Sand candles are a gorgeous and original means of making rustic, textured candles that have a special look. The sand is a moulding and a decorative material, forming candles with the natural, sculptural features that introduce natural beauty to any room. This method of ancient candle making is amazingly beautiful and requires very little equipment, and there are no limits to creativity.

Materials Needed

• Clean sand (white or light-coloured sand is best with a white candle)

• White candle wax (paraffin, soy wax or beeswax - about 1-2 pounds)

• Ready-pulled candle wicks (cotton wicks are the best)

• Double boiler or melting pot

• Candle thermometer

• Sticks or pencils made of wood (to prevent the wick moving)

• Cardboard box (or large container) to hold the sand.

• Little bowl or container (to form the candle cavity)

• Plastic or newspaper sheeting (space protection)

• Scissors (for trimming wick)

• Spoon (pouring wax) or ladle.

Preparing Your Workspace

Prepare a well-ventilated place, free of drafts and foot traffic, before you start. Keep the workplace covered with newspapers or plastic sheeting to avoid spills of wax. Making Sand Candles would be a messy affair, thus preparation is necessary. Make sure that all materials are easily accessible and that you have a damp cloth around to clean up quickly.

Optimal temperature is 65-75 degree F because both extreme temperatures may influence the moisture capacity and the wax setting characteristics of the sand. Monitoring the wax color and consistency is also a good thing done with good lighting.

Creating the Sand Mold

Add moist sand into your container by keeping sand in the proper level of moisture. The sand must be firm enough to maintain its shape upon squeezing the sand but it should not be dripping. When the sand is either too dry it will not maintain the shape of the mold; when too moist it can result in the wax being cooled, imbalanced, or forming air bubbles.

Mold the candle cavity by pushing a little bowl or container into the center of the sand. You need to make the cavity deep enough to accommodate the amount of wax that you want and have 1-2 inches of sand at all sides to facilitate the structural integrity. The depth is normally 3-6 inches according to your desired candle size.

Wipe out the bowl, keeping the shape of the cavity. In case the walls fall, re-wet the sand a little bit and then repeat the same process. The walls of the cavity must be even and smooth in order to provide appropriate adhesion of the wax and appealing finished product.

Preparing the Wax

Melt your white wax in the double boiler method to make it evenly heated and to avoid scorching. Various wax types will have varying temperatures: paraffin wax must be heated to 185-200degF, soy wax to 185degF and beeswax to 170-180degF. Carefully check your thermometer, and when the wax gets too hot it may turn colorless or have undesirable burning qualities.

When the wax melts, cut your wick to the proper length. The wick must project approximately 1 inch above the height of your planned candle, and must be long enough to reach to the bottom of the cavity. Pre-tabbed wicks are the best since the metal tab offers stability and does not allow the wick to float when pouring.

Wick Placement and Positioning.

Carefully put the wick in the middle of your Sand Wax cavity and make sure that the metal tab is placed on the bottom. The wick should be straight and in the center all along the process. Lay wooden sticks, or pencils across the hole opening in the container to keep the wick in place forming a bridge to keep the wick taut and centred.

Always make sure that the position of the wick is correct and then continue, there is no easy way to reposition the wick once the wax has been poured. The wick must be entirely vertical and it must be placed in a manner that the resulting candle will be smooth in the thickness of the candle-wax on all sides.

Cooling and Setting Process

Let the candle dry in the sand mold, usually 2-4 hours, depending on size and temperature. The sand is the insulator that creates a gradual, even cooling which eliminates cracks and guarantees good adhesion of the wax to the sand particles. As it cools, you can observe the wax level slightly reducing as it contracts. 

Removing and Finishing

After being cool, take your candle out of the sand. Lightly brush off all the sand to leave an appropriate amount of sand glued on to the surface to create the desired rustic effect. The wax surface should be firmly stuck in the natural sand coating.

To burn the wick optimum, trim it to about 1/4 inch above the wax surface. Check the candle in case it has any weak points or places where Sand Wax can have formed air cavities.

Conclusion 

Sand must be clean fine-grain with no debris, shells or organic material that can influence the safety of burning. Keep the finished Sand Candles in a cool, dry environment without direct sunlight to avoid discolouration by wax, and structural integrity.

Sand candles are a great gift and also for  decorative purposes, a natural and organic look that fits well in rustic and modern style of decor and gives the cozy atmosphere of candlelight.