sharyl55

What an awesome picture of your lovely girls. I think you did a great job. Like SD said zap the inside with your heat gun right after you pour put the wax. You probably don't want to embed a tea light glass in the bottom. It is usually better to set the glass on a cork pad especially when your not sure about the wax. I bet those girls would love to eat some ice cream so you could have more tubs to make candles with.

I've only use it when I add dye to the wax. I have 'canes that are 4 yrs old and haven't seen any yellowing. Guess it could depend on the wax used.

Most suppliers carry the aroma beads but may call them scent beads. I'm not sure which ones ship to Canada. For volume orders DPS/Morris Wax currently has the best price. Otherwise most companies are selling the beads for about the same price for 10 lbs. - You should be able to get them for $3.20/lb. I've gotten them form BCN, DPS, and Candles & Supplies (when I was in a crisis mode) and one or two other companies. The beads were all the same.

If I was a guest, I wouldn't know which one to chose. Even the hearts are different. Very lucky guests. Isn't it fun to love what you are doing?

Sam, no to both questions. You put the picture in your pour pot filled with melted wax. Leave it in there until all the air bubbles are gone. Since you don't have a Presto, you can take the picture out and set it on something, pour your wax into the mold then drop your picture in the mold. Do you have any WD40? Clean the mold with that, wipe thoroughly. There should be enough silicone in the WD 40 to help getting the 'cane out. If not use something like Pam veggie spray. How about giving your sweetie an IOU so you have some time to perfect your technique.

WOW!! You have everything, layers, tilted layers, wavy tilted layers, rustic layers and a speckled. Don't know what to call it. They are all great. Way to think outside the mold.

They are lovely. Really dresses them up.

Sam, I know you are not going to want to hear this but it could well be the wax you are using. I made lots of picture 'canes using 1260 then ran into the same problem you are talking about. Seemed like every 3 one would get stuck. I finally changed to Candlewic 5055 wax. You may not have the option of changing waxes. So clean that mold thoroughly. Put it in the oven upside down, set at no higher than 200 degrees, to melt out any wax. Wipe the mold out with paper towels. Spray a little WD 40 in the mold. Wipe thoroughly. Print your picture on 24# paper, trim it and drop the picture in your melted wax. Leave it there for 3 - 5 minutes. That will get the air bubbles out of your pic. Set up your water bath. Check the temp of the water. Should be 80 to 90 F. Then go ahead and make you 'cane the same as you have been. This time after pouring out the wax, leave it sit for at least 8 hrs before trying to unmold. I don't know anything about that mold release. It would help if you could get some Micro 180 but I don't know if it is available in Canada. Good Luck

They are adorable. I'm sure she will love them. Good choice on the FO.

Sam, did you get the 4" round mold? That is pretty small for a picture 'cane. I think those are aluminum molds. Tin molds work better for 'canes. The aluminum is thicker and it is harder to get the wax to frost around the picture. Also the tin molds are a little flexible. The water bath should be between 80 and 90F. You pour temp is good for 1260. Did you use mold sealant to plug the hole in the bottom of the pillar mold? If so scrap it off and try blowing into the hole. Don't laugh. It might work. If you had an air hose it would be even better. But be ready to catch the 'cane when it comes flying out. The real secret to making picture 'canes is to let them cool completely before trying to get them out. As the wax cools it does shrink. Just set it upside down after it has cooled and check again in a day or two. Some aluminum molds are a real pain. I have a couple of square ones that are almost impossible to get the candle out. I sincerely doubt this one will ever just fall out of the mold. Sorry to say. but you may have to start over again. Can you get a tin mold? It would be so much easier.

Sam, can you wait until Saturday. I am doing a class on picture embedded 'canes then. See classroom. The same principles apply for regular 'canes. If not sometime you just have to start over. Did you read the Hurricane section in Techniques and Ideas?

Sherry, like Donita said a sq. tin mold will work. My sq. mold is 4 3/4" across. I added a message to the classroom post about trimming a picture for a sq mold. It is OK to have white paper on either side of the picture so the paper fits the sq. panel. That is the only way I can get a picture centered left to right in a sq. mold. Hope that helps. See you Sat.

Sherry, I think you may have a problem with those cans. The cans I have in my pantry have ribs around them. You need something with a smooth inside surface. Do you have an old tin canister?

Freda, did you try printing out the picture on 24# paper? You don't just dip the paper in the wax. You leave it in the wax for a few minutes until there are no more air bubbles.

Sherry, a round tin mold works best but you can make up something at home especially if you do an electric 'cane. With the electric 'cane you don't need to worry about the diameter of the 'cane. Sq. molds work but you need to be concerned about centering the picture left to right as well as positioning it at the bottom. Let me know if you are going to do a sq. 'cane and I'll give you some tips on trimming your picture. My 1st photo cane was made using a large Cool Whip Tub. Tin works best since you are cooling the wax behind the picture with ice cubes. Let me know what you are going to be using.

Know this is a busy week for you Bruce. I loved jammin' to your video. Another fantastic creation. And I love those mushrooms you do from drippings.

Eugenia's recipe calls fro using a spoon or whisk. She set up specifically not to require a stick blender. Don't know how it would turn out if you use the SB.

Your loaf looks amazing. Love how you have decorated it. Hope you find a plate and get the wicking figured out.

Laura, what wax are you using? The link Vicky gave you is a good starting place. If you can wait until next Sat. I'm doing a class on picture 'canes.

What a cutie. You 'cane turned out great but then you have the perfect model. Nanny will love it.

All I can say is WOW! That is some good looking soap.

Good to see you back Steve. You need to crank up that creativity. I sure have missed seeing your beautiful creations. This one is lovely. Just take it one candle/step at a time.

I never find any good stuff like that at our thrift store. They are really cute. Sorry about all the snow. Hope the skiers are enjoying themselves.

You are a flower goddess Donita. Love the dogwoods. I need to plant some trees here at the cottage. I will miss them this spring.

Mark, I am so wicked challenged when it comes to pillars that it isn't even funny. I think I have tried every wick mentioned on CT and mine never burns like their pictures. The reason I started with 'canes is they **don't** need wicks. LOL But I keep plugging away playing with pillars. One of these days I'll hit on the right combo. My problem is it's so much easier to make an everlasting pillar and I have only been playing with wicked pillars. One of my many new years resolutions is to get serious about wicked pillars. What is important right now is that you and your girls have fun. Looks like you are doing that with these 'canes.