lenarenee

Thanks and Hi back to you!

Ha! I am all alone for Christmas - up to New Year's day! There will be loud Christmas music - lots of carbs - staying in pajamas all day and soap and candle making!! I want to learn to make crackling wick candles. Chose coconut wax because it's not soy. (I'm still a very beginner at candle making. I get frustrated, say bad words, and give up until next year!) I have 6 lbs of coco wax. I like glass containers, no tins. Also have the WoodWick company's sample pack as suggested by TallTayl. Also have eco wicks in a variety of sizes. I also have some old gw 444, c83, and some palm wax I need to use up - candles and/or wax melts and I would really appreciate if anyone would share their "recipe" (wick, size/type jar, wax) to help me be successful. I won't be using colors, and about 50% of the time won't be using fragrance (I like the crackling sound more than scent!!) I will not be selling - I don't sell my soap either - except on those rare occasion friends insist on some sort of compensation for the soap I give them. I'm ordering from LoneStar because I should get the order by end of the week as I'm in San Diego area. I'd prefer the 12ish oz size. I assume that the plain straight edge glasses are better (less tricky) than the apothecary or shaped jars? I do like the comfort, status and cylinder jars but want to reduce struggles with wick as much as possible. Your thoughts?

Not yet! Hope to start learning this week because I have 2 weeks off! I don't know where to start yet. I have some waxes from last year's short foray into candlemaking that need to be used and I thought wax melts would be a good use. But it's gw443, Nature's c3 and palm so I probably have to come up with a combination that works for wax melts.

I'm sorry this is 12 days after you posted, but here goes....I have wsp's Balsam and Cedar and out of bottle, it smells just like Yankee Candles version to me. I love it and wanted to make it in a candle but since I have no candles skills, its sitting around unused because I don't want to waste it.

Hi debratant! Sorry for the late reply; I just haven't had time to breathe until today. You mostly lurk at smf? Happily? Hoping someone didn't scare you off...

Keep in mind that when indigenous habitat is destroyed - the entire ecosystem is affected. Many palm plantations are on islands. The root systems of those forests support the structure and integrity of the landscape and island itself. They have monsoon. Entire villages are swept away because they're now surrounded by palm trees which simply can't provide the stability needed. The populations of animals and insects shift; predator and prey ratios shift. insects and pollination changes, let alone just the changes in the basic food change. Thailand, Malaysai, etc.; they could be "saved" if people would let it. Right now, there are volunteer scientists and environmental experts who are willing to work with Thailand and other countries to set up farming habits while preserving nature ecosystems. They aren't getting much financial support, as you can imagine. Those rainforest habitats could be partially preserved, while developing some farm land. Surely not a perfect balance, but way better than the direction they're headed now.

Nurture has an fo named Winter Wonderland - that's all I know.

Okay, I'll stop kidding myself. No studying will be done until I get this order out! Dollar store jars are safe for candles? Are all coconut waxes the same? CalCandleSupplies has cocowax83, and the shipping is 8.50 compared to candles and supplies which is $20.

Thank you Tall Tayl! I have to study for an Anatomy test first, and as a reward I'm putting in my orders for supplies! (I hate this class very very much. They don 't care if you remember what you learn - you just memorize, dump it on the practicals and tests, and memorize more)

Oh TallTayl - I just saw your post! Thank you for that information!! That's exciting! Now, what the heck is a ceramic belly jar?? How can I translate that over to a glass jar? Probably an 8 ounce mason type jar so I don't waste materials at first (But then I'd like to go bigger!!) Unfortunately I love the square mason, or other jars with shoulders but I'm certain that affects how the candles burns - not necessarily from experience but just from a physics standpoint. But...success first....cute jars later! You've had a successful crackle with coconut wax? The store bought ones have a criss cross wick, but I've never found a supplier who offered those and I wondered if the shape was more important than the wax?

TallTayl, Candles are going to try my patience! They already have as I've done a little experimenting and easily gave up and that's mostly because in my research nobody agrees on anything so I found it hard to pick a starting point; I tried too many things at once and got chaos. I'd like to focus on coconut wax and crackling wooden wicks. This forum has taught me that soy waxes have changed, and probably will continue to do so. Now, maybe I've drunk the faux marketing Kool-Aid, but did/do believe that paraffin wax is unhealthy? I'm happy to be re-educated if that is not true. I would like a healthy wax, and if paraffin fits so be it. On the other hand, perhaps as a soaper, I'm prejudiced to coconut in general as I use it in nearly all my recipes. Btw, can anyone recommend their favorite wooden wicks? I have some from the woodwick company and from LoneStar, but they're 2 years old and it sounds like there have been improvements since then??

Hi Pam, Crackling wick! I'll splurge at Christmas time for a few good ones (expensive!) ones but they price is astronomical! Naturally, in my ignorance I thought it was feasible to learn to make my own for less money. (I know, I know) However, even after a bag of 444, c3 and a little palm I had no luck with them. I had NG wood wicks and they didn't stay lit and certainly no crackle. Tried some from LoneStar and the woodwick people and the flame was too high in all sizes. I have some gw 444 (but its 2 years old) and c3, and had started retesting with eco wicks (because I had them on hand, and was suffering from the need to make a successful candle). However, after reading through this forum I see that the waxes I have are no longer the same formula that's available today; so if I succeed with what I have, it won't matter since those wax formulas are gone! So, I thought I'd spend my money on what I want most - crackling wick candles. I like the sound of the coconut wax too, instead of high soy waxes. Calcandle supply is closest to me, but picking wooden wicks is more the challenge now. (Most of them seem to not crackle) These candles are for my own use - no selling (I don't even sell my soap). I'm happy with plain white candles, glass jars instead of tins because why hide a beautiful glow of that flickering candle?? I would like to include some Christmas fo's once in a while, but as long as they crackle, unscented is just fine. Btw, I have committed your quote to memory so I can pull it out when confronted with a political discussion. I can't believe the amount of garbage people have been willing to put up with...

Hello everyone! Against my better judgment I've been dabbling in candle making off and on for a couple of years. ( I've done soap for 4 years) Soap and candles have fascinated me since childhood after visiting Lincoln's New Salem, Clayville and other historic places. Naturally my parents would never let me take up the hobby (This was the 70s in a rural community - no internet or helpful books) because they said I'd blow up the kitchen! Yeah well - I'm all grown up now and have internet!! I now live near San Diego, but am one of those strange people that don't think it's paradise here; constant supply of black widow spiders, threat of wildfire, people wear winter coats when it's 65 degrees out but most importantly - I miss having deciduous trees and four seasons. It's almost never soup or sweater weather here. (however....I never have to chip ice off the windshield...BIG plus there!) My job is childcare and I dearly enjoy it, but as I'm getting older am working toward Occupational Therapy assistant certification. I never married or had kids of my own - and neither fact bothers me. There's plenty of kids to love. As the title says, I'm glad to have found you because I don't do FB but need a lot of help learning about candles. I've gained a lot of information from the soap making forum I belong to, and hoped to find one focused on candle making and....here you are! ( I do see a couple of familiar names here that I've seen on SMF) I've already spent several hours skimming through posts and have honed in on the type of candle I'd like to make and am excited about getting started.

Hi Misty, I grew up in central Illinois outside of Springfield. I was lucky enough to have an old abandoned cemetery to explore in the back fields near our house! Never saw/heard a ghost, but we sure enjoyed them at our yearly weiner roasts. (okay, I have to admit we never said weiner - we said "weiney". But hey - we were kids and it involved hot dogs and smores so the name was never an issue for us) Welcome to the forum. I'm brand new myself and about to go introduce myself...