siberia

:laugh2:I love this thread... (I never did get the dipped critter thing either but I would dip socks if they made money)

I would think that a flaming candle is the last thing one would want to use on/around a child that has been traumatized by a burn?!?!

Really lovely! I just love that look.

I've never gone the stearic route...going to have to try that. I find that if I am going for a darker color I will have a few cracks. To avoid cracks I add beeswax at a rate of 3% pp. If I am only adding FO (no dye) I find that cracks are not an issue.

It's been my experience that out of all the waxes, soy needs the most babying when curing. If something is out of whack I end up with frosting, cracks or craters.

I currently use RRD 55 in my 3" palm containers. I got my hands on some Performa wicks yesterday and just started my burn test this morning. Here's what I'm testing: RRD 55, Performa 120 140 & 180, CD 20 & 22, HTP1212 & 1312.

I'd be happy to share my results with you.

I hear ya Satin. What I do is take the tab off of the pre-tabbed wick and use it. Unless you are going to burn the last 1/4" of your pillar it should work just fine. Thread the untabbed (or is that detabbed ) wick from the top of the pillar stopping at the point that you have just the right length to light.

Sometimes the wick hole is a bit tight and I need to open it a bit with a wick needle (coat hanger or something similar will work...just make sure it is straight).

They are at BCN. On the home page you will see a link to WYW. It's towards the top and in the middle, two boxes down from the EZ Wick setter ad.

Edited to add that WYW stands for "Wick Your Wax".

Great mottles! I like random mottling like that. I'm another one that likes WYW Bamboo. It throws great in soy containers. Hib & Thai palm is okay..a little bit cloying to me. Persimmons & water orchids is really nice.

WYW Tibetan Black Tea is the only FO in all the billions of FO's and EO's that I have been exposed to that literally made me sick. I poured a bunch of 1343 votives in TBT, storing them in zip bags in my usual place (in a closet about 30 yards from my desk). Within in an hour I felt like I was suffocating. End result = 80 votives double bagged and put in the trash. It took forever to get that smell out. It was so bad. lol

Those turned out great! Your packaging is cute too!

I've not used it in candles either, but everything I have read says to wick up big time on F&M.

Get out of here...say it ain't so!! Has this been confirmed with NGI?

Those are lovely Sara!

Nice! Is this Chestnuts and Brown Sugar from JS? If so, that is an extremely heavy FO. The first time I used that in soy at my usual rate it leaked like crazy! I had to cut way back.

Ducky, I do believe you are the marble queen! They remind me of a nice pair of indigo tie-dyed blue jeans I owned in a previous life. lol They are really beautiful!

Beautiful!!!

Good deal...let me know how it goes. I'm going to be pouring a boatload of soy votives tomorrow. I'll be thinking of you and sending you good soy vibes!

I think it is really pretty too. He is so upset though. He wants to get rid of the mottling but cannot get his hands on the supplies locally. I'm trying to convince him that his candle is beautiful as is. However I do understand the frustration of trying to create one thing and ending up with another. I'm to the point that I think I'm going to ship him a bit of vybar to try out.

I really appreciate everyone's input. I just love this board. Y'all are so great.

My parents have the turk'n'surf from QVC.

Do they use it as a wax melter? :pBass Pro Shops has them.

I've been looking at those Turf'nSurf fryers too. Does anyone actually use one as a melter? I'd love to get some feedback from someone that has actually put it to use.

lol I thought so too. I'm trying to convince him to embrace the mottle.

Yea, you guys are right. The more I look at it (now that I'm awake lol) it's definitely mottle. Now the next dilemma is finding him some vybar in Egypt.

hmmm...now I am stumped. They should have been cooled by then...or maybe not with the ice chest being used. When I make the EcoVB votives, I do not insulate nor do I preheat the molds. Depending on the time of year (summer vs winter) I generally wait about six to eight hours to demold. At that time they are completely cool.

I'm assuming you read the usuage tips at: http://www.ngiwax.com/UsingEcoSoya/PBVBTips.php

They do mention that the molds should be at room temp, clean and conditioned. They also mention that the candles should be cooled at room temp. I agree with all of this.

They also mention that if you continue to have release problems that you can use a bit of spray silicone to relieve the sticking.

I wish I had the magic bullet to help you. Candle making is mucho fun 99.99 percent of the time. It's that .01 that makes one want to pull their hair out.

Sorry to hear about your show...that stinks when that happens.

Your sweatshirt is adorable! I love it!

Hey there! It looks like you're getting close! I've the sticking problem on occasions when I did not wait for the votives to completely cool. Soy votives are for the patient ones grasshopper, you must wait until they are absolutely cool to avoid the risk of pieces sticking to the mold.