If you love scented candles, you will adore these DIY cinnamon vanilla candles! The perfect combination of vanilla and cinnamon combine to create an amazingly scented homemade candle that smells great and saves you money at the same time!
When I was a teenager, one of my uncles had his own candle making business. His candles were amazing! One fall while I was visiting him, I was able to watch him make his candles right there in the kitchen and when he was done with the candles for sale, he made me my own specially blended candle in a heart shaped glass dish with doves on the lid that I had picked out.
It is still one of my favorite memories of him.
The candle itself was a vanilla scented candle but at some point along the way, a small drop of cinnamon wax had dropped into my vanilla. What came of it was an amazing combo that is still one of my favorites to this day. It was sweet and spicy at the same time and simply put; it smelled fantastic!
How do DIY candles get their scent?
When you’re making homemade candles like this DIY cinnamon vanilla candles, you can choose to use either essential oils (Simply Earth) or fragrance oils like THESE (Amazon) that are specifically made for candles. Personally, I prefer to make mine as toxin free as possible so I choose to use essential oils.
When you use essential oils in your homemade candles, you not only have a home that smells great, but you also get the benefits of aromatherapy from the essential oils.
These homemade cinnamon candles use both vanilla essential oil (Amazon) and cinnamon essential oil (Simply Earth) instead of artificial candle fragrance oils.
The scent of vanilla can have aphrodisiac and antidepressant properties while the smell of cinnamon has been shown to relieve stress, increase mental focus, boost libido and more. Combined in these natural scented candles, they are a pretty powerful combo!
How much do homemade candles cost to make?
This list of candle making supplies will make one handmade cinnamon vanilla candle. We use paraffin wax instead of candle making wax because it is cheaper and works just as well as the more expensive candle wax. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a food safe wax that is used for everything from candle making to food prep.
- 1 Half-Pint Mason Jar with lid and ring
- 20 drops vanilla essential oil
- 8 drops cinnamon essential oil
- 2 bricks paraffin wax
- Candle Wick with clip
- Double boiler
- Thermometer
- Wax adhesive (optional)
How to Melt Paraffin Wax
Paraffin wax is not like other waxes and as such, each brand will have its own melting temperature that it will need to be kept at in order to avoid burning it.
Before you begin making homemade candles with paraffin, be sure to check the box for the temperature you will need. Once you begin to melt, a digital candy thermometer like THIS one that clips to your melting pot is extremely helpful in keeping the wax from overheating.
Can I Make Different Scents with this DIY candle tutorial?
Yes! You absolutely can use this tutorial to make any scent homemade candles you want! To do so, you will follow the tutorial exactly with one exception. You will change the essential oils that you are using for scent.
You can make your DIY candle with a single scent such as peppermint or lavender or you can make a blend such as lavender lemon. If you’re making a blend, the scent you want to be strongest is the one that will get the larger amount of oils.
Can I adjust the amount of essential oils in the candle recipe?
Of course! As with any DIY that includes essential oils, your finished product is yours. This is especially true with DIY beauty products, DIY cleaners and homemade candles.
If you prefer a softer scent, simply reduce the amount of oils you’re using. For a stronger scent, simply add oils.
You may need to play with the amount of essential oils you’re using, but the great part about that is that these are made of wax. You can always remelt and add more oils or wax to fix a scent you’re not happy with.
How to gift homemade candles
Because these are made in mason jars, these candles gift especially well so if you are looking for a DY gift idea they will love, these are a great option.
To make gifting them easy, make as directed and add a lid and ring to your finished product. Wrap a piece of jute twine around the rim of the jar and add a farmhouse style gift tag to finish it off.
If jute does not suit what you would like for the gift, red or green Christmas ribbon would be just as pretty!
DIY Cinnamon Vanilla Candles
Equipment
- Ruler with holes for binder rings
- Digital Candy Thermometer
- Candle Melting/Pouring Pot
Ingredients
- 1 half-pint (8 oz) mason jar cleaned and dried fully
- 2 bricks paraffin wax
- 20 drops Vanilla Essential Oil
- 8 drops Cinnamon Essential Oil
- 1 candle wick with clip
- Wax Adhesive optional
Instructions
- Fill bottom of double broiler to halfway with water and bring to a boil over medium/high heat. Add paraffin wax to top half and set onto bottom to begin melting process. Turn heat down to medium/low to avoid the wax burning. Stir occasionally.
- As the wax begins to melt, take a candle wick with clip and dip it into the melted wax until the clip is well covered. If you are using wax adhesive, you can skip this step since the wax adhesive will do this instead.
- If you're using wax adhesive, place the candle wick centered in the jar and use a glass dropper to add a few drops of adhesive to the bottom of the wick to help keep it steady. No matter which you used – melted wax or adhesive – push and hold the wick and clip into the bottom of the jar and hold in place for a few seconds to set it in place.
- Once the wax has fully melted and as reached the temperature needed for pouring, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool for just a few seconds. Add the essential oils and stir well with a rubber spatula making sure they are fully combined.
- Pour the wax into your jar filling it 3/4 full only. Be sure the wick is centered so your DIY cinnamon vanilla candle burns evenly. If you can not keep it centered while pouring, run the wick through the center of a ruler. Lay the ruler across the jar to help hold the wick in place. Reserve the remaining wax for step 6.
- Allow the 3/4 full jar to harden for approx. 30 minutes. Once it has, use a toothpick to poke several holes down into the candle to release any air bubbles that may have formed.
- Using the remaining wax, top the jars off the rest of the way. If you need to remelt the wax, do so over low heat. Set the jar aside to cool and harden until it and the wax are cool to the touch. Once cool, trim the wick to 1/4" and use like normal.
Notes
- This DIY cinnamon vanilla candle tutorial works well for any scented candle you may want to make. To make different scents, simply change the essential oil(s) you are using. Use the same amounts as stated. You may need to split multiple oils in order to get the blend “just” right.
