I am currently compiling a variety of homemade gifts for this holiday season. A pack of unopened canning jars and a brick of wax from a candle project from years ago, made for an easy, inexpensive, and fun project. Add in a cute homemade label and you have yourself set for Christmas gifts, hostess gifts, or even just a treat for yourself.
Here's how you make it:
I had this coffee can full of wax from my previous project. Create a double boiler to melt the wax. Once I used up the can of wax, I melted the rest of the brick in a pyrex measuring bowl. The spout made it easier to pour the hot wax without becoming a hot mess!
The supplies you will need include waxed candle wicks, long tooth picks, and candle scent if you wish. I chose vanilla. It is yummy. Wick and scent was purchased at Michael's.
To keep the wick in place, tape the toothpicks together to hold it up.
Add your scent after you take it out of the double boiler and then pour into jars. You can smell as you go to determine how fragrant you want it.
After the wax has cooled, cut the remaining wick off where it meets with the toothpicks.
After the wax cooled, I did notice that a hole formed down the center of the candles. If this happens, have some extra wax on hand to fill it in.
I made twelve candles which ended up taking about a day and a half to complete with doing other things around the house while the batches of wax melted. But they were definitely worth it. Next time I would melt the wax in bigger batches in a larger bowl. But twelve pint size candles is a lot of wax. This would be a much quicker project if you did not make as many.
To finish off the candles, I created some holiday and gift inspired Avery labels to place on a paper band.
If you are giving these out other times throughout the year, I created a few generic gift labels as well.
While I was in the label making mood I created a few labels for the blog, for our photography business, plus a fancy monogram. These make our professional work so much more...professional...and the monograms make getting a card in the mail that much more special.
Labels make a great addition to the branding of your own business or even just to your homemade gifts or hand written cards.
Here are the four labels I made that you can download for free. Simply print on the corresponding Avery labels. Great for homemade candles or for gift wrapping in general. Also check out this post for some free printable labels for homemade food gifts.
Avery Round Labels 22807:
Avery Oval Labels 22804:
Avery has created an "I am my business" campaign that is helping businesses build their brand and market to their audience using their free online design and print templates (which I used to make these labels).
// As part of the campaign, one lucky reader is going to win their own set of oval and round labels from Avery! Enter below to win.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Labels and giveaway courtesy of Avery. All opinions are mine.
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