Unique Baby Shower Favor : Candles Poured in Baby Food Jars

Looking for a unique and fitting, yet useful idea for baby shower favors? Pour candles to create adorable, great smelling container candles in baby food jars.

To make container candles in baby food jars, you will need container candle wax, pretabbed wicks and wick stickers, color, scent, a double boiler, and plenty of jars with lids. Shop candle supply and craft stores or online candle craft suppliers for supplies.

Most retailers specify waxes for use in crafting container (or jar) candles versus molded candles. While the formulas are not drastically different, you will achieve the best performance from your candles if you use the recommended container wax. Generally, the difference is in the additives. Wax blends have varying levels of hardness which affect burn times. Container candles use softer waxes than freestanding molded candles. Poor burning performance can result from using the wrong formula of wax.

If you have a friend or relative with an infant or toddler, ask them to save the jars for you. If you do not have access to a free and abundant supply, purchase cases of baby food, empty and thoroughly rinse and clean the jars. Remove all labels. Starting at twenty-five to thirty-five cents per jar, baby food jars are still less expensive than most glass containers purchased through candle supplies or glass container retailers. You may prefer to buy jars of food even if you have a free source to ensure all the jars are of the same shape and size.

As baby food jars are small containers, you will need to purchase small wicks for your candle crafts. Measure the diameter of the food jars and purchase a small wick recommended for that size container (most candle craft suppliers list their wicks for sale by the diameter of the container opening). Using the appropriate sized wick will ensure the flame is not too large for the container and the jar will not overheat when the candle is burned. Apply wick stickers to the bottoms of the wicks and stick to the bottom center of the baby food jars.

Purchase any color dye or dye chips you like for your candles. The obvious choice is pink for girls and blue for boys, but consider coordinating with the layette or nursery colors chosen by the mother. For a twin's shower, use two colors; choose a boy's color and a girl's color for a fraternal brother and sister set.

What scent to choose is a personal choice as well. Baby powder is fitting and nostalgic for many. Lavender is widely known as a calming aromatherapy even for small children, or simply choose a favorite scent of the mother-to-be. Look over your supplier's list of candle scents. The choices are many.

Wax needs to be melted in a double-boiler system. If you do not have one, or to avoid a tedious wax cleanup, place a clean tin coffee can (preferably placed atop a small metal rack to elevate) inside a larger pan of water. Wax should be chopped into smaller pieces and placed inside the coffee can or top pan of a double boiler. Heat on high, stirring occasionally, until all the wax is melted. Add color, then scent, last, to avoid cooking the scent away. Mix color and scent thoroughly but do not stir excessively, as this will introduce air bubbles into the wax and resulting candle. Follow all instructions for melting, temperature, and pouring as provided by your candle supply retailer. They will have the most appropriate directions for your specific wax blend.

It is often recommended to pour melted wax preparations into a spouted pouring pot for the safest and most accurate pouring. For container candles, pour the melted wax mixture into the jar until it is approximately 90% full. As the candle cools, a well is likely to form around the wick which will need to be filled later. Be sure to reserve enough wax for this step.

To avoid shifting of the wick as the wax cools and contracts, it is often recommended to poke three or four holes into the wax close to the wick as the candle hardens. When the candle is near completely set, top off the candle with the reserved wax. Re-melt the wax mixture and pour to fill the well. Pour slowly just to the top of the indentation. Avoid pouring above the top of the candle as this will cause a line to set into your candle top which may be visible from the outside of the finished candle (although with finishing decoration, this project is more forgiving).

(NOTE: some, but not all, candle suppliers recommend pre-heating jars in a warm oven, then reheating prior to topping off. The point of doing this is to prevent mottling that is the result of pouring hot wax into colder containers. The choice is yours, but unless the jars are very cold and unevenly poured, the resulting container candles without this step are quite smooth and attractive. Additionally, this step can cause more distortions and lines if not done properly. It is a bit tricky to get the hang of.)

Some candles may need to be topped more than once as the wax cools, but generally speaking, the baby food jar container candles are small enough that this is not usually necessary.

Once candles are completely cooled, trim the wicks to one-quarter of an inch. Cover with the jar lid and decorate as desired. A nice way to decorate baby food jar candles is to cut a strip of colored or scrap-booking paper long enough to surround the jar (this will help cover remaining bits of label or glue) and attach with hot glue. One to one and a half inches wide should be wide enough. Cut a second paper in another color a little thinner than the first. This can be a label with the baby or parent's names, dates, shower date, etc. Center and apply atop the first paper.

For a great looking cover, cut a round of fabric a little larger than the lid of the jar. Secure with a clear elastic and embellish with lace and/or ribbon to match.

It is advisable to add a small, round label to the bottom of the jar, listing scent and safe burning instructions. Be sure to advise recipients to remove flammable decorations prior to candle burning, for safety's sake.

With that, you will have created adorable shower favors the mother-to-be is sure to love. Guests will "ga-ga" over them, and appreciate the great smelling, useful gifts.

*For no pour crafts, make candles with bead wax or beeswax beads (sometimes called pearls). For these, simply attach wicks with wick stickers to the bottoms of the jars and spoon beaded wax around to fill. You will lose some control over scent and colors, but the process is much simpler and safer. Read more on how-to here,