How To Make Soy Votive Candles

There are several different types of candle waxes used for making homemade candles. I love soy candles because it is a natural wax made from soybeans, it burns longer, burns cleaner and is much easier to clean up if spilled. It is also the least expensive of the natural candle waxes out there.

Here I am going to show you how to make soy candles as votives. Because soy wax is a soft wax, soy votives are usually made with a soy wax blend that is about 99% soy wax and the other 1% some vegetable additive to make it harder and easier to come out of the molds.

Supplies You'll Need

•  8 Votive molds. I use metal votive molds with a wick pin.
• 8 votive candle wicks. I’ve found the best to use are the P-22 large base wicks
• Pour Pot, or double boiler setup. Or you can use a small sauce pan with some water in the bottom and a metal bowl sitting on top that I poured the soy wax into.
• Rubber Spatula that can withstand high heat.
• Glass candy thermometer
• 1lb Soy Votive Wax
• 1oz fragrance oil of your choice
• Candle dye, any color you choose, or you can start with no dye.

How to make soy votive candles:

1. Set out the votive molds with the wick pins in them on some wax paper on your work space. The wax paper will help keep things clean.
2. Put your pour pot, or metal bowl on a scale (A digital one is best) and 0 it out. Pour in your soy votive wax until the scale says 1lb.
3. Set the pour pot in the pot with water in it (about an inch or 2) or set your bowl or double boiler pot on top of the pot with water in it. NEVER put the pot or bowl with wax directly on the stove as it could combust! Always use water surrounding the pour pot, or use a double boiler set up. Set the stove to med-low heat (aprox. 4). Put the thermometer in the wax and set your timer for 15 min. so you remember to check on the wax.
4. Once the soy votive wax has melted and reached 195-200 degrees F. Take the pour pot, or bowl off the stove and set it onto the digital scale. 0 out the scale again. Once the wax is down to about 185 degrees, pour 1oz of fragrance oil (by weght) and stir a couple times. Then add a couple drops or so of your choice of candle dye according to what color you want, and stir a few more times until everything is incorporated.
5. By now the wax should be about 175 degrees. This is the time you should pour into your votive molds. You don’t want it to cool like you do with soy container candles.
6. Once you have filled each votive mold, it is time to wait till they are completely cooled before pulling them out of the metal molds. They should just pop right out when they are cool enough. Usually takes about an hour or two depending on the room temperature.
7. Wait at least 24 hours for your votive candles to cool before burning them. 2-4 days is best when curing.

I hope you enjoy making soy votives!  They make excellent gifts or stocking stuffers, or just for your own use at home!