Make your own candles using this pure beeswax candle recipe. These homemade candles leave your air fresh while purifying it from pollen and dust particles.
Considering that synthetic wax candles can be purchased at the store for next to nothing, this certainly isn’t a project that’s done for cost savings. That’s not the point. The point is that there’s something wholesome about it… something grounding… something more valuable than just the candle itself. Bonus: Did you know that beeswax produces a negative charge when it’s burned? And did you know that pollen, dirt, and dust are charged by positive ions? Thus, burning a beeswax candle actually causes these particles to drop out of the air, thus purifying the air? Now you do. Onward to candle making!
Beeswax Candle Recipe
- 3 to 5 pounds 100 percent pure beeswax
- Deep container, such as a metal tin or glass jar
Instructions
- Roughly chop the beeswax into large pieces. Place into your deep container (I use a glass gallon jar).
- Over medium heat, heat a large stockpot full of water.
- Place the deep container into the large stockpot. This creates a double boiler of sorts and allows the beeswax to melt gently in the heat of the water.
- Cut a piece of wick to double your desired length. For example, I usually do 8-inch taper candles, so I cut a 16-inch piece of wick. You will dip both ends of the wick into the beeswax and you can easily hold it up by the middle.
- Once the beeswax is melted, pinch the wick in the middle and let the ends of the wick hang down. Slowly dip the ends into the wax. Then, dip into a bowl of water (this will set the wax). Shake off any excess water and dip once again into the wax. Repeat the water-wax dipping cycle until the candle reaches the desired thickness.
- Cut off the bottom inch of the candle to create a straight bottom. Dip once more for good measure.
- Hang or lay on wax paper to dry. Let set for 24 hours before burning.
There’s just something romantically beautiful about a collection of fresh, homemade beeswax candles lining the kitchen counter. And the smell? Fuggedaboutit. It’s a little piece of air-freshening heaven on earth.
More About Beginning Your Apiary
More from Welcome to the Farm:
- Seed Starting Basics
- The Right Seeds for Your Garden
- Preserve Your Harvest with Canning
- Canned Honey Peaches Recipe
- Roasted Tomato Salsa Recipe
- Vanilla Infused Cherries Recipe
- The Best Pickled Asparagus Recipe
- Butchering Basics
In Welcome to the Farm: How-to Wisdom from The Elliott Homestead, Shaye Elliot teaches readers how they can live a homestead lifestyle without a farm. In this fully illustrated how-to, Elliot shows readers how to harvest their own vegetables, milk a dairy cow, can jams and jellies, and more! This excerpt is from Chapter 6, “Beginning Your Apiary.”
Excerpted with permission from Welcome to the Farm, by Shaye Elliot. Published by Lyons Press, © 2017.
