Have you heard of ice candles?
Ice candles are when you make a candle using ice cubes... so yeah, you pour your hot candle wax over ice cubes. I've had a few people ask me if it works, so I obviously had to give this crafting idea a try. What could possibly go wrong?
The task in hand is too make a candle with ice. So, I decided I would need to pour two lots of wax, firstly over the ice, then secondly to fill the gaps. I have seen ice candles before, but those look mostly like air bubbles and a random matrix of wax. I am not saying they don't look cool, but these candles would melt so rapidly due to all the holes, they are a bit pointless.
Step 1. Melt the wax. For this experiment I have used uncoloured soy candle wax to go over the ice. To melt your wax I recommend using a double boiler on a low heat and continuously stirring the wax(slowly) until fully melted. Find tips about soy wax on my candle making page. Depending on which wax you choose to you, the pouring temperature will vary. I generally prefer to use soy wax for its low melting point and low toxicity. I find it pours well when it's slightly opaque.
Step 2. Fill your candle mould with ICE. Easy.
Step 3. Pour your liquid candle wax over the ice. This is slightly more tricky.
Being that candle wax sets into a solid once cooled, I was aware that I had to make sure the liquid candle wax reached the bottom and sides of the mould before setting on route. With some wiggling and jiggling I feel I managed quite well. Not bad for a first try!
Step 4.
Wait for the ice to melt. This is definitely a longer wait then I anticipated. I assumed that pouring the candle wax would not only cool and set the candle wax, but also begin melting the ice. Apparently, not so much. Once I'd poured the wax, I had to wait for all of the ice to melt before I could pour my second colour of wax. Not going to lie, this was a little bit boring, lol!
Step 5.
Melt the second lot of wax. I melted purple wax for my second pour, as I love purple. It was a much easier second pour, although a bit messy, as I was trying to ensure I filled all of the gaps with my purple candle wax, not leaving lots of bubbles of air inside my candle. Once I poured my purple candle wax, I gave the candle mould a few taps on each side, to knock out any bubbles. Then I left the filled candle mould in the kitchen to set overnight.
Step 6.
Demould. I like to loosen the top edges of the mould then push up from the bottom to pop the candle out. Please excuse the bubbles, as this was a first attempt :)
In conclusion:
Making ice candles is different and does create some interesting patterns in the candles. Overall though, it took a lot longer to make and is probably going to lead to bubbles in candles, which shortens the life of a candle. So if you fancy an interesting crafternoon, Yes. But if you are looking for perfect candles, sadly, No.
Ice candles or not, have a berry adventurous crafternoon :)