SaraJane86

I actually joined and posted a couple months back for advice on a couple of novice mistakes and learned tons. I just figured I'd properly introduce myself. Better late than never right? Name - Sara Age - 70 trapped in a 30 year old's body Live - Ohio Making Candles - Newcomer, 7 months. I dabbled for about 6 months before that How did you start - Three years ago I started heat transferring pictures onto store bought candles for weddings and special occasions. I figured I'd try making them myself and fell in love. Married and Kids - Married three years with a teenage step-daughter. I raised my sister solo. She graduated Valedictorian, consistently made Dean's List, and has one more year to graduation. I tell her all the time that she is my Hero and that I couldn't be more proud. Job - I work for the Government in a security capacity. Anything else - Most of my proceeds go to charity. I support The Sato Project of Puerto Rico! I knit, I crochet, I scrapbook. I wasn't kidding about being 70 at heart.

So do you think if I do one pour and wait until it is fully set and then the second pour as full as possible (so it gets the nice curved look) it would help? I think I'll give that a try tonight. Thank you!

Thank you for your quick reply! I think I will go back to placing the wick myself. I guess it's the perfect example of the old adage "If it's not broke, don't fix it". I'm glad I only bought two.

Hi all. I am relatively new to candle making (about 5 months in) and I'm having a couple problems. They seem to be pretty common but I haven't been able to find good solutions yet. I am making Votives with metal molds and wick pins. I use candle mold release. My wax is Ecosoy PB with, typically, a 3% scent load added at 185 degrees. I heat it in a double boiler in my kitchen and I pour at 140 degrees. My two questions; I'm having a relatively new problem with cracking. I pour at 140 degrees. In the past I haven't had a huge problem with cracking but now I get cracking around the tops. I know this happens when the wax cools too fast but the thermostat in my apartment reads 72 degrees. Currently I place the votives into the oven (off and unheated) to help regulate and slow the cooling. Which helps some. Is there a better way to do this? I was thinking about reducing my workspace or setting up the molds in a small box so they help keep each other warm. It sounds silly when I say it but it's driving me crazy. Second problem is that I am just starting out with wick pins. In the past I have just placed the wicks and used a clothespin to keep them straight during cooling. The idea of a wick pin that I can just pop out had always appealed to me so I bought a couple to use, but I must be doing it all wrong. They are impossible to get out of the candle! I use a little mold release on them but that didn't help. Tapping them on the counter, paired with my cracking issue, results in me having to remelt the entire thing because of the damage. I've tried removing them while the votive was still slightly warm and cannot get them out of the warm mold. At this point I've run out of things to try and have gone back to just using the wick/clothespin process. My container candles and larger pillars don't have these problems. These votives will be the end of me! Thanks for any help you can give.