DIY Eggshell Candles {with Soy Wax + Essential Oils}

DIY eggshell candles are cute, easy, and perfect for spring! The homemade scented candles are made with soy wax and naturally fragranced with essential oils. This fun eggshell craft is a cute basket stuffer + Easter decoration, and the easy candle making tutorial shows how to make candles in egg shells.

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DIY Eggshell candles – Fun Easter candles

If you’re looking for easy Easter craft ideas, try these fun DIY eggshell candles. It’s a fairly simple candle making project, but the result looks very fancy! You just need some soy wax, empty eggshells, a little bit of dye and essential oils to make the Easter candles.

Homemade eggshell candles make cute gifts and sweet Easter decor for an Easter table. But the DIY soy candles not only look adorable, they also smell lovely. I scented my eggshell candles with essential oils, and you can find a few spring candle blends below.

And speaking of eggshell crafts and Easter decorations, be sure to peek at our glitter Easter eggs and gold-leaf Easter eggs. They are the perfect Easter craft ideas to accompany these homemade soy candles!

What are eggshell candles?

Eggshell candles are a type of candle where a cleaned-out eggshell acts as the candle container. Egg shell candles can be scented or unscented, and the wax can be colored or left uncolored. They are lovely DIY Easter candles, a sweet spring decorating idea, a non-food Easter basket stuffer, and a springtime gift.

Materials for egg shell candles

You need the following materials to make candles in eggshells:

• Clean, dry eggshells – You can either empty the eggs yourself or buy blown-out shells. White, brown, or colored eggshells are all eggcellent options.
• Soy wax – I used Golden Brands 464 soy wax, which is my go-to in all of my homemade candle recipes.  This soy wax burns cleanly, holds fragrance well, and will produce great looking soy candles.
• Tapped candle wicks – These tabbed, pre-waxed cotton wicks are perfect for our eggshell soy candles.
• Mica powder (optional) – I decided to color the soy wax in soft pastels and used pink, blue, and yellow mica powder. Of course, you can also use candle dye or leave the wax white.
• Essential oils (optional)

You also want to gather the following supplies for this fun egg shell craft idea:

• Double boiler – I love this double boiler pot because you can use it to melt and pour the wax into the eggshells. But a heat-resistant glass measuring cup will work, too.
• Hot glue gun + glue sticks
• Toothpicks
• Cardboard egg carton

Essential oil blends for Easter candles

If you love scented candles as much as I, making natural essential oil candles is a no-brainer. Here are 3 spring essential oil blends for candles but feel free to use your preferred EO combo instead:

• Candy Egg: 55 drops vanilla oleoresin + 35 drops chocolate absolute + 20 drops tonka bean absolute*
• Chasing Bunnies: 60 drops sweet orange + 35 drops Amyris + 25 drops ylang ylang
• Spring Meadow: 45 drops bergamot + 30 drops lavender + 20 drops vetiver + 8 drops ginger root

These amounts are enough to scent 2 cups / 140 g / 5 oz soy wax, which is enough to pour 4 to 6 eggshell candles.

Since these DIY soy candles are pretty small, don’t expect a strong smell – they are simply too small to fill up a whole room. That being said, I’ve been burning eggshell candles on my desk, and I’m impressed with scent throw.

*I used tonka bean absolute also in my lavender sleep spray.

How to make eggshell candles

How do you make egg shell candles? This easy soy candle recipe is very straightforward and comes together quickly! Here’s what you do:

Create the eggshell candle container

The first thing you’ll want to do to make these DIY Easter candles is to prepare the eggshells.

• Empty the eggs. Poke a hole into the top of each egg and then pour out the raw egg.
• Create an opening. Carefully chip away small pieces of eggshell 1/4 to 1/3 down the egg. Don’t worry about making the eggs look uniform. A jagged edge looks beautiful.
• Clean the eggshells. Rinse the with plenty of water and a splash of vinegar. Let dry.
• Dye shells. Optionally, dye the eggshells (e.g. with food coloring).
• Place the eggs in an egg carton. Discard cracked eggs as hot wax could leak out.

Tip: Use the leftover eggs to make scrambled eggs, lemon curd, egg cups, or sheet pan fried eggs.

Attach the wicks

Next, you need to glue the wick into the shell.

• Add hot glue. Apply a dot of glue on the wick tap.
• Attach to shell. Insert the wick into the shell and gently glue it to the bottom.
• Center the wick. Use toothpicks to support and center the wick in the middle of the candle. Simply push the wick into the egg, as you see in the photo.

Melt the soy wax

Now it’s time to melt, dye, and scent the candle wax.

• Melt the soy wax. Place the soy wax in a double boiler and melt in a water bath. Be mindful of hot steam rising from the pot at the side of the bowl. Alternatively, melt the wax in the microwave. Ideally, melt the wax at a moderate temperature, as heating the wax too high can lead to problems.
• Cool wax. Once melted, take the wax off the heat, and let cool for 5 minutes.
• Dye and scent. Stir the mica powder and essential oils (if using) into the melted wax.

Safety tip: Melted soywax gets hot, so be careful when handling the wax and the freshly poured eggshell candles.

Pour the egg shell candles

Here’s how to pour the wax:

• Pour the wax. Carefully pour the wax into the egg shells just below the rim. And no worries about getting wax on the shell. You can simply scratch off any spills after the wax has cooled. The soy wax will come right off.
• Cure the candles. Let the DIY egg candles cool at room temperature until the wax has set.
• Shorten the wick. Trim the wick to 0.4 in/ 1 cm before burning the candles for the first time.

Safety tips for burning eggshell candles

Please follow these safety tips when burning your handmade Easter candles:

• Never let candles burn unattended. Always extinguish candles when you leave the room.
• Be careful when small children or pets are present.
• Burn candles on a heat-resistant surface and away from anything that could catch fire (e.g. curtains).
• Eggshells are round and can’t stand on their own. Place the eggshell candle in a suitable candle holder. Ceramic eggcups work best.
• The eggshell gets hot, so don’t touch it while the candle is burning.

How to gift eggshell candles

Egg candles are a sweet homemade gift idea for Easter and spring. Here are 2 ideas how you can package and gift them:

• egg holder (single candle): To give a single eggshell candle, put your candle in a pretty eggcup. The recipient will receive two gifts, the candle and an egg holder.
• egg carton (multiple candles): I found these colorful egg cartons on Amazon that would fit four homemade egg candles.

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Egg shell candles FAQ

What eggs can you use for egg shell candles?

Could also use duck eggs or goose eggs if you want to make large candles. Quail eggs are too small for candle making. I also don’t recommend plastic eggs as the plastic could melt while the candle burns.

Are eggshell candles safe?

Eggshell candles aren’t any less safe than any other candle. Use common sense and follow my safety tips when burning your eggshell candles. The eggshell can withstand heat (remember, you can boil eggs in their shells), but the shell gets hot.

How much wax do I need for eggshell candles?

I found that 1 large chicken eggshell can hold approximately 1.2 oz / 35 g soy wax, which is a little less than 1/2 cup wax flakes.

Can eggshell candles be made with another wax?

Yes, any container wax would work, e.g. paraffin wax, beeswax, or another vegetable wax. Just be sure to check how much fragrance your wax can hold.

Can I use fragrance oils instead of essential oils?

Absolutely.

More homemade candle recipes

If you like candle making, have a look at our other DIY candle recipes:

• lavender candles
• citronella candle
• pumpkin spice candle
• eucalyptus candles