Safety Tips
(By Extsee)

NEVER leave wax unattended.  
Wax does not boil; it gets hotter and hotter until it bursts into flames.

NEVER use water to put out a wax fire, this will only spread the fire.
Smother it with a lid or a damp cloth.

NEVER pour melted wax down the drain, it will harden and present quite a problem.
Wwait for it to cool and use again or before it hardens, cut into cubes which can be used to make chunk candles at a leter stage.

Place the thermoter in the saucepan at the begining of the melting process, this will give a more accurate reading.

Supplies Needed
(By Extsee)

Pretty much every thing you will need to make a basic candle is already in your kitchen, so do not rush out and buy equiptment that is going to cost you a fortune.  
Not yet anyway.

Essential Supplies

 FOR MELTING 
There are several methods of melting wax. DO NOT use a microwave or direct heat!!
I use a double boiler system which is basically two pans one inside the other.
Never leave the "double boiler" unattended the water does evaporte unless you keep topping it up.

THERMOMETER
To measure the temperature of your melting wax, a specialist thermometer covering the scale 38-177C (100-350F) is recommended. A normal household thermoter will not work as it does not read a high enough temperature.  

SCALES
To measure your wax and other ingriendients.  

POURING JUG
Much easier to pour your wax into your mould by using a jug.

PARAFFIN WAX
*duh*
I alway buy wax that has all the additives already added.  
I do not know how to prepare normal wax so I will not go into that as I have NO idea what I will be talking about.

WICKS
Come in all different shapes and sizes.

COLOURING / DYE
How much you use depends on you and your candle.
The more dye you use the deeper your colour will be.
There are several types of dye,  Blocks, chips and liquid dyes.
I have tried blocks and liquid and I prefer the blocks, I could not control the colour properly with liquid.  I am extremely messy.
Another idea that I have found works well for colour is "Natures Blessings"
E.G. Fruit, herbs, flowers they also give off a lovley scent.

CANDLE MOLDS
There is a wide variety of candle molds, all different shapes and sizes.
Plastic, rubber, metal, glass and latex are all available but the cheapest is plastic.
There is also tons of goodies in your kitchen which can be used as moulds.

BUCKET OF WATER
Put your freshly poured candle in mould inside and fill the bucket with water, be careful not to overfil.