Dipped Candles - A&S

Last Thursday, our SCA Arts and Sciences group had our first make and take. We were going to make dipped candles. In theory, easy enough. Melt the wax, add the coloring, cut some lengths of wick, take turns dipping them in the wax. Take home a candle. Maybe even add a couple to the largesse/ prize stores. Yeah.

Wax melting in double boiler contraption. It worked well.

In theory. In practice, the wax we used - soy wax - was not suitable for dipped candles. Evidently it liquifies too quickly or easily and we were not able to get much build-up on our wicks. We tried. We had a line going around the kitchen island dutifully dipping and dipping, but they looked more like those long thin birthday candles.

Dip the wick into the wax, then into the water to cool the wax.

Finally, we found some paper coffee cups, and poured the wax into them to make simple molded candles. It was an interesting experiment, and although we did not get the candles we were trying for, we did end up with candles. And the determination to try it again, with different wax.

So, do I think the make and take was a failure? No! I do not. Quite a few people participated and some even got to take home a candle. We decided we would have to find appropriate candleholders for them before actually burning them or there will be a puddle of burning wax on a surface that should not have a puddle of burning wax on it. We learned, we bonded, we made stuff. Yay!