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Candle Making Basics

Writer: thebuzzardfarmthebuzzardfarm

Updated: Feb 16, 2022

Candle making can be a really fun hobby but it is also a really great way to learn about different types of waxes, wicks, and what you personally want out of a candle. To me, the perfect candle is a really smelly and really long lasting candle which is why I chose the ingredients I chose when I started selling them on my shop. This is how you can start making them too!



Choose Your Wax

There are so many different types of candle wax. The costs vary by a large degree and so does the quality. In most basic candles you find at the store, the main ingredient is paraffin wax. Paraffin wax, to me, is really just a low quality wax. However, it is great for beginners because it produces great professional looking candles.


Another type of wax that is great for candle making is soy wax. Soy wax is my wax of choice. It is slow burning and scent retaining. However, it can be finicky and difficult to get the exact look you want.


The third type of wax I am going to go over is beeswax. I have worked with beeswax in a lot of different products. I have used it in soaps and lip balms and candles. Beeswax is difficult because it has to be handled properly when melted but other than that, it it great candle wax. However, in my experience, scent retention in beeswax candles is not as great as soy or even paraffin wax.


Choose the Type of Jar and Wick

Wicks and jars can be purchased online or any candle making supply company (such as Brambleberry). There are so many great styles of candle jars and even candle molds to choose from. Wicks come in cotton and wood wicks. Wood wicks have a wonderful crackle to them when burned and give a candle an extremely professional appearance.



There You Have It!


That is all you need to start making candles! Except of course a lot of candle resources and more than likely five or six oven mitts lying around everywhere just in case! If you would like to know more about candle making and step by step processes by each candle, subscribe to our email list. I will be updating not only what I am doing for my candle making journey, but also different candle making techniques I discover along the way!


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The Buzzard Farm is a small, regenerative fiber farm in the Pennsylvanian Appalachian Region. As an aspiring carbon neutral fiber producer, we hope to merge farming and cloth production by means of knitting machines and looms. Our ultimate goal is to produce clothing as a small scale manufacturer, designer, and fiber supplier. By enacting responsible rotational grazing, composting manure to spread on healing lands, we hope to help our planet by greatly improving our overall soil health while keeping our own carbon footprint as small as possible. 

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Fiber farming today is an uphill battle. Competing with fast fashion simply isn't an option. Each garment is made slowly and until we reach our goal of becoming a factory led company made from locally made cloth, we will be taking donations to contribute to our animal husbandry and ongoing slow fashion work.

Joining us on this mission to local sustainable cloth is the Rustbelt fibershed, our local fibershed sector. 30 percent of all donations we receive goes directly to their community involvement.

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