Whilst I shared my observations on Aunty Biscuit and the firelighter pine cones I didn’t report back on how the candle making itself went.  he kit being trialled was relatively inexpensive one (even more so as she’d previously purchased it in the January sales) with fairly basic instructions. On opening the box she was confronted by a lurid pink squishy thing which turned out to be the mould.  The contents were listed as soy wax, candle dye, mould, pine fragrance and wick.  Then there was the “you will need list” craft knife (no problem) heatproof bowl (likewise) elastic bands (substitute a piece of 4 strand elastic, perfect) awl or skewer (wool needle threaded with the wick worked brilliantly instead) lollipop stick or peg (aarggh! However at the appropriate point threading the wick through the handle of a kitchen wall cupboard and dangling scissors from the end of it worked.  Finally there are those little things that it aren’t on either list but were either in the instructions text or become evident as useful as the project progresses.  Reusable poster putty was listed as to stop leakage from the hole made by the skewer.  As Aunty Biscuit had used a needle which the mould gripped as she put it through, she found she didn’t need the aforementioned reusable poster putty which was a relief as she didn’t have any.  Another item that would have come in handy had she known would either been a tree surgeon with a chainsaw or a builder/roadworker with a jackhammer.

The (washed and dried) mould was prepared by cutting a zigzag pattern down the side then being held back together with the elastic.

The instructions implied that the soy wax should be melted first, then a piece of the candle dye melted and the two mixed together before the fragrance was added and the whole lot carefully poured into the mould and left to set and cure for 24 hours.  Wax was put n bowl over a pan of boiling water, Aunty Biscuit blinked and it had melted.  The instructions said to cut a 1 to 2cm chunk of the candle dye from the block depending on how dark the colour was required.  Cutting the dye with a mere kitchen knife was a little difficult to say the least, and the job would have been much quicker and easier had a chainsaw or jackhammer been available although it may have slightly damaged the cutting board and kitchen worktop.  After all that the flipping stuff was very reluctant to melt!  Eventually everything was mixed, having nearly forgotten the fragrance in the chaos, and put in the mould.  Everything considered expectations were not exactly high and the kitchen resembled an explosion in a paint factory.  Then came the great reveal…..

The result was one very detailed, perfect candle.  Now she is aware of the process for this kit the remaining candles to make will be a lot easier and also hopefully less messy.  Overall this kit is very good value for money.