Scent Almanac
Scented wax sachets (no flame)
Decorative scented wax tablets pressed with dried flowers and hung in closets and drawers. They scent the air with no flame at all.
- Difficulty
- ●○○
- Time
- active 45 min · cure 3–7 days
Safety first
- Never leave melting wax unattended. Keep children and pets out of the work area.
- Melt wax in a pouring pitcher in a double boiler. Never put wax on direct heat.
- Use a thermometer and stay inside the wax supplier's temperature range.
- If wax catches fire: turn off the heat and smother it with a metal lid or baking soda. NEVER use water, which throws burning wax.
- Handle fragrance oils with gloves and ventilate the room while they're hot.
- Sachets are for hanging only. Never light one or put it in a warmer.
- Dried botanicals must never go in a burning candle's melt pool. They can catch like a second wick and flare, so keep this technique to no-flame sachets.
- Hang sachets where they don't touch clothes and aren't near heat or sun. Warm fragrance oil can mark fabric and soften the wax.
Steps
- Arrange the dried botanicals face down in the empty molds (or keep them ready to press on top) and plan where the hanging hole goes, about 1/2 in (13 mm) from the top edge.
- Melt the wax in the double boiler. It melts at 125–135°F (52–57°C). Heat to 185°F (85°C).
- Off the heat, add the fragrance and stir gently for a full 2 minutes.
- Cool to about 140°F (60°C), the low end of the pour range, so the botanicals don't brown or sink. Pour into the molds.
- As a thin skin forms (5–10 minutes), press more botanicals into the surface with tweezers, and push a straw through where the ribbon will go.
- Let them set fully for a few hours, then twist out the straw and unmold.
- Thread ribbon through the hole and cure for 3–7 days before hanging.
- Hang in closets or tuck in drawers. When the scent fades, refresh it with a few drops of fragrance oil on the back.
Wax14.3 oz
406 g · 14.3 oz
Fragrance oil1.1 oz
33 g · 1.1 oz
Total pour15.5 oz
2.6 oz each
Starting wick#1
Test burn 3 h, then check the melt pool.
- Melt to
- 125–135°F (52–57°C) or a little above
- Add fragrance at
- 185°F (85°C), then stir gently for 2 minutes
- Pour at
- 140–160°F (60–71°C)
- Cure
- 3–7 days before judging the scent throw
Melt about 10% more wax than the total. Some always stays in the pitcher.
If something goes wrong
- Botanicals sink or brown
- The wax was too hot. Pour at about 140°F (60°C) and press decorations in once a skin forms.
- Botanicals fall off
- They were placed after the wax set. Press them in while there's a soft skin, or brush a little melted wax over them to seal.
- Oily spots on shelves or clothes
- Too much fragrance or a warm spot. Keep to 8–10%, hang it clear of fabric, and set a small dish under any on shelves.
- Frosting (white crystals on top or sides)
- Natural in soy and vegetable waxes and harmless. Reduce it by pouring at the cooler end of the range, cooling slowly away from drafts, and storing at a steady room temperature.