Hello Beautiful! I hope you had a long, restful summer full of wholesome fun. Now that fall is here, I wanted to find the perfect easy DIY project that can be given as a gift to your loved ones or to create a festive atmosphere in your home. I use natural ingredients sourced locally in Texas, including beeswax chunks fresh from local apiaries (they now come in a pack of 4 mini 1oz chunks in addition to the usual 1lb block), I also picked up some local vanilla essential oil, vanilla flavoring, and honey.
About Candles
Candles are readily available in all our favorite stores today and make a great gift for just about anyone. Unfortunately, when burned, all artificial candles, colors and fragrances can negatively affect indoor air quality, especially with less ventilation in the colder months. With the holidays coming up it will be in much wider use.
Natural candles are an easy, quick DIY recipe with quality ingredients. Instead of adding to indoor air pollution, they actually help clean the air. What’s better than a wholesome gift that’s beautiful, handmade and naturally scents a room to create a warm, welcoming atmosphere?
Learn more about the ingredients in this recipe:
Natural Wax Ingredients
Texas Beeswax: I love having Texas wildflowers around us in the spring and summer. This gives our bees a rich variety of plants to choose from. It also makes this beeswax super fragrant with the scent of these flowers and botanicals. The Texas Beeswax block is a deep golden color and lightly filtered to remove residue. It contains the same propolis, royal jelly and bee pollen compounds found in other raw bee products. This is what makes it fantastic for use in skin and hair products as well. Beeswax burns with a warm and bright flame and lasts a long time compared to other candles.
Honey of local origin: This superfood is rich in vitamins and minerals from native plants, which help support your body all year round. When burned, it imparts a faint caramelized aroma along with the natural aroma of beeswax.
Vanilla essential oil: We use vanilla essential oil to enhance the warm atmosphere of this candle when burned, which may conjure up images of your favorite bakery or bookstore. Did you know that old books also give off the faint scent of vanilla?
“Lignin, which is present in all wood-based paper, is closely related to vanillin. As it breaks down, lignin gives old books a faint vanilla smell.” – International League for Antiquarian Booksellers
Alcohol-free vanilla extract: The vanilla orchid produces such a complex aroma in its fruit, the vanilla bean, that it is nearly impossible to fully capture with a single extraction method. That’s why we add vanilla extract to this candle recipe along with the essential oil. Contains different vanilla bean ingredients to add more depth to the scent.
This is the perfect gift for a wide range of people, especially those interested in aesthetics such as cottagecore, dark academic environment or hygge that are popular trends this time of year.
Now on to the recipe:
Recipe for vanilla candle with honey
- 16 oz beeswax, grated or chopped
- 2 ounces local, unfiltered and raw honey
- 1 tablespoon alcohol-free vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon EO vanilla
Here are some supplies you will need:
- Candle jars (whatever you need to hold about 18 ounces of product)
- Fuse
- Metal wick holders
- Stick on dots or tape to keep your wick in place in your jars
Instructions:
- Prepare your empty candle jars ahead of time – beeswax hardens quickly, so once you pour your mixture it will set shortly afterwards.
- Melt the beeswax in a double boiler – it will take about an hour of safe melting over low heat.
- While you wait for the wax to melt completely, combine the honey, vanilla extract, and vanilla essential oil in a separate bowl.
- Once the beeswax has melted, quickly stir in the honey, vanilla extract and vanilla essential oil until fully combined
- Pour into your jars
- When they harden and cool to the touch, your candles are ready to use!
Recipe video
I hope you enjoy this recipe, just in time for your holidays!
Check out our range of beeswax and carnauba wax as a great vegan option for making these candles. Use code: WAX20 for 20% off.
As always, comment below with any comments or questions you may have.
Good crafting!
