I am a big fan of crafty things during long, dark evenings; there's something exciting about them. Candles are very easy and very fun, and completely fit into my category of 'wintery fun' that holds my attention span.
I made some recently, and it was indeed lots of fun. They've been sitting around looking very pretty and I've only just braved some terrible fear that lighting them will break them - and by break I mean I'll have fundamentally made them wrong and they'll explode.
To start with you'll need a local crafty shop, or an eBay account. I chose eBay because I'm impulsive and like to start projects at times when shops are shut. Essentially the main ingredients are wax, wicks, metal tabs, and some sort of metal pot which i'll come to in a minute.
The first important step is to save your yoghurt, smoothie and soup pots. It took me some time to do this, and cluttered up my kitchen. I probably should have washed them immediately but that's one of those blindingly obvious things you're likely to know. Alternatively you can use rubber molds, but I had more fun going down the homemade route.
If you want to colour your candle have a hunt for coloured wax. Internet folk-lore tried to tell me that melting wax crayons would do the job, but they've got a batch of other bits and bobs in them so will just smell out your kitchen if you try it. There's also a wide and strange array of smells available. I chose an acceptable vanilla, a crème brûlée smell although my girlish requirement crept and I also ended up with 'Spring Rain.'
Wicks are meant to be quite hard to choose. I chose a super thin one which I ended up leaving out, and a second 'medium' sized one. Essentially it's best to pick one that matches the width of the candle you're making. It's best to have a look at what size wicks yours candles normally come with for this. The wax is melted in a pot-within-a-pot using boiling water. I acquired a small (35cm ish) metal bucket from a charity shop for this which cost me £1.25. Overall my bits and bobs came to under £10.
Essentially to prepare, grease your pots with vegetable oil. You need to fix your candle to the metal tab that will go at the base of the candle. During candle making the wick will need to be taut, for which I put the tab at the bottom of the yogurt pot and poured a little wax in to hold it and let it cool (don't worry, it's not long). Then wrap the other end around a pencil and balance said pencil across the top of the pot. This ensures it's held still throughout.
For the main part: Fill a pan with boiling water over a hob, put your wax in a smaller metal pan within this, and melt it in this way. Colouring and smells can be added either to the main batch of wax or individually to each pot. I added mine to each individual pot so that i had one of everything. Regardless of which way you do it, you won't need much scent - I used very little and it stank out my kitchen. Colour meanwhile you can judge by eye. Carefully (oven mitts and cautiousness people!) pour the wax into the mould, make sure your wick is straight and tight, and let it cool. I took mine out 24 hours later and it's simply a case of pulling the casing off. Unlike me, you might want to be careful not to bash the tops being too enthusiastic with scissors.
Once you've peeled your candle out it's all finished. Use it on a jolly warm evening or stick it on your mantlepiece and burn it when awkward and grumpy relatives come over - it might lead to life-saving conversations. "What's that smell?" "Er... Spring Rain."