How to make Easy DIY Soy Wax Candles with thrift store finds

Did you know that you can make a candle with just about anything? You can pretty much use any vessel. Today, I'm using vintage wooden salad bowls, I love these, because they’re similar to the popular dough bowls but for a fraction of the cost, and I love that they remind me of my mom and my sister from the 70's and that I found them at the thrift store for 10 cents each!  

You don’t have to go thrifting though, you can also reuse old candle vessels, or little glass jars like Yoplait Oui yogurt containers or even a coffee or tea cup. I especially love “no spend or dual purpose” containers.


Here are some of the things you’re going to need to make your very own candles: 

• A vessel: For this candle I used a vintage wooden salad bowl that I got at a thrift store for just 10 cents!

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• Wicks: You can wood wicks or traditional chord (I like traditional chords because they’re inexpensive) You could even get a candle wick set with traditional and wood wicks!​

• Something to secure the wicks: I like using these bamboo skewers, but you could also use pencils or chopsticks. 

• Your favorite wax ( I prefer soy wax, and I love that when it’s done you can use it as a moisturizer.) *Wax really shrinks down once it cools, so just be fair warned, this salad bowl three wick candle used about ¾ of a 1 lb bag. 

You can find bags of Soy wax flakes on at your local craft stores and even on Amazon.

• Hot glue gun: Make sure you let it get nice and hot to glue down your candle wicks.

• ​​​​​​​Double Boiler: Or Melting pot. You don't need to have this specific melting pot, but I like this one. 

• Your choice of Fragrance: You can use candle fragrances like these, food grade fragrances and even essential oils. I’ve used them all and they all smell great! You choose!  ​

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A common misconception about making your own candles from home is that once you melt the wax you’ve got to work really quickly to pour it- but I want to let you know that you don’t have to work that fast. I melted this wax and waited about 10 mins before pouring it, and it still worked out great! 

First, you're going to need to clean your vessel, make sure it's free of dirt and dust and previous wax. 

Next, melt your wax in your double boiler, they recommend you pour your wax when candle wax is 136 degrees- I've tried both ways, I've tried it 136 degrees, I've tried it right off the double boiler when it's about 160 degrees... it's worked fine, all this to say- candle making at home is flexible. 

I generally, just eyeball it when I am making DIY Candles- but that’s just me. If you’d like to you can use a candle thermometer.

When the wax is melted pour your fragrance right into the melted wax. You can use a metal stirrer or a wooden stick to mix in the scent. I don’t really measure, for those of you who like recipes, I suggest a few drops per oz, but it really depends on your preference.

If you want a more mild smelling candle, use less, if you want to make a very fragrant candle, use more, but you wouldn't use more than one ounce of fragrance per one pound of wax. The scent always lessons when the wax is hardened. 

Okay, next you’re going to take some hot glue and glue the bottom of your wick, and secure it to the bottom of your vessel.
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Pro tip: Make sure your glue gun is nice and hot! If you don’t your glue won't hold when the wax is poured in and your wicks will float to the top. 

Next, wrap your wick around your wooden skewer, and lay your skewer flat on your vessel.  
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Make sure your wick is nice and straight, before you pour the wax into the vessel.

Pro Tip: If you are using wood wicks, you can use two skewers to sandwich the wick and hold it up straight. 

Now it’s time to pour the wax.  Grab your melted wax with your fragrance of choice mixed in and get ready to pour! It works best if you stand up and get right above your vessel. I love using this large metal pitcher to make sure you have an even pour. 

Pro Tip: SLOW and steady- I recommend standing in one spot and slowly pouring the wax in until you are almost near the top. Pouring slowly helps you not get craters, divots, sinkholes. As the wax dries, it will shrink up a lot, so you want to pour it all the way to the very top! It's gonna sound crazy but when it cools, it shrinks.

The biggest suggestion I can make when making candles at home is that once you pour it- you let it sit. DO NOT move it until it has hardened.  

Now, don't move it and let it cool. Because if you start to move it around that's when you get craters or divots in your candle.

If your candle dries and there's a sinkhole -you don’t have to start over again! Some fill in it with wax, or you can do like the Pros do and use a heat gun like the one pictured down below.
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Pro Tip: Stay away from the wicks because a heat gun can catch the wicks on fire! 

Now it's time for the final touches, after it’s fully cooled, you can cut the wicks shorter, tie with pretty bow and it's all set to go!

I love to make candles for the holidays. This is something that not even just the holidays, new neighbors, it's a great little gift to bring to someone. And you'd be surprised when you start making them just how inexpensive it is. 


So Maria, what do you do with the leftover wax?

It’s unavoidable, you will have some leftover wax- I save it in tins or other vessels I'm not using, but whatever you do- do not pour it down the sink.

If you want to watch me make this awesome candle step by step you can catch the whole video here on Facebook.

Don't forget to share your very own DIY Soy candle creations with us on Facebook and Instagram! 
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Can't wait to see what you'll make!

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Hey Everyone! 

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The purpose of my blogs is to share some great budget friendly DIY's and to share all the tips and tricks that I know with my readers and the viewers of my videos.
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Maria Reed,
Moving With The Military.