Sally

Hi there, me again, I forgot to ask you all, has anyone got a proven blend of either EO's or FO's for hay fever sufferers, my big boy is home from uni for the summer next week & I'd love to be able to make him a tin or tarts to help his hayfever. He's been such a fabulous helper & so supportive with my soy adventures it would be really nice to surprise him with this. Thanks again. Sally Ok I've just found some sinus relief suggestions in the archives, I'll give one or two a go.

Hi all, I want to make some soy tarts for a craft fair I've got coming up & wondered which wax or blend you'd recommend. I've got some Ecosoya PB & CB on it's way, would it be best to use the PB or a blend of both? I'm going to try both EOs & FOs in them, but not together. I'm testing 4oz tins, undyed, with EOs just now & having some success & I've got some gorgeous little 1/2oz lip balm tins working well (burn for 5 hours & smelling great in my bathroom). The pillars aren't great yet but the votives are getting better. However I haven't got enough of anything to really show off with & I won't be selling pillars or votives until I'm totally satisfied with their perfomance. I'll take some of my paraffin wax candles too, just to sell some off & raise funds for the soy adventure. I really want to introduce the folk at my old home (the Findhorn Foundation spiritual community in Scotland) to the wonders of soy. I think tarts would be a good item to add to my table but I haven't made them before,so any ideas will be gratefully received. TIA, Sally.

I made some cute soy candles in some of these, brushed aluminium tins,this week. I used EO's (measured in drops ,30-40,cos I was only doing tiny amounts of wax at a time) in some & FO's (1oz to a # in others & FO's with a tiny scrape of dye in others. Wicked them up with Eco 2's. I couldn't wait to try them out so lit one in my bathroom today & was blown away with the result, especially as it had bergamot EO & didn't even have time to cure. I just let it burn til it was done & the little beauty went for 5 hours straight smelling gorgeous all the way. Will try another tomorrow but only burn for an hour at a time then relight it once its set up again & see what the results are like that way. I'd show you a picture but I haven't a clue how to do that....something else for me to learn. I'll definately be using these, without wicks ,for samplers once I get back into selling.

Personally I don't poke relief holes in the first layer/s as this would cause the second/ next colour to bleed through into the first which could be interesting but might not be what you're looking for. However I do poke holes in the last layer & top up as many times as needed to finish the candle off (poking holes each top up. Does that make sense?

Thanks Georgia, I'll have a go at crimping higher up til I can get hold of a jewelery crimper.

Thanks Sharyl, I'll take a look in my local craft shop but I'll have to wait til tuesday cos they're closed on mondays. I'm in Scotland so I bet they'll cost more than yours did, everything over here seems to be soooo much more expensive!

Hiya, I've been making my own wick systems for votives & container candles but am having problems . . I crimp the wick sustainer onto the wick using flat nosed pliers but this always bends the sustainer, so I have to flatten it out again, with varying degrees of success & sore finger tips! I've tried all the other pliers I have in the house but keep coming back to the flat nosed ones. Is there some other way of doing this or a special tool? I don't mind wonky bottoms on my own candles but I want them right for customers. It's getting frustrating ! Hope someone can help. TIA

As a newbie to soy your layered candles are an inspiration. Am still playing with my first batch of soy, all candles undyed so far, & still lots to learn about the scenting process. Hope its not too long before I can produce some that look as good as yours.

Thanks for that, it sounds like my wick, I'll have to see how the Eco wick burns now. Early days yet!

Hmm, not sure about the self trimming as I do need to trim it myself, I'll get on to Full Moons & find out as it doesn't say on their site. I've burned this candle for about 12 hours so far, approx. 4 hrs a time, & now have a little over an inch of "shell" behind the wick.

Hi all, I'm new to making soy wax candles (made paraffin ones for a few years). I just tried taking a pic of my 1st soy candle with the webcam but it came out rubbish so I'll have to describe it for you....I know you've all got great imaginations! It's 2" x 4" made with Full Moons pillar blend 100% soy wax (u.k supplier) & Ylang Ylang EO (not nearly enough tho'). I've used an unbleached cotton with paper core wick, also from Full Moons, which is their no.8, suitable for a burn diameter of 5cm. I'm really pleased with the look of it, but not the lack of throw, need more EO next time. I let it cure for a few days but my impatience got the better of me so I've started to burn it. The wick burns with a slight curl at the tip which seems to be causing the candle to burn unevenly, that is, the area in front of the curl is burning away more quickly than the area behind the curl, leaving a thin shell . Is this caused by too small a wick or is this a problem with this type of paper core wick? I'm also trying out the Eco wick range but haven't burnt a candle with one of those wicks in yet so I can't compare...think I might just have to go & try one. Does anyone have an answer for me? Sorry this is so long...what I wouldn't do for a digital camera!