DIY Citronella candles

Living in the South, one thing is a given during the warm weather-Mosquitos!  We recently re-built our deck (that post coming soon), and love spending nice evenings sitting outside, but having mosquito repellent is a must!  I use lots of several different options to repel these pesky critters, Citronella candles being one of my favorite.  They smell wonderful, they provide just the right soft light, and they add a homey, decorative touch to our outdoor space. BUT-they can be costly! And, we are on a t-i-g-h-t budget.  So, being the DIYer that I am, I said "I can do that". So, I did. 

What I used:

Soy wax flakes-I bought this 2lb bag at Hobby Lobby, $5 with my coupon. You can also find wax online at Amazon, Bulk Apothecary or any number of sites. 

Tin containers-I bought these at Dollar Tree, love, love, LOVE the color. You can use any container that is heat safe, Mason jars work great too. We have 3 big dogs who like to run and play, and inevitably they knock stuff over, so to be safe I prefer non-breakable containers. And, these were the perfect size and, did I mention I love the color?!?

Soy wax candle wicks w/ tabs-shop around, you can get these at craft stores or online, just make sure you get the right size wick for your container size-the package should have a chart, or the online site should have a chart. 

Essential oils-I used Citronella and lavender, both of which have mosquito repellant properties. You can also use lemongrass, tea tree and other oils for fragrance. Or, if you just want a scented candle, you can use any essential oil with or without pesky critter repelling properties. 

Wax melter-I got mine at Michaels, $10 with coupon, you can also use a double boiler or a metal bowl sitting on top of a small pot of boiling water. I like the wax melter because it has the handy pour spout. 

Wax color chips- I got mine at the Flaming Candle Company

Hot glue gun

Popsicle sticks and rubber bands

I start by putting wax flakes into the melter, I just guesstimated how much I neede-and came up short, but I'll explain that later. Turn the stove on low-mine was set on 3-4 to get the wax melted. You don't want it to get too hot, let it melt slowly, and stir frequently.  While the wax is melting, plug in your hot glue gun, and let it heat up. Keep stirring the wax!  Once your glue gun is ready, put a little on the bottom of your wick tab, and place the tab in the center of your container. Note: my containers are oval shaped, longer than wider.  I decided to use 2 wicks in these, just to be sure they would burn well. Press the wick tab down firmly to the bottom of your container-I used a Popsicle stock to do this. Now, let the glue dry, and go stir the wax some more.  

Once the wax is melted, turn the stove temp down, I turned mine all the way down to the lowest setting and add your wax color chips. I added 2 wax color chips, and stirred them into the wax as they melted, you use as many as you want for your desired color. Note-the color will lighten up as the wax cools. **Sidebar- when I first started trying my hand at making my own candles, I was brave and tried using crayons to color them. While they turned out very pretty, and I love the huge amount of color choices AND they are a super cheap option for coloring candles, I found that the candles did not burn very well. Now, I'm sure there is some chemistry involved here, probably some simple combination of ingredients that I could change. I'm thinking the melt point of the wax in the crayons is too different from the melt point of the soy wax, who knows, I'm no chemist. I'll keep playing around with the concept, but for now I broke down and bought some of the wax color chips**. Then turn the stove off but leave the melter on the eye. I put wax paper on the counter under my containers, you never know when you'll spill some, or some of the tin containers may not be completely sealed all the way around and may leak slightly. I do mean slightly, I found very thin rings of wax under my first ones, so l learned the hard way. It's an easy clean up, but y'all know the saying about an ounce of prevention. 

While the wax is cooling just a bit, you need to secure your wicks to make sure they stay straight when you pour the wax. There are all kinds of ways to do this, include fancy-smancy wick holders. But, I've found the 2 Popsicle sticks and 2 small rubber bands work just fine, plus I already had them on hand, lots of them. So, I'll explain the Popsicle stick/rubber band option. Place a small rubber band around 1 end of 2 Popsicle sticks stacked together. Then, using your finger, separate the 2 sticks and slide over the wick-don't worry about moving the wick, it's glued down, remember?  Move the sticks and wick until you have the wick centered straight, then gently put a second rubber band around the other end of the 2 sticks. If your container is too wide for Popsicle sticks, you can use chop sticks, skewers, silverware, you get the picture. 

This step will take only a few seconds, at least once you get used to it. When you're done, it's time to add the essential oils to the wax. I used 50 drops of Citronella oil, and 25 drops of lavender oil. Why so much, you ask?  It's just me. I like a strong scent. Most folks would say no more than 20 drops citronella and 10 drops lavender.  I march to the beat of my own drum, or as The 6' Wonder likes to say, "you're weird". Stir the scent in, then you're ready to pour your very own citronella candle. Note: keep track of the number of drops of each oil you use, it may come in handy a little later. 

Carefully, slowly, pour the melted wax into your container. Keep an eye on the wick watching for movement. Sometimes, the hot wax will melt the glue and it will come loose. Don't worry if it does, just center it again, stabilize it and let the small amount of wax you've poured already set for a little bit. If you have to do this, I recommend turning the stove back on low and set the melter back on it to keep it melted. If your wick stays in place, continue pouring until you fill the container almost to the top, I leave about a 1/4 inch space at the top of mine. Now, if you short pour, like me, just add some more wax to your melter, let it melt and repeat the stirring, coloring and scenting steps above, see I told ya to keep track of how many drops of the essential oils you used, I learned this the hard way too-notice the pattern? Once the wax melts, just pour it on top of what you've already poured. If I were using glass containers, this option could cause the candle to show lines and look imperfect.  To me, that's no problem, especially since I'm using tin containers. If you're using glass, and want perfection, you'll want to either a) do better than me at measuring the amount of wax you'll need or, b) reheat the original batch of wax with the additional wax so that it's all the same temp when you pour it. 

Now comes the hardest part-just sit back and wait!  These babies need to cool for at least 8 hours, or mine did, but these are fairly large candles. Just wait until the wax isn't soft, the container is cool, and it all looks solid. 

Once cooled, remove the Popsicle sticks, trim the wicks down to about a half inch, and then head out to your deck, patio, veranda, or balcony and enjoy a bug- free, or at least somewhat, evening. 

Night y'all!

ps remember how I said I use several different bug repelling options early in this post?  Well, check back in a few days and I'll show you how I made my own bug spray!