How to Make Wickless Candles

Candle-making can be a fun and challenging hobby. While simple designs are easy enough to do with children, candle-making can be an extremely creative craft. In addition to traditional candles with wicks, many decorators use wickless candles, sometimes known as tarts. These candles work similarly to wicked ones, relying on heat to melt the wax and release fragrances. These heating sources are most often heating plates or bulbs.

Choose what kind of candle mold you want to make. These can be found at most hobby and craft stores, or you can use any container that won't melt under heat. For children, individual-sized milk cartons with the tops cut off are great, easy molds.

Any visible dirt or debris left in the mold will appear on the outside of your candle. So clean the mold, if necessary, and let it dry.

Spray or brush cooking oil on the inside of your mold so that the candle can be removed from it once the wax has cooled. If you plan on keeping the candle in the mold you are using, skip this step.

Place water in the bottom half of your double boiler and place over medium heat.

Put the wax in the top part of the double boiler. If wax begins to smoke or burn, turn down the temperature or remove from heat.

Add dye chips to wax if needed, along with any fragrance you want. Add a modest amount of fragrance--a little goes a long way. Make sure the wax maintains its liquid state.

Pour wax into the pouring pot. This makes it easier to pour into the mold because of its pour spout. You can also use a funnel to go straight from the double boiler to the mold.

Fill the mold to the top with wax. Once the mold is set and the wax has shrunk, refill the mold to the top.

Allow candle to cool completely. You may place it in your refrigerator to accelerate this process. Once it's cooled, turn it upside down. You may need to tap the mold, but your candle should easily slide out.