Brat

Horsehair: This finish started 30+ years ago, and the Indian tribe that started doing it first is still in debate, so I won't credit any of them with it, since I don't know. Hair from the mane and tail of the horse is used. This hair can be bought in large quantities for crafts and other uses, but we prefer to use hair obtained locally from friends and neighbors that trim their horses for showing. We currently have no horses of our own, so we have to get it from other people.

Fine Hair: After working with the horsehair finish for a while, we decided that we'd like to try something a little different, something that everyone else wasn't doing, so we tried using llama, elk, sheep, and a few other fibers. The result was astounding, and the look is like nothing else I've ever seen. I'm sure that we'll be copied, and that others will be doing it soon, but I can honestly say that we were the first that I'd seen doing this. Our supplies for this finish are usually our own animals.

Thanks for clearing that up... I am totally anti-horse slaughter, and I was prepared to be horrified if you had gotten the horsehair from slaughtered animals. Thank you for using the hair of animals that don't have to die to give it up!:highfive:

To quote from your website:

"We offer candles in three styles of pots - traditional horsehair, our own "fine hair" finish, which uses smaller hairs from a wide variety of animals, and a grey "marble stone" finish. "

You use animal hair in your pottery? How does that work, and where does it come from?

Aren't you supposed to use additives with straight parrifin to increase the FO load? Thought straight was supposed to be 3%...?

Smack me if this is a stupid comment!

Red and yellow...

Don't forget to seal the bottom of a mold with mold sealer or something... it's not pretty when that hole is wide open!

Do you have/can you find a picture? An easy thing to do would be make a standard pillar and paint the dots on there...

I came across this: http://www.thecandlemakersstore.com/product/ACDIFFCAR

It's a thing you plug into your car, a car air freshener. It says to use essential oils, was wondering if regular FO would work in it? Anyone try one? Not sure what the difference is between EO and FO, except for the whole natural thing, was just thinking of ordering one to see...

Cars and candles... LOVE IT!!

Containers or pillars?

Oh poor thing! You need a vacation...

They look good! I'd capitalize Sage though...

Very cute!

I'm with E.....I don't use wicks in firestarters.

People see a wick, they think it's a candle. Someone will burn it like one.

You're probably right! I just made them for our firepit in the backyard. I'll never give one away, everyone else lives in the city where they can't start fires.

Oh My, those instructions are mine and I had to laugh as that is one of the first I made. Have I come a long way. LOL

Your cane is beautiful. is that one of your own pictures? Good job.

Those instructions definitely helped me, was having a hard time figuring it out lol. My mother in law took that picture, it's somewhere in Wisconsin.

Thanks for the comments all!

That's great - it looks like a cane but once I see the directions, it must not be! Nice job!

Yup, it's a cane!

Looks great.

To make it scented you can dab a bit of FO on a cotton swab then wipe the bulb. The heat will give off the scent, just don't want to over do it on the amount of scent you put on the bulb. Just another idea to make and un-scented candle scented.

Very interesting!

Thanks! Here's the info for the cord usage:

http://www.candletech.com/cgi-local/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=gallery;action=display;num=1106608205;start=0#0

Finally figured out how to use the cords for these. Found the info on the old board. Now that I have that figured out... it's on! lol Gonna be cranking these out now!

Cute! I'd charge more...

Not the best by any means, they're real low on the totem pole. Try some of the online suppliers... find one close to you to save on shipping.

These really are some nice candles, the palms are beauts and the votive is perfect! Way to go! Looks like you had a prosperous day!

Thanks!

I'll make some more firestarters without wicks and see what works better for me... thanks for the comments!

The melt pool burned through there... that's why it has a ring around the top.

Hi, Just want to take a moment to thank all of you for all the help you give us "newbies" I know i sure appreciate the extra time you all take to to help with different issues that we present. This site has been a great help, to me and I know I speak for many others.

Agreed!

I haven't poured a lot of palm pillars, but I've poured a few. I have never preheated the molds. I use aluminum molds, and pour about 200 and let them sit. They turn out great every time. Pillars and votives. I use the natural crystal palm wax from Candles and Supplies. I have the warmest room in the house, and I generally can't stand the wait so I pull them out of the molds maybe an hour after the sides pull away from the mold. They're still VERY warm at this point. Can't pull the wick pin out, or the center will drain out. (Not very cool!)

Maybe try covering them with a cardboard box when cooling? Or try to keep them in a warmer room? I think I read here someone tried them in metal molds and they wouldn't get a pattern, then they switched to aluminum molds and got the results. Seems from what I've been reading, the slower the cooling, the better the patterns.

sorry for the ramble!

No wick in them. Just wax and flammables, like wood chips. They help to get the fire going but you light the fire, not the fire starter.

Ok, that's good to know... thanks for the info!