Making homemade candles with ease

Homemade candles make for great gifts but can also help add beautiful, soft light to your own environment. It's easy to your own candles at home. You have two options: using the dipping method or rolling sheets of beeswax. You'll find all your materials at your local craft shop.

You will need

• Stearin powder
• Paraffin wax granules
• Wax dye disc
• Saucepans
• Sugar thermometer
• Wick
• Scissors

The simple process

1. Pour 40 grams (about two ounces) stearin powder into a saucepan deep enough to accommodate the length of wick you want.
2. Place the pan inside a larger pan of water and bring to the boil until the stearin melts.
3. Add a quarter of a disc of wax dye and 400 grams (14.5 ounces) of paraffin wax granules and heat to 80°C (175°F), stirring gently and continuously. Do not leave your pan of hot wax unattended.
4. Dip the wick in the wax, lift it out, then pull it taut and hold until the wax has cooled and set. Repeat until you have the desired thickness or diameter, then trim the wick.

Enjoy your new candle or give it away and just make more.

You will need

• Sheets of honeycomb beeswax
• Hairdryer
• Length of wick at least 2.5 cm (1 in) longer than the finished candle will be
• Trimming knife
• Metal ruler
• Scissors
• Butter knife

The process

1. Warm the beeswax until it is pliable. Use a hairdryer on a low setting or heat the wax on a radiator.
2. Lay the wick along the long edge of the wax sheet and roll it tightly and evenly, as thick as you like.
3. Use the ruler and trimming knife to cut away any excess wax, and use scissors to trim the wick. Wrap a piece of wax round wick to prime it.
4. Smooth the seam with a butter knife warmed in hot water. Slide it back and forth to seal the join and leave a smooth finish.

Garnish with a ribbon (be sure to remove the ribbon before lighting) and deliver it to a deserving friend.