Votives are popular today as a decorative accent as well as a way to get a great scent in the room. Making votive candles can be a fun hobby and can also be a great way to create handmade gifts that your friends and family will love.

Votive candles or votives as they are sometimes called sit in a low dish or inside something to light it up. They burn for a long time which is surprising since they are actually just small stubby candles. They are quite easy to make and a perfect project for the novice candle maker to learn on.

To start making votive candles, you will need wax, a double boiler, a thermometer, wick tabs, wick, and candle molds. You can also color the candles with dye and add a scent with oils. It’s a good idea to buy some mold spray as this will keep the wax from sticking to the molds, keeping them cleaner and making it easier to get them out.

Line up your votive molds on wax paper or newspaper and pour the melted wax in. You will probably spill a lot but don’t worry, you can reuse the spilled wax by putting it back into the melting wax once it hardens. Fill the molds to the lip.

Now you need to prepare the wicks. Take your wick tab and attach to it a wick of a couple of inches in length. Put the wick into the middle of the candle with the tab down at the bottom. You have to act quick because the votives can cool rather quickly. Make sure the wick remains centered during the cooling process.

Once the wax has cooled - slip them out of the molds and you are ready to use them!

Making votive candles is not that hard and will yield you a lot of little candles that you can use for yourself or give away as gifts.