Cetacea

As long as you don't go over 30% beeswax you should be fine with Zinc wicks. Prepare to wick up though, and depending on your jar, double wicking might be necessary.

HTH

try looking in your history folder....betcha you will find the site.

HTH

Yep.

You need a votive/pillar wax for the mold.

Thanks so much for the suggestions. So it really IS just trial and error? I expected to have to test a few things, but for some colors I wouldn't know where to begin. Do any of you use a color wheel? I've never even seen one, so don't know how it works. But if it's helpful, I'll definitely learn.

Wal-Mart carries them in the "artist" section for about $2.00 or so for the small ones, the large ones are $4 I think.

The easiest way to test for a color is to put a white peice of paper under a bit of wax paper (or if you are working on a white table, just put down the wax paper). Carefully place a few drops of your colored wax onto the wax paper and wait for it to cool. Its called a Drop Test. Keep in mind that depending on your wax (container or votive/pillar plus additives) the actual color of your candle may be a shade darker or lighter.

For Garnet you want to do a dark raspberry color, heavy on red, light on blue. Keep playing around with the ratio's doing a drop test after every addition. Start light and then go dark when you've got the color combo.

HTH.

Any place online where you can get those big slotted spoons you mentioned? Also, I've heard alot about heat guns. Where, online, can I get one? Is it what the name would imply? Like a Blow Dryer type thing?

What are your thoughts on the steel barbecue utensils?

Try Wal-Mart, Kitchen and Hardware departments.

This is third party:

There is a guy in my town that gets his stuff exclusively from them. He does 100% soy and his candles burn very nice. That's all I really know about them.

HTH

Well I always test it myself, then give it away as a SCENT tester.

I do all burn testing, all of it. I'm very picky about how my candles burn so if I know they are burning to my specifications, then I will allow that candle to be tested for scent.

If your neighbor wants to be a tester, consider it a compliment. Go over exactly what you want her to do, give her a tester sheet AND a TIMELINE (can't stress that one enough). BUT make sure YOU have tested the burn yourself and are happy with it before giving it to her. That way the only thing she needs to concern herself with is the scent.

Yep, here ya go.....wicking chart

In order to compare the wicks, you need to look at the burn rate.

HTH

Go ahead and say "I told ya so".

You are doing it the right and safe way. Test it all.

Tell your friend that she will spend more time in litigation and more money than a few jars by doing it her way and assuming things to be correct.

I go through people's garbage to find cans for molds and pouring pots.

I get my wax from deli paper and the coating on turnips.

I process stearic acid from road kill.

I've developed a process to manufacture wicks from saved belly button lint.

I melt my wax in the sun with a magnifying glass.

I buy fragrance oil and dye with stolen credit cards.

LMFAO!!!!!!

Is it even possible to get a Veggie Acid from Road Kill???? LOL.

In reference to an earlier post:

What the heck is "scrap wax"?? You mean that miniscule amount of wax that the paper towel sucks up in the pour pot? Or is it that tiny drop leftover on the counter after I get my color straight? LOL.

I really can't add anything that hasn't been listed before.....so no help there. LOL.

I was wondering if a pouring pot has to be stainless steel or you can use an aluminum coffee pot that you use for camping...LOL... I was wondering what is recommended...Thanks...

Hugs Maggie

Yep you can, although its probably more expensive than a regular pouring pot. I've still got my original coffee pot (perculator) and it still works fine.

Or you can wait until Hobby Lobby has a 1/2 off sale and go buy them out of pour pots.....I've done that before......I once snagged 4 pots from them..LOL.

Sometimes suppliers will run specials, if you buy so much you get a free pouring pot. Although its easier to just toss one onto your cart each time you order, you will have more than enough by the time you finish ordering enough supplies for a year.

HTH

Are we forming a gang now?.....lol..... I think I should get off this puter and pour some wax. You know....practice what I preach.... Donita

How bout the NON-SPOONFED BRIGADE..... LMAO. j/k

My point is a simple one. What I'm asking for is YOUR OPINION. This is not a science, it's an art, so, it goes without saying that I'm only asking for your opinion, as opposed to fact, so I don't see the need to clarify that what works for you, might not work for me.

It's simple, give me your opinions (not fact, and not MY opinions...YOUR OPINIONS)

I'm asking for starting points, advice, help, and opinions. That's all. It goes without saying that those are only starting points, and that I will need to test for myself.

OK my 3 opinions:

1. Candlemaking IS a science, and an art. So its both.
   
2. Environmental conditions MUST be taken into consideration when making a candle, as conditions change so will your candle. So blindly saying that you don't want to hear what works for someone else won't work for you is ignorant and foolish.
   
3. You've ostracized every informative person on this board with your gimme, gimme, gimme attitude. This isn't a buffet.

I consider your posts insulting to the point of rudeness. Show some initiative and do a frigging search. Every question you've asked so far can be easily found on this board or Google.

Hey Cetacea, while we are on the subject, would there be a difference in BW depending on what beekeeper I get it from? My beekeeper sent me some wax from another bee guy and I did not know if thise would perform the same as his wax. Thanks

I'd run a test just to be sure. It might be that its from the same area and it might not.

Wow, PrairieJean, thanks for the advice, mom. Do I need to go to my room now?

My goodness, if you have no desire to help, just don't post to the thread. Why is that so tough to understand?

Well that was uncalled for....rather rude IMO.

I would like to find a local supplier, but can't seem to so far. Still looking.

Contact your state, they should know where the beekeepers are, then contact the beekeepers directly. Chances are they toss out the wax, if that is the case you can get it quite cheap. If they don't make sure to ask how filtered the wax is....do they filter it through mesh, if so what size and how many times....that sort of thing.

HTH

Japes just go make the candle. You will not have the perfect candle until you make one. Everyone has different opinions on what and who is the best supplier. and they are just OPINIONS. yours will be different. You are just gonna have to jump in a and mess up like the rest of us!

Dat

Well said DAT!! LOL.

Prepare to wick up drastically from the suggested on wicking charts. The simple rule is 2X what a chart says since it is normally tested for paraffin.

I don't have any problems getting beeswax out of metal molds, they just pop right out. I have a huge problem getting beeswax out of a plastic mold though...go figure. My molds are well seasoned so that might be the reason too.

Pillars should auto-hug with beeswax. If you have to hug it, wick it up and test to see if it will auto-hug.

Alot of your testing for the right wick depends on the filtration and type of honey in the beeswax. For example, clover honey bees tend to produce a stickier wax than bees feeding off cotton, corn or wheat flowers. Beeswax also changes with the seasons as the food supply dwindles towards fall. So winter beeswax might be a little more brittle than summer and thus might need a different wick. The best way to be sure is to test every batch you get from your supplier. Also ask your supplier if the wax is from the same batch.

HTH

Yep, I second that one.

Third.

C&S's is also very nice, but RE's Hungarian Lilac is a dead ringer for Lilac.

Speaking of, in about a month they should be blooming here....maybe that's why I can't sell Lilac in WI? People are sick of the scent going into summer...LMAO.

HTH

I have smelled a couple and the one I think smells just like it, is Scent Works and it is more Verbena. I thinks it stinks and so does B&BW's. Want a sniffy I'll send you one.

B&BW seems to change depending on the season if you ask me. Sometimes its more coconuty, sometimes more lime and rarely more verbena.

I made CLV from SW and CLV from WSP and CLV from NG last year when I was testing. I got OK reviews from SW, Great from WSP and WOW from NG.

They all smell about the same to me....LOL.

HTH

English Bath Cubes are Sodium Quadcarbonate, Corn Starch, Mineral Oil and FO.

There is a difference between regular Baking Soda (sodium bicarbonate) and what they use.

I tried making these last year. You need a cube form as ice cube trays won't work. Now that I think about it, clamshells would be perfect. You make them the same as you would non-fizzy bath bombs. BUT make sure your molds are 100% dry or you will NEVER get them out! Ask me how I know that one..LOL.

Anyway, these little suckers are a PIA to make...go to the Dollar Tree and buy all they've got, it will save you time and frustration and the scents are pretty nice. Lavender, Hyacinth and something else...Rose I think.

You need the Fragrance Finder....

Here ya go: http://www.geocities.com/lwoollen_25/FragranceFinder/

AND Suppliers by State: http://www.candleandsoapstuff.com/Suppliers_by_State.html

Also could you make your font a bit bigger please??? Its hard to read..

Nope, no way you can tell....not from Flash Point.

I'm not sure what problems you are having with a heavier oil, so can't give you any advice about that except to wick up.

Could you please make that font bigger? Its really hard on the eyes....

HTH

I just tested Mocha from ICS and it got rave reviews from my scent testers.