Candle Making Tutorial
Whipped Wax Effect
Discuss these topics on our Message
Boards
Copyright 2003-2004 CandleHelp.com
Whipped wax is used
to put the whipped cream on a mocha candle, the froth on a cola candle, the
foam on a beer candle, the fluff on a snowball candle, the sea spray on an
ocean candle, and the ice cream in a sundae candle. There are a lot of uses for
whipped wax, and we’re going to show you how to create the effect of fluffy,
foamy, whipped wax.
What You Will
Need - Supplies
·
Paraffin
Molding Candle Wax
·
Corn Starch
·
Eggbeater
·
Fork or spatula
·
Steamer
Pot or old Sauce Pan to create a double boiler
·
Standard
Size or Small
Size Melting Pot with pour spout
·
Stainless Steel Bowl
(optional)
·
Wood
Stir Sticks, chopsticks, or something else to stir
the wax
·
Thermometer
·
Candle
Fragrance (optional)
·
Color
Dye Chips (optional)
Also
a good idea to have around:
·
Paper
towels
·
Wax
Remover
·
Aluminum
Foil
·
Newspaper,
butcher paper, or scrap paper to cover work surfaces
·
Fire
Extinguisher (just in case)
How
to Set Up Your Work Area
- Put
down newspaper or butcher paper on tables and countertops to catch spills
and for easy cleanup.
- Have
paper towels and Windex on hand for cleaning stovetops.
- Wrap
stove burner bowls in tin foil to catch drips of wax,
and for easy cleanup afterwards.
Melt the Wax
Fill
the bottom part of your double boiler (the steamer
pot or the deep sauce pan) with about two inches of cool water, and place
on the burner set to high temperature.
A
simple double boiler using an old sauce pan and a meting pot with a spout.
Place
pieces of paraffin
molding candle wax to be melted into the melting
pot with a pouring spout, set the melting
pot in the water, and attend to it as the wax
liquefies. (When the water begins to boil, turn the heat down to medium low or
low.) I recommend using one pound of wax
to start with for this project, as it is an easy volume of wax
to work with, and simplifies the ratios of corn starch, color
dye and fragrance
oil.
If
you have a large block of wax
and need instructions on how to safely break it into smaller pieces, please
visit our section on How To
Break Up Wax Blocks.
When
the wax
is entirely liquid (i.e., when there are no solid chunks any longer in the pot)
you have successfully melted the wax.
Our
139
degree paraffin molding candle wax has a melting point of 139
degrees. After the wax
is melted, heat it to 160
degrees F. When it reaches 160
degrees F, remove the melting
pot from the double boiler. If the wax
heats to over 160
degrees F, remove the melting
pot for the double boiler and let it cool at room temperature until
it reaches 160
degrees F.
Add the Corn
Starch
When your wax
is 160
degrees F, add the corn starch. Use one tablespoon of cornstarch per
pound of melted wax.
Add Color Dye
You can tint your
whipped wax
by adding color
dye to the melted wax.
Start with a little bit of color
dye, using scissors to cut off slivers of the color
dye chip. If you find the color too light, you can always re-melt
the wax
(see Reheat Wax as Needed below for instructions). It is easier to give
your whipped wax
a darker color than it is to lighten the color up if you add too much candle
dye.
Add Fragrance
If you would like
scented whipped wax,
add candle
fragrance oil to your melted wax.
The standard ratio for our candle
fragrance oils is one ounce of fragrance
oil per 1 lb of wax.
Use more or less fragrance
oil for lighter or heavier scented candles. Add the candle
fragrance oil to the melted wax,
and stir
thoroughly to get even distribution of the candle
fragrance throughout the wax.
Whip the Wax
Using your
eggbeater, whip the wax
for several minutes. Whipping the wax
adds air to the wax
as it cools. Use your fork or spatula to scrape wax
off the sides of your whipping container. If you are using your standard
sized melting pot, you may need to transfer the melted wax
into a stainless steal mixing bowl, so that you can wield your eggbeater more
easily.
You will need to
whip the wax
for several minutes, 5 to 10 minutes, in general. It will go from a clear
liquid to a pappier mache consistency, followed by an oat mealy consistency,
and finally a meringue consistency, which is the perfect consistency for applying
to candles.
Apply to
Candle
Scoop a dollop of
whipped wax
from the whipping container using a fork or spatula, and apply it to your
candle. Use the back of your fork or spatula to spread it around, using
“fluffing” and “dabbing” motions to keep the wax
looking light and airy. (If you use a spreading motion, as with frosting on a
cake, the wax
will compress and loose the fluffy whipped look. It will take on a more
cake-frosting-ish texture.)
Reheat Wax as
Needed
Depending on what
you are doing with your whipped wax,
you may notice that it stiffens and hardens before you are done with it. Simply
re-melt the wax
in your double boiler, bringing it to 160
degrees F again before whipping it with the eggbeater. You can
continue to reheat the wax
and whip it again as many times as needed to complete your project. If you are
not satisfied with the effect you have created on a candle, you can usually
pull the whipped wax
off, before it cools completely, and start over with the candle and some fresh
whipped wax
until you achieve the look you are after.
Frothy Drink
The frothy drink
candle is very popular. Soda Pop, Beer, Cappuccino, Hot Chocolate – these are
all drinks that are replicated in candle form using whipped wax.
Many of these are container candles,
using glasses, glass mugs, and fancy teacups as the container. You can also add
the whipped wax
to molded candles, though, as shown in this tutorial. A two
piece mold of a coffee cup was used to create the coffee mug candle,
and the whipped wax
was added to the top of it.
Using a fork or
spatula, scoop a dollop of whipped wax
out of the whipping container and sort of plop it onto the candle. (Remember,
if you spread it the wax
will lose its frothy texture.) Use the back of your fork or spatula to fluff
the whipped wax
and give it a random look.
Continue to pile on
whipped wax
until you have the desired effect.
When you are
finished, leave the candle to cool for an hour or so. The whipped wax
will harden when it is completely cool.
Snowball
To create a
snowball candle, start with a
ball candle. You can buy these, or make them yourself using our Instructions on How to Make
a Ball Candle. Usually the ball
candle used to make snowball candles are white. I’m using a green
one for this tutorial for contrast so you can see what is happening.
Scoop a dollop of
whipped wax
out of the whipping container with a fork. Smear the whipped wax
onto the ball
candle.
Using the back of
the fork, make dabbing motions to spread the whipped wax
over the surface of the ball
candle. The dabbing motions also create the snow-like surface
texture of a snowball.
Continue to add
whipped wax
to the ball
candle, spreading it over surface using dabbing motions with the
back of the fork. Build the whipped wax
surface on the candle until you achieve the desired effect.
Blended
Margarita
Add just a little
bit of candle
dye to your liquid wax
– perhaps a quarter diamond
chip per pound of wax.
Add some fragrance from our Orchard
collection, perhaps coconut, papaya, or lime – whatever flavor of margarita
you prefer.
Whip the wax
as usual. Fork the whipped wax
into a coconut shell cup until the “drink” is spilling over the edges.
(Alternately, you can fill your coconut shell cup with container
wax until it is nearly full, and then add the whipped wax
to the top of the candle. For Instructions on How to Make
a Container Candle from container
candle wax, Click
Here.)
Fluff the whipped wax
on top with the tines of the fork, until you achieve the look of a blended
margarita. Add a drink umbrella or tropical flower if desired.
Sea Spray
Add one diamond
color dye chip in aquamarine per pound of wax
to your melted wax.
Whip as usual. Dab the whipped wax
onto outside edges of your sand candle using the tip of the fork. (For Instructions on How to Make a
Sand Candle, Click Here.)
