How to Make Your Own Beeswax Seashell Candles

It is really easy to make your own seashell candles using beeswax and a bit of wick. These tiny candles give off a beautiful light and can be used much like any tealight. Making your own beeswax candles is one of the most common ways beeswax is used in our culture. Who says you have to use conventional molds?

Tealight candles make with beeswax and seashells on beach sand image.

Using Seashells for Candle Making and Home Decor

I dearly love searching for seashells at the beach. While we do not get down to the ocean as much as I would like, I always plan some time alone looking for shell treasures. Perhaps, you do the same?

Honestly, my husband teases me and says that we get worse gas mileage headed back up to the mountains because of the weight of my latest shell collection.

No matter, I love them. Now, once we get our seashells home – what can we do with them? There are various crafts you can enjoy using seashells. One of my favorites is making little beeswax tealights.

If you are not lucky enough to have a shell collection on hand, no worries. You can purchase sea shells to use in your candle making crafts.

3 seashell beeswax candle tealights and a starfish on beach sand

Choosing the Best Shell Types for Beeswax Tealights

The only two things required to make a candle is an amount of wax and a bit of wick. Once you move past those 2 requirements, let your imagination run wild.

If you are a shell collecting nut, like me, your collection probably has some of every size and shape. The weirder-the better.

However, for making beeswax tea lights, the common ark shells are some of the best. We want a candle that is small enough to only require a small amount of wax but large enough to burn for a bit.

Creating Your Beeswax Seashell Candles

These are the simple ingredients needed to make your own beeswax tealights using seashells.

Materials Needed:

beeswax – only a small amount
seashells – one for each candle
wick – tealight wicks work well

Tools Needed:

double boiler or equivalent

Time needed: 30 minutes.

Instructions for using seashells to create beeswax candle tealights.

Select the right size seashell
Choose a shell that when sitting level will hold a bit of wax. I honestly never measure but let’s say a tablespoon of melted beeswax.
Gather and straighten tealight wicks
In general, I always use cotton core wicks of the appropriate size when making beeswax candles.

However, the pre-made tealight wicks work so well with this seashell candle that I am recommending you stick with them.

You will need one for each candle. Take them out of the bag and make sure the wick is secure on the tab and straight before you proceed.
Melt beeswax
There are many different ways of cleaning and melting beeswax. If you are purchasing beeswax, it will most likely be ready to use.

For those of you using raw beeswax, you may need to clean it a bit more to ensure any excess honey is removed etc.

The best and safest way of melting beeswax is always using the double boiler method. You can make your own with this mini-double boiler insert. I have 2 or three that I use for my wax projects.
Pour beeswax into seashell
Carefully pour a small amount of melted beeswax into the cavity of your selected seashell. I suggest you make one at a time.

If you are not steady and a bit nervous (like me) you may overflow the candle. That is okay – you can wipe the excess off.

However, will the wax melt and pool out of the candle when you light it? Take care to leave a bit of shell on the rim.
Insert Tealight Wick into Hot Beeswax
Beeswax cools rather quickly but you have a few seconds to work. This is why it is important to have your wick ready before you start and to only pour one candle at a time.

Set down your cup of melted wax and quickly but gently insert the prepared tealight wick and tab into the melted beeswax. The tab should help anchor the wick.

Let your candle cool for a couple of hours. The time needed will depend on the ambient temperature of the room. Trim the wick to 1/4″ and you are ready to enjoy.

Notes and Tips:

If you melt your wax in the microwave. Do only a few ounces of beeswax in a microwave safe cup or container. Watch it closely and do not let the wax overheat.
Wax is very difficult to remove from pots, pans, floors etc. It is best to have dedicated tools that you only use for wax crafting.

Enjoy Your Homemade Beeswax Seashell Candle Tealights

Now, wasn’t that easy? You can use your tealights for any occassion. Of course, as always, take care when using any type of candle as fires or burns can result.

Beeswax is very easy to work with and can be used to make many different projects. I enjoy preserving Fall leaves with Beeswax and making garlands for the holidays. These beeswax seashell tealights make great gifts or wedding favors too!