Different Types of Handmade Candles

Before the invention of electric lighting, candles and oil lamps were commonly used for illumination. In the developed world today, candles are used mainly for their aesthetic value and scent, particularly to set a soft, warm, or romantic ambiance, for emergency lighting during electrical power failures, and for religious or ritual purposes.
You probably know that a candle is a marvelous combination of wax and wick but past that there are many different varieties of candles. Even if you take scent and color out of the mix, there is still an amazing array of different shapes, sizes, methods and purposes for candles. Here are some examples of the major types of candles that most candle makers will encounter and/or make.
1. Votive Candles
Votive candles are among the most used candles of any type. They're actually a hybrid between a pillar candle and a container candle in that, before they're burned, they're free-standing, usually cylindrical candles (just like a pillar,) but once they're lit, they generally melt completely enough to take the shape of the votive holder that they're placed in (like a container candle.)
2.Container Candles
A container candle is just that - a candle that is poured/made in a container. But it is different from a votive (that is put into a container) in that the mold and the container are the same things. The candle is poured into the container.
3.Pillar Candles
Pillar candles are a type of molded candle. The wax is rigid enough to burn free-standing (on a heat-resistant plate or pan.) If it is wicked correctly, it should burn evenly and not drip very much wax onto the plate.
4.Dipped Candles
Dipped candles are basically just that - dipped - a piece of wick that has been primed (dipped) into the wax to get out the air bubbles and then dipped some more to build up more layers of wax.
5.Rolled Candles
Rolled candles are made with pliable (roll-able) sheets of wax with a wick at the center. The most common are made with sheets of beeswax 8" x 16". They are great, safe, easy candles to make.

Candles come in a fantastic variety for many different purposes and occasions. Choose from a spectrum of beautiful colours, styles, sizes, shapes and textures to co-ordinate with your interior decor or colour schemes. But the variety doesn't stop there! You can even choose from the selection of different burning times, wax types and delicious fragrances to suit your mood! Browse our selection including glass jar candles, pillar candles, tea lights, votive candles, wax tarts, floating candles, garden candles, multi-wick candles, tin candles and dinner candles, for any occasion.