CandleKitty

Welcome aboard! You'll find some amazing people here and the advice and help you will get is unmatched. You'll enjoy these boards as much as you will pouring candles.

Rustic pour and I dare say after taking a seven year hiatus that these turned out better than I expected. IGI-1343, Universal Additive, Cappuccino Hazelnut and a custom brown.

I use a combination of skewers and a metal whisk, it just depends upon what's near me at the time. For the heavier FOs like vanilla, I always give the wax a good beating and any bubbles I stir up eventually floats to the surface and breaks.

I absolutely adore those stars!! Good job!

Considering my brain functions are way below average - straight forward and easy is on the menu and your method is pretty straight forward. I never thought about adding the two before.

Thank you, OldGlory, thank you! You are a doll.

I know at one point in time there was a thread that went into detail on this but I can't find it for the life of me. Chances are it was on the old CT boards but I need some help, please. I've spent the last hour figuring out the cost of everything else, wax, dye, additives and I am now completely stuck on FOs. I know it was done by volume (or at least, I'm putting faith in my memory which today is a big gamble, I'm muddled up something fierce) but I thought there was a formula for factoring that in - that's what I'm having issues with. How does everyone factor this in? Help is more than appreciated. TIA

Plastic and rubber are the worst when storing EOs, if you get any on rubber or plastic it immediately starts to break down the material. - I agree with OldGlory but make sure that when you give them a different cap that it doesn't have a rubber seal and check inside the cap to make sure there's no plastic in it. Also make sure that when they use a dropper that they do not get any of the EO up inside the plunger and after they use it, they rinse the dropper completely out and allow it to air dry.

Something else you could do would be to get on Google Maps and type in the address. Even if they're just starting out they are still using a land address and it can easily be looked up for validity. If it puts you in the middle of a farmer's field - then you know you've got a situation. I agree with marcuset - tread lightly until you can get more viable information.

I can understand the brain issues, sweetie. I just had UPS show up with a Peak's order, FedEx showed up with a camera case from Amazon and I ordered some samples from Indigo that showed up in the regular mail. I was fine until I started smelling the samples - I'm blaming Indigo on the complete and total train derailment in my head. I have to have linear thought to function some days - they done goofed me all up! You mentioned tin, that may be another option other than PVC. You can go to any home improvement store and they have sheets of it, it'd just be a matter of having it formed into the correct dimensions and then sealed. I would suspect it would be cheaper than finding a mold online if in the event the PVC doesn't work and you might be able to even have one of the sales representatives shape and seal it for you. Tin is hard to handle from what I'm told so if you go this route, you'll definitely have to find someone that can work with it. I just glanced down at the bottom of the page and came across this - http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?110520-Homemade-PVC-Pipe-Mold - Candybee used flexible cutting boards from Dollar General for her liners although hers were for soap molds, I'm sure it can be modified for wax.

Scented, you can correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought at one point in time there was a candlemaker from the old CandleTech boards that was making molds out of PVC pipe. If memory serves me right, he would use the wax paper as a liner but he would also spray the paper with a mold release - his candles came out with relative ease. I agree to try with Pam Cooking Spray, just make sure that you wipe the candles down very well before you use them. Something to consider would be changing waxes - maybe using a paraffin or a paraffin blend with beeswax. From my experience, beeswax is a little bit softer than the paraffin which might explain why the candles are so hard to remove. If you use a paraffin base, the candle would be harder and you should be able to remove the candle easier. It's a theory at best, but might be worth a try. I will be following this thread closely, I have been interested in making my own molds out of PVC since I saw that it's possible. I'll be picking my fiancé's brain when I can as well, if he comes up with anything that will work, I will be sure to post it here. If we can figure this out, the possibilities are limitless - I can't get the thought out of my head about the beautiful sheen that would be created and those molds would practically be indestructible. Good luck, Sister - please keep us informed.

Thanks, Chris - leave it to me to get the hardest candles to wick - LMAO!! But eh, it's a challenge and what's life without one every now and then. I'm such a glutton for punishment.

I guess I'm weird, I can pour just about anything (meaning I like just about all the scents I've ever used) with the exception of anything that smells like burning wood. The first time I tried a campfire scent, I was thrown into such a violent migraine I had to go to the ER for a cocktail and then spent three days in bed nursing myself. A few days after the migraine had finally passed, my roommate decided to burn the candle but failed to tell me about it. So when the house began to smell like burning wood, my first thought was that the house was on fire and spent an hour combing through the place looking for smoke and just as I was about to go up into the attic, I passed by her room and that was when I caught the candle burning. She was banned from burning the candle unless she told me. It is odd though, I wasn't able to handle the initial smell of it making the candle but when she burned it, I had no issue with it - other than freaking me out. I know that we all want to please our customers and make sure they return to us for their candle needs but in my opinion, if it's going to harm us in any way then we shouldn't produce it. The roommate begged me to add that scent to my candle line but I couldn't justify going to the ER every time I made the candle - to try and offset the expense of the hospital trip, that would be one of the world's most expensive candles. I had a couple of people ask me for that scent and after explaining to them my physical reaction to it, they were more than willing to choose a different one and I went one step further and told them where they could find that specific scent. I never lost them as a customer, they always came back to me for my products and they never had a complaint because I couldn't make one specific candle. We want return customers, but at the price of our health? To me, it's not worth it.

HA!!! Where do you live Becky?? I'm about an hour and a half from Springfield and National Ave. really isn't that bad of an area - I wouldn't have an issue going up there alone. It's right off of I-44.

As I patiently and anxiously await my order from Peak's tomorrow (hoping that UPS can get through the two inches of sleet and ice and four inches of snow on top of that), I wanted to throw out a couple of questions for advice. I decided to change a few things up this go-round (mostly out of necessity, others by choice) and I have ordered the 2" dia. round, flat top molds (4.5, 6.5, 9.5in. tall). I have always worked with the 3" dia. octagons and as I was finalizing my supplies before I move into my candle room (which starts tomorrow), I began wondering about wicking. I have ordered 24-ply flat braids (that's all I've ever used for my octagons - which I still plan on using, just for personal use and certain pours) but I also purchased 18-ply and I know that's the smallest that I can get with flat braids and they are recommended for the size molds I am getting. Is there anyone else on the boards that has used 2" molds and what has been your experience with wicking? I know that it's all a matter of personal preference (not to mention additives, behavior of the wax, FOs, etc.) and I do have a wicking chart that I will be printing for reference, but I'd like to hear from those that have worked with the molds themselves. You can have every chart on the planet regarding candle making but it's always good to hear from experienced candle makers. Any advice will be fantastic and appreciated. TIA

I am actually shocked you even went down there, Karen. That area is probably the absolute worst part of KCK - grew up there and lived there half my life and no way would I go down there by myself. Only reason I'd let my family down there is my sister works for the KCMOPD.

Hey Becky Yes, DPS/Morris still has a distribution center in Springfield - 500 N. National

Hello mystic This site has been the source of a lot of my inspiration over the years, the people are wonderful, the mods are top-notch and it is so much fun to be a part of it. That's why there was no question where I was going when I made the decision to start making candles again. There are lots of knowledgeable people here that are willing to help with whatever you need help on. And welcome to yourself for the step into this amazing world. Be careful though, it gets rather addicting extremely fast!

If you have a scanner and a graphics program like Adobe Photoshop or Corel Paint Shop Pro - you could scan the label, erase the wording and then add your own. I gave up on Avery Templates years ago - now if there's a style of label I want to use, I scan it and then modify it for my own needs. It takes a few extra steps, but it's worth it.

Thank you, Scented - believe it or not, I have really missed everyone here and when I made the decision to drag everything out and start pouring again - this place was the first stop... After Peak's that is It's been an adventure to be sure getting back up and running again, but I should be pouring my first candles sometime this next week or at the very least - next weekend. I'm excited to be back in my wax and very excited to be back with my candle making family. It's good to be home.

What's your name? Stacey How old are you? 45 (good god, I just realized I'm middle aged - never thought I'd live that long - LOL) Where do you live? In my beautiful mountains in Ozark County, Missouri How long have you been making candles/soap/whatever? Candles - 25 years :highfive: How did you get started making candles/soap/whatever? My niece had a small candle making kit and she wanted my help. Little did we both realize that a monster would soon be born. :party: Are you married? Any kids? I am engaged to my high school sweetheart. We re-met five years ago in the dog food isle at Dollar General - how's that for incredibly sappy sweet? As for kids - I have four legged ones. An American Staffordshire Terrier named Drake, a nine-month old Boxer/Lab mix named Hercules, a beautiful Snowshoe Siamese named Puddin' who will be seventeen years old this coming Halloween, a cross-eyed pain in the butt half Snowshoe half Himalayan named OJ that is the sweetest thing on four paws and will be thirteen years old in September and a newly acquired orange tabby baby - nine months old named Sunshine who loves giving kitty kisses. If candle/Soap making isn't your primary job, what do you do? I am a senior cook at Rockbridge Trout Ranch and have been there for five years. *getdown* Anything else we should know? I can't live without my Pepsi and when I'm making candles the only music I listen to is The Doors.

Everyone has given wonderful ideas for you and it's helping me build my own in my head. Now I can't wait to get mine going As a suggestion, if you can get a hold of a square piece of carpet that covers a section of your workbench and then use the wire racks for cooling cookies, you could take care of the floor sucking out all the heat and manipulating your candles. I had a workspace where I lived in KC and unfortunately the floor was also concrete but underneath the staircase was a carpet lined box. I set my racks in there and used it to cool my candles and it helped for me. Can't wait to see the finished room - it's coming along wonderfully!!

Candles and wax melts should be illegal when they're made to look like food. Those look incredible!!! Now I want some strawberries. Good job.

Welcome to the boards, sweetie. Never worry about asking silly or stupid questions, we've all done that at one point in time and the silly or stupid question is the one you don't ask. Be sure to post pictures of your work!

I completely agree with you about YL, I have a friend that swears by their oils but I've never been 100% impressed with them or their marketing. When I found out that they were backing up the ingestion of EOs, I just about had a heart attack. Irresponsible doesn't begin to describe that company.