How-to: Rolled Beeswax Candle

Are you intrigued by what you’ve heard about rolled beeswax candles? Want to know more?

Are they really THAT easy to make? (They are.)

Do they really make your house smell like honey? (They do!)

Will you really become addicted to making them? (Yes, you most assuredly will.)

Not only is making rolled beeswax candles one of my favorite craft projects, but it’s also one of my six-year-old daughter’s favorite craft projects, as well. So read on, because we’re both going to show you exactly how to make rolled beeswax candles for yourself, and trust me, if the six-year-old can do it, then so can you.

To start your project, you’ll need to acquire beeswax sheets and candle wicking. For the wicking, buy the type that you can cut to size yourself, because you’ll want to play with all lengths of candles, I bet.

For the beeswax sheets, if you’re lucky you can find some locally, perhaps from a honey farm or a candle supply store. I know you’ll ask, so I’ll go ahead and tell you that I buy my beeswax sheets and candle wicking in bulk from Knorr Beeswax–and no, they don’t pay me to tell you that! To mitigate the harm (and the expense) of shipping, I try to buy all that I think my family will use for the coming year in a single order.

The beeswax sheets will be much larger than you’ll likely need for a single candle, so you’ll want to cut them to size. Although you’ll want to play with sizing as you become more familiar with rolled candlemaking, here are a few of my favorite sizes that work well within the standard sizes of the large sheets:

• regular candle=8″x8″ sheet
• short candle=4″x8″ sheet
• tapered candle=three 8″x8″ sheets, cut in half along the diagonal
• birthday candle=2″x2″ sheet

Save every bit of beeswax that you trim off of your sheets, because later I’ll tell you how to use even tiny bits to decorate your candles.

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