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Make Candles at Home
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Written by Natalya Stanko
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| Thursday, 03 November 2011 | ||||
Make Candles at Home![]() Examples of beeswax art.1 GOOD FOR YOU AND THE ENVIRONMENT: Most candles on the market are not eco-friendly. Traditional paraffin candles are made from crude oil, a nonrenewable resource. When burned, they emit dangerous chemicals, like benzene and tolulene.2 Wire wicks also contribute to air pollution, and many even contain lead! But you can make candles without all of those carcinogens. The four candle-making projects below use safe, renewable materials—organic cotton wicks and beeswax. You can also use soy wax, but I prefer beeswax because it has a naturally beautiful color and a light honey fragrance. Time and effort: It depends on what kind of candles you choose to make. Rolled candles are very easy to create, even your five year old child can do it. You don’t need any special candle making tools—you just need beeswax and wicks and a few minutes! Molded candles require more materials and time. Cost: Low. Check your local craft store or farmers market for beeswax and wicks, or buy them online. As for the rest of the supplies, you probably already have them lying around at home! Priming Candle Wicks: Before you start in on one of the four projects below, consider priming the wicks with one coat of beeswax. This step is optional, though a coat of beeswax will help your candles burn better. Materials Organic cotton wicks Beeswax pellets Tin can or old pot Big pot Wax paper Instructions
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Rolled Candles Materials: Beeswax sheets Organic cotton wicks, preferably primed with beeswax. Hair dryer (optional) Beeswax pellets (optional) Old pot or pan (optional) Wax paper (optional) Large cutting board (optional) Ruler (optional) Sharp knife (optional) Rolled Candles Instructions:
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Hand-dipped Candles Materials: Beeswax pellets (easier to handle) or bulk beeswax (much cheaper) Organic cotton wicks Tall tin can Cooking pot Thin stick (like a chopstick or skewer) 2 bricks (or similar objects that are sturdy and at least as tall as your candles) Candy thermometer (optional) Hand-dipped Candles Instructions:
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Container Candle Materials: Beeswax pellets or bulk beeswax Organic cotton wicks Container (jam jar, Mason jar, tea tin, or any other pretty thing that can withstand heat) Cooking pot Gauze Tall tin can or old pot Candy thermometer (optional) Natural colors or scents (optional) Container Candle Instructions:
Mold Candles Materials: Beeswax pellets or bulk beeswax Organic cotton wicks Container Tall tin can or old pot Cooking pot Mold remover spray or cooking oil Candy thermometer (optional) Dried flowers (optional) Natural colors or scents (optional) Pencil (optional) Scotch tape (optional) 16
Mold Candles Instructions:
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kurps_in_Warsaw-11-Niedzwiedzcy-Pasieka.jpg 2 www.epa.gov/nrmrl/pubs/600r01001/600R01001.pdf 3 http://candle-instructions.com/how-to-make-beeswax-candles/ 4 http://www.thecraftycrow.net/2008/12/rolled-beeswax.html 5 http://www.countryliving.com/crafts/projects/rolled-candles-0109 6 http://www.countryliving.com/crafts/projects/beeswax-candles-0109 7 http://kneek.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/beeswax_candles1.jpg 8 http://agrarianjourney.blogspot.com/2007/10/making-hand-dipped-beeswax-candles.html 9 http://www.ehow.com/how_4719147_make-hand-dipped-beeswax-candles.html 10 http://agrarianjourney.blogspot.com/2007/10/making-hand-dipped-beeswax-candles.html 11 http://www.thecrunchychicken.com/2010/01/pioneer-skills-hand-dipped-beeswax.html 12 http://livelighter.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Beeswax-Candle-with-Rose-Petals.jpg 13 http://www.candlewhiz.com/candles/ 14 http://www.myartsandcrafts.com/article128.htm 15 http://www.candlewhiz.com/candles/jam-jar.php 16 http://www.honeyvillecolorado.com/category/pure_beeswax_candles 17 http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Mold-for-Candles 18 http://www.candlewhiz.com/candles/ 19 http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Mold-for-Candles 20 http://www.countryliving.com/crafts/projects/dried-flower-candles-0109
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 03 November 2011 ) | ||||
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In the United States, automobiles produce over 20 percent of total carbon emissions. Walk or bike and you'll save one pound of carbon for every mile you travel.
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Recycling 100 million cell phones can save enough energy to power 18,500 homes in the U.S. for a year.
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States with bottle deposit laws have 35-40% less litter by volume.
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Refrigerators built in 1975 used 4 times more energy than current models.
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Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year.
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An aluminum can that is thrown away instead of recycled will still be a can 500 years from now!
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You will save 100 pounds of carbon for each incandescent bulb that you replace with a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL), over the life of the bulb.
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A laptop consumes five times less electricity than a desktop computer.
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Recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy used to make the material from scratch.
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Americans use 100 million tin and steel cans every day.
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A single quart of motor oil, if disposed of improperly, can contaminate up to 2,000,000 gallons of fresh water.
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Recycling 1 million laptop computers can save the amount of energy used by 3,657 homes in the U.S. over the course of a year.
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American workers spend an average of 47 hours per year commuting through rush hour traffic. This adds up to 23 billion gallons of gas wasted in traffic each year.
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You will save 300 pounds of carbon dioxide for every 10,000 miles you drive if you always keep your car’s tires fully inflated.
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Bamboo absorbs 35% more carbon dioxide than equivalent stands of trees.
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Turning off the tap when brushing your teeth can save as much as 10 gallons a day per person.
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Americans throw away more than 120 million cell phones each year, which contribute 60,000 tons of waste to landfills annually.
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A tree that provides a home with shade from the sun can reduce the energy required to run the air conditioner and save an additional 200 to 2,000 pounds of carbon over its lifetime.
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77% of people who commute to work by car drive alone.
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82 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. come from burning fossil fuels.
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A steel mill using recycled scrap reduces related water pollution, air pollution, and mining wastes by about 70%.
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It takes 6,000,000 trees to make 1 year's worth of tissues for the world.
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The World Health Organization estimates that 2 million people die prematurely worldwide every year due to air pollution.
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Less than 1% of electricity in the United States is generated from solar power.
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Americans throw away enough aluminum to rebuild our entire commercial fleet of airplanes every 3 months
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If every U.S. household turned the thermostat down by 10 degrees for seven hours each night during the cold months, and seven hours each weekday, it would prevent nearly gas emissions.
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You’ll save two pounds of carbon for every 20 glass bottles that you recycle.
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Shaving 10 miles off of your weekly driving pattern can eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year.
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In California homes, about 10% of energy usage is related to TVs, DVRs, cable and satellite boxes, and DVD players.
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One recycled aluminum can will save enough energy to run a 100-watt bulb for 20 hours, a computer for 3 hours, or a TV for 2 hours.
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For every 38,000 bills consumers pay online instead of by mail, 5,058 pounds of greenhouse gases are avoided and two tons of trees are preserved.
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Nudge your thermostat up two degrees in the summer and down two degrees in the winter to prevent 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.
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Every week about 20 species of plants and animals become extinct.



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