candles Archives - Megan Taylor

HOW TO MAKE CANDLES

There is nothing like coming home after a long day at work or after a long walk in the woods to lighting a loads of candles. Then sitting in the living room with the twinkly ambiance with a mug of tea, the biscuit tin and a cosy movie. Absolute perfection. If you are a regular reader you may have noticed I love candles. Check out my latest post on Christmas candles. If you want a cheaper option then I am here to show you how to make your own candles. These candles smell how they should, like natural beeswax, they are super quick to make and if you can bear to give any away then they would make the most special Christmas present.

WHAT YOU NEED

•Sheets of beeswax
•An old candle
•A roll of candle wick

HOW TO MAKE CANDLES

STEP 1

Decide the size of your candle.
Then lay out the wick from one end to the other in the direction that you are going to be rolling it.
Then include about an extra inch to it. Cut off this amount.

STEP 2

Dip about 2 centimetres of the wick in a burning candles melted wax.
The reason you do this is so the candles burns very easily when you first light it.

STEP 3

Lay the wick down the side you are going to roll.
Carefully start to roll the wax around the wick. I found my looked like it was going to crack but that is ok.
The first two rolls you make may look a bit cracked but your fingers will soften this and it will slowly form together.
It is key to make sure these first few rolls are nice and tight.

STEP 4

Continue to roll the whole candle as tightly as possible.
Use the heal of your hand to help create a tight seal.
For a few of mine I rolled them in glitter that I had sprinkled all over my table.

ALL SIZES WELCOME

I loved making lots of different shapes and sizes. Bend and snap your wax in half to make cute stubby candles. Roll from the longest side across to make tall skinny tapered candles. Why not make three identical ones and tie them up with a red velvet ribbon and Christmas bell for the perfect present.

Have you ever made your own candles? If you do it now make sure you let me know and tag me in any pictures x

THE WINTER CANDLES EDIT

Welcome to the land of the dark nights. Why not make them sparkle and twinkle from the inside. Pop a candle or five in each room of your house. I love to light lots of scent free candles (Ikea and Tiger are great for slow burning scentless candles) and only switch on the small lamps rather than the overbearing ceiling lights. I then put a scented candle on in my living room downstairs and another in my bedroom upstairs. I have compiled my favourite scented candles for the winter hermit season. Snuggle up and read ahead…

THE BOYFRIEND FRIENDLY EDIT

There are some things boys and girls disagree on and that can often be which scent they like. These candles are all perfectly unisex as verified by my hubby, Liam. Espa have an incredible range of aromatherapy products and this candle is fabulous, filled with pure essential oils giving a beautiful heady scent of woody notes. Vetiver and Black Spruce by Espa is one of my faves. There is something so elegant about this Charles Farris candle VII Pinetum. Although cinnamon is one of the last ingredients, for me this is why I fell in love with it. This candle is the perfect boyfriend Christmas candle and I bet you that he loves the rough finish to the jar it comes in, it’s incredibly tactile. Willow And Honey have created two gift boxes, one white box and one black box. I must admit the black box is probably a bit more typically male with its moody and deep scents but the white box has verbena in which is always going to be a winner and is one of Liam’s favourite teas so I knew he would like it too, incredibly fresh. I adore the jar and screw top lid of this Björk & Berries candle named White Forest. This candle creates a lovely cosy vibe in your room filling it with pine scents…pretend you are camping but at home with all the luxuries.

THE GIFTING EDIT

These Christmas candles are all perfect for gifting. Shearer Candles are incredibly affordable and have great packaging. They are in a tin pot with a resealable tin lid (I like to use this to put my used match stick on). Gingerbread Man and Mulled Wine are two perfect gifts for teenagers. For the older recipient Neom products are always going to be a big hit. Everything from Neom is displayed beautifully and feel like a special gift. The Neom candle Precious Moment smells beautiful and comes in this stunning box.

THE NEW YEAR EDIT

Even though Christmas is my favourite time of year, there is something so lovely about taking down your tree to help symbolise fresh new beginnings. Gordon Castle have an amazing fresh citrus scented candle which will make you feel like you are burning away any old year dust. Gordon Castle use their own botanicals which they grow in their own garden, thus the apt name, The Herb Garden Candle. Last year I had a lovely Feather & Down pot of bath salts and it was so relaxing and of course filled with lavender. This year I have found out they have a Calming Candle in the same scent. This would be perfect to gift for someone so they can have the candle burning whilst bathing after a long fortnight of partying. Elemental Herbology have a beautiful aromatherapy scented candle called Earth Balance. It is estimated to burn for a good 45 hours!! The top notes are filled beautifully with citrus scents such as mandarin and lemon.

Which candle do you want the most? Do you have a favourite Christmas candle?

RELAX WITH AROMATHERAPY ASSOCIATES

Has anyone else turned their heating on in the evening yet? I am definitely feeling the chill in the air at the moment. As soon as that chill sets in my bath water has begun running. Last month I shared with you my 5 Steps To A Perfect Bath and mentioned that I love pouring relaxing oils in my bath, well I have some new goodies for you to add to your perfect bath beauty collection.

BATH OILS

I am not sure there is anything more relaxing and luxurious in a bath than oils. The scent and the oily water make you feel as if you are in a spa and in a post massage state. I have grown up with my mum who is an aromatherapist so I am a huge advocate of essential oils and really believe in them. This little box of goodies has different bottles for different purposes including relaxation, stress busting and reviving. If you are already in the market for Christmas presents, I would say this would be an incredible present for someone that is normally difficult to buy for. Buy your oil collection here.

CANDLES

I can’t believe I didn’t actually take a shot of the candle but only the box…it is a very pretty box hehe. This is the Aromatherapy Associates Relax candle which smells of Bay and Myrrh. Again, this candle reminds me of a spa. It is quite a strongly scented candle, so even once you blow it out you can expect your house to stay smelling fresh and relaxing for quite a long time. This egg timer you can see in the picture below was sent to me from Aromatherapy Associates and I am strangely in love and rather protective over it. I have looked on their site for a link to it for you but unfortunately I think it was just a press gift which may be a one off? It may sound rather peculiar but on one evening when I couldn’t get to sleep I literally stared at the timer as the sand trickled through and managed to fall asleep within minutes. I feel everyone needs one of them 🙂

What do you do to relax? Do you also love bath oils?