When The Lights Go Out Make Your Own Candles

Hello Fellow Galaxians,

How many times have you been without light when there's no electricity for an extended period of time. When we lived in Atlanta, we endured an ice storm that lasted for a week. Roads were sheets of ice and power lines were down. There was no help in site. Although we had a generator and flashlights, batteries wore down after time.

I consider candles an important staple on our homestead. I pick up used candles, even ugly ones, at yard sales and second-hand shops for pennies on the dollar.

However, if you find yourself without candles . . . just make some with items laying around your house.

So, here's how you do it. . .

First, there are so many ways to make candles and everyone has a different opinion. Candle hobbyists will spend a lot of money on supplies to produce beautiful, sweet smelling, high quality candles. Sure, I would like to have that . . . but my bank account doesn't allow me this option.

A lard candle is easy to make and will burn as well as a wax candle, provided it is housed in a glass or metal container. To make lard candles, we recycle our small glass jars that are normally thrown away. Just clean them out, add a wick and fill with melted lard. Add a couple drops of peppermint or lemon extract and within ten-minutes, you have a candle that cost you almost nothing.





You can also make your own candle wicks from wax and string.

Yes, candlewicks are available at all the hobby stores or on line, but it feels great to make them yourself. It is a fairly easy procedure of melting wax and dipping the cotton string into the liquefied wax. Use a wooden skewer to push the string around in the wax. Once sufficient wax has coated the string, remove the wick and place it on some wax paper. Let cool and your finished.

Items Needed
Cotton string or Mop Head
Pyrex Glass Dish and  a Wooden Skewer
2-Tablespoon of Salt
6-Tablespoons of Borax
2-Cups of Water
Scissors and Tape
Flat Metal Washer

Step by Step
1—Remember to cut the strings longer then you need, so you have extra room for knots. Start with 3-strings of equal length and tie one end together. To make it easier tape it to a flat surface and begin your braiding. Tie the other end to keep it from unraveling. Repeat and make several braided wicks.



2—Mix 2 tablespoons of salt, 6-tablespoons of borax and 2-cups of water. Then soak the braided cotton strings in the salt mixture overnight or for 24-hours. Hang the wicks up to dry. 



3—When the braided wicks are dry, slowly heat the wax in a Pyrex glass dish floating in a pot with two-inches of water. When the wax has melted, dip the braided strings into wax. Use the wooden skewer to move the wicks around until fully covered in wax.

4— Remove the wicks and let them cool on a piece of wax paper. Once cooled, attach one end of the wick to a flat washer and you are ready to make candles.


Making Lard Candles
Most people have heard of making candles with tallow, which is beef fat, but they haven't tried working with lard. This is a byproduct, which comes from rendering pork fat. While tallow is more popular, lard is easier to come by. So we thought, why not use lard instead of tallow? Sure enough, we found lard to be readily available and fairly cheap at our local grocery store. Another way to make the candles is to use Crisco vegetable shortening. We located an old can hiding in the back of our pantry that has been there for 16-years and when opened, it looked brand new. Wow! Go figure!

Items Needed
Can of Lard or Crisco Vegetable Shortening
Homemade Candle Wicks
Glass jars or Metal Containers
Small Cooking Pot
Two Wooden Skewer and several Small Rubber bands
Flat Metal Washers



Step by Step
1—Place two wooden skewers together and wrap both ends with rubber bands. Pull one end of your candlewick through the two wooden skewers and tie the other end to a washer.



2—Slowly heat the lard or shortening in a pan, stirring, until it is completely melted. All you are doing is melting it into a liquid, so careful not to let it smoke.

3—Lay the wooden skewers across the top of the jar and let the wick dangle,so the washer rests on the bottom of the jar. Pour the lard into the jar, around the wick, ensuring that the wick is centered in the middle.

4—Add a couple drops of sweet smelling extract to the liquid lard. Let the candle rest until the lard solidifies around the candlewick.

Light and enjoy!

So, there you have it. With a little effort, you can make your own candles in a pinch. So get to work and make some candles.

Peace Peeps,

Broke Girl