Dee

That blue one is sooooo pretty!

Alan's photo essay is hilarious. Only a candle maker would get the idea to try these experiments. Bet the kids did have fun. Sorry I missed it the first time around:cheesy2: .

Thanks Top. Interesting information, will be sure to pass it on.

Got this off the IGI web site. Tried to mottle it several times and wasn't as successful as others, but trying it won't hurt. Sometimes it mottled and sometimes it was just blotchy using the same formula. GI 1242Paraffin wax blend: good for pillar, molded, and taper candles. So does it mean that that's just the blend of several waxes with no additives, Top? I know that that is what suppliers suggest beginning candlemakers use here. Will have to give it another try:cheesy2:

Here's one way. Heat the wax in a Presto Pot that you've hung a thermometer in . I usually take mine up to around 190 - 200 and leave it there for about 30 minutes to cook out any impurities (making sure that I keep a check the temp because in Prestos the temp can go up above 200 really fast. You don't want to start a fire or scorch the wax). Then I pour the wax into my pouring pot at around 200 and let it cool down to between 180 and 190, depending on the FO I'm using as some are hard to mix in at lower temps. Then add FO and mix well and add coloring. Then let it cool to the temp you want it to pour at and pour into your molds. I also keep water simmering under a double boiler, just in case I need to warm the mixture up again (eg making layers)

I also found that mineral oil from the drugstore didn't work very well:smiley2:

Beautiful colors!

Very nice!!

I use 1242. Its a preblend, so won't really mottle. It is a really nice wax for regular pillars and you can make rustics from it. Even though it is a preblend, I add 1/2 tsp pp vybar (or polybar) because it sometimes goes a little spotty without more additives. Its not a mottling wax due to the additives already in it. I have been using 1245 and steric for mottling as its a straight paraffin without addtives. If you are cose to a supplier, you may want to try a slab of it first. I have had trouble getting the results I want with 1274. Have sent you an e-mail

Cute tone! Nice lively colors on the jars:smiley2:

All very nice! I'll take the green one:)

Love the mottling and colors.

Those are very pretty, Robin. Love the packaging.

I assume you mean the top part that you light. Dip it in a little melted wax and it should be fine

I think its a paraffin with additives such as vybar so you don't have to come up with your own formula like you would with straight paraffin. I see they have other soy wax blends on the site that are clearly marked.

For pillars, I put the scent on the hang tags. For melts and votives, I package them and put a hang tag on the package, or write the scent on for single ones.

This comes from the left side of the board under Techniques & Ideas. www.candletech.com/chunkcandles. I think you have to experiment with what you want also. With pillars, I like the chunks to melt at the same rate as my overpour, so use the same wax formula to make them.

I agree and its cheaper than making your own in the long run. www.peakcandle.com - sells very nice lables and is where I got my pillar ones from. They also have containers and votive lables. (You don't have to customize them if you don't want to.) and www.canwax.com is where I got my votive and tart ones.

I do the same as Fern, but when you look through the gallery you will see many people use different FOs for different layers. The difficulty I had when I tried, was wicking. Coming up with a wick that burned the same for both FOs was a little trickier.

More greetings from the west coast of Canada. Welcome to the board. I enjoyed looking at your candles.

Interesting and very creative. If you look at the rest of their site, its quite impressive. They have other candles besides these.

They look wonderful!!

I do chill my mold a bit and slosh the wax around quite a bit. However the temp of the wax is the key as others have said. The other day I was pouring layers and got impatient and poured the second layer at 160. The first layer poured at 145 was great, the second layer smooth - yuk!

Not at all tired of them! They are all really pretty:grin2:

Don't know if it was the steric, but do know that when I only use steric, my pillars com out of the mold easily compared to other additives.