Candle Carving Part Two: Basic Supplies To Get Started

In this second post of the Candle Carving series, I will explain the bare essentials needed to get started with Cut and Curl candles. *Disclaimer: I am NOT an expert and this may not work for everyone, but hopefully it will help some of you who are interested in this intriguing medium. I'll be continually adding to these posts as I go along.

If you are the type to just jump in, by all means go for it! Kits are available online and would probably be the fastest and easiest way to get started. Candlefun has two fairly comprehensive packages that include wax, dipping wells, DVDs, carving wrack, pigment, along with some other options available on their site. Although I didn't see kits on this next site, Candles and Supplies also offer training DVDs, carving tools and wax.

Candle Carving Part One: The Wax

Getting Started With Cut and Curl Candles

Somewhere along the way of researching candles and ways to use up crayons (and now wax), I found photos of carved candles. They are also called Cut and Curl, Cut and Carve, or Dip and Carve candles; I will use them interchangeably throughout the posts. If you are reading this, more than likely you've heard of them, but if you are unfamiliar with it, type in one of the above phrases in Google.  My first impression was, WOW. The second was, no way can I do that at home. Then, the familiar nagging little voice in the back of my head (I probably should get that checked out one day) said yes you can.

There's not a wealth of detailed instructions and technicalities on how to do these type of candles, unlike beading or cake decorating. What I did find though, were a ton of great YouTube videos showing the carving process. Unfortunately, that's not helpful when you are new to candle making and aren't sure what type of wax to use, what temperature the wax needs to be at when you start dipping, importance of heating the core, making a core candle, making/finding a proper sized wick, etc.