Candles Without Virtue

One of my hobbies is candlemaking.  A few years back, I bought a kit that included the wax, molds, coloring blocks, a scent block, wicks and instructions.  I was amazed at how easy it was.  I was also amazed at how relaxing it was.

You see, candlemaking requires patience.  There are very few ways to shortcut candlemaking.  You must wait until the wax is melted and to a suitable pouring temperature.  You must wait until the wax has started to set before inserting the wick (otherwise it just floats around).  You must wait until the wax has hardened and shrunk around the wick before making a second pour.  And you MUST wait until the candle has cooled before removing it from the mold.

Because candlemaking requires so much patience, it is an amazingly effective stress reliever… unless you try to rush it.

If I do no other candlemaking throughout the year, I always make some around Christmas to use as gifts – they’re always appreciated.  Usually, I’ll make one or two batches (5–6 candles per batch) and give them to my mother, mother-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, niece, etc.  Last year, I got started early (it was a stressful holiday season) and made a couple of extra batches.  I used these extras for gifts at work and for service providers such as my dentist.  Like I said, they’re always appreciated and it’s fun to give an unexpected gift like that.

This year, I decided that I was going to give a candle to everyone in my office.  I’ve made several batches, including some container candles, and decided to get a count Wednesday night of how many I needed.  I needed a lot.  I had maybe half of what I needed.

I got ambitious and decided that I was going to try for two batches.  I was starting early and figured it usually takes about an hour to get to the end of a run.  Three problems… 1 – I forgot to factor in that if I start a batch at 9pm and go to bed, they cool overnight.  2 – I was out of wick tabs and wicking.  3 – I was hungry.  The result was that I didn’t get home with the wicking and a full tummy until 8:15 or so.

My ambitious idea was still in full force but now it was causing me stress.  No problem, I like candlemaking, I find it relieves stress (not if you’re trying to rush it, I discovered).  I had already broken up the wax so I fired up the double boiler and waited for it to melt.  Melting done, I added color.

I usually make at least four test drops and let them cool to test color before deciding on the final.  I’m picky about color.  I made 2 drops Wednesday night and called it good.  Add fragrance oil and stir.  Heat water in glass measuring cup so it doesn’t cool the wax, empty and wipe dry with a paper towel.  Pour wax into measuring cup, use spout on measuring cup to fill molds… done.

Pace kitchen for five minutes, checking molds each time you pass by to see if the wax has set enough to insert the wicks.  Decide that “a watched candle never sets” and sit down to watch TV for a few minutes.

Discover that, at least tonight, watching TV is actually more relaxing than candlemaking and forget about candles.  Remember candles suddenly, jump up to find a thick skin of cooled wax on top of candle.  Insert wicks anyway – no time to go back!  Let candles set about 5 minutes while pacing kitchen then place them in the refrigerator to cool quicker.

As the candles were cooling in the fridge, I prepared my second double boiler and started breaking up the wax for my second batch.  All I had to do was clear the molds and I could pour my second batch.  I started the wax melting and checked on my candles.  They looked like they were pretty well into the shrinking stage so I fired up batch 1 for the second pour.

Uh oh, there’s not enough wax in reserve to second-pour all of the candles.  Throw some more in. No, that will affect the color. so? So, it will have two-tone wax. That doesn’t matter!  We have to keep moving, we’ve got a goal to reach! Right! Add wax. It won’t affect the color that much.  Candles back in the fridge for “final” cooling.

I wait for the second batch to melt. [why is it that last little chunk of wax just… won’t… MELT!!!]  Once it’s melted I start fiddling with the color.  It’s amazingly easy to get the color where I want and I throw in the scent.  Second batch is ready to go, I just need to clear the molds.  I pulled them all out of the fridge.  There’s been a little extra shrinkage but it’s not bad.  I squeeze the first cup to loosen the candle and give a little tug on the wick… no movement.  I squeeze and twist some more and I’m sure I have it released so I give another gentle tug… still no movement so I pull a little firmer – and the wick pulls out of the candle about half way.

To the freezer with the lot of you!!

I turned off the heat to the second batch and let the freezer quick-cool the candles for another 20–30 minutes.  I managed to get the candles out of the molds that time but not without causing three of them to fracture.  By this time it was already approaching 11:00.  I re-heated batch two and split it up into a couple of glass measuring cups to cool.  I figured I could pop the wax out of them easily, break it up and melt it later instead of leaving the full block in the double boiler.  By the time it was all over, the two “good” candles had continued to shrink and looked like someone had drilled a hole in them next to the wick… pitiful… frustrating… stressful.

Oh, yes, and in the middle of all of this the dishwasher broke.

I took last night off and will most likely not do anything with the candles tonight, either.  Come bright and early tomorrow morning, however, I will patiently start up again by re-doing most of batch one and I’ll be happy if I get batch two out of the way before I go to bed.