It’s great to learn how to make gel candles.  For those that have used them they know they are very easy to light and exquisite to look at.  Another neat thing about gel candles are their burn life.  You get to enjoy them much longer than most other candles.  The thing is they can be a bit pricey so learning how to make gel candles is the best way to make sure you always have a supply.

By making them yourself you also have more options than buying them for example you can choose the scents you want to use.

Some of the items you will need to get started are gels, wicks, fragrances and dyes if you want to add colors.  Of course adding colors is an option you can decide on.  One other thing is make sure you use zinc wicks because you will be utterly disappointed if you try and use traditional cotton wicks.  The people at your local craft store will know what you are looking for.

When learning how to make gel candles you will have to choose suitable containers.  I like the glass ones the best but you do have to make sure they are heat rated.  Lately I have started experimenting using such things as wine glasses and I have had terrific results.  Another cool thing is putting things inside the gel.  You can use almost anything your imagination allows.  I have used coins, marbles and shells so far.  As long as what you put in there doesn’t burn you will be happy with the results.

A hot glue gun is going to be used to place your wick and make it stick.  You want to make a small mark showing you where center is and once the glue is down just hold the wick until it stays in place.  You also want the wick sticking out the top for easier handling.  You can worry about trimming it up later.

Now things get exciting.  You now get to melt the gel.  First of all you need to cut it in short strips.  Now you need to put it in a boiler and use medium heat.  200 degrees farenheit is the optimum temperature you are looking for.  Too cool and the gel will set unevenly, too hot and you lose the gloss.  It really is a good idea to buy a thermometer for this use.  See you are already a few steps into learning how to make gel candles.

You can leave the candles clear or if you are like me you will want to add a little color.  The key is to add the colors very slowly because they will look very different once the start mixing with the gel.  So go ahead and stir the color in slowly.  Now once you take a look if you are happy great, if not add a little more.  Also remember if you plan on putting any objects in the wax you want to keep the colors light.

If you want the candles to have a scent this is the time to do it.  All you need is like a quarter of a teaspoon of scent for each candle.  Isn’t learning how to make gel candles exciting?

The exciting part of learning how to make gel candles has arrived. First you want to reheat the wax in the microwave. This will not only get it hot enough for the embeds and pouring but it will also take out those nasty air bubbles.

So now you have the wax hot so you want to add the embeds. Just let them fall into place and when you pour they will form a pattern of their own.

Its time to hold the wick over the edge and pour the wax. Of course being in liquid form it will just take shape of the container. All thats left now is to move the wick to the centre, trim and wait for the gel to stiffen and then you can enjoy your creation.

Now you know how to make gel candles you can do all kinds of experimenting with different containers, colors, embeds and scents.  The gel candles make great gifts and you can find many books with different ideas on how to make gel candles.