September 1998:
Candles within candles
Candles-within-candles is a more structured variation on the crushed-candle candle technique. A candle is made in one mold, allowed to harden, then placed into a little larger mold so that its edges hit parts of that mold and show through the wax that is used to fill the larger mold.
Vertical striping is one of the effects that can occur. The one in the first picture used a black inner candle from a square mold which was fitted into a larger square mold with its edges touching the center of the sides of the larger mold, which was then filled with purple wax.
The second one is another black square inner candle fit into a round mold and finished in red.
The center candle in the third one was made in a round mold with tilted striping. It was then inserted into a square mold and filled with clear wax so that the colors show through, mysteriously.
To make a candle-in-candle, first choose your molds: there should be definite points of intersection with the larger mold. Remember that candles shrink when cold, so a close fit or just a little too big when the metal molds are tried will probably work well in wax. Choose colors that will allow the inside candle to contrast well, but note: if the second wax is very hot and there is a lot of dye in the interior candle, there will be bleeding of color, which may be a problem. I made a "cylinders within a cylinder" candle with six 1-inch cylinders of various deep colors inside a five-inch mold, and the smaller cylinders had so much dye that the clear wax muddied.
Wick the inside candle and mold it as usual. Insert it upside down into the larger mold so that the wick goes through the wicking hole, which can be done by sewing a needle and long thread through the wick then dropping the needle through the wicking hole and pulling the wick through after it; and seal it well. Align the side of candle with the larger mold for an attractive effect. Simple shapes such as squares in squares work best, I've found. Pour the second wax to fill the larger mold and let harden. The inside candle gives a shadow effect and an attractive top when unmolded.
