The fourth of July is approaching soon. For me, when I think of the fourth of July, one of my strongest memories is of the scent of citronella candles. Every time we went to the fireworks, we always had a few of them. The scent is nostalgic for me.
Well not only does it bring out my positive patriotic memories, citronella oil is plenty useful. It is a strong anti-fungal and an effective insect repellent. Especially for those pesky mosquitoes. Citronella oil comes from the lemongrass plant.
The problem with buying citronella candles from the store is much of the time you get an artificially produced citronella scent. The artificial scent smells like citronella to our human noses, but it doesn’t do much good for repelling insects. You need to use the real oil derived from the lemongrass to get the full effect. So, why not make your own? It’s way easier than you think.
Supplies:
All the supplies you need are:
- Candle wax (I used soy)
- Citronella oil (I get mine here or you can find it on amazon)
- Candle wicks
- Empty glass jars
- Tape
- A double boiler or a pot placed on top of a pot of boiling water
- Toothpicks (optional)
Step One: Secure wicks
The first thing you need to do is secure your wick to the bottom of the jar. You can do this with a piece of tape.
Step Two: Heat jars
In order to make sure the wax dries and hardens evenly, you should place the glass jars in the oven at your oven’s lowest setting. This just keeps the jars closer to the temperature of the melted wax.
Step Three: Melt wax
Melt your wax in the double boiler. It will reduce to about half its size when melted, so keep that in mind. Stir occasionally as it is melting. Once it is completely melted, it will resemble the color of olive oil.
Step Four: Add citronella oil
Once the wax is completely melted, mix in the citronella oil. I added 4 drops of oil per cup of wax, but I found my candles were not quite as strong as I would like, so I would recommend 5 drops per cup of wax.
Step Five: Pour wax
Pour your wax into the jars. If the wick is leaning to far to either side, you can just use a toothpick to prop it up to ensure it stays in the middle until the wax hardens.
Step Six: Let wax harden
Let the wax harden in the jars. This may take several hours depending on what type of wax you use, how warm the room is, and how large your candles are.
Step Seven: Trim wicks
Trim your wicks to the appropriate length, cutting at a downward angle.
Step Eight: Burn your candles!
And admire!
Mmmm… smell that citronella! Can’t think of a better way to keep away bugs. Plus candles are romantic. And they provide light. Multi-purpose!
You can even make colored candles by adding in some crayons when you melt the wax. I love how the white looks, but I might have to play around with colors. Wouldn’t red white and blue candles be fun for the fourth?Try making your own citronella candles, and let me know how it goes!
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Leslie says
I’ve got a few wine bottles I wanted to cut off and make some candles out if them. I think they’d be cute on the table on the front deck. They’ll help with bugs while we empty another bottle if wine, haha. Thanks for sharing!
Susie says
Excellent excuse to drink more wine and make use of what you have! I love it!
Alysia says
Hi Susie! Great post, I’ve been wanting to make citronella candles for some time now, these mosquito bites are driving me crazy! Just wondering where you buy your candle wick roll at? Thanks!
Susie says
Thanks Alysia! I got it at the craft store, Michael’s.
Julie says
Hi, Susie! I wanted to let you know that I will be featuring your Citronella candles this Sunday at Inspiration Monday Party! Hope you can stop by. I would love to make these. They are pretty too! ~ Julie redheadcandecorate.com
Susie says
Thank you so much! I will definitely be linking up (as usual!)
JaneEllen says
I’ve noticed when I buy citronella candles at stores they don’t do much good if any at keeping those pesky rascals from biting us. Have to be careful of West Nile here also. (Western CO, Grand Junction). I’d love to make some, just need to get the supplies and off I go. Have great spatter ware double boiler I bought in KY, never had use for it so almost got rid of it, so glad I didn’t. I’ll go out to glass recycling barrel to see what kind of jars I can use. Very glad you shared this wonderful tutorial. Happy summer days
Katie says
I love these candles. I’ve never heard about warming the jars first, it makes so much sense! I would love it if you linked this up to my Motivate Me Monday linky party.
Corey @ Tinysidekick says
I was just thinking about this today! I so need to make a ton of these to get us through the summer. Thanks for sharing at The Makers!
Beverly says
I love making candles, but never thought of making Citronella ones. I buy lots of them since we are outdoors so much here in Florida.
Thanks for the great tutorial,
Bev
Patti says
You have taken the mystery out of making candles..pinned! Thank you!
Kathleen @ Fearlessly Creative Mammas says
Oh wow, this is perfect. We love to cam in the summer and I will be making some of these for our next trip. Plus, we’re building a cabin in Alaska in the woods and when we get it done, I will make some of these up there too. I’ve heard there are some seriously huge bugs there.
Thank you for linking up to Tips and Tricks. Your post will be the feature on Fearlessly Creative Mammas this week. We hope to see you again!
Susie says
Thank you so much! I will definitely be back!
Raquel says
I have not made candles in years – but I love the idea of making citronella candles. We love spending time outdoors this time of year and I think I am going to try to make these. Thanks for the tutorial!
Sarah says
I’ve made candles before, but have never thought about putting the jars in the oven. Great tip!
Reesa Lewandowski says
I am loving this! Citronella Candles are so expensive and you never really know what is in them!
Thanks so much for linking up this week at the Pin It Party!
Teri says
Thanks so much for the Tutorial. I will definitely be making these for our outdoors adventures. Where did you get your soy wax from? I know that Hobby Lobby sells it in blocks, but I would like to make these as Hostess gifts when we attend those summer parties. Thanks again.
Susie says
I got mine from Michael’s. I think the box I got was either 3 or 4 pounds of soy wax which was enough to make all the candles pictured here with about 1/4 of it left over.
Bonnie @ The Pin Junkie says
Great way to make your own citronella candles! Thanks for sharing this tutorial at The Pin Junkie. It was featured at this week’s party. Hope you’ll stop by to grab a featured button and share again at this week’s party at http://www.thepinjunkie.com/2014/06/pin-junkie-pin-party-73.html
Susie says
Thank you so much! I am linking this week’s posts now!
Lisa says
Hi Susie, would the citronella oil used for tiki torches work ok?
Susie says
I’ve never used tiki torches so I’m not sure! I think if you added it to whatever oil you burn in the torches (is that how they work?) it would help keep bugs away, but I can’t be sure!
Tenee says
Recycling previously used citronella pails with homemade citronella candles makes me ever so happy! However, I would appreciate further information regarding your clean up experience. Thanks for the info!
Susie says
The cleanup was pretty easy for me. I have a dedicated pan that I use for all DIY projects which I used to melt the candle wax in. I just let it soak in soapy water for a few hours and then scrubbed and it cleaned up very easily. I used soy wax, so I don’t know if all waxes will be as easy.
Joyce says
You can also use a heat gun, such as for embossing on cards. Just heat an area and wipe with a paper towel.
Janet says
Hi ya
You shared a great tutorial and i will try and try it out. Citronella candles are also great gift ideas for people who kind of have everything, especially with Christmas just around the corner.
Thanks for sharing