Learn all secrets of how to make DIY pumpkin spice candles with soy wax and essential oils! This homemade candle making tutorial includes a pumpkin spice essential oil recipe, tips to choose the best materials, and tricks to make soy candles with essential oils smell stronger. The candle making instructions come with free printable candle labels and gift tags to package and decorate your all-natural soy candles for gifting.
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DIY Pumpkin Spice Candles
This comprehensive guide shares all of the details on how to make pumpkin spice candles, a DIY pumpkin spice essential oil blend and 3 additional essential oil candle blends, what wax, wick, and container to use, and how to make your homemade scented candle smell stronger. Plus, all the tips and tricks I’ve learned making DIY soy candles.
I know many people who get so excited when autumn arrives to buy scented candles and make their house smell like fall (yes, I’m looking at you, Kate and Cyna). But good-quality scented candles can come with a hefty price tag. 25 bucks for fall candles? Yeah, I don’t think so.
And speaking of fall candles, be sure to check out my homemade sweater weather candle, too!
So, let’s get into how to make pumpkin spice scented candles with essential oils and soy wax!
Supplies for DIY pumpkin spice candles
Below I have listed the exact materials and tools I used to make this pumpkin spice candles DIY:
- soy wax – I used EcoSoya Q230 wax to make this candle recipe, because it’s easy to use, has a high fragrance load of 18% and gives a great scent throw.
- candle wicks – These 6 in / 15 cm cotton-core wicks are low smoke and free of lead and other metals.
- glue dots – These heat-resistant glue dots will keep the wick in place. Alternatively, use a hot glue gun to apply the wicks.
- wick centering device – Wick centering devices will keep the candle wick in the centre of the candle holder.
- pumpkin pie spice and whole spices – I decorated my homemade pumpkin spice candles with a dusting of pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon sticks, whole star anise, cloves, cardamom pods, and allspice berries.
Jars for DIY pumpkin spice mason jar candles
How to make soy candles in mason jars? I recycled old jam jars for this spiced candle recipe because cheap and cute. Here are the jars I recommend for this soy candle DIY:
- 8-oz Quilted Crystal mason jar
- 8 oz Golden Harvest mason jars
- 8-oz wide-mouth canning jars with gold lid
- 8 oz wide-mouth canning jars with silver lid
- 9-oz jars with straight sides and white lids
Tip: The amounts stated in the recipe below are enough to make one 8-oz pumpkin spice scented candle in a container with a width of 3 in. To fill a 16-oz mason jar simply double the materials. Because the width of the 16-oz mason jars is the same as for 8 oz mason jars, you can use the same wick.
Other soy candle making supplies
I also find the following supplies for candle making useful:
- wax melting pot – A wax melting pot is ideal for melting and pouring wax for candles and wax melts. A double boiler can be used as well to melt the wax on the stovetop, or a heat-resistant glass jug for melting in the microwave.
- laser thermometer – A laser thermometer comes in handy to take the temperature of the wax mess-free.
- heat gun – A heat gun allows you to fix small imperfections easily.
Pumpkin spice essential oil
Obviously, we need pumpkin spice essential oil to fragrance our fall candles and you have a few options. The first option is to blend your own DIY pumpkin spice essential oil blend. Pumpkin spice is one of the best fall scents and also a lovely winter candle scent in my opinion.
To make 14 g / 0.5 oz pumpkin spic essential oil, which is enough to fragrance 1 8-oz candle, you need:
- 4 g / 0.14 oz cinnamon bark
- 2.5 g / 0.09 oz nutmeg
- 2.5 g / 0.09 oz ginger
- 2.5 g / 0.09 oz clove bud
- 1.5 g / 0.05 oz allspice (optional, for those who want a really spicy pumpkin pie spice essential oil blend)
Another idea is to buy ready-made a pumpkin spice essential oil blend. Using a blend is great when you don’t want to buy 5 different essential oils. Cari from Everything Pretty recommends the pumpkin pie spice essential oil from Right Note (formerly Crafty Bubbles) in her post about pumpkin spice essential oil for fall bath and body recipes.
You can buy this EO blend as part of the Right Note Fall/Winter Variety blends set. The scent is also included in their Holiday Favorites kit.
Pumpkin spice essential oil variations
The beauty of making your own essential oils for soy candles is that you can customize the essential oil blend to your preferences. Here are some variations on the pumpkin spice essential oil mix so you can make the best pumpkin spice candles ever:
Pumpkin spice essential oil with cardamom
The addition of cardamom essential oil gives the DIY pumpkin spice candles a fresh, slightly citrusy smell. Personally, I love this essential oil recipe the most. For pumpkin spice essential oil with cardamom, use the following amounts:
- 4 g / 0.14 oz cinnamon bark
- 2.5 g / 0.09 oz nutmeg
- 2.5 g / 0.09 oz ginger
- 2.5 g / 0.09 oz cardamom
Pumpkin spice latte essential oil
Adding vanilla oleoresin to the mix will give you a pumpkin spice latte essential oil blend. This fall essential oil blend is perfect for those who like a sweeter, less spicy scent. Here’s what you need to make pumpkin spice latte essential oil blend:
- 3 g / 0.1 oz cinnamon bark
- 3 g / 0.1 oz vanilla oleoresin
- 2.5 g / 0.09 oz nutmeg
- 2.5 g / 0.09 oz ginger
Pumpkin pie essential oil
Got room for one more autumn essential oil blend? Mixing vanilla and frankincense with cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger will give you a delicious pumpkin pie essential oil blend. Here’s what you need:
- 3 g / 0.14 oz cinnamon bark
- 3 g / 0.09 oz vanilla oleoresin
- 2.5 g / 0.09 oz nutmeg
- 2.5 g / 0.09 oz ginger
- 1.5 g / 0.05 oz frankincense
How to make DIY pumpkin spice candles
Making homemade pumpkin spice essential oil candles is so easy! Let me walk you through how to make soy candles with essential oils:
Safety tips for making soy candles
- Melted wax is very hot and can lead to burns. Please be very careful when handling hot wax, hot jars or a heat gun, and protect your hands with oven gloves.
- Wax stains are difficult to remove. Cover the work area with old newspaper and wear clothes that you don’t mind getting stained.
Prep work
- Gather your materials. The basic ingredients for pumpkin spice candles are soy wax pallets and essential oils, but we also need wicks and glue dots.
- Thread the wicks through a wick holder and apply the wicks tabs firmly to the bottom of your jar or container using glue dots or hot glue.
- Place the jars on a baking sheet/tray and keep in the oven set at the lowest temperature until you are ready to pour the wax. Warming the containers helps the wax to distribute in the container evenly.
Melt the soy wax
- Add the soy wax to a wax melting pot or double boiler placed inside a large pot filled 1/3 with water. Bring the water to a simmer. Be mindful of hot steam rising from the pot. Heat and stir until the wax has fully melted and no solids remain. Alternatively, melt the wax in the microwave.
- Let the wax cool to 155°F / 68°C. Then stir in the essential oils. Take a moment to combine well.
Pour the candles
- Carefully fill each container 0.4 in / 1 cm below the rim of the jar. Be careful that the wicks stay in the centre of the container. The optimal pouring temperature to for EcoSoya Q230 is 145°F / 62°C.
Decorate the candles (optional)
- Using spices in candles looks pretty! Sprinkle with a pinch of pumpkin spice and arrange whole spices. You’ll know you can decorate the soy candle when the wax becomes cloudy and sets around the edges.
Tip: Cinnamon sticks are quite long, so I broke them in half before placing them in the wax.
Cure the candles
- Let the candles cool at room temperature (not the refrigerator!) for several hours or better overnight. Allowing the wax to cool slowly will create the best-looking candles and helps to avoid cracks.
- Once the candles are hard, remove the wick holder and trim the wicks to 1/4 in / 0.6 cm.
Tip: If the wax didn’t stick to the sides of the jar, reheat the sides of the jar with a heat gun.
Burn the candle safely
- Always burn candles on a heat-proof surface and never leave burning candles unattended. Take extra care if children or pets are around.
- The whole spices are for decorative purposes only and should be removed before burning the candle.
Troubleshooting – Tips for the best pumpkin spice candles
A friend once told me that candle making is a science before it’s a hobby, which is certainly true for making pumpkin spice soy candles with essential oils. So please note that if you change one the ingredients (e.g. use different wax, different wicks or a container with a wider/smaller base), your DIY essential oil candle recipe candle may turn out differently than mine.
- Issues like sooth or an uneven burn pool arise when the wrong wick is chosen. Usually, a wick is crafted for a specific wax and container size. When buying wicks make sure it’s suitable for soy wax and the container/jar you want to use.
- Another problem is adding too much essential oil to the soy wax. Think of wax like a sponge. Just like a sponge can only hold a certain amount of water, soy wax can only hold a limited amount of fragrance. If you add more the extra oil will seep through the wax, which is called sweating.
How to make highly scented soy candles
How to make highly scented soy candles? or How to get better throw essential oil soy candles? are questions I often hear when making soy candles with essential oils. You have to keep in mind that essential oils are plant-based extracts, which makes them perfect to fragrance your home naturally. But unlike synthetically manufactured, more stable fragrance oils, essential oils are volatile, meaning they evaporate over time.
That said, I have a few tricks to make our candle smell stronger:
High-quality essential oils
The staying power of essential oils depends on their strength of scent and the quality of the oil. Spice essential oils are strong-smelling, long-lasting EOs. And if you buy high-quality essential oils from reputable manufacturers, you will have wonderfully fragrant essential oil candles.
Choose the right type of soy wax
As I mentioned above, soy wax gives off fragrance evenly and EcoSoya Q230 can hold 18% fragrance. Working with this wax allows us to add more essential oils than we could with other brands of soy wax.
Tip: While you could add over 1 oz essential oils for one 8-oz candle, I don’t recommend it. Too much of essential oils can lead to headache or respiratory problems. The spicy essential oils like cinnamon bark, ginger, or allspice already have a strong smell and 0.5 oz, as stated in the recipe, is enough to give you a strong pumpkin spice fragrance.
Tip: For a lightly fragranced candle, reduce the amount of essential oils to 7 g / 0.25 oz.
Add the essential oils at 155°F / 68°C
For the best scent throw, add the essential oils at the right temperature, 155°F / 68°C is perfect. If the wax is too hot, essential oils will evaporate and the candle will use some of the fragrance.
Make small batches
Because essential oils evaporate over time, it’s best to produce DIY soy candles for personal use in small batches. However, if you make homemade soy candles for sale or want a bunch of DIY holiday candles as Christmas gift, you can make more.
Gift giving and printable labels
Who doesn’t love homemade scented candles? Pumpkin spice candles are very pretty and easy, making them a great housewarming or hostess gift, a Christmas present, or a sweet gift for your friend. I decorate the jars with natural twine and printable pumpkin spice candle labels.
The free printables come in two different sizes that can be used to label the jar or lid and as gift tags. You can download the labels at the end of the post.
If you make these fall candles, I’d love to see! Please tag @chcottage on Instagram or add a photo of your creation to this post on Pinterest, so I and others can see your soy candle creation!
Other candle recipes
For more candle making ideas at home, try these:
- citronella candles
- lavender candles
- eucalyptus candles
- peony candle
- lemon candle
- egg shell candles
- DIY wax melts
DIY Pumpkin Spice Candles – Fall Candles Recipe with Essentials Oils and Soy Wax
Learn how to make DIY pumpkin spices candles with soy wax and essential oils! This creative easy homemade fall scented candle recipe includes a pumpkin spice essential oil recipe, tips for the best materials and highly scented soy candles with essential oils. Poured in jars and decorated with free printable labels, this project is a great handmade gift idea for autumn holidays and Christmas.
Materials
- 8-oz mason jar
- 2 cups / 230 g / 8 oz soy wax (EcoSoya Q230)
- candle wick
- glue dot
- 4 g / 0.14 oz cinnamon bark essential oil
- 2.5 g / 0.09 oz nutmeg essential oil
- 2.5 g / 0.09 oz ginger essential oil
- 2.5 g / 0.09 oz clove bud essential oil
- 1.5 g / 0.05 oz allspice essential oil
- pumpkin pie spice for sprinkling
- whole spices (optional)
Instructions
- Thread the wicks through a wick holder and apply the wicks tabs firmly to the bottom of your jar or container using glue dots or hot glue.
- Place the jars on a baking sheet/tray and keep in the oven set at the lowest temperature until you are ready to pour the wax. Warming the containers helps the wax to distribute in the container evenly.
- Add the soy wax to a wax melting pot or double boiler placed inside a large pot filled 1/3 with water. Bring the water to a simmer. Be mindful of hot steam rising from the pot.
- Heat and stir until the wax has fully melted and no solids remain. Alternatively, melt the wax in the microwave.
- Let the wax cool to 155°F / 68°C. Then stir in the essential oils. Take a moment to combine well.
- Carefully fill each container 0.4 in / 1 cm below the rim of the jar. Be careful that the wicks stay in the centre of the container. The optimal pouring temperature to for EcoSoya Q230 is 145°F / 62°C.
- Sprinkle with a pinch of pumpkin spice and arrange whole spices. You’ll know you can decorate the soy candle when the wax becomes cloudy and sets around the edges.
- Let the candles cool at room temperature (not the refrigerator!) for several hours or better overnight. Allowing the wax to cool slowly will create the best-looking candles and helps to avoid cracks.
- Once the candles are hard, remove the wick holder and trim the wicks to 1/4 in / 0.6 cm.
Notes
Safety tips for making soy candles
Melted wax is very hot and can lead to burns. Please be very careful when handling hot wax, hot jars or a heat gun, and protect your hands with oven gloves.
Wax stains are difficult to remove. Cover the work area with old newspaper and wear clothes that you don’t mind getting stained.
Burn the candle safely
Always burn candles on a heat-proof surface and never leave burning candles unattended. Take extra care if children or pets are around.
The spices are for decorative purposes only and should be removed before burning the candle.
Recommended Products
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Printable Pumpkin Spice Candle Label
Tab or click the button below to download your free printable pumpkin spice candle label!
Over to you!
Thanks so much for visiting Country Hill Cottage – we’re so happy you’re here! Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!
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Irena xx
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Haylee
Monday 20th of November 2023
Thank you for the great tips! Looking forward to making candles. The wax you recommended is no longer available on Amazon:/ Is there another one you would recommend? Thanks!
Irena | Country Hill Cottage
Monday 20th of November 2023
Hi Haylee! Thank you for letting me know. I recommend soy wax 464 (affiliate link) to make this pumpkin spice candle. Happy making!
Carmon
Tuesday 17th of October 2023
Does the add ins ever catch fire? Like does it move when the wax is melted and burn when hitting the flame? Anxious Woman here. Lol
Irena | Country Hill Cottage
Wednesday 18th of October 2023
Hi Carmon! The add-ins are for decoration only, I recommend removing them before lighting the candle for the first time. Happy making!
ROSILENE
Thursday 30th of January 2020
GOSTARIA DE SABER SE ESSE MATERIAL PODE SER PRA REVENDA? PLR WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW IF THIS MATERIAL CAN BE FOR RESALE? PLR
Country Hill Cottage
Thursday 30th of January 2020
No, this are for personal use only.
Dan
Sunday 29th of September 2019
Forgot to ask, she has pumpkins spice oil can I use that?
Irena | Country Hill Cottage
Monday 30th of September 2019
That depends on the type of oil you have (e.g. fragrance oil, essential oil blend.) Some fragrance oil are meant for diffusers and aren't suitable for candle making. If you're unsure, I would recommend that you try this pumpkin pie essential oil blend or the one included in this set of essential oil blends. (affiliate links) Happy crafting and let me know if you have any other questions!
Dan
Sunday 29th of September 2019
Want to make those for the wife. She loves pumpkin spice scented candles.
Irena | Country Hill Cottage
Monday 30th of September 2019
That's so sweet, Dan. Pumpkin spice candles are wonderful.