Another unusual candle you can make easily is the “glow-through” candle. This is basically just a block candle (see the section on milk cartons in Chapter 7), made from pure paraffin with no additives, overdipped in colored wax. As the candle burns and makes a well in the center, the flame glows through the outer shell of color, giving a lovely effect that is interesting and beautifully warm-looking, like a light shining through a window seen from outside.

Make It So

To make a glow-through candle, first make a regular block candle — any size in any type of mold (milk cartons are the easiest and simplest molds for block candles of many sizes). After the block candle has cooled thoroughly, remove it from the mold. (If you are using a milk carton, you can simply peel it off.)

Next, holding the candle by the wick either with your fingers or with a pair of pliers, dip it into colored wax heated to about l90° Fahrenheit. Remember to always use your wax thermometer when heating/melting wax. (For a more detailed review, also see “Overdipping,” p. 160.)

Dip the entire candle into the colored wax, swirling it around to melt off any rough edges and give it an even shape. Allow the overdipped candle to cool for a minute and then dip again. Always use a smooth in-and-out motion when dipping. Take care not to leave the candle in the hot wax too long. The first dip should be the longest. After that, you are building up layers of color and the subsequent dips should be shorter. Continue to dip and cool until you have a nice coating of the colored wax on the outside of the candle.

Rainbow Glow

Once you have mastered this process, you can move on to multicolored glow-through candles. If you want to try this, dip the entire candle first into a yellow wax four times. Then, dip two-thirds of the bottom into pink three times. Lastly, dip the lower third of the candle into blue three times. What happens is that the pink-over-yellow dip turns orange; the blue over pink turns purple. Then, when burned, these multicolored glow-through candles give off a soft and glowing light that is most pleasing to the senses.