tammyc

I have been searching for some containers I saw last year. I was thinking of giving them a try for this summer; now I can't remember where I saw them. Does anybody know where I can find wide mouth terra cotta pots? The ones that I saw had brightly painted flowers on them. I would like to make some citronilla candles with these.

I know scented, but when I click on it, it still does not enlarge it that much. I have seen some really great pictures on here that enlarge almost off the screen and are still crystal clear. How is this done? I uploaded the second picture at a much higher pixel size and it still does not enlarge very much. I have a 7.1 mp camera which I am using to full potential. Oh well, I was just hoping that the texture would show up more, the picture does not do it justice.

Hope this works better.

Ok, not sure what is going on with the picture. In Photoshop it said it was 95k, I uploaded here and it says 49.5k. I will see if I can attach a bigger picture, so you can see it better.

Like I said, more of a texture candle. Usually my rustics are frosted looking and smooth to the touch. This is not smooth, you can see and feel every little nook and cranny.

sharyl, to be perfectly honest, I didn't watch the clock. It was a non-stop process. I used one of my presto pots for the initial melt, then laddled out the desired amount into three pouring pots, added steric, then dyed 2 pots. I poured at about 160 (it was almost to the point of getting slushy). I already had my next color on the double boiler reheating. Before it got up to temp I noticed that the first layer was starting to pull away from the sides of the mold. I took that color out of the double boiler and put the next color in. Again, before the next color was up to temp, it was starting to pull away. I was pouring cool enough so there was no overpour, but at the time I wasn't sure, so I continued to rush through the process. I was so worried about how fast it was cooling and trying to get the next pour in that I never looked at the clock. About an hour after I did the final pour, the candle slipped right out of the mold. It was like a candle making marathon. Now, that I am not so worried about the overpour factor, maybe I will make another one. I do like the way it turned out; it was sort of a nice surprise. At the time I was trying for a nice frosted rustic like judyvegas. What I got was texture surprise. Hopefully I will get a picture tomorrow and post it. I have been so busy lately, between my son and his activities and getting winterized. I woke up this morning to a blanket of white and I still didn't have my pool picked up. It was drained, but not taken care of yet. I managed to get that done today after the frost burned off, along with stacking a tier of wood in the woodshed. Tomorrow I have to move the rabbit cages under cover. It's not fair that the busiest season for candle makers is also the busiest time of year for everything else.

I am thinking about adding some aromatherapy scents to my scent list. I would like to experiment with EO's. I have never used EO's in my candles before and have a couple of question that maybe some of you can help me with. First, I am not sure where to purchase them. I did a google search and of course there are thousands of places to buy them. I don't want to waste my money buying an inferior product. All the places claim to be 100% pure and the best quality available. I don't really want to just pick a name. Maybe some of you that use EO's could tell me your opinion of the best place to purchase them. Second, I know that EO's are more concentrated than FO's. How do you know what percentage of EO your wax can hold. Any EO knowledge or experiences would be appreciated. Thanks, Tammy

I didn't take a picture of it yet, but it didn't turn out that bad. It is not so much rustic as it is textured. I do like the way it turned out, but it is not what I trying for. It is kind of cool looking but I don't think I will make another one. It was hard to do because the wax kept shrinking away from the side of the mold while I was reheating the next color. Anyway I am going to try using 1343 for my everlasting rustics. I didn't think it would work, but I see some of you have been doing it and it works fine. Thanks for the input on this. Tammy

I will let you know how it turns out.

I am not trying to phase out 1343, I am just not sure is 1343 is hard enough to make an everlasting out of. I use 1260 for my everlasting candles now, but I don't make everlasting rustics. Since 1260 has a high melt point, I thought I would pour at 170 instead of 150. What do you think? I am going to give it a try tonight after I put my son to bed.

I was wondering if anyone has ever tried making a rustic pillar out of IGI 1260. I am going to give it a try myself. I usually use IGI 1343. I wanted to try the tilted layers from last weeks class as an everlasting. I was just looking for anyone else that has tried this to share some information if possible. Thanks, Tammy

I sell mine for $1.50 each and a 4 pac for $5.00

I generally package my products in cello bags with hang tags; containers with raphia ties and hang tags. This works well for Farmers Markets, Art Festivals and the small local businesses that I sell to. I have recently been in contact with an upscale hotel and resort. They like my product but the packaging does not fit in with their retail displays. I am looking for some help from anybody who sells in this sort of market. I was thinking about votive boxes for my votives. I have a thermal label machine ordered for my containers. I currently shrink wrap my novelties. Do you think shrink wrap for my pillars is a good idea? I have a crock type topless container. Should I shrink wrap that also? I currently package that in a cello bag. I have been packaging to keep cost down, therefore keeping prices affordable to my general market place. I will continue to package this way for these markets, but I need to upgrade packaging for new markets. Do any of you do this, or do you stick with one line and one price. Right now my look is country craft. I need a new look that says 5 Star Hotel. Suggestions please. Also, if you don't mind my asking where do you buy your packaging? Tammy

I got mine from Peak.

Click on the Techniques & Ideas button to the left, then click on Rainbow Pillars. The ones pictures on this link use a lot more color, but it is the same technique.