MuskokaMom

That really is an awsome candle. I only hope when I start making pillers, mine turn out that good!!!

Everyone has their own way of doing it, but we are all pretty much the same. I melt my wax in my presto pot add about 1.5 oz of FO per pound and a touch of color. I usually use butterscotch for my teddies. Dip them in and let them soak up the wax. Some people wring them out really well, some dont at all and some do something in between. I set mine on wax paper and fluff them out a little and let them harden. There usually is a little pool of wax that forms around the teddies bum, I chip it off and throw it back in the pot!!

I use paper towels to clean inside and out. If there is wax drips on the inside, just a little elbow grease and it shines right up.

There is about a zillion time difference between double boiler and presto. Once you go with a presto you will never go back. I usually pre heat my pour pot for transferring or as everyone says, there will be a significant drop in temp. Sometimes when I do this, it takes forever for the temp to drop enough for me to add my fo. Kind of a delicate balancing act. If your pour pot is just a little warm, you can pour your hot wax, add your color/fo and stir and stillhave time to check temp and stir some more, befor final pour.

I tare a flower pot votive holder, or a shot glass or a dixie cup. Whatever is handy.

In my opinion if you have never made a candle before , votives are the easiest to start with, or maybe even tarts so that you can get the hang of wax temp, mixing color and fo and that type of thing.

Glue ALWAYS unstuck for me. Switched to stickums and no problems!!

I thought I was the only one who got smears on my bags. I absolutely hate them.. Great idea..

Draggy, where in Ontario. Check out www.canwax.com and http://www.villagecraftandcandle.com/Default.asp?c=164129I am in Huntsville and know a few others from this area. Both places are wonderful to work with. Great suppliers. First one is in Mississauga and the second is in St. Marys which is near Stratford. Hope that helps you get started!! sharon

I compared party lite votives with mine long ago. Party lite votives are only 1 oz compared to our 2 oz votives. Not sure what size wick they use, but it always looked pretty small. Their tabs were always really tiny, like a tealite. I wonder if a tealite wick would totally liquify one of these partylite votives. I have the votives, but not the wicks to try. And of course they would only work properly in THEIR holders!!! Sharon, I wonder if that was the iced crystal trio that you are talking about. I had them too and agree that a liquified votive looked beautiful in them. Inface I used them as table centre pieces with a hurricane for my wedding!!

I didn't get a kit for my first time, but I did go direct to Sue at VCC and she set me up with everything I would need to pour votives. It was such a rush, that I was in a votive making frenzy for a few weeks. It was pretty basic for me. I just used a self centering votive wick and away I went. After that I moved on to containers and that took alot more preparation and research. I actually decided which container I wanted to use permanently and went from there with trying different wicks. It was a long drawn out process, but I finally figured out what worked for me. Sue was a HUGE help as well as everyone on here and other message boards. You will get there! Have fun on the way!!

I tuck my scale inside one of those clear ziplock xtra large freezer bags.

Your candles are certainly beautiful. I love the little peony tea lights.

I can attest that Canwax's products are excellent. Ihave never had a problem with them. Also Sue at Villiage Craft and Candle has super products as well.

I use papertowels as well. I have found that even if there is a little scent left in the pot, it has never affected the next scent that goes in.

I remember the sense of panic when my presto wasn't working!! Hope you get things straightened out soon. Mine was just not connecting well when I attached the cord. Wondered if too much wax was dripping down in and messing things up. It works ok 99% of the time.

A friend of mine also has party lite holders. She put a votive of mine in one to their votive holders and it cracked it. In your case, I would question the holder, not your tealight. In my case, I may question the holder as well, as a friend of hers has the exact same holder and she burned a votive in it and it broke as well. (not one of mine) Their holders are made to fit their votives which are much smaller than the average votive. So that could have been the problem for me as well. People just don't forsee the problems that we do when burning. For me, it would have been a no brainer. That is how party lite makes their money, you can only burn their candles in their containers.

I haven't used the 4786 , but I do use 1286. In my 3.5 inch diameter container I double wick with 36z's. Personally I found the container got too hot with my 44's but that could be the difference between the two waxes. I haven't had the leaning problem though.

Personally canning jars aren't high class to me, but that doesn't mean you can't be successful with them, if they are marketed right. They definitely have a country feel to them, but there are lots of stores that would fit that. I can think of someone here in Ontario that is very successful with her canning jars, but she also has lots more to offer. She has over 150 wholesale accounts and does very well.

I use metal slotted spoons as well. Just pick one up at any dollar store. Heat guns can be picked up at any hardware section.

I think I would add more wax as well. Of course if you are enjoying this small batch yourself and can keep an eye on it, then you will probably be ok. Nothing like a flaming tart burner. Dont ask:D

I haven't made tealights yet, but what do you mean by fire bomb?? Meaning the whole surface just lit up??

Of course the only thing I could think of is that the FO didnt mix for some reason.

Can I ask where you order your lids from?? Could the problem be that your flower pot votives are not all the same. I found a similar problem when I was doing refills for them and then realized they were different sizes as I hadn't bought them all at the same place.

I am all ears too.