SatinDucky

The labels are classy, just like your candles

Those are just beautiful!

Those are just gorgeous!

Great job as always

Classy look all the way around. Nice

Very pretty and cheerful! Like springtime in wax

Striking marbling, nicely done!

Very pretty! That's a cool idea

Beautiful and very classy looking!

Steel wool works pretty good.

I've burned candles beyond 3 hrs and they were fine, the wax seal is "Faux Wax". There are alot of companies on line that sell them, I just did alot of research. You should check them out since I can see you like the look too.

They are very unique and add an interesting touch. I like it

Having said that, I would strongly suggest a power burn to the end just to make sure it doesn't melt off. 3 hrs is usually just getting to full melt pool, depending on the size. When the candle is half or three quarters burned, that glass gets much hotter. As I understand it (which could be wrong) this faux wax is very similar to a hot glue stick, which melts. I'd just rather be safe than sorry, especially if that blob fell off and ruined someones nice piece of furniture or something. JMHO

Those are beautiful and the findings are a nice touch

I use Alabaster for some of my FO's. No company will be 100%, just because not all FO's will work 100% in every wax. The guys there are great! The service is good too. I drove down to pick up palm wax last time and came out with a dozen bottles of new FO's cuz that sniffin' table is just impossible to ignore...lol

Welcome to the board and the hobby

We need some basic info to answer. What kind of wax were you using for the pillars? What kind of dye chips? (Some are pigment and don't actually dissolve, they just have to be stirred thoroughly enough to stay suspended until the wax cools) What temp did you mix the dye and FO in at? If neither mixed in well it sounds like the wax wasn't hot enough. Some FO's are harder to mix and may need extra stirring, taking care not to whip air into the wax though. Preheating the oil helps sometimes too.

Cleaning molds - I gave up on cleaning them thoroughly a long time ago. I give em a zap with the heat gun and a swipe with a paper towel. Same for pour pots. That minute amount of residue really makes no difference IMO.

I like Peaks mold sealer better than any other I've used, unless their formula has changed in the last couple years. Are you trying to remove it while it's hot? Room temp is easiest. It just peels right off. If some bits are left behind, just rub it with the main wad and it usually pulls it off.

Leveling is a PITA, no matter how you do it as far as I'm concerned...LOL. The easiest way I found is pour and cool the molds on a very level surface and eliminate as much unevenness as possible to start with. Usually I only have a tiny nipple in the middle and a very thin ridge around the outside that needs trimmed. Holding the knife at an angle and scraping works better for me than cutting into the wax. You're less likely to cut deep. Use a light touch and remove thin layers at a time. With straight sided molds, you can slide the candle out just to the lowest edge and use a knife to gently scrape and excess that hangs over. I've tried a lot of different methods for leveling by melting the wax and didn't have luck with any of them. Others will pop in with their own ways, maybe they can help you more.

Good Luck

Thanks for the welcome back. It's nice to know I'm not completely forgotten.

Ya'll have some great ideas! The shows/parties thing... well, ya see... I've never done one to begin with...LOL. I'm still VERY small time here. Mostly just special orders and the ones that stack up around here from just doing whatever I feel like. To make it short, I work 12 hr shift Fri - Sun. Shows and fairs and things are always on the weekend which leaves me out. Parties are a possibility except that I'm terrified of groups of strangers or even speaking in front of people I do know...LOL. That's something I'll have to work on.

Melting the wax doesn't work. I've had the turkey fryer melted and ready a few times and just couldn't get going. Maybe pulling out some of my favorite FO's will help nudge me. I'll try that Monday.

I have one pillar I've been working on for three weeks! Tries a rustic draped layer.. it stuck to the mold bad. Tried twice to put it back in, heat it up and smooth out the outside..both time I missed a couple places and left rough holes...lol. Then I tried to crackle it, which I've never tied before. That really didn't go well and the candle shrunk quite a bit :rolleyes2 LOL. Today I finally chunked the darn thing and hopefully I can be done with it now.

I also have 2 memorial hurricanes waiting to be made and a gal from work wanting 2 or 3 pillars when I "get back in gear" as she says.

Luci, thanks for the compliment but you're probably thinking of Sharyl or Donita. I do make some hurricanes but nothing as spectacular as theirs. I know what you mean though. I've always gotten a lot of inspiration from here. Sometimes the BS and mud slinging just get to be too much, whether you're involved or an innocent bystander. I'll take a stroll through the gallery and that should get the juices going some. There's always so much beautiful stuff posted

Ahem, Scented... I completely forgot about that, I'm sorry! I did get all the pictures taken for an embedded pillar but I don't think they turned out too well trying to do it by myself...lol. Someone has probably already done a class on that by now anyway. If I can get motivated maybe I give it another shot a little later on.

Maybe I just need a swift kick in the rear...LOL

Congrats The addiction has just begun!

As for the pin pricks, they're probably what are usually called pin holes. You'll get different answers from different people about what causes them as how to get rid of them. Personally I usually only get them from having the wax very hot or over heating the molds and often with the shiny tin molds, though not always. I've never seen it happen at 175 myself.

If the thermometer you got was the glass candy type, you'll definitely have a lot easier time with a digital one. The "mechanical" type, like the mercury ones (I know they are usually red inside but I don't remember what that stuff is called) is VERY slow to respond in my experience and often the wax is much hotter than it shows because the temp can increase much faster than the thermometer changes.

Oh, and for the most part, I do prefer the liquid dye as well. I do use some chips for odd ball colors that I just don't have the patience to formulate from basic colors and don't use enough to buy a whole bottle of liquid.

OH yeah... they have been other posted but I didn't save the links. You can try this site for resizing pics www.featurecart.com/jpeg/index.asp

I think I've lost it.. creativity, inspiration, whatever ya call it. I haven't hardly made any candles since last fall. I had managed to burn out some of the wiring out in the garage/shop. We finally got more breakers put in and it was rewired. Then this winter it was unbearably cold and I couldn't stand to be out there. Now that it's almost ready again (still have some boxes and supplies to move around for walking space) I don't know what to do. Usually it just pops into my head to try this or that. I'm so totally blank.

How do you get your inspiration?

Getting a new shipment in the mail is like opening a Christmas package.. even after doing this for a few years it's still a thrill.

How much you can reheat wax can vary on what type, how hot you get it and how long it's been cooking. I use 4625 as well and I've never had the appearance change myself.

Go slow and keep good notes. Test and test some more. Keep a trash bag nearby for your hair when you pull it out

Good luck and have fun

Your pillars are just gorgeous!

I have a 25# bag of pillar palm here and no patience for testing the darn things ...lol

Just a couple thoughts...

Do you used primed or raw wick? If you're getting air bubbles show up in the mold even after they gone in the pot, it could be from the hot wax displacing air in the wick. It would continue to make air until it's all out (which takes a while even with hot wax) or until the wax cools enough to stop soaking in (in which case the wax would be too thick to let them float to the top as well).

I get pinholes usually from the wax or molds being too hot. Then again, I think many people use the term of pinholes for different round surface flaws, so that can make it confusing too. I've noticed that my tin molds are much more likely to get them than aluminum, even under the exact same conditions.

What is it about the word "natural" that hypnotizes people?? MANY things in nature are highly poisonous! You can walk outside and pick foxglove and eat it. You can't get any more natural than that. But it can kill you in a heartbeat!

I am testing in a draft free room and my fragrance oils are not very thick(wellington right now).What on earth am I doing wrong???

"Not very thick" doesn't tell much. How much are you using?

This is one of the main reasons why there is so much testing to candlemaking. Just because a supplier or another chandler recommends a specific wick or size or formula doesn't mean it will work for you. You don't HAVE to use the recommended wick, it's usually a starting point for testing. If it's not working, try something else.

Now that is just too cool

Are you trying to get wicks or jars?

Neither. He's looking for the wick centering tool that holds the wick centered in the jar.

Soap snot! :spit: I've never heard that one before...LOL