The beauty of a candles flicker is actually based on some pretty basic scientific principles.

Candles are comprised of a mass of fuel which is intended to feed a flame, and a wick which contains the flame and balances the amount of fuel it takes in. A candles body can be comprised of the following substances...

Gel - a mixture containing mineral oil and resin
Beeswax - a natural byproduct of the honey collection process
Paraffin - This is a byproduct of the manufacture of petroleum
Stearin - This is a substance that is created using palm waxes
Tallow - rendered animal fat which is more expensive than most modern alternatives
Plant waxes including carnauba, bayberry and soy.

Generally the process of creating a candle is fairly simple. One of the fuels mentioned above is melted down into liquid form. Then one of three processes is generally undertaken.

1. The fuel is poured into a mold, and turned into a pillar candle
2. The fuel is poured into a flame resistant container, which is designed to house the candle
3. You have to dip the wick over and over again in order to create one of those taper candles.

You can add dye to teh materials while its being made to change the color of the finished product. This is most often done by adding an aniline-based dye to the body of the candle.

A candle can take on a specific scent if the right oils are added to the mix. In more expensive candles, natural scents can be added using essential oils. However scents can occasionally cause a decorative candle to burn less purely, which may result in ghosting.

Technically speaking, a candle produces 13 lumens of light, and about 40 Watts of heat. These numbers however are subject to change based on the make up of the candle, and how cleanly it burns. By comparison, a light bulb can produce 500 lumens of light while consuming the same amount of fuel.

There is a lot of information about candlemaking that is available today online, and while you have to check that it is indeed good information, the wealth of knowledge at our finger tips is amazing. For example, you can find out how to make scented jar candles, or you can find out why gel candles are so popular nowadays. You can find out where to get the best quality candle making supplies, and you can work out how much it will cost you before you invest in any supplies.

The internet have brought so much information to people, along with some bad stuff too of course, but when you look at candle making at home, you can easily confirm advice, and use the advice that sounds best to you. With a large selection of candles that you can make, and a variety of colors, aromas and shapes for to choose from, you have a great deal of choice about candle making at home.

For example, bees wax is sold in flat sheets of wax in different colors, and each sheet can make two bees wax candles just by cutting the sheet in half. After cutting them, these sheets of wax are then rolled tightly around a wick of a suitable length and that's all there is to having a beeswax candle finished ready to light.

But, if you are going to make gel candles so that you can customize them with embedded trinkets, then you need to heat the gel in a double boiler, or equivalent, to a high temperature. The same thing applies to making soy candles, or paraffin wax candles, the wax has to be melted first.

The reason this is so important is that bees wax candles can be made by people of all ages at home or anywhere, since there is no heating of the wax to worry about. For beeswax candles you do need to warm the candle wax a little to seal the edge of the wax sheet to itself, but this can easily be done just with the warmth from your fingers - no stove is needed. So beeswax candles are ideal for children who want to make a craft, perhaps for mother's day as they require few supplies, and few skills.

If, however the candle not be as you wanted it to look, the good thing about wax is that you can just heat it to melt it so you can begin again. So if the beeswax sheet of wax gets broken, it can always be carefully melted by an adult, and poured into a mold container, with a wick added of course. This means that there is little waste when candle making, because you can always just begin again. It is useful to be able to melt all the remaining pieces of candles left when they have burnt through, and with all these pieces, you will probably be able to make another candle.

Whatever color of candles you prefer to make, candle making is a good hobby to create at home on those dreary winter evenings. To begin with, by heating up the wax, you will feel a little warmer, since it is not advisable for you to leave the melting wax unwatched. Then there are the different aromas you can choose, that may bring back different memories, perhaps. Undoubtably, to make candles at home on a long winter's night, where you have something lovely to show for your efforts by the end of the evening, is a pleasant way of spending an evening.