We made quite an impressive batch of hand-rolled beeswax candles this year to give out as gifts, so naturally we also had to make them into valentines! You can make six of these smaller candles out of each single 8” x 8” beeswax sheet, so the kit from the shop has enough materials to make a total of 36 small candles (if you’re going that route, you’ll also need one extra packet of cotton wick). I typed the messages on the cards using our vintage typewriter (a gorgeous fully functioning Underwood typewriter that I’ve had in my collection for years), which was fun! This genius idea is from my pal Amanda (@amandapahls) who made them a couple of years ago with hand-dipped candles she made using the very first DIY kit from the shop! I’ve wanted to re-create them ever since and this was the perfect opportunity to. Also check out this video for a demo for the general process of making hand-rolled beeswax candles. The process outlined in this tutorial is the same, the candles are just smaller in size.

Materials:

– beeswax sheets
– cotton wick
– hair dryer (optional)
– cardboard or cardstock
– natural twine
– decorating beeswax or modeling beeswax
– heart wax cutter (optional)

Instructions for making hand-rolled beeswax candles

Step 1: How to cut your beeswax sheets

Using a sharp kitchen knife or an xacto knife, cut an 8” x 8” honeycomb beeswax sheet in half. Next, cut each half into thirds. You should end up with six equal sections, each piece measuring approximately 4” tall by a little under 2.75″ wide.

Step 2: How to attach the wick

Cut a piece of wick that is about 1” longer than the length of your piece of beeswax. You should be rolling the 4″ side which will give you final candles that are 4″ long. Place the wick along the bottom edge and warm the end of the sheet using a hair dryer. A hair dryer isn’t necessary, but it helps a lot with softening the wax so that you can roll the candles tightly. Securely wrap the end of the beeswax sheet around the wick.

Step 3: How to hand-roll beeswax candles

Warm the entire sheet for a few seconds using your hair dryer. Begin rolling, making sure that you are rolling tightly and that the edges are straight. Press the edges down firmly to finish.

Step 4: How to decorate your beeswax candles

Use decorating beeswax or modeling beeswax to add designs on your candles if desired! I used one of the small heart cutters from this wax cutter set for the hearts and the wax I used is a combination of decorating and modeling type wax. You certainly do not need wax cutters and can simply shape/cut the wax by hand. We also use our wax cutters for play dough so they’re a fun little tool to have and make things convenient.

Step 5: How to assemble the valentines

1. Cut rectangles out of your cardstock or cardboard.
2. Hand write a Valentine’s message, use alphabet stamps or print out text to attach to the cards. I used our vintage typewriter to type messages direct on the cards that read “Little candles tied up in twine please will you be my valentine”
3. Use a piece of twine to tie a couple of candles onto the card.