I love sitting outdoors in the evening. Unfortunately, the fly’s and ‘skeeters do as well…and they apparently love me unconditionally.
To make time more enjoyable outside, I took to the internet and Pinterest for guidance on how to make my own citronella candles. I don’t think the citronella candles you buy in store work well or even smell very nice, to be honest. It’s a great way to save money making your own and re-using jars and containers help the environment.
During my research, I did find some bloggers that also made their own candles that offered great advice and helpful tips…check them out!
Having more knowledge in hand and ideas of my own, I was off to the store and Amazon for supplies.
Typically you will see citronella and/or eucalyptus oils recommended, however, I found a great blended Insect Shield oil on Amazon and I highly recommend.
Rather than invest in other candle making tools for my first experience, I choose to use items in my kitchen. Items you will need:
Large pot
Something to melt the wax in (I used my large pyrex measuring cup)
Silicone spatula
Soy candle wax (or the wax you prefer)
Insect shield essential oil
Natural wooden wicks
Glass containers, jam jars, etc.
Bring some water to a simmer in the pot. It should come up 1/4 to 1/2 of the measuring cup. Pour the soy wax into the measuring cup or vessel of your choice, place in simmering water and stir occasionally, you want the wax to melt completely with no lumps. (it may start to melt and then gather into lumps…but don’t worry, it will all melt completely)
Meanwhile, prep your containers so once the wax is ready all you need to do is pour into containers. Once your wicks are set in the container, additionally, I placed a piece of parchment paper on top of a cooling rack and set the jars/containers on top, ready for the wax pour.
Once wax is all liquid, add your oil. I used 10 drops of oil per each 1 cup of wax for the perfect citronella candle smell. Then you are ready to pour, which is pretty handy using the measuring cup. *please remember to use pot holders when handling the vessel that you melt the wax in!
Allow the candles to sit several hours or overnight for the citronella candles to completely harden, trim wicks if necessary and thats it! So long skeeters, hello, cozy, bite free outdoors!
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