Homemade citronella candles are easy to make in patriotic colors.
Experimenting in candle making is a fun and easy craft. For summer fun outdoors DIY Citronella candles are great for camping trips and summer parties. Add a little color for the 4th of July to make patriotic citronella candles. This is a great craft project to make with kids.
Red, White and Blue Patriotic DIY Citronella Candles
You need very basic supplies for candle making. You will need:
- Wax – for these candles I used regular wax, but I much prefer the soy wax I used in the citronella candles.
- Candle wicks – I use the ones with the round metal on the bottom. It just makes it easier to keep it in there.
- Red and blue crayons – this is a great project for using up broken crayons
- Glass jars – You can use any kind of jars. I used canning jars before, but I used jars with hangers. You can also get wire handles for mason jars.
- Empty coffee can or other container for melting the wax
Start by cutting up the crayons in to the smallest pieces you possibly can. It works best to grate the crayons but if you don’t have a grater just cut them up. The crayons really just don’t want to melt. So smaller pieces are better.
If you want brighter more intense colors, use 2 crayons. The wax really lightens the colors. I used disposable bowls to color the wax so I didn’t need to worry about clean up.
Once the crayons are cut up or grated, prep the jars. Twist the wick around a pen or pencil and set it on top of the jar. Don’t forget the wick! You may notice a few photos here of a wick-less candle. Don’t do that!
Next, melt the wax. You can melt the wax using a double boiler or in the microwave. This double boiler was made using an empty coffee can. This way you can just toss the coffee when you are done. No messy wax clean up. If melting in the microwave, use a glass jar or bowl.
To use a double boiler, fill a pot with an inch or two of water and bring it to a simmer. Meanwhile, put the wax in the coffee can. You don’t really have to measure. It takes a little back and forth to figure out how much wax you need. Err on the side of too much rather than too little.
Put the coffee can in the pot and let the wax melt completely. It will turn clear when it’s melted.
Once the wax is melted, work with only one color at a time. Decide which color you want on the bottom of the candle and start with that color.
Pour about a third of the wax in to the bowl with the blue crayon. Use wooden crafts sticks to mix. You will not have to worry about cleaning up. You can just toss them.
Once the crayon is melted, slowly pour the the wax in to the jar. Put the jar in the fridge to let it set. Make sure it completely cooled before you begin the next layer.
Repeat the same process for white and red layers. Obviously you won’t need to color the white wax. Added citronella oil to the middle and top wax layers for a little bug protection. Let the wax cool in the fridge between each layer.
And that’s it! Your red, white and blue candles are ready to decorate your 4th of July tables or help light the night.
This is so perfect! My best friend is having a 4th of July party, and this will be fantastic for it!! Hobby Lobby here I come š
Oh yes! These are great for 4th parties!
Oh what a great idea, Camille! I’m going to make these (and I have jars like this already. Thanks for sharing with us at the Throwback Thursday Link party!
Mollie
I always thought making my own candles was so much harder to do than this. Thank you for the tutorial. I love your end results too.
Thank you for sharing this with us on the #HomeMattersParty. We hope to see you again when we open our doors at 12 AM EST on Friday.
This is such a good idea! We need citronella candles, and hey, might as well have some fun and festive ones š
Hi Camille, I really want to try this DIY. I love the layers on the candles. Thanks for sharing at the Inspiration Spotlight Party. Pinned & shared, shared on my FB page too. Have a great weekend!
Not only are these super cute but they serve a good purpose too! My four year old and I definitely need these because mosquitoes seem to think we’re delicious…LOL! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Share The Wealth Sunday! xoxo
These are so awesome! I want a bunch of these for a summer barbecue. Pinned!
These are great! I know my family would love to help make these.
They are a great activity for kids!
These are so cute and so perfect for holiday gatherings! Thanks for sharing with us at Snickerdoodle Sunday! Pinned and tweeted to share!
~Laurie
This is so cute. I am loving all the patriotic posts this week. I am inviting you to link up with us at Family Joy Blog Link Up Party this week.
I just started making my own candles last winter and didn’t know or think to color them with crayons! What a great idea!
Yes! My daughter saw it on a YouTube video! LOL
I’ve been leery of getting into making candles as I’m sure I’ll get quickly addicted. Just looks so intimidating….but your tutorial makes this look much easier then I thought it would be! Plus the end result is so pretty š
Such an ingenious way to use crayons! I love how the candles turned out and it looks like something Moriah would like to make with me!
love the candles! such a great tute, lots of images, easy to follow. Thanks for sharing at Snickerdoodle Sunday. We forgot to mention you were featured this past weekend š Congrats!
I love these candles. Great lineup of other crafts for the 4th also! Thanks for sharing at the #HomeMattersParty
I am so excited I found this! I have been on the hunt for citronella candles for weeks and haven’t found anything. I thought about making them but had no clue how. Now I’m going to give candle making a try. Thanks !!!
I’m slightly addicted now! It’s so easy and the possibilities are endless. Just get the soy wax. It’s so much nicer to work with.
Somehow I haven’t attempted to make candles yet. But thanks for this tutorial. Thank you for linking up at #HomeMattersParty this week. Hope you will come back next week and link up again.
These are perfect for July! Great idea to add citronella or eucalyptus to keep the bugs away. Making outdoor candles is on my to-do list, so reading your tips definitely helped. I could totally see myself forgetting to put the wick in! I am co-hosting a new link party every Tuesday at 7pm. We’d love for you to join us!
Hi! Found you via The Kim Fix Six and love these! A couple of questions. How much citronella oil do you use for them to be effective? And does the wax not melt styrofoam bowl? Pinning this and can’t wait to try!
Hi Caroline! Good questions. I live in Nevada and we don’t really have mosquitoes. š So mine are packed for camping over the 4th. But I used 6-8 drops (2-3 drops per layer). They smell lightly of citronella so I don’t think it’d hurt to use more. But I will report back after camping with them. The wax does not get hot enough to melt the bowls and it begins to cool immediately so you have to work kind of quickly when mixing the colors. I had leftovers in the bowl because it was cooling.
So super smart and festive! Love these!
Thanks, Marie!
these are amazing! I love the idea of using the crayon to get the color. š