Seniors who are taking arts and crafts activities as their hobby or as a way of spending their leisure time wisely, are usually venturing in candle making. Seniors who do candle making does not just find the activity fun, but it can also be a great way in promoting social interaction and in the meantime, it promotes brain stimulation, for seniors need to let their creative side of the brain work in thinking of creative ideas for their candles. Candle making can give a senior a sense of dependence, for it can be a way for them to earn a little money from selling the candles they made, or they can even give to friends as a gift.
Scented Candles:
Scented candles are really no different from unscented candles. What makes both of it different is that scented candles, as the name suggests, come with a pleasant scent, while the unscented candle smells like ordinary wax. Scented candles are widely used for aromatherapy, where scents of the candles are derived from essential oils that can help in inducing relaxation and sleep. Scented candles are also used to set a pleasing mood to the room where it is lit.
How to Make Candles Scented:
Making scented candles is no different from ordinary candle making. What makes it different is how to achieve the scent you are going for and how to incorporate the scent to your candle wax. If you have tried mixing your candle wax with perfume to make it scented and failed, then you must know that wax never mix with alcohol and water, which is the primary component of perfume. In order to make a wax scented, it is best to use essential oils, since oils have similar components with wax, which makes both the essential oil and wax compatible to be mixed together.
Steps in Making Scented Candles:
Since you already know how to make an ordinary wax scented, then I will provide you these 3 easy steps on how to make your very own scented candles.
- Melt the wax in a melting pot (if you do not have a melting pot, use a double boiler). Never melt the wax using direct fire, since wax is highly flammable. The wax should only be heated at approximately 175 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Once the wax is completely melted, you can now add the essential oil to make it scented. Always keep in mind that too much essential oil to the wax can make the candle not to burn properly.
- It is now time to add a wick to the melted wax and mold it for drying.
Seniors will surely love scented candles, for it can help them relax, especially when essential oils used are eucalyptus, lavender, or chamomile. Aside from candle making, there are still a lot of different arts and crafts activities that seniors will surely love. Please also see other crafts for seniors or browse the entire activities for seniors website for fun, ideas and interesting articles.
