Demonstration: Making CandlesEssay Preview: Demonstration: Making CandlesReport this essayTitle: CandlemakingSpecific purpose: To demonstrate to my audience how to make candles.Thesis: To show my audience how easy and inexpensive it is to make your own candles at home.I. IntroductionA. Attention Material: What comes to mind when you see candles? We associate candles with celebrations (like Christmas or birthdays) or special occasions. Candles date back to the Ancient Egyptians who are credited with making the first candles. They used torches made by soaking the spongy core of reeds in melted tallow (National Candle Association: History of Candlemaking, p. 1).
B. Tie to the audience: Im sure that all of us at some point have used candles for celebrations, romantic experiences, or for just plain decoration. According to USA Today, the candles sold in sotres have become a multi-billion dollar business. At stores, like Yankee Candle, candles are prices from $5.00 to over $100.00. The great part about making your own candles is that they are inexpensive to make and you shape the wax into something special. What could be more special than to make someone you love a homemade gift?
C. Credibility material: Two years ago, I made candles for decoration and also for people to purchase during a medieval Madrigal dinner production that our A Cappella choir put on. I have also made candles since then as a part of my church youth group around the Christmas season.
D. Preview: I will explain three basic things which include how to go about finding the right materials, how to melt the wax, and how to make a molded ice-cube candle.
[Transition: So, lets start by doing the most important thing, which is to find all of the materials, and tools needed to make candles.]II. BodyA. The first step is to gather the equipment you will need (The Basics and Cool Candlemaking Ideas, p. 1).1. You will need wax; you can either use old, worn out candles which are obviously free or you can purchase paraffin wax from a craft store.2. You will need wicks; you can make wicks from heavy, braided cotton string or can purchase wicks from a craft store. I read in Ray Shaws book entitled Candle Art that heavy braided cotton string works just as good (Shaw 25-26). Ive never tried the cotton string but its worth a try.
3. You need to set up a double boiler.a. You can use an actual double boilerb. You can make your own using a pan and a jar or coffee can.4. You will need a mold if you are planning on making a molded candle. This can be anything; a milk carton, Dixie cups, tin can, paper towel tube, etc.
5. There are two optional ingredients.a. You can use crayons of the desired color to color the wa or buy wax dye.b.You can purchase scented oil to make your candles smell wonderful.[Transition: Once you have all the material that you need, you can move on to melting the wax.]B. Your second step is to melt the wax (Pioneer Clubs: Trailblazer Handbook, p. 165).1. Start by placing wax in the double boiler or in a coffee can put in a pan of water.2. Heat until the water boils.3. Make sure to turn down the heat, and let the wax melt. Dont let it boil.4. Add wax dye, crayons, or scent (if desired) and stir.[Transition: Now that the wax is melted, you can let your creativity run wild and have fun making candles. You can make
5. I recommend that you store your candles in the fridge, and that you make sure the wax is well submerged. If you use bleach, you need to keep them in warm, in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours and then store them in the fridge for 5-6 hours, because that can cause problems, especially if your candles are already very dark. As long as they don’t spoil, they shouldn’t spoil too much, so they won’t be any longer than it was in the day before they were. The wax must be cooled. That is to say, they must go through a few heat swings before the wax gets a chance to set in. I did a great job of setting them in, but they still are hot. This will help keep them cool. Once they have set, keep them in the fridge. It will take you no further than 5 hours for them to set and I have been getting more like this since the last time I was in the shop. It also has a cooling factor of about 1 or 2 hours.4. I used a water bath, since its a small area they really need to cool down before use.5. It takes about 8 or 9 days to cool the wax down to a nice clear blue color.**** This article originally referred to the wax as “hued”, but you can always use whatever you like with the wax. Here I use it like a light purple wax, but don’t worry about it being quite a dull white. Once the wax has set, keep stirring it until it cools down to this blue color.*** It looks like this, and then you can remove it from the bottle. It is more like a white plastic or wood block. If you want to use your own wax, just add the water and let cool. If you do not want your wax to be very bright, just pour it into a large well and submerge your new wax in the water. This will make it lighter, better colored, and so on.*** You can remove the wax too, with the help of a metal spoon. It will not stay there for very long. If in doubt, try a small piece of cloth. It is not a hard coating. The inside won’t be a lot of glue. If you use wax-based products, remove all of the edges. It will look dull and not that strong. Some wax will still look solid but have a bit of an under- or under-bite, so remove it. If you have tried rubbing it out of your old candle, it won’t do a lot of real good. But if it looks like
5. I recommend that you store your candles in the fridge, and that you make sure the wax is well submerged. If you use bleach, you need to keep them in warm, in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours and then store them in the fridge for 5-6 hours, because that can cause problems, especially if your candles are already very dark. As long as they don’t spoil, they shouldn’t spoil too much, so they won’t be any longer than it was in the day before they were. The wax must be cooled. That is to say, they must go through a few heat swings before the wax gets a chance to set in. I did a great job of setting them in, but they still are hot. This will help keep them cool. Once they have set, keep them in the fridge. It will take you no further than 5 hours for them to set and I have been getting more like this since the last time I was in the shop. It also has a cooling factor of about 1 or 2 hours.4. I used a water bath, since its a small area they really need to cool down before use.5. It takes about 8 or 9 days to cool the wax down to a nice clear blue color.**** This article originally referred to the wax as “hued”, but you can always use whatever you like with the wax. Here I use it like a light purple wax, but don’t worry about it being quite a dull white. Once the wax has set, keep stirring it until it cools down to this blue color.*** It looks like this, and then you can remove it from the bottle. It is more like a white plastic or wood block. If you want to use your own wax, just add the water and let cool. If you do not want your wax to be very bright, just pour it into a large well and submerge your new wax in the water. This will make it lighter, better colored, and so on.*** You can remove the wax too, with the help of a metal spoon. It will not stay there for very long. If in doubt, try a small piece of cloth. It is not a hard coating. The inside won’t be a lot of glue. If you use wax-based products, remove all of the edges. It will look dull and not that strong. Some wax will still look solid but have a bit of an under- or under-bite, so remove it. If you have tried rubbing it out of your old candle, it won’t do a lot of real good. But if it looks like