Candles are very popular items for the home and they are available in many colors, shapes and sizes. There are wax and beeswax candles, soy candles, holiday candles, novelty candles and scented or unscented candles. Hand poured “elume candles” offer beautiful candles with exotic floral scents in numerous shapes and sizes. Scents such as lavender, vanilla, pumpkin, green tea, berry, honey, and citrus are popular, and scented candles are used in aromatherapy where it is believed that certain scents evoke certain moods or behavior. How do they make scented candles?

There are 6 steps used to make scented candles:

1. Melt the Wax
Determine the type of wax for the candle, such as paraffin, soy or beeswax. Determine the amount of wax needed for the candle shape and size. The wax is then melted using a double boiler to produce even heat without burning the wax.

2. Add Scent or Fragrance
Fragrance oils are used to give the candle its scent. Once the wax is melted, fragrance oil is added. Most standard scented candles contain 1/2-1 ounce of fragrance oil per pound of wax. A ?triple scented? candle, a better grade of scented candle that gives off more scent, uses 1 1/2 – 2 ounces of fragrance per pound of wax.

3. Add Color
Color is added by dropping color chips into the liquid. There is a variety of colors available and they can also be combined to make multi-colored or patterned candles.

4. Pour Liquid into a Mold
After the fragrance oil and color has been added, the hot liquid is poured into candle molds which create the shape and size of the candle. The liquid is allowed to cool until it hardens and completely dries. This process can be 12 – 48 hours.

5. Add the Wick
After the liquid is poured into the mold, the wick is added before the wax cools. The wick must be held in place while the wax cools and hardens to ensure proper lighting and burning.

6. Remove from the Mold
When the wax is completely hardened, the wax is removed from the mold and cut into shapes using a special cutter.