Making fragrance wax melts

If like me you love having fragrance candles around the home then you may like this idea. How about fragrance wax melts?

You may also know them by wax tarts, wax melts, candle tarts, fragrance chips etc they are all basically the same thing. You can of course buy them already made but depending on the make they can be a little expensive so why not make your own.

You can of course buy new wax for this project and I will discuss in a bit the different wax you can use but being Wiccan I prefer to recycle my candle stubs to use for my wax melts I burn and use a LOT of candles! So I think it is better to recycle the small stubs and reuse them.

So in case your not sure what these are let me explain, basically the candle melts are burned in a tea light burner or oil burner again they are the same thing just known by different names! They do not need a wick you simply pop your melt in the oil burner and light a T light candle underneath and as the wax melts you have a lovely fragrance.

Something to remember here is the melts don’t just fill the room they are burning in with fragrance they will fill your whole house with a lovely fragrance! Wonderful and I love having them burn everyday so my home smells lovely all day long.

So then how do you make these you may be wondering read on and soon you too will be making your own candle wax melts.

Items you will need

• left over candle wax
• tin can (any type of tin can the kind from  vegetables or baked beans (if your from the UK!)
• small saucepan
• tart pan or muffin tin or whatever you want for a mould (make sure it is safe and strong enough for hot wax to be poured into ~ safety first please) I find using an old patty tin similar to the kind for making jam tarts is perfect) You can of course also use any of the glass containers from candles you have used and are now empty but maybe allow the wax to cool slightly before pouring into these glass type containers.
• metal tongs to secure the tin
• oven gloves
• essential oils ~ whatever oils you like or maybe choose oils for the different sabbats this way you will have wax melts for special occasions
• cooker
• fire extinguisher (yes I know not everyone has one of these but it really does make sense to have one, if like me you don’t make sure you respect fire safety at all times the last thing we want is any accidents)

Instructions 

1. Make sure the can is clean and dry and make a spout by pressing the sides of the can together together to form a spout. Remember wax is very HOT so you do need a spout in which to pour the hot wax.

2. Fill the tin can with the candle wax. Make sure the wax does not contain labels or pieces of candlewick. You can use a mixture of colours, or just stick to one colour if you have enough available. Add five to ten drops of essential oil You don't want the temp of your wax to be above 175 when you add the fragrance. Anything higher will cause the fragrance to "release" or "burn out" of the wax. Bring temp down to around 150 before pouring into mould. 

3. Fill the saucepan with a few inches of water and place the can in the middle of the saucepan. Bring the water to a slow, simmering boil until the wax melts completely. You may find that the tin can tends to move around in the saucepan, or tries to fall over, so use the tongs to steady. Do NOT leave the cooker unattended during this step for whatever reason.

 

4. Use tongs and oven gloves to remove the can of melted wax from the saucepan. Be careful! The can will be hot and is full of boiling wax.

5. Pour the wax into your mould or patty tin. If you have wax left over, you can let it harden in the tin can and reuse it another time.

6. Let the wax cool completely. For easier removal of the wax candle melts, place whatever tin/mould you used in the freezer for half an hour to loosen the wax. Turn the mould upside down over a flat surface and tap the back of it sharply to release the candle melts. They should fall out quite easily.

7. To use your candle melts, place the wax melt in your oil burner ~ remember to think of the depth and size of your oil burner and it will depend on the size of the melts you made so you may need to break one of the melts in half so it doesn’t overflow and go everywhere ~ wax is a nightmare to clean up after a spill so trial and error is needed until you know how much wax to use inside your oil burner.