CANDLE MAKING: THE SISTER CRAFT
by Norma Thomas on 01/26/12
Out of all the crafts that may be directly or indirectly tied to soap making, none comes closer than candle making. There are similarities in both ingredients and process.
For this reason, I have become increasingly interested in the crossover of these two crafts: I have fragrance oils and I have colorants and I have molds and cookie cutters. But rather than taking soap making to candle making, I am looking at the reverse: using candle molds to make soaps. Take a look at these two pictures:
They are absolutely lovely soaps . . . only they aren't soaps at all. They are candles. Check out their sister candle below:
Amazing, right? The only drawback to using these particular molds for soaps is that they are about 6" tall . . . which would make a pretty darn large bar of soap. If you look closely at the finished purple candle above, you can just make out the line showing where the two sides of the mold came together . . . the image is, or can be, repeated on the reverse side. You could pour only one side for the bar of soap.
Silicone molds are also growing in popularity for a number of crafts, including candle and soap making. Some of these are even more impressive . . . and some are quite expensive. I fell in love with one mold I found . . . until I saw it was $38.00 plus shipping. Still, like everything else, there are bargains to be found. As you explore and expand your soap making repetoire, don't forget to check the candle-making websites as well.
[The images and candle molds shown above can be found at www.milkywaymolds.com. They have an incredible selection of both soap and candle molds and their candle molds are currently on sale!]
