PhoenixFyre

Lol...goofy title, I know. Obviously all melts work because all they do is melt...but I finally made one that smells great!   (It's the little things in life that make me happy.)

My very first candles haven't turned out great so far. The first couple looked pretty but the fragrance didn't come through. My first pillars have been curing for about 5 days now. Pulled them from the molds today. No strong cold throw and when I pulled them from the mold, the tops had tiny little pinholes all over. 

Finally decided to stop with all the additives and fragrances and colors and just made some straight paraffin container candles a few days ago just to see what wax and wick do together. I also made some containers with just straight paraffin and 6% FO with nothing else and had enough wax leftover to make a couple of melts

Decided to test the melts today, not hoping for much. While they didn't look that pretty since I didn't add anything but the FO, they smell TERRIFIC! I almost cried when I walked into my kitchen and could smell it from the living room. I stopped and said to myself, "Are you kidding? Is that my melt I smell??"

I think Coconut Lime Verbena from Peak is now my favorite scent, lol, since it was my first little success!

Whoa, people, take a chill pill!   

What she's doing is fine. If I were using a gas stove for it, I'd want something better than a dinky pour pot, but otherwise no problem.

 

I made zeppole tonight. Deep fried dough, yum! I filled a pot with oil and placed it (GASP!) directly on the stove.

 

As a newbie, I appreciate this comment because it reminds me there is always research to do and different methods in candle making. I started out researching on sites like Peak and watching the tutorials which caution against heating wax directly on a heat source and to use a double boiler method to be safe, but as Topofmurrayhill pointed out, there may be just as many people that do heat wax directly on their heat source and may have no problems with it.

It's similar to the question of whether or not to add real food to "food" candles (like sprinkles to a cupcake candle) or dried flowers, etc. (I still don't know if there is a right answer to this) My first instinct is that this isn't safe, that it's a fire hazard. I've seen plenty of people who say it's dangerous and yet just as many will say they've done it for years and it's fine.

Enough to make my head spin, lol.

There are so many of these videos out there, and for beginning candle makers like myself it can be difficult to know what the truth is, what is safe, and what isn't. I am thankful that I found this forum BEFORE I dived into the world of YouTube candle-making videos.

Someone even tried to warn her in the comments under the video that heating the pot directly on the heat source is unsafe, and she just replied that she's done it for years and never had a problem. My first thought is that it only takes that one time to burn down your house...but there are others out there that sadly will think, "Well, it worked for her in the video, so it'll work for me."

Wow! I wish I was already good at making candles so I could move on to soaps, but one thing at a time, lol.

Just awesome, Candybee! Those are wonderful!

Thanks, Chuck. I actually was looking for something like that and checked Wal-Mart and Target but couldn't find anything in stock. Picked up an electric grill at a local Salvation Army for a couple of bucks, but every time I turn it on in my kitchen the smoke alarm goes off, lol. (I cleaned it thoroughly and everything...guess that's what I get for being extra cheap.)

I will keep looking at Wal-Mart for a burner because my husband wants to build me a place out back of our house for me to have for my craft area, and a burner like that is what I had thought would work best. Thanks for letting me know you did find one!

Thanks so much, Jcandleattic and Trappeur. I had a feeling the griddle would take too long to heat the wax, lol, but I wanted to double check. I will stick with the double boiler for now until I get more experienced, and then I'll do the presto pot. I appreciate your advice and feedback!

I know this thread might be dead already, but in case someone sees this...

So to confirm, if you heat your wax in your pouring pot on a griddle, you don't use the double-boiler method, correct? I'm asking because I've been using a double boiler so far but have a griddle as well. I don't have enough space in my kitchen to have both set up, and I'd rather not use the double boiler if possible just because of the water. (haven't had an issue yet, but would rather not have one at all) I'm not ready to invest in a Prestipot yet. If there's no danger of fire with the pouring pot directly on the griddle, then I'll try going that route so I don't have to mess with the water.

Thanks, everyone!

Well, I don't make anything to sell, so I have no experience in designing labels, but looking at the labels as a customer, I like the lighter font better because it seems to pop a little more and gives a contrast, whereas the darker green font is almost the same as the pine needles in the picture and gives the eye no relief from the darker colors.

I was gonna suggest hand poured or hand crafted on the other side of the picture to go with natural soy on the other side if you're looking for balance.

They look awesome!

And my envy just continues to grow....

I love seeing what everyone creates, even the melts! They are beautiful, and I think it's all exciting. Thanks for sharing them!

Those rock! Very cool looking pieces!

Thank you, everyone!

You're not alone, Shoegal. I was STOKED that they came out the way they did. I dig the way a candle with a smooth top looks in a tin, so I was excited!

Thank you all for the tips and feedback. I'm still letting them cure before I test burn them, but here are a couple of pictures. I didn't do a second pour because they didn't look to me like they needed it, but if anyone disagrees please definitely let me know. Overall, I was happy with this first effort. If those of you with more expertise spot anything wrong, please comment and let me know so I can learn for next time. I am more worried about the safety of the candle than my pride, lol, so let it rip!

Awesome! Thank you both, Vicky and Shoegal. After reading so much on this forum, that's what I was afraid would happen to the FO, Vicky. If it works OK for you, Shoegal, maybe it's something I will test later once I get better at my system.

Color me excited!

I finally made it over this blasted flu enough to pour my first candles today! Whoo hoo!

I poured paraffin in 8 oz tins, colored them with some burgundy, and scented with pomegranate FO from Peak. Testing two different wicks. I just poured them, so leaving them to cool right now.

I feel like a mad scientist with all the notes I took, lol. My husband thinks I'm too detail oriented and serious about it. I just tell him he'll be glad for all my notes when the house doesn't burn down.

I do have one question, though. When repouring to fill in shrinkage, what do you do with the extra wax while waiting to do the second pour? Let it harden and reheat? Keep it on a very low heat source to keep it liquid or is that too risky? And what happens with the FO in the wax? Will it end up burning off if I reheat the wax?

Sorry...that was more than one question. Dancing a jig in my kitchen!

I'm not experienced enough to give you an opinion, but just wanted to chime in my 2 cents to say CONGRATS! What an awesome opportunity. I like Old Glory's suggestion, though, of taking different options and letting them decide.

I am going to be taking it easy and try to kick this stupid flu I've had for a week now. It's a bummer because I am so excited to finally start my candle-making journey and all my supplies started arriving over these last two weeks, but since I've been sick all I could do is unwrap it all and gaze longingly.

My husband was so sweet, though. He stopped by an estate sale this morning and came home with some cool candle holders and knick-knacks that he thought I could use once I get started. All I could do was blow my nose and say thanks, lol.

I'm thinking the box with the number and the word under it has something to do with the number of people who have looked at your profile and liked it. When I hovered over mine, it said I have 9 likes to my profile, which makes sense since the number in the box is a 9. It says "neutral" on mine, so I guess the more likes you get, the word will change.

I also have a spam check on my profile. Mine is Southwest, and I remember that's what I had to type into the spam filter box when I created an account for this forum. Maybe those who have had profiles longer didn't have to do a spam check? Or perhaps we can only see our own but not other's?

Just me guessing.

Hope it's not too late to still comment on this, but WOW, Suzy! What an inspiration you and others on this forum are to beginners like me. Awesome, awesome, awesome. Can I just fast forward myself several years (without aging, of course) so I can have the experience and knowledge you have?

Your product just oozes fun, sweet, happy vibes! I hope in several years I am making stuff that looks half as wonderful.

Lol, Chefmom. The slabs I got from Candlewic were a bit broken up. My son pointed this out to me, and I said it's actually a good thing that they are a little broken up. He just said, "Oooookkaayyy," and walked away.

Thanks, Sojourner and Candybee. I contacted them through their website on their "report a problem" link, which is filling out a form for your complaint. I haven't heard back yet, but that could be because it's the weekend. The package didn't arrive until late Friday evening, so I figured I'll give them until Monday to respond to the form and then I'll call their 800 number.

I will try just rinsing the wax off, Candybee. I wasn't sure if the fo will soak into the wax even when not being heated or if it's the heat that makes it bond to the wax, so I thought that area might be a loss. But I'll give rinsing off a go and see what happens. I guess I figured a busted fo bottle every now and then is par for the course in this hobby, lol.

I'm actually a little bummed with Candlewic. I'm just getting started with candle making and placed my first orders with both Peak and Candlewic to start my testing and comparing. Peak had my order packed up, shipped, and delivered before Candlewic even processed my order.

This wouldn't really bother me, as I understand that Candlewic is farther from me than Peak. However, when I received my order yesterday from Candlewic, I opened the box to find that one of the fragrance oils had leaked, spilling all inside the bag it was packaged in as well as leaking out onto the two slabs of wax I ordered. So now each slab of wax has a corner soaked with fragrance oil, lol. As a newbie, I don't know how this will affect the wax...so I'm guessing I will just have to cut those corners off and toss them?

I have contacted Candlewic about it only because the label of the oil that leaked was destroyed because of the leak and now I can't read the directions, so I have asked that they supply me with a copy of the directions of that particular fragrance so I can use the bit of oil that remained in the bottle.

Lol...I guess the upside is that when I opened the box, it smelled really pretty!

Wow! They look wonderful! I love the color, too.

Too cool. I have a set of those same sundae glasses, but we rarely use them for ice cream (my family likes BIG bowls for sundaes, lol). What a great idea for using them instead of letting them collect dust!

I, too, just realized there was a getting-to-know-you thread, lol.

What's your name?  PhoenixFyre  --- Kim
How old are you?   38
Where do you live?   Arizona, but miss the beautiful weather and trees/greenery of California where I grew up.
How long have you been making candles/soap/whatever?  Haven't started yet, but will be making candles (to start with).
How did you get started making candles/soap/whatever?  I've always had a craft bug. I've tried cross-stitching, candlewicking, calligraphy, drawing, and oil painting. I have stuck with cross stitching and calligraphy over the years but was itching to try something new. I have always LOVED candles and constantly have some lit in my house. I even remember making tapers back in the day at Girl Scout camp! I started researching candle making and somehow found this website, and that pushed me over the cliff to get me started.
Are you married? Any kids? Yep. Married 15 years now. Three kids with my husband and two married stepdaughters.
If candle/Soap making isn't your primary job, what do you do? My primary job is serving God. Besides keeping the house (somewhat) clean, I homeschool our kids. I also help my husband with his business. He is an airbrush artist/custom painter, and I do prep work, sanding, etc. for him. I also work from home as a transcriptionist for a market research company.
Anything else we should know? Mmmm...not much else. I love to read and play an occasional video game with my kids when I have time. I love studying the Bible and enjoy studying and discussing beliefs with people of various churches/denominations/religions. My husband and I are into the show Vikings right now and current books on my Kindle are Jane Eyre,The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones series (come on George R.R. Martin...get the next book written already!). On my TV right now is Netflix,The Story of Ruth. Oh...and we have a bull terrier named Romeo, our faithful watchdog.

I haven't even started making candles yet and already you're making me want to try soap, lol.

Gorgeous!

Thanks so much, Old Glory, kandlekrazy, and Trappeur for welcoming me. Just waiting anxiously for my supplies to arrive and looking outside every five minutes for a FedEx or UPS guy/gal to show up. Yes, even on Sunday, I'm still watching, lol.

Thanks for the compliment on my avatar, Trappeur. I dig it, too.