Making
a Pitcher of Ice Tea or Fruit Punch...
These
are probably the easiest candles to make! As with all our projects we
recommend reading the instructions thoroughly before starting the project.
For gel candles we also recommend that you read About
Gel Candles before starting.
Supplies
you will need: Amounts
are not given because we do not know what size pitcher you may find.
- Heavy
Glass Pitcher (not a huge one!)
- One
Zinc Core Wicks 60-44-18-Z per pie
- Wick
Stickers or Hot Glue Gun
- Wax
Embeds
- Candle
Gel
- Liquid
dye for your gel
- Gel
Safe Fragrance (if desired)
Step
1: While your gel is melting, fasten your 60-44-18-Z Zinc Core Wick to the bottom of your pitcher with wick
stickers or a hot glue gun. After we stick/glue it in place, we
tug on it to be sure the wick isn't going to come out of the wick tab.
NEVER leave melting gel or wax unattended. Gel needs to be melted at a higher
temperature than wax. Therefore, the double boiler method does not work.
Use direct heat to melt your gel by placing gel in a metal pan and heating
on your stove on low heat. You can also use a Presto Kitchen Kettle.
A Presto Kitchen Kettle can be purchased for around $20 at Walmart,
Kmart or this type of store. They hold up to 6 lbs. of gel and you can
set the temperature control for steady heating. Do
not let gel get hotter than 230*.
Step
2: Make Ice Cubes.
Pour melted,
uncolored clear gel into a clean square
or oblong pan. After it has set and cooled, snip gel into squares with
a clean pair of scissors. When you slice the gel, your knife may not
glide smoothly through it and you may have a rough jagged edge on your
gel. That's good! Just lay the strip on a heat-resistant surface with
the jagged side up and then use your heat gun on it for about 10 seconds.
This will give it the look of real ice cubes. Finish slicing into cubes.
Step
3: Fill pitcher with ice cubes.
Step
4: Color and pour melted gel.
You can
color your gel with ivory dye if you want iced tea, or use orange for
orange juice, red for fruit punch. Whatever you desire! This is also
the time to add your gel safe fragrance (1/2
oz per pound of gel - gel cannot handle as much fragrance as candle
wax) if you are making a scented candle.Then pour gel over ice cubes.
After you pour the gel, you can embed wax citrus slices, strawberries, or whatever your imagination can
conceive!
DYE
IN GEL CANDLES
We
suggest using liquid dye in gel to help preserve
the clarity of gel. Our liquid dye is very concentrated and often just
a toothpick dipped in the dye will be enough to color your gel. If you
want a deep color then start with only 1 drop. It's much easier to darken
the gel than lighten it.
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