CandleCocoon

I love the BW917. It is my new favorite.

Don't give up! It sounds like you do this once a year for fun! Always remember that you can always remelt. And to be honest, you can make any wax work. It is generally the scents that may need to looked at. I had tested every "natural" wax on the market up to 2020 and while the the scent throws did differ I could always get something out of them with good scents. And this isn't to say that waxes don't have differences. Some waxes "squash" the scent. Some waxes drown out certain notes (bakery). Some waxes have a smell of their own. But overall, with good scents you can make your wax give you something. And if you do decide to go with a different wax just remember that you can use your old wax up at about 5-10% without changing the characteristics of the new wax. HTH. Now back to the fun with your daughter!

You may be able to seal them? Then have a note that says to let them harden before use? At least that way they won't get all over the place. They may not end up the prettiest but they would at least not spill all over. Not sure if this is much help...

Soooo, I am late to the party here but I do have a video on how to test burn an over 2" deep candle and what to look for. It is 3 hours long. I can post it if you like.

Yes, paraffin does not expire. It can change. The oils in it can move around and may even leach out but once they are reheated they go back together. And if it is dirty filtering is great! Or a lot of times the junk will fall to the bottom. To filter we use a fine mesh metal filter. That way if it freezes we can zap it with a heat gun. Also, there is an expiration date on a lot of natural waxes. What I have been told by manufactures is that it is actually closer to 3 years but you may see 1 or 2 years on it if it was processed in a food facility. And much of the naturals can go much longer if stored correctly. It can also get funky looking but often when melted will be fine.

Yes, you can mix harder waxes into rapeseed to make it harder. You could also try adding stearic acid which is naturally derived and hardens a lot.

Wondering why you are not getting good HT with the BW921? We have been testing it for over a year now and it is working just fab with all of our scents. Can I ask how you are creating the kitty piece? Temps, fo amounts, etc? I do also agree that having two different waxes cold affect your wicking. And I LOVE you kitty cat! SO cute and fits in there just perfectly! I love putting things on the top of my candles. And I think it looks pretty cool as the colored dye starts to leach into the piece.

We have tested every single one of our oils in standard tealight metal cups with GB464 and most of them take a CD3. When we tested the C-3 years ago it was about the same but there was a bit more interaction of scent/soy which caused some of them to need slightly bigger wicks (cd4/cd5).

My thoughts exactly Nightlight. Eco are fine wicks but very limited in size. For a 3.36" (85mm) base wick would be a CDN16 using GW464 (no scent or dye). I haven't tested Ecosoya in so long that I don't remember what the wicking was like for that one. I do remember is was close to the GW464 for base wick....

In our testing with Millennium wax years ago the base wick (no scent, no dye) in 3" diameter was a CD16. But each of our scents changed it so much that the range was CD4 - CDN22 for 3" diameter. Hope this helps a little.

I pour scent right into the pour pot, otherwise the cling can throw my calculations off. Cling can account for quite a bit of scent waste. I put the bottle of scent on the scale, tare out and work negative. If the scale says -.30oz then I know I have exactly .30 oz in the pour pot with the wax ready to be made into a candle. When I am teaching a class I will often have the class pour into metal sauce cups so they don't spill all over the place. Then they pour those into the pour pots. When we weigh them at the end there is still a lot of scent clinging so we make sure to add a tad extra to account for the difference.

I agree, I have never needed anything to stop up the hole in silicone molds. I have on occasion not rubber banded the two halves tightly together, but that is another story....

Hi all! I posted this to my Newsflash folks but wanted my new forum to know about it as well. I overbought on Hemp Oil (you know when it says not to use the back button because orders may be duplicated....) So! I am giving away a limited quantity. Sale is for 3 days only. --------------------------------------> POP UP Sale! 3 Days Only! FREE 14oz Hemp Seed Oil. No code needed. See savings at check out. Purchase $50+ of anything except for wax and get it free! $6.95 value. 1)Add 14oz of Hemp Seed Oil to the cart 2)Add anything else (except wax) totaling $50 or more. 3)Discount for $6.95 will pop up automatically

I did sand the insides of a silicone mold about a million years ago. It was a really old one that was starting to fall apart. Probably 20 years old. I just used large grit sandpaper and like a pencil to poke it into the corners. But, the freezing method works just as good and you don't need to damage your molds. In fact, I like the frozen look better.

Total person preference. I work with the SFIC and they all have a really nice lather. My favorite is the palm free.

Wow, you are not kidding that it turned color! Totally agree that a stabilizer won't work if there isn't vanilla in the scent.

And to go one step further it is also the shape of the molecule that can help/hinder wicking. Beeswax for instance has a very funky molecule with "legs" sticking out all over the place. That is why it works best with square braid wicks as it is easier for it to find a side and climb up the wick. Beeswax when used on flat braids can get "stuck" as the legs don't find another wall in order to advance. I know you are not asking about beeswax but I am just using this as an extreme example. Then there is the issue of acidic vs basic. CD wicks work better in more basic environments and CDN work better in more acidic. They are both the same size but the flame retardants that they are soaked in are different. I have more info about this if you like. So unfortunately there is not easy way to figure out wicking without testing. We have some VERY thick FOs that burn easily with some wax/wick combos and not with others. For instance, we have a vanilla that works so well with the wax/wick combo that it gets wicked way down. Which is incredibly unusual for vanillas. And it is very dense. And we have some "thin" oils that have to be wicked way way up since they have some crazy molecules that are derived from the resin/EO of lilacs...And visa versa.

Another question - Vybars were invented to act like beeswax. Have you tried just beeswax?

I agree with you! I absolutely adore the BW917. I would agree that it does lend a bit of sweetness to the candles which to me results in a more pure scent throw. I had never noticed that GW464 actually has a "beany" kind of scent and also seems to "hold back" certain scents. But the GW464 does actually enhance certain scents.... In our testing with the BW917 it is generally the CDN series that wins out. But as with all wax/scent/dye combos it can be very precise. Not sure if it would help you if I posted our some of our results. Or if you want to message me I could do that? And looking at your candles - it doesn't look like they are too tall so if they are dying out as they burn your wick is clogging. If you are using dye (I don't think you are) that could be the culprit. Otherwise it is most likely the scent if the flame was normal sized at the beginning.

Welcome Kristen! You do A LOT of cool stuff!!! I knit a bit too. Or at least I used to in collage when it was all the rage and we would have knitting groups. I only made socks. I know, I know, everyone says that socks are difficult. But when they are the only thing you do and you follow the same pattern....not so hard. Glad you are here! Lyschel

Welcome Ken! I love the feathered look of Palm Candles.

What a fun project! I love experimenting! I also wonder if the olive oil will go rancid as it isn't saponified as it is in soap? But if they sell fast enough it wouldn't be an issues. All candles eventually go rancid anyways. Some just take a lot longer. And good point about the amount of oil that a candle can hold. The more oil the more sooting as you already know. Can't wait to hear more about your project. Would also love to see some pictures!

There is a reason that I tend to stay away from these videos as they often make me want to scream. What I like about the video - I just love her! She has a great voice and wonderful presence. And the finished product was very pretty. But I have to say that there is definitely a difference between professional candle making and crafters. There are definitely some things that she is doing that are just not safe. The most glaring issue would be to NEVER heat the wax at 350F in an oven. The flash point of most paraffin is about 325ish. If these candles actually have a scent when burning I would be super surprised. And I know that the wick that she used from the 2.5" container in the 4" container will tunnel terribly. If they burn at all. Using tarts from the dollar store you would have not idea what they are made from. They might be made from a material that is not meant to actually be burned. And the color in tarts could be pigments which won't burn well. The other issue I have is if those jars are actually tempered or if they say "for decoration only" on the bottom. I was trying to zoom into see... Things she got right - Hot gluing the wick to the bottom. Yeah! And they are super cute. She knows how to decorate! Cost of the candle without decorations from the dollar store (if everything is still $1) would be about $4. Cost of buying the materials from an actual candle making supply place for just one candle would also be about $4. More if you want to add scent. But again, hers will not have a scent throw so I consider them unscented. I have no issue with folks just wanting to fool around and make something. But I want them to do it safely. And if you are going to buy things why not buy things that will actually work Just my 2 cents.

The only thing that I can think of for you to be able to work with what you are currently is to melt the Wax and PE wax separately. Then bring up the wax to about 100C. Quickly add the PE wax to the regular wax, mix and then cool quickly so as not to scorch the wax. As long as the PE wax blends into the regular wax you shouldn't have an issue with it separating out. But when using a double boiler I can see as how this would be most difficult. Heating up the small amount of PE wax with a heat gun should be easy enough. Just keep the heat gun moving and the pot moving so as not to create a super heated spot. I hope this helps a bit Lyschel

@Laura C Thank you for the warm welcome!!! I MISS Christina and Molly to the ends of the earth and back. We are still in touch but their lives took them in different directions. I wish there was a way to re-title old videos. Karner Blue was the retail portion of the business that is no longer going. (Candles/holders/stuff) We had a bit of an identity crisis and all of the candle making stuff really should have been done under the Candle Cocoon label. Now we can never get rid of Karner Blue because that was also my TV interviews (SEO). But it can be rather confusing. Anyway.... Thanks again nice to see you here !!!