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As Halloween approaches this October with its enchanting blend of mystery and mischief, let us celebrate the season with seasonal spooky season crafts! Few endeavours capture the essence of this haunting holiday quite like candle-making. Add a bewitching touch to your Halloween festivities this year and infuse your home with flickering candlelight to set the mood for this beloved fall holiday!
Though the practice of candle-making is not tied to the Halloween holiday per se, candles do come in handy during the holiday. It’s used as part of costumes, house decorations and to set the mood for spooky season activities. Here are just some of the ways we use candles during this Halloween:
Haunted House Décor and Vibes – With the rise of scented candles, more and more people light up their wicks and turn off their lights at the end of the day to achieve some relaxation. But during Halloween, lighting up a candle can really take your home from simple to spooky in a matter of seconds! We will explore in this blog also how to prepare candles with the scents of Halloween for a fun, full experience!
Ghost Story Hours – Of course, with the Halloween season upon us, nothing beats a good Halloween ghost story session. With Asia’s rich history of horror mythology, there’s an endless array of spooky stories to tell! Elevate those ghost story hours by lighting up a few candles and let the friendly screaming begin!
Get Started [1]
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To start your candle-making journey, let’s get started with this helpful list of materials you will need:
- Soy wax flakes
- Pre-waxed candle wicks
- Glass containers
- Candle dyes (of your choosing)
- Fragrance oils (of your choosing)
Once all these materials are put together, we can get started on the process of creating the candles!
First step: Attach wick stickers to the metal tabs on the bottoms of your wicks to make them ready for your candles. You may also apply a little dab of glue on the wick tab using a hot glue gun. Then carefully insert the wick into the bottom of the glass container.
Attach the wick to a wick holder that has been placed over the top of your glass container. You may also tie the wick around a pencil and lay it on top of the container to keep it from falling out. Make sure the wick is standing straight up in the centre of your glass.
Second step: Measure how much wax you'll need to fill each container. Wax flakes will melt down to around half their original size. Thus, anticipate that your containers will need to be filled to the brim twice as much. Use a double boiler technique to melt your wax. This is mostly a safety measure to ensure that the wax does not overheat. Simply fill a medium saucepan or pot halfway with water and heat on medium – high. Fill one of the measuring glasses with wax. As the wax melts, stir it occasionally.
Third step: When the wax reaches a temperature of 185 degrees F, candle color dye and scent can be added. If you don't have a glass thermometer, skip this step and wait until the wax is completely melted. Add the dye to the mix. We recommend dyeing these candles using double the amount of dye recommended on the package because soy candles typically turn out pastel when dyed with the recommended amount.
Add the fragrance oil. Remove the wax from the source of heat. Now you may whisk in your preferred amount of fragrance oil into the heated wax. You may also use essential oils to scent your candle. Combine the oils in the wax and stir well.
Fourth step: Pour the first layer and let dry completely before pouring the next one, and so on.
Fifth step: When you've completed adding all of the layers you want to your candles, trim the wick with scissors to approximately 1/4 inch of wick left above the wax.
Sixth step: Decorate your candle. Your Halloween candle is now ready. To add some extra spookiness to it, paste some ghost and skull stickers on the glass jar, and you are good to go for celebrating Halloween with candles.
Quintessential Scents
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The scents of Halloween usually includes the delicious smell of candy in the air, sweets, the forest petrichor and even hot chocolate, but even without those things physically present at your Halloween event, you can still experience the wonderful scents of this holiday with our NOW Essential Oil picks – from this special Halloween-curated list of scents to enjoy during the spooky season.
Cinnamon bark - Cinnamon essential oil offers a warm and spicy scent reminiscent of Halloween treats and autumnal spices. It can add a cozy, comforting note to your Halloween atmosphere. For this, infuse your candle with our NOW Essential Oils Cinnamon Bark!
Orange - Orange essential oil provides a bright and uplifting scent that is perfect for Halloween. It can add a citrusy note to your ambiance, reminiscent of Halloween candy. The perfect candle scent would be our NOW Essential Oils Organic Orange Uplifting Oil!
Frankincense - Frankincense essential oil has a deep, resinous aroma that can create a mystical and otherworldly atmosphere, making it ideal for Halloween rituals and seances. Give your candles a deep scent profile with our NOW Essential Oils Frankincense!
Pine - Pine essential oil brings the scent of the forest to your Halloween ambiance, making it a great choice for haunted forest themes. Recreate the scents of the forest with our NOW Essential Oils Pine Needle Oil!
Cypress - Cypress essential oil has a woody and slightly smoky scent that can evoke the feeling of being in a spooky forest or cemetery. Get that true spooky season feel with our NOW Essential Oils Cypress Oil!
References:
[1] https://www.vedaoils.com/blogs/candlemaking/diy-candle-for-halloween