A chunky stained glass candle making tutorial

in fish form

you can do this with pretty much any type or shape of mold. 

the technique would be the same regardless of what type of mold you use  

 choose a metal, plastic or silicone candle mold, or milk carton, cardboard tube..what have you

I started with a few chopped up bits of soy wax

you can use whatever you have on hand, I prefer the ease of cutting soy, but if you have paraffin use it.  

if you're starting with a plain paraffin add some vybar.

 to get this particular look for the candle you want your chunks opaque 

four colors in various shades of blues and teals (ok there's only three there, a lighter blue shade was added later)

this is scrap from wax melts, all mingled together and they smell divine

a mixture of beach daisies, summer sands and coconut milk

fill your mold with your wax bits, don't cram or squish just fill er up to the top of your mold

this particular mold has a little hole in the center that I can easily drop a wick in to

regardless of the type of mold your using, you want to make sure you aren't disturbing the placement of the wick when you add your wax chunks

remember before how I mentioned those wax bits being opaque? 

for your pour wax, you want it translucent, the only wax I know of that has a translucent-ness to it is paraffin

melt it, add a bit of blue dye, 

i'm using two different blues, a lighter one and a dark 

pouring melt point will vary depending on what type of material your mold is.

this mold is silicone, I poured at 190..ish  I like the higher temp, it helps to melt a bit of those chunk pieces, makes the edges softer and bleeds a bit of the color too.

since I only have two hands I couldn't take a proper picture of the next step

so read on

you need to pour both of the colors at the same time. 

yes, that's right dual wield those pour pots

the colors are going to bleed together, but that's the effect you want

now you have to wait

till it hardens

be patient

it'll be ready to de-mold soon

but first 

you want one last pour to make it flat

waiting...waiting....

and done

this style of candle making has a few different names

chunk candles

stained glass candles

crackle candles (although there is a whole different type of crackle candle finish)

call it what you want

the fun part is seeing how unique each candle is when it comes out of the mold

If you make your own candles and want to share your experiences please do,  I love hearing from other candle makers.