Branch
Three - Do it Yourself
How
to make Incense
Resins
If you are not starting with powdered ingredients
then of course you must pulverize them using a mortar and
pestle or coffee grinder.
If you are not making cones or sticks, then
you do not need to break down the ingredients into an ultra
fine powder; small granule size is good enough. If you freeze
your resins for a short while (1/4 hour or so), they will
be much easier to pulverize. Woods are more difficult to
pulverize with a mortar and pestle and may require some
work before a fine powder is achieved.
If you are just starting out making incense
mixtures then you should keep the number of ingredients
down to three (3) to begin with, perhaps one wood and two
herbs, or one resin, one wood and one herb, etc.
So the first step is to choose the recipe
you will use and gather the ingredients needed. We recommend
pulverizing your ingredients by "class" by grinding woods
first, then herbs and saving the resins for last. Resins,
if young and soft, will make a mess of your mortar and saving
it for last allows you to proceed and not have to clean
the grinder until you are completely finished.
Measure each ingredient in your recipe before
grinding, then keep one bowl for all your dry ingredients
and another for all our resins. Mix all your dry ingredients
together first (herbs & woods), separately mix all your
resins together then add your resin mixture to your dry
mixture and mix together thoroughly with a stirring spoon.
You now have a "loose non-combustible incense
mixture" and are ready to enjoy the aromatic treasure you've
just created. You can heat this mixture as it is over charcoal.
If you are making "incense cones or sticks" then you still
have a little work to do.
Incense Cones and Sticks
Pulverizing your ingredients into a very,
very fine powder is one of the keys to making cones or sticks
that will burn properly. Follow the directions above for
mixing ingredients as loose incense but grind everything
to an ultra fine powder. There are many ways to make cones
and sticks, some people use gum arabic or tragacanth to
bind their sticks or cones. They mix this with charcoal
or saltpeter to gain combustion.
Makko is made from the bark of the tabu-no-ki
tree, which grows in Asia and is a natural combustible material
that is also water soluble. When added to loose incense
mixtures with a small amount of distilled water or hydrosol,
makko allows for the forming of incense cones or sticks.
Because it is water soluble, the exact amount of makko to
add to a mixture depends on the humidity of your environment
and the amount of resins and woods in your mixture.
First we recommend letting your "loose incense
mixture" sit at least overnight to allow the ingredients
to "blend" together. Once aged a day or more you are then
ready to add your makko and form the incense into whatever
shapes you desire. We recommend testing a small amount of
your mixture first.
You'll need a mixing bowl, your hands and
either distilled water or a fragrant hydrosol and some wax
paper. If you have a mixture with no resins in it, then
you will most likely need to add only between 10 - 25% of
makko to your mixture. (i.e. If you use 4 tablespoons of
loose mixture, try adding 1/2 - 1 tablespoon of makko).
If you have resins in your mixture then you may need 25
- 80% makko in your mixture. You'll have to play with this
yourself to see what works with your particular mixture
and in your particular climate. We highly recommend you
record in a notebook the exact measurements of your recipes
so you can recreate the ones that come out perfectly and
adjust those that don't.
Very slowly... add a little water and mix
with your hands, you want the mixture to become gummy and
pliable yet still hold form as you mold it. Knead the mixture
very, very well then form it into cones or sticks. Cones
are relatively easy to form. To make sticks, use a piece
of wax paper on a flat surface and roll the mixture into
sticks with your hands. You may also wish to obtain blank
bamboo sticks that have absolutely no additives and roll
your mixture onto the sticks.
Allow your cones or sticks to dry at least
a couple of weeks - again this depends on climate. You want
to keep them away from sunlight and heat during this time.
Sticks will dry faster than cones. Cones you can tell are
dry by turning them upside down and looking to see if there
is any color difference in the center of the bottom compared
to the outer edges.
Once dry, light one of your creations and
see how it burns and smells. If it doesn't burn steadily,
then you need to increase the amount of makko to the mixture.
If you think it burns too fast, then decrease the makko
content. A great thing about this method is you can grind
up any cones or sticks that didn't come out right and adjust
the makko content by adding more makko or more loose incense
mixture to them, add a little water and begin again.
How
to make Candles
Wicks
Supplies:
Kite String or twine
Table Salt
Borax
Warm water
Clothes pin
Paper clips
Melted wax
Newspaper
Instructions:
- Dissolve 2 tbsp. Table salt and
4 tbsp. Borax in 1 1/2 cups of warm water.
- Soak a 1-ft. length of kite string
or twine in solution for 15 minutes.
- Hang the string with a clothespin
for five days to be sure it is completely dry
- Use a paper clip to dip the string
in melted wax three or four times, coating it completely.
Hang it up to dry as before.
-
S
tore wicks in rolled
up newspaper.
Tips for wicks:
- Add
1 teaspoon of any of these for colored flames
- Strontium Chloride - red
- Boric Acid - deep red
- Calcium - red-orange
- Calcium Chloride - yellow-orange
- Table salt - bright yellow
- Borax - yellow-green
- Copper sulfate (blue vitriol/bluestone) - green
- Epsom salt - white
Candles
Supplies:
1 old pot with handle
2 empty coffee cans (see tips)
wax paper
nonstick cooking spray
candle molds (see tips)
finished wicks (see above)
Pens, Pencils, toothpicks or small twigs from the yard
Old potholders or towels
tongs or pliers with rubber grip
old candle wax (see tips)
Instructions:
- It is a good idea to gather all
your supplies before you start any work this way you don't
have to stop in the middle to go get something.
- Start by filling the pot just
under half way with water and putting on the stove to
boil. Don't get impatient here, just use a low flame or
setting.
- While your waiting for the water
to boil lay out your other supplies you want everything
to be close at hand for easy candle making.
- Lay wax paper under everything
this will serve as your cutting board so to speak.
- Now put the wax into the coffee
can and set it into the boiling water. Be careful if the
water rises to overflow you have too much water and must
pour some out. The water should only come to about half
of the outside of the can and no higher.
- Set your molds on the wax paper
and lay out the wicks you will use. Make sure you have
a pen, pencil or stick to tie the wick too. The stick
will hold the wick in the middle of the candle as it cools.
- When wax is almost all melted
use the tongs or pliers to remove the can from the water,
and begin pouring the wax into your molds. Once the molds
are full set the sticks with wicks tied to them on top
of the mold so that the wick falls down the middle of
the candle.
- Now turn off the water, and let
the candle cool for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes
take a look at your candle and see if the middle is caving
in. If so then heat the rest of the wax as before and
pour over the wax in the mold. Wait until the new wax
has cooled and if needed add more until the candle stops
sinking in the candle. Allow candle to cool completely
before burning.
Tips
for candles:
- If
you can't find a coffee can try using any old vegetable
can. Don't use aluminum cans as they are just too thin
to work with. Tin is best.
- Amazingly
enough candle molds can be found all over the house. You
can use anything that is metal, hard heat resistant plastic
or glass and much more. For instance I used hard plastic
cookie cutters for floating candles. Then I used and paper
coffee cup, make sure it is for use with hot liquid though.
Then I went around the house and found other small things
like old empty tea lite holders, or old tin measuring
cups. Those small olive cans are great too.
- Be
sure to very lightly spray your mold with the nonstick
cooking spray so that your candle will slide right out
when it's cool. Be careful too much nonstick cooking spray
can damage the candle.
- Old
candles can be reused to make new candles. Just remove
the old wick from the bottom of the candle and make sure
to wipe the candle clean of dust and debris before melting.
If you need to add more wax to make a candle start with
the old wax and add new wax (see next tip) to the old
wax while it is melting that way the color and scent if
any are mixed well with the old wax.
- New
wax can be purchased at any grocery store or hobby/craft
store. At the grocery store look for wax used in canning.
In the hobby/craft store just look for candle wax.
- Color
can be added to your wax by simply dropping a wax crayon
into the wax while it is melting. Drop in as many as needed
to get the desired color.
- Scents
can be added to wax as well. You can buy a great many
scents at the hobby/craft store or you can make your own.
Try using some of the herbs you already have in the kitchen.
Such as cinnamon, clove, or nutmeg, rosemary, and thyme
are great too. Just drop them into some virgin olive oil
for about a week or two then strain the oil and add it
to the wax while melting. Don't add too much oil to the
wax though it won't set right. Just add a drop or two.
How
to make Essential Oils
I enjoy making my own essential oils. Depending
on the time of year, different flowers are blooming in the
garden. During the cooler, winter months I make herb or
citrus peel essential oil to give as gifts during the holidays.
Here are my easy, foolproof instructions for
making your own essential oils: If you have a flower or
herb garden or have access to freshly cut flowers or herbs
you can easily make your own essential oils using sweet
almond oil with vitamin E. Vitamin E is useful as a natural
preservative.
Assemble the following tools and supplies:
½ cup of sweet almond oil
1 cup of tightly packed flowers or
1/4 cup of packed fresh herbs or
1/4 cup of chopped fruit peel such as orange, grapefruit,
lime or lemon. You will need a total of 4 cups of freshly
cut flowers or
1 cup of herbs or chopped fruit peel.Thoroughly rinse your
materials in cool water prior to using.
Plastic zip locked bags. I prefer to use the bags with the
zipper attachment that runs across the top to securely close
the bag.
Hammer or wooden kitchen mallet.
2 wide mouthed glass jars. All my glass jars have lived
a previous life holding soup, fruit or vegetables. After
you have emptied the jar, wash it thoroughly and it is ready
for use. You could also buy mason jars or some similar type
of jar as long as it has a wide mouthed top.
Funnel
Amber, Smoked or Cobalt Blue glass bottles with a stopper
Cheesecloth or Cotton Gauze
Each day for four days place 1 cup of flowers (1/4 cup of
herbs or chopped fruit peel) in the plastic bag, close the
bag and lightly tap the materials within the bag to bruise
them slightly. Do not beat the material into a pulp, this
is a gentle process.
Place the sweet almond oil and the flowers,
herbs or citrus peel into one wide mouthed glass jar, replace
the top and gently shake to mix. Make sure your materials
have been saturated in the oil. Leave the bottle in a warm
place, perhaps in your kitchen.
Each day using the cheesecloth as a strainer,
transfer the oil from one bottle to the other collecting
your material in the cheesecloth. Squeeze the cheesecloth
to transfer as much of the oil as possible into the second
bottle.
Throw away the old material and repeat the
brusing procedure with a fresh batch of your flowers, herbs
or citrus peel. Add the new material to the oil and gently
shake.
When the four days have elapsed, strain the
oil through the cheesecloth one final time and using the
funnel transfer the oil into the colored glass bottles.
Place the stopper on the bottles. Congratulations - You
have now made your own essential oil.
The shelf life for your essential oil is 6
- 12 months if kept in a dry, dark, cool spot.
Recipe
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