Traditionally, candles are lit to create a special mood and surroundings. This is an indispensable attribute of family or romantic evenings, and the atmosphere in which there is a flame of fire is always cozy and romantic.
In addition to direct use, candles are used as interior decorations. They give it a special personality, and if chosen with taste, then sophistication.
Candle story
Historians believe that the first candles appeared in ancient Egypt, they were made from papyrus, which was previously wetted in fat.
Much later, already in China, Japan and India, wax was used in the production of candles. True, they extracted it from insects and plants. But the most common material for a long time was just fat, which was mercilessly smoked and smelled unpleasant.
In the XVIII century, as a raw material for a candle, a viscous substance was used, which was extracted from the head of a whale, and only in the XIX century paraffin was discovered.
Gel candles
Recently, a gel candle has gained well-deserved popularity. The gel does not hold the shape , but fills it, which is why such a candle differs from the classic paraffin analogue, first of all, with a candlestick. As it can be used small vases, wine glasses and wineglasses. Gel candles are more economical, burn much longer, without smoke and smoking.
And besides, they are amazingly beautiful! Depending on the size of the container, whole decorative compositions can be created inside it , whether it is the seabed or the outlandish garden.
The vessel into which the gel is poured is decorated in various ways:
- artificial flowers, figurines or figurines;
- elements of marine decor, which can be colored sand, shells, pebbles, starfish;
- dried fruit slices, for example, orange or lemon, cinnamon sticks or spices, coffee grains;
- all kinds of beads, beads, glass pebbles;
- sparkles.
A gel candle may be scented.
Do it yourself
You can master the manufacturing process yourself, a master class will help. Gel candles , designed according to the occasion, serve as a wonderful gift. It will be exclusive, as the products are made in a single copy.
For lovers of needlework, making gel candles will be another hobby in the piggy bank or an occasion to spend time with children with benefit. And if you do this seriously, you will have the opportunity to put up their crafts for sale.
Gel-based candle
To begin with, let’s take a look at how to make gel candles with your own hands from the purchased material - a jelly-like transparent environmentally friendly gel made from natural ingredients. You can buy it in specialized stores for creativity.
Manufacturing technology is reduced to heating the gel to a liquid state and filling out the prepared form.
Important points, necessary materials and devices
The gel is very important not to overheat, otherwise it will become cloudy. The melting point is about 60–80 degrees. It is necessary to heat on low heat, it is possible in a water bath - so there are less chances that the gel will burn.
Glassware is best suited as a container for a candle - it should be transparent, clean and wiped dry. A small pattern may be present on the walls. Do not use containers with a narrow neck: firstly, it is difficult to fill the gel there, and secondly, the walls should not be heated by the flame so as not to burst, so the diameter of the neck should be at least 5 cm. Before pouring the gel, it is recommended to cook dishes warm a little - so it does not burst due to the temperature difference.
The wick is easier to get already ready, and it’s better to have a reinforced wick that holds its shape, and you can remove it from a regular candle by carefully cutting paraffin. But if you decide to make gel candles with your own hands, try to make a wick yourself.
Still as materials you need tweezers, heat-resistant dishes for heating the gel.
Dyes are added if there is a desire to master the manufacture of gel candles in different colors. You can use special food colors or color-saturated gel, which dilutes the base during heating.
Decor elements must be selected heat-resistant - they must withstand the temperature of the molten gel.
How to make a wick
For the wick, natural fiber, for example, cotton or linen, is suitable. Original color looks, for example, floss. It is easy to check if it is natural, if you set fire to the tip of the thread. If it burns, the material is suitable, but if it melts, then no.
Next, the threads need to be twisted, and it is important to calculate the thickness. Too thick a wick forms a large flame that will melt the gel around if the candle is small. And thin, respectively, will give a small fire, which will begin to die out.
In order to make gel candles with your own hands, you will need thin threads and tight weaving. Alternatively, you can braid or crochet the chain. But there is no exact recipe. The wick should be soaked in a special solution: 2 tablespoons of table salt and 4 tablespoons of borax are dissolved in warm water with a volume of 1.5 liters. The threads are soaked for 15 minutes and thoroughly dried. Then the wick must be immersed several times in molten wax or paraffin and dried again.
Step one
We fill the prepared containers that will serve as a candlestick, decorative elements. Of course, it all depends on the imagination of the author, but there are a few points to consider:
- it is better to place the "treasures" at the bottom closer to the walls of the vessel, so they are better seen;
- decorative elements can be glued, then they will not come up;
- the distance from the wick to the decor elements should be at least one centimeter.
Second step
If the gel is melted in a water bath, then pour water into a large container with a flat bottom and put on a stove. Already put in it a small vessel in which the gel will heat up. It is very oily to the touch, so we shift it with a spoon so as not to get dirty again. It is necessary to ensure that water does not get into the container, otherwise the gel will deteriorate, and all work will be in vain.
Direct we start gel candle production by heating the base. Stir it with a spoon until all lumps are dissolved, make sure that it does not boil. After the gel has become liquid, gently fill the bottom of the form with a thin trickle until the jewelry is completely covered. Let the gel grab.
Now you need to fix the wick, for this, its end can be tied to a pencil or squeezed between disposable wooden chopsticks for sushi, before they are broken in half. This design must be placed on the upper rim of the tank in the middle.
Third step
The gel cools very quickly, so it needs to be heated again. Aromatic oils other than roses can be added.
Want to learn how to make a gel gel candle? It's time to add the dye, but do not put it too much so that the color does not turn out dark. Fill the second layer of gel. And if it is tinted, you get a two-color candle. Using several dyes, it can be made multi-colored.
Adding color gel to the not yet completely frozen first layer, you can get interesting effects: inject the gel with a medical syringe in the form of balls or move it inside, creating spirals. The form in which the gel candles made by yourself have not yet frozen can be rotated and rotated. This technique allows one color to go into another.
Fourth step
How to make a gel candle with your own hands, inside which decorative elements will “soar”? When the second layer is already non-liquid, but not frozen, it's time to drown plastic beads or fish figures inside to simulate an aquarium.
The gel is hot, and in order not to burn yourself, the decorative elements should be placed or moved with tweezers. If a reinforced wick is used, it should also be installed in a practically frozen gel. After a few hours, cut off the tip of the wick. The candle is ready!
Make the gel yourself
So, we talked about how to make gel candles with our own hands. Craftsman's recipes also contain information on how to prepare the basis for candles by yourself.
This requires gelatin, glycerin and tannin. The last two ingredients can be bought at the pharmacy.
To obtain a colorless gel, 40 ml of water should be added to 10 g of gelatin and left to swell, 50 g of glycerol should be added there. This mixture should be heated over low heat until the ingredients are completely dissolved, but not boiled.
While the first composition is cooling, prepare the second. To do this, mix 20 g of hot glycerin and 4 g of tannin. If the solution is cloudy, you can return the transparency by boiling. Then add one mixture to another and get a gel that can be used to fill candles.
With and without air bubbles
In the process of heating the gel, air bubbles form. You can leave them and even increase their number if you actively stir the gel with a whisk.
How to make a gel
candle without bubbles? It happens that they are not needed, but still appeared. Place the finished candle in a warm oven or on a sunny windowsill - under the influence of heat, excess air will be removed. Preheating the container also prevents the formation of bubbles.
Interesting ideas
Do you want to make unique gel candles with your own hands? Photos showing interesting finds will help with this.
The gel, tinted with a yellow dye and whipped with a whisk, after solidification looks like champagne, especially if you choose a tall wine glass as a candlestick.
And if, in addition to a transparent gel, use white melted paraffin, then you can make a souvenir beer mug.
Place a spruce twig, a few cones in the gel - you get a great Christmas candle. To make it sparkle, mix finely chopped tinsel or rain in a hot gel.
Each candle will differ in originality, because it will be practically impossible to repeat it.