Make it Tonight! Glowing Glass Jar Party Lights
by Patricia A. Ziegler

Let these festive glass jar party lights set a magical mood at your next outdoor gathering! They cost very little, last for years, and are so quick and easy to do, you’ll want to make several, all in different colors.

Here’s what you’ll need for each:

empty glass jar

approximately 7 feet of 20-gauge copper or brass wire

short length of 22-gauge wire

screwdriver

electric drill

pliers

large cup hook with long shank

glass stain paints

short, fat candle

approx. 1/2 cup of sand

How to Do It:

Loop the 7-foot length of 20-gauge wire into a circle. Hook the two ends together with pliers.

Bend the wire circle in half with the join centered on one long end.

Place the wire circle over the neck of the jar below the lip, with about three feet extending on either side, and the joined area up against the neck of the jar.

Using the pliers, twist the left-hand loop tight against the neck of the jar.

Insert the cup hook into the drill.

Holding the wire firmly against the neck of the jar, slip the right-hand loop over the cup hook. Pulling the loop taut, run drill at its lowest speed. Allow the wire to twist tightly up to the neck of the jar.

Repeat with left-hand loop.

Bend the two twisted loops straight up above the jar. Take the piece of 22-gauge wire and tie the loops together about 4 inches from the ends.

Use pliers to shape the 4-inch ends into coils, spirals or any interesting shape. See illustration.

Get Creative:

After you’ve assembled several jars, hang them in a convenient spot and color them with the glass stain. You can paint each jar all one shade, or make it fancy with leading and any decorative design of your choosing. Just follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

When the glass stain has thoroughly dried, add about two inches of sand to each jar, and insert the candles.

It’s Party Time!

You’ve hung your jars in their final party location. The sun has finally set! So strike a match, turn ‘em on, and bask in the glow of your festive, flickering party lights!

(NEVER LEAVE A BURNING CANDLE UNATTENDED!)

These are instructions for beginners who have
never made a tealight candle before. There are no chemical additives, added
steps, or advanced candle making techniques in these instructions. Just fun
and simple instructions to get you making your own tealight candles.  You
can have new tealights to enjoy in about 2 hours from start to finish!

 

So gather your supplies, set up your work
area, and follow these simple instructions for making your own tealight candles.

 

What You Will Need - Supplies

       
Container
Candle Wax

       
Tealight
Candle Cups – Aluminum
or Plastic

       
Tealight Wick

o       
Either pre-tabbed
tealight wick or

o       
34-24
Cotton Core Waxed wick and self-centering
wick clips

       
Steamer
Pot or old Sauce Pan to create a double boiler

       
Standard
Size or Small
Size Melting Pot with pour spout

       
Wood
Stir Sticks, chopsticks, or something else
to stir the wax

       
Thermometer

       
Scissors

       
Candle
Fragrance (optional)

       
Color
Dye Chips (optional)

 

Also a good idea to have around:

       
Paper towels

                   
Windex (Window cleaner)

                   
Aluminum Foil

                   
Newspaper, butcher paper, or scrap paper to cover
work surfaces

                   
Fire Extinguisher (just in case)

 

How to Set Up Your Work Area

1. Put down newspaper or butcher paper on
   tables and countertops to catch spills and for easy cleanup.

2. Have paper towels and Windex on hand for
   cleaning stovetops.

3. Wrap stove burner bowls in tin foil to
   catch drips of wax, and for easy cleanup afterwards.

1> 

How to Prep Your Tealight Cups

1. Put out your aluminum
   or clear
   plastic tealight cups on the work surface, make sure it is a FLAT
   LEVEL SURFACE

2. If you are tabbing your own wicks,
   do that now. For instructions of how to tab a wick, visit our section on How
   To Tab A Wick

3. Set the tabbed tealight wicks in the tealight
   cups. Try to get them at center, although during pour they will probably shift
   to one side a little

1>  

Prep your tealights before pouring
the wax

 NOTE:  Some candle
makers prefer to pour the wax first and place the tabbed wick in the tealight
cup right after the wax is poured. The choice is yours. We advocate the pre-placement
of wicks in the tealight cups to reduce the chance of wax overflow and drips
from the tealight cup.

Melting The Candle Wax

You will need either a steamer
pot or deep sauce pan, and you will also need a melting
pot with a pouring spout. These two items create a double boiler
to melt down your wax.

 

A simple double boiler using an old sauce
pan and a meting pot with a spout.

 

Fill the bottom part of your double boiler
(the steamer
pot or the deep sauce pan) with about two inches of cool water, and
place on the burner set to high temperature. Place pieces of wax to be melted
into the melting
pot with a pouring spout, set the melting
pot in a boiling water, and attend to it as the wax liquefies. When
the water begins to boil, turn the heat down to medium low or low.

 

If you have a large block of wax and need
instructions on how to safely break it into smaller pieces, please visit our
section on How To Break Up Wax Blocks

 

When the wax is entirely liquid (i.e., when
there are no solid chunks any longer in the pot) you have successfully melted
the wax.

 

Our 130
degree container candle wax melts at about 130 degrees F. The wax
will continue to grow hotter as it remains in the double boiler. The temperature
of the wax should get to 190 degrees F.

 

Adding Dye

After the wax is entirely melted and at about
190 degrees F, add your candle
dye, if you are using any. Each of our diamond
shaped dye chips colors 1 lb of wax. Use more or less for lighter
or darker colored candles. Drop a dye chip (or part of a dye chip) into the
melted wax, and stir until the wax chip is entirely dissolved.

 

Adding Fragrance

Adding fragrance is the last thing you do
before you pour the candle. This is because the potency of the fragrance can
be reduced if subjected to high heat for too long.

 

After the wax is entirely melted, and after
you have added candle
dye (if you are using candle
dye), add your candle
fragrance, if you are using any. The standard ratio for our candle
fragrance oils is one ounce of fragrance oil per 1 lb of wax. Use
more or less for lighter or heavier scented candles. Add the candle fragrance
to the melted (and colored, if you are making colored candles) wax in the melting
pot, and stir thoroughly to get even distribution of the candle
fragrance.

 

Pouring Your Tealights

Remove the double boiler from the heat source
to allow the wax to cool. For tealights, you may pour at any time after the
wax is melted; no specific wax temperature is required.  My favored method
for tealight candles is to wait to pour until I can just begin to see the wax
solidifying (congealing) on the inside surface of the pour can. This is because
wax expands when it is melted, and the cooler it is when you pour it, the less
the wax will shrink in the tealight cup.

 

You need a spouted
container to pour tealights. You can also use a wood
stirring stick or a chopstick for added pouring control to reduce
dribbles.

There are two methods of making the
first pour for tealights, Method A is to fill the tealight
cup to the rim, and Method B is to fill the tealight
cup ¾ full. The choice is yours. Be sure to save about 20% of your
melted wax for the second pour you will make after the candles set.

    

Setting Tealights

After making the first pour of wax into the
tealight
cups, let the tealights stand undisturbed while the wax shrinks and
they cool completely. It generally takes a tealight anywhere from half an hour
to an hour and a half to cool completely and shrink as much as it is going too.

 
Setting Tealights - As the tealights cool, the wax shrinks creating a depression
in the center around the wick.

2^nd Pour

 

The “second pour” is made after the wax in
the tealight
cups has cooled completely. The reason for making a second pour (pouring
more wax into the mold after the first pour wax has cooled) is that the wax
from the first pour will have shrunk into a sink-hole around the wick. This
is normal, as wax expands when melted and contracts when it cools.

 

To make the second pour, re-heat the remaining
wax and pour it into the depression of the cooled wax in each tealight
cup. Let stand another half hour or so to cool completely.

 

 
The 2^nd pour on tealight candles

 

When the tealight has completely cooled,
that is it! You are finished with your tealight!

    

 About Your Finished Candles – Remember:

       
Never burn a candle unattended

       
To protect wood and other delicate surfaces,
burn your tealights in a tealight
holder

       
Remember to save your used tealight
cups to use again and again!

Gel candles are basically made from a combination of polymer resin and mineral oil. Gel candles make a beautiful gift for friends, family, or for yourself. Gel candles can add a touch of elegance to your home decor. They come in many different shapes, sizes, and scents. Gel candles can be found in fruit jars with labels or gift tags, in fancy glass bowls, wine glasses, and mugs. You can even dress up your gel candle jars with ceramic shades to make them look like a miniature lamp. Many times gel candles come decorated with miniature shapes embedded within them.

A wide variety of scents are available also, from lilac to peanut butter cup. If you enjoy the aroma of fresh baked pies and goodies, then you have to try one of the many gel candles that are shaped and scented like blueberry, apple or strawberry pie or fresh baked cinnamon rolls. You can enjoy the aroma of fresh baked goodies in your kitchen without all the work!

Are you looking for a new hobby? Why not try making your own gel candles? You can purchase everything you need to make your own. There are even kits available which include all of the supplies you will need to design your own candle. These kits include instructions, pre-made gel, wicks, labels, embeds, dye, scents, and jars.

Pre-made gel is sold in three different densities – low, medium, and high grade. The medium grade is the most popular because it allows for more fragrance and is a firm gel that works in most projects. The high grade costs more, but allows for even more fragrance and you can embed heavier objects into the gel candles.

You can be creative and add more character to your gel candles by including embeds. Embeds are shapes made of very hard wax or glass or other non-flammable objects. They can be added to gel candles as you are making them. There are many shapes to choose from, including: fruit slices, candy corn, peppermint candies, dolphins, goldfish, hearts, shells, and many, many more. Add some sparkle to your gel candles by including some glitter.

There are also many colors to choose from to dye the gel. You can use an oil based liquid or peel off slivers from dye blocks. Also, choose from many different fragrance oils to add delicious aromas to your gel candles. Some of the exhilarating scents include: strawberry, sugar plum, red hot cinnamon, root beer, banana, bubble gum, carnation, tulips, lilacs, etc.

So, you can enjoy a wide variety of gel candles and supplies, whether you purchase pre-made candles or would like to create your own.

by

Wendy Yeager
Publisher
http://www.wenmarcorp.com/candles-go2/gel.html