Jump to content

CandleKitty

Registered Users Plus
  • Posts

    70
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Female

Converted

  • Makes
    candles
  • Location
    Gainesville, Missouri
  • Occupation
    Senior Cook

Recent Profile Visitors

The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.

CandleKitty's Achievements

Newbie

Newbie (1/14)

18

Reputation

  1. My biggest mold is 3" but it's my octagon mold, I worry about whether I can get the picture properly embedded with the odd shape. I've trolled the house the last couple of days looking for anything that I could use for a mold and I'm coming up empty so far but I do like the milk carton idea - far less expensive than a piece of PVC. I'd like to keep the hurricane at the usual size - 6 inches in diameter and about 5 inches tall but I'm willing to work with anything at this point. The picture I'm using is 5 x 7, I know I can resize it down, but I don't want to get too crazy with the resizing since it could distort the picture - it shows her beautiful blues off very nicely. My crazy brain came up with something last night but I'm not sure how to do it yet, with her eyes being blue I thought about doing a marbled hurricane with sky blue chips. If I can figure everything out with that, then using the glass hurricanes would be a snap - I wouldn't be pouring screaming hot wax into the hurricane and I wouldn't have to shock the side to get the picture embedded - with the better part of 80% of the wax already hardened, it would just be a matter of pulling the wax away from the side of the glass and nestling the picture there. Scented, my nephew walked in the room and started cracking up at your avatar and I must say that after all these years, I still get a giggle looking at it myself. He wants to know if that's a lime on that cat's head - but I think it's a melon. Any idea what that is??
  2. I am kind of in a bind and could really use some creative thinking. I have been wanting to make a hurricane for my Puddin' girl but I have one issue, I do not have a hurricane mold or three wick mold. When I rescued all of my supplies this winter, I lost all of my tin molds and at this point in time, I do not have the resources to purchase another mold of that kind for a while. I really want to make this hurricane for my mama girl and the amount of hurricane wax I have left should be plenty to make it. I know that I should probably wait until I have the finances to get a hurricane mold, but this is one of those projects that just can't seem to wait any longer and I know with all the creative brains we have here we can come with some idea to get this done. I was originally looking at several glass hurricanes that I do have, they are pretty thick and could probably handle the temperature of the wax being poured into it, but considering the shock that it will have to endure to get the picture embedded into the wax, I'm too afraid they will shatter, so that was out the window pretty fast. I am also thinking of PVC - it would be great since there is no seam line to contend with but the thickness of the PVC is going to make embedding the picture even more difficult than normal. I know there has to be another way of doing this - can anyone help?
  3. My experience with 4625 and FOs is that some of them are heavier than others (any of the Vanillas) and that could explain the two-tone nature of the votives - as the wax hardens, the FO settles close to the bottom and leaves the top almost untouched. It's actually one of the reasons why I abandoned 4625 even though I did love how they turned out when everything went right - 4625 can be touchy. The best way that I found to combat it was once you add the FO, you've got to stir and stir it hard - almost whisk the wax for several minutes then let the bubbles settle and then pour. If memory serves me right - any of the Blueberry scents are heavy oils - I would almost bet that's part of the problem. I mixed 4625 and 1343 when I started experimenting with 1343 and you do have to watch close in how it burns and how you wick it. If using the 1343 as an overpour with the 4625 as chunks - aim your wicking just a tad higher than you normally would for a straight 1343 pour because the wax ratio between the two will be slightly higher 4625 and less 1343 by volume. The goal here is to have both waxes burn at the same rate and that's the best solution I found - wick a little higher than normal. Sidenote on 1343 - I have used vybar with it in the past with minimal trouble as far as looks are concerned but watch your ratios and use less vybar than what you think you need - vybar can choke a candle from its scent in a hurry if your ratio is wrong. Since you are relatively new to this, I would strongly suggest no vybar experimentation until you get your formulas down to an art - even with all the years I've poured candles, I still had a helluva time getting it right and always remember that my results and your results will be two different animals. I abandoned vybar years ago and now go with microcrystalline wax and Universal Additive. I get amazing colors from the U.A. and the microcrystalline wax makes the 1343 extremely translucent (check out my Enchanted Apple pillar in the Candle Gallery - I used micro wax 195 on that overpour and it was almost completely see-through). I even dropped stearic from my candles once I found the U.A. - that's all I use and get some damn good results with it. Scented is right about the heatgun and the tops of the votives for better adhesion between the layers - especially with 1343. Give yourself a good pool of melted wax (all the way to the edges) and then do your second pour and relief holes are a must with 1343 - you will get some really funky looking candles if you don't. Also, your second pour needs to be at least 10* higher for good adhesion. Something else to consider is room temperature when you pour and make sure you have zero drafts. I had an issue with 1218 mushrooming as it cooled and had someone suggest that my basement might have drafts. After I did some investigating, I found out that I did have drafts and the room temperature was too cold and had to move my operations upstairs during the winter months. HTH Edited to add: http://www.craftserver.com/topic/104427-enchanted-apple/ <----link to the Enchanted Apple
  4. I adore Peak's chips - they have always been consistent in coloring the wax and I've yet to run into a problem with them. They're the only ones I really use and I've tried a couple other companies.
  5. I'm still experimenting with my line - truth be told I think I'm up to about 20 but I do intend to keep it as low as I can until I'm more comfortable.
  6. 4625 is what I used to play with, but since I found 1343 - I don't use any other wax, the hot throw is really solid (although some people don't always get the same results, I've never had an issue with it) and the cold throw has always been impressive as well. I use it for pillars, votives and tarts - no issues.
  7. You have some gorgeous colors there - I've always been a fan of palm wax, I love the texture they create. $2.50 isn't out of the question for those, but double check your figures and make sure you're getting something out of them after packaging. I agree with both Vicky and Scented - nice packaging makes all the difference in the world and scent is important as well, but I'm also a fan of unscented ones because sometimes, you just want beautiful candlelight and not a heavy fragrance wafting in the air, such as at the dinner table. We always want to have our candles center stage, but when it comes to food - it's got to have its moment in the spotlight as well. For unscented - $2 would be good since you aren't fiddling with additives and fragrance but as always, check your figures.
  8. As long as you keep them in a cool, dry location away from sunlight they will keep almost indefinitely. But to make sure that the scent lasts, I would suggest going ahead to shrink-wrap them. Be sure to pull some off to the side for testing, that's an important step.
  9. I have started test burning my Enchanted Apple pillar and have noticed after three burns that while I have a decent sized melt pool and the depth of the pool is about where it needs to be that I have a rather large flame and I'm considering wicking down. It is a 3 x 6.5" pillar and I am using 24-ply braid. Has anyone had any problems with this scent? TIA
  10. I've worked with 4625 in the past, it's a good wax for votives and pretty easy to wick. I would allow the layers to almost completely cool (have a decent skin on the top) before you add the next layer - with or without additives 44-24-18z (zinc wick) would be good, although keep in mind that your scent can change that. FOs such as French Vanilla and Honeysuckle are heavier FOs and you may need to wick up (next highest number) to get them to burn properly. Also remember that adding fragrance will increase the volume in your wax and you might need a final pour to top off the votives so they have smooth tops. If everything goes right - 10 is not out of the question.
  11. I don't know about everyone else, but I can't wait for this winter to end. It's been a very hard, very long winter and the sooner I can brighten the house with spring scents, the happier I feel.
  12. That's the only thing that bites sometimes, you have to go to this website to get this additive, but go to that website to get those wicks and oh, let's not forget to go to the other site that's having a huge sale on FOs... If I remember correctly - I got my micro from either Lone Star or Candlewic, I can't remember right now but it's not that expensive - about a dollar either way from U.A.
  13. Ooh, that Cherry Lemonade sounds amazing - I am so into those kinds of scents. I'd like to find a scent that smells like the Sonic's Cherry Limeades, woo hoo!
×
×
  • Create New...