Tea

I just did one of these yesterday for the first time. I am making soaps for my daughters wedding, and the FO she chose discolours to a brown. So I decided to colour the base soap mulberry, and took out some soap before I added the mulberry and Fo, put some TD into this and swirled. Turned out beautiful. Hopefully the Fo will turn the mulberry a deep purple. Time will tell. Tracey

And on top of that there's no smell left in the end. Tracey

Don't forget that the combination of both milk and honey, will super heat the soap. Soap as cool as possible, make sure that the honey is well incorporated, other the soap will sweat brown honey droplets, or separate during gel. Don't insulate the soap, and even consider putting in the fridge for a few days and let gel there. Should be a good soap. Let us know how it turns out. Tracey

When mixing the milk and lye, put the milk into an ice bath, and keep it as cool as possible, adding the lye in small amounts, and very slowly, making sure that it has all disolved before adding more lye. Stiring, stiring, stiring. When finished, leave in the ice bath, as it will continue to heat up. The little white same dots could be the milk cream that has saponified. Not that noticable with goats milk, but very noticable with whole milk. I agree, the orange dots could be the cream that has burnt. The cooler and creamier you can keep your milk/lye solution, the lighter and creamier the colour of the soap. I have put milk soaps in the fridge to gel, and they have turned out beautifully. Most milk soaps though, will darken to a antique cream over time. HTH Tracey

Tallow is rendered from the hard fat found around the internal organs. It can be boiled down, (I add things to minimize the smell), to get lovely white hard tallow, or it can be store bought, where you get butters from, although I personally don't like the quality of this. HTH Tracey

The other way you can soap milk (any kind) is to either freeze it completely, or half freeze your measured amount. Part fill a sink with ice and water, and put the milk container into this. Then add the lye. As I live in a very hot climate, freezing the milk alone is not enough, and the milk will still burn, if I don't put in into an ice bath, no matter how slowly I add the lye. Just my two cents worth. Tracey

What about Heritage Soap. Tracey

Hi Jeana, when you say that you have been trying to get everything right with palm, what exactly is it that you are looking for? I have been using palm only for a couple of months now, but I really like them. I find that there hot and cold throw is much better than the soy that I was playing with. Recently I have had a couple of wix curve on me, and I am not really sure what to do? I have them clamped. Should the relief holes be done early on in the cooling process, or about half way through? I have been experiementing with different stages to see if it makes a difference. What wix are you using. Currently I am trialing NCD's? Sorry for so many questions, but any imput would be much appreciated. Tracey

The link keeps coming up that it is inaccessable. Tracey

The only question I have when purchasing dried flowers from these places, is whether they are organic or not. As I am putting them into body products, I would hate to find out that they had been treated with something that was not skin safe. I have read all the information that is supplied in the packaging, and asked the staff to check, but no one has been able to reassure me they are chemical free. Personally I prefer to pay a little extra, and buy through a reliable source. Just my two cents worth. Tracey

I poured a container using CB 135 with 15% PB, as this was supposed to help give a smooth top. Poured at 125 into a hot container. When cool, had a couple of small, what looked like frosting on the bottom of the candle, but everything else was lovely and shiny. The top had a couple of bumps, so gave them a blast with the heat gun. When it cooled I had a rim of frosting around the top of the container. Is there anyway to prevent this? Tracey

What are you looking for when burning a container of soy. Should the sides of the container be completely clean, as with parafin, or will there be some soy left up the sides of the container? Just wondering what everyone is trying to obtain. Tracey

Thankyou this is what I needed. Tracey

I was wondering it you need a special wax for these or can both soy and parafin work? I tried a rustic using soy a couple of days ago, added some steric, cold mould, water bath, and got nothing. Also can a mottle be done using a crystaled palm wax? Which waxes are best for these application? Questions, questions, questions? Tracey

Did you have any problems with colours running into each other. I poured a white over a blue, and ended up with a pale blue instead. Should the layers be really set before adding the next. Tracey

I have been experiementing with palm waxes, namely the frosted and granite finish one. I am wanting to layer a pillar, but I am finding that the subsequent layers are loosing their crystled appearance. Is there a trick to this. I am heating to 170, and pouring at 160. Each layer is done the same, but only the first layer is crystalising. I would love to do this with a granite wax, but it pulls away from the side very quickly, so the next layers run down the sides of the previous layers. If it is cooled slowly with towels, do you think that would do away with some of the srinkage, and enable other layer to be poured. Please help me out. Tracey

I have been experimenting with palm pillars and have a couple of questions. What size rim should remain when burning these candles, and it is normal to have a wax shell remaining at the end, as the wax is to hard to try to hug in? Personally I love the look of these candles. The scent throw both hot and cold, is so much better then either the soy or parafin that I have tried. So what exactly am I looking for in a burn. Thanks Tracey

Thankyou everyone. This had been very helpful. Tracey

I purchased them in Australia. Why? Does the supplier make a difference? Tracey

Thankyou for your replies. Does this also apply for palm waxes, as far as scent throw goes? Tracey

I have noticed that some talk about curing times, some a week and others a month. Is this necessary, and what is the purpose of this. How are we to test candles if we have to wait a month to try? Curious. Tracey

I am new to palm waxes, and I have just purchased some frosted and granite wax. What is the melting point of these waxes, and the recommended pouring temp to get the best effect from them. Also what is the recommended FO % usage. Thanks Tracey

The kids made the comment to me the other day, that now I can make candle just like the old days. This started the conversation onto just what did they use for candle, and the conclusion was, it was most likely lard and tallow, with bees wax being for the upper class. Question, has anyone played around with tallow candle? I render my own for soap making, so have plenty on hand to try. Interested in everyones thoughts. Tracey

Thankyou everyone for your comments. Yes Donita, they are not as difficult as you would think. I am going to need to get deeper containers, and more wax though, so I can dip the balloon in further and get a more rounded effect. At the moment they look like bowls. Still, at least now I think I now what I need to aim for. Butterfly, that is a piece of goldwork/stumpwork embroidery that I did. I love goldwork and stumpwork, and this piece combined both. As you can tell, I love working with my hands. Thanks again everyone for your help and encouragement. Tracey

Ok, be gentle, this is the first time that I have ever posted pictures. The first balloon candle was pulled out of shape as I burst the balloon. The wax was too soft. The flowers also are pathetic, but I learnt some things. The second shell was better, but I am going to have to wait for the sticky wax to attempt flowers again. [ATTACH]4391[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]4392[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]4393[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]4394[/ATTACH] Very amature I know, but someone asked for photo's. Tracey