Categories: Crafts & Hobbies

Quick and Easy Giant Candles

People who love candles can spend a fortune on them over a lifetime, but making them yourself can save some money. And, the larger you make them, the longer they’ll burn, saving you even more. Of course, you don’t necessarily have to burn your handmade candles; you can always set them out for display only.

Making giant candles means using giant molds. There are lots of things you can use for molds, like bowls, cardboard boxes, shaped foil and other items from around the house. If you don’t want to ruin good dishes, though, you’ll have to line the molds with foil first.

Take a large plastic bowl from the cupboard. You can either line the bowl with foil, set the wicks, pour the wax and leave the candle in the bowl for display. If you decide to burn the candle, the foil will protect the plastic bowl from melting. Or, you can line the bowl with foil, set the wicks, pour the wax, and after cooling, remove the candle from the bowl. The foil will make it easy to remove the candle from the mold.

The great thing about using the foil is that it makes it very easy to give your candle exterior designs. Simply tape things to the inside of the bowl, cover with the foil, then pour the wax. Depending upon the item, you can have heart shapes, floral shapes, and other designs molded right into the candle. Try various real items or miniature craft objects like anchors, dolphins, candy canes, butterflies, animals, and many other choices. To get the best look for your candle make sure the foil is well-molded around the object before pouring the wax.

Another way to use the giant bowl as a mold is to fill it two-thirds full of sand. Take a large, yet smaller bowl, and push it down into the sand, working it side to side to make a concave area for pouring the wax. Set the wicks and pour the wax. After it’s cool, remove the candle and blow off excess sand. Now you can put your candle on a dinner plate or another candle base. Instead of a bowl you can use large pots for these crafts as well.

A nice block candle is made by using a cardboard box. Tape objects onto the inside of the box, if desired, then line the entire inside of the box with foil. If the box is particularly thick it’s not necessary to line with foil. Just cover the outside corners – all of them – with masking tape to prevent seeping.

Fill a tall square box, or half-gallon cardboard milk container, with large ice chips. Pack as many ice chips, around the wicks, as possible. Pour wax in to fill the container. Allow to cool. Before removing candle from the form, turn upside-down to drain water. Upon removing the candle you’ll notice it’s full of holes, like Swiss cheese. This is a unique candle look and can be made with any size box.

Other things you can use to make huge candles are crock pots, canisters, empty oatmeal containers, mailing boxes or even plastic bins. Line anything that could melt with foil. Use masking tape at the corners when using plain boxes.

Decorate the giant candles by wrapping them in lace and tying a satin ribbon around them, painting the indentations left by the objects you taped into the molds, or by adding things like fabric, piping, glitter or paint. Or, forget the embellishments and just color the candle by making each layer a different shade, using crayons for color. Remember to remove anything flammable, like cloth, before lighting the candles.