the most important selling points. Natural waxes in the form of palm wax, beeswax, soy wax, or vegetable blended waxes, can be used to make candles with exclusive designs like feather and quartz design, including the granite look. Candles can also be sold in a large variety in the form of translucent and multilayered designs.
Different waxes also have different uses. Whipped wax is mainly preferred for using for cake candles. Palm wax combines very well with other waxes to further develop and enhance certain properties of other waxes, thereby being the best choice for making long burning candles. Depending on their pros and cons, one can also make use of blended or non blended waxes.
The burning of every candle is mainly dependent on the wick being used, hence depending on which type of wax is used, the amount of scent used, the color and the size of the candle, one can use either RRD (Round wicks), HTP wicks, LX and CD wicks.
Use of exclusive molds:
Using molds that have very fashionable and unique designs can automatically give your candle a unique and stylish appearance. The candle markets are currently flooded with containers and jar candles because these types of candles are very easy to make. Therefore, every candle maker is faced with the challenge of creating unique designs for their candles so people will want to buy them. This can be done by developing freestanding or pillar candles using a variety of mold techniques, like aluminum molds, polyurethane molds and polycarbonate molds. Having your own unique molds and designs is certainly a nice advantage to have when selling candles.
Presentation Techniques for selling:
No matter how many features your candle has, and no matter how creatively it has been made, if it is not presented in a proper manner to the appropriate audience, it won’t be sell well. Therefore, presentation is as important as the preparation technique. Place the candles on their own decorative stand or display. If you have floating candles, place at least a few of them on display by placing them into a bowl of water. You can have many of the candles prepackaged in boxes for your customers, but if you are selling decorative items then be sure to have a few of them out for your customers to see.
Target a theme, holiday, or occasion:
Sometimes people need candles for specific holidays or events. For example, for weddings, you may need candle wedding favors and other candle decorations for the reception. You can also design wedding placecard holders that have candles on them for elegant weddings.
All of the above mentioned points, particularly if combined together, can lead to increased sales and before you know it, your candles will be selling like crazy.
Let us look at a few ideas to develop and present candles more innovatively for increased sales:
Use of creative and unique ingredients for candle making:
Using the latest and unique ingredients to manufacture candles as compared to the commonly used materials can be one of the most important selling points. Natural waxes in the form of palm wax, beeswax, soy wax, or vegetable blended waxes, can be used to make candles with exclusive designs like feather and quartz design, including the granite look. Candles can also be sold in a large variety in the form of translucent and multilayered designs.
Different waxes also have different uses. Whipped wax is mainly preferred for using for cake candles. Palm wax combines very well with other waxes to further develop and enhance certain properties of other waxes, thereby being the best choice for making long burning candles. Depending on their pros and cons, one can also make use of blended or non blended waxes.
The burning of every candle is mainly dependent on the wick being used, hence depending on which type of wax is used, the amount of scent used, the color and the size of the candle, one can use either RRD (Round wicks), HTP wicks, LX and CD wicks.
Use of exclusive molds:
Using molds that have very fashionable and unique designs can automatically give your candle a unique and stylish appearance. The candle markets are currently flooded with containers and jar candles because these types of candles are very easy to make. Therefore, every candle maker is faced with the challenge of creating unique designs for their candles so people will want to buy them. This can be done by developing freestanding or pillar candles using a variety of mold techniques, like aluminum molds, polyurethane molds and polycarbonate molds. Having your own unique molds and designs is certainly a nice advantage to have when selling candles.
Presentation Techniques for selling:
No matter how many features your candle has, and no matter how creatively it has been made, if it is not presented in a proper manner to the appropriate audience, it won’t be sell well. Therefore, presentation is as important as the preparation technique. Place the candles on their own decorative stand or display. If you have floating candles, place at least a few of them on display by placing them into a bowl of water. You can have many of the candles prepackaged in boxes for your customers, but if you are selling decorative items then be sure to have a few of them out for your customers to see.
Target a theme, holiday, or occasion:
Sometimes people need candles for specific holidays or events. For example, for weddings, you may need candle wedding favors and other candle decorations for the reception. You can also design wedding placecard holders that have candles on them for elegant weddings.
All of the above mentioned points, particularly if combined together, can lead to increased sales and before you know it, your candles will be selling like crazy.
Making Your Own Scented Candles at Home
Scented candles are a great addition to any home but sometimes the candles available are costly or don’t come in the scents you want. Here are some guidelines for making your own scented candles.
Article Body:
Instead of buying the very common looking, readymade candles available in the market, why not make one for you when it is so simple. All you need to do is just follow few steps accordingly and you would have your own exclusively crafted candle. Furthermore, you can also add scented fragrance oils to your candles to give them the aroma you desire.
Paraffin wax is generally favored while manufacturing homemade candles, although you can also try using any other variety of wax available in the market.
Let us begin with the procedure:
• Add water into a pan and bring it to a boil on a low flame. Add the wax in a bowl and then put this bowl into the boiling water. Don’t boil on high or the water in the pan will splash into the wax.
• Once the wax begins melting, insert a thermometer into it. Once the temperature reaches about 170 degrees, transfer the molten wax into another container.
Note: Be careful not to touch the thermometer to the sides of the container because the sides or bottom will be a different temperature than the wax.
• Next will be adding color to your candles to make them prettier. Add some dye chips to the mixture, but start off with just a few. If you add too many at first, the mixture may become too dark and it will be harder to make the color lighter. You can always add more chips later if the color shade is too light.
• To this colored wax, add an aromatic scented oil of your choice, and keep stirring so that it mixes with the wax evenly. Do not put more than half a teaspoon of scented oil as using more than that would hamper your candle from burning properly. Begin to slowly pour the wax mixture into your candle mold. Then put the mold back into the pan with the hot water, which will keep it hot.
• Once the mixture starts to cool, the wax will reduce in size. To maintain your candle size, pour some more melted wax in to compensate. Use the skewer to poke the candle a few times every 10-20 minutes. This will allow air to flow into the candle and also allow it to maintain its shape when it is removed from the mold.
• After at least 4 hours, you can attempt to remove the candle from the mold. However, if it is still sticking, then place the mold in the refrigerator for awhile, which will allow the candle to contract from the mold a little more.
Note: Never place your candles in the freezer because the extreme temperature will cause the candles to crack.
• The final step is inserting the wick into your candle. Using the skewer, poke a hold into the cup of the candle where the wick will be inserted. Be sure to hold it straight so the wick will go into the hole easily. Rotate the skewer a few times to prevent it from getting stuck to the wax. If you have trouble inserting the wick then dip the bottom of the wick just a little into the melted wax, allow it to get a little harder and then try to fix it in the candle. This will make sure that the wick is erect in the end where it has to be trimmed from. Trim the wick as per its length.
Note: Always keep the wick short as it ensures that your candle burns longer without spreading a black smoke.
Your home made scented candle is now ready to be used or you can even sell them for profit as candle wedding favors or even insert them into candle stands attached to wedding placecard holders. Candle making is a fun activity, whether you do it for fun or for profit.
Article Body:
Instead of buying the very common looking, readymade candles available in the market, why not make one for you when it is so simple. All you need to do is just follow few steps accordingly and you would have your own exclusively crafted candle. Furthermore, you can also add scented fragrance oils to your candles to give them the aroma you desire.
Paraffin wax is generally favored while manufacturing homemade candles, although you can also try using any other variety of wax available in the market.
Let us begin with the procedure:
• Add water into a pan and bring it to a boil on a low flame. Add the wax in a bowl and then put this bowl into the boiling water. Don’t boil on high or the water in the pan will splash into the wax.
• Once the wax begins melting, insert a thermometer into it. Once the temperature reaches about 170 degrees, transfer the molten wax into another container.
Note: Be careful not to touch the thermometer to the sides of the container because the sides or bottom will be a different temperature than the wax.
• Next will be adding color to your candles to make them prettier. Add some dye chips to the mixture, but start off with just a few. If you add too many at first, the mixture may become too dark and it will be harder to make the color lighter. You can always add more chips later if the color shade is too light.
• To this colored wax, add an aromatic scented oil of your choice, and keep stirring so that it mixes with the wax evenly. Do not put more than half a teaspoon of scented oil as using more than that would hamper your candle from burning properly. Begin to slowly pour the wax mixture into your candle mold. Then put the mold back into the pan with the hot water, which will keep it hot.
• Once the mixture starts to cool, the wax will reduce in size. To maintain your candle size, pour some more melted wax in to compensate. Use the skewer to poke the candle a few times every 10-20 minutes. This will allow air to flow into the candle and also allow it to maintain its shape when it is removed from the mold.
• After at least 4 hours, you can attempt to remove the candle from the mold. However, if it is still sticking, then place the mold in the refrigerator for awhile, which will allow the candle to contract from the mold a little more.
Note: Never place your candles in the freezer because the extreme temperature will cause the candles to crack.
• The final step is inserting the wick into your candle. Using the skewer, poke a hold into the cup of the candle where the wick will be inserted. Be sure to hold it straight so the wick will go into the hole easily. Rotate the skewer a few times to prevent it from getting stuck to the wax. If you have trouble inserting the wick then dip the bottom of the wick just a little into the melted wax, allow it to get a little harder and then try to fix it in the candle. This will make sure that the wick is erect in the end where it has to be trimmed from. Trim the wick as per its length.
Note: Always keep the wick short as it ensures that your candle burns longer without spreading a black smoke.
Your home made scented candle is now ready to be used or you can even sell them for profit as candle wedding favors or even insert them into candle stands attached to wedding placecard holders. Candle making is a fun activity, whether you do it for fun or for profit.
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