chauntelle

Way to go, candles look great to ,love the jars!!!

When i was thinking of trying to make candles it started as an idea of just making a small chunky pillar for fun, and you guessed it im now addicted and my 'candle cuboard' is over flowing with moulds and embed moulds, waxes , dyes ,addictives, packaging.... you get the picture! I'm always on the look for 'the nxt thing'. So if your anything like the rest of us you'll be sucked in afta 2 pours and you'll be working out how to perfect them in your sleep!!! Good luck with what eva u decide:wink2:

a yankee franchise store opened in my nearest town bout a year or two ago. It is always full of people browsing and buying someone i know knows the owner and says she does very well!! It kinda annoys me that someone could buy into a brand that easily and the minute that they open the door have a fantastic reputation because of the brand they're selling! (even though i do not buy yankees not wot i like). I have a shop-non candle related- and it has taken nearly two years of hard work to make sure that we build and keep agreat reputation and repour with our customers,we always go that extra mile and pay sooo much each year in advertising so that people know what we are about,its so frustrating that someone can just set up a business and already have that? I've been thinking about opening my own store for candles but i'm not sure i could compete against the branding ect of yankee!!! in england yankee just keeps getting bigger,luckily my family and friends agree with me about their candles. (Only my thoughts hope i dont ofend anyone!!)

Just got up and found this thread you've got me in stitches, didn't even notice the dead fish til i read about it DOH, well what ever makes your candles unique!! Looking forward to see your next work of art

Those moulds make fantastic shapes!! Lovin the colours;)

Im not sure i've only used straight parrafin and added stearic so far wot do you think i could add,it looked different to most mottled that i've seen but then again i haven't tried these yet!! Do youthink its worth a try? Thanks guys

Hello all just wanted to introduce myself to this side of candletech! I've been making candles for a year or so now and i always thought about trying body products but wouldn't know where to start! so i advoided it but like all interesting things i think i'm getting sucked in, it my friends fault she loves bath bombs but won't buy from a certain manufacturer and said that i should have a go at making some for friends and families kinda like i did with my candles!!! i was doing so well until she said that. And so the search started found the baking powder and thought hey its not that hard but then came ingrediant no 2 CITRIC ACID! and i can't find it anywhere!went to tesco,asda and macro who all had it listed as stock but none had it in stock....So this is where im at! I've got some rubber ice cubemoulds that i thougt i would try them in first until i get the right consistancy and i will bag these up and give to will friends to try them on!!!! well i'll keep reading here and a few other places that i have also accidently stumbled across.you can never read enough-right??? Thankyou in advance for all the wonderful help that you offer here i have a weird feeling that im gonna be reading for a looong time! Chauntelle:D

I was at a market the other week and i saw some hand poured candles which i thought were quite pretty. I got talking to the stall holder and she said that she made them and used parrafin wax and stearin. But they had a flecky look to some of them and i wondered how you can do this with parrafin wax. I thought they might have been made from palm wax as the affect was just like the everlasting palm candles pictured in the gallery! Has any one got any ideas as to how i can do this it's driving me mad!!!!!

Have you thought of maybe having a unit or something similar that people could visit. My current supplier only does plastic ones and is not going to be getting any more i'm really going to miss visiting her and being able to see exactly wot you are getting, its also good to chat to her too- Nothing like good customer Service!!!

I've just started booking up some fairs and partys for the summer. I have only done one and that was a majour disastar but i have learnt from it and so this year am far more prephared i plan to have a range of styles that i have been practising height to my stall biz cards, leaflets price lists,a table cloth that goes to the floor and a great big SMILE!!!! And so i was wondering for all of us newbies out there wot is the one piece of advise that you could offer??? Thankyou in advance wishing you all lots of success and fun this sumer!!!

Not too sue i usually use excess wax after filling wouldnt have thought more than 100g ish will try tomorrow and let u no if u want? it would only be rough though coz each shape would be slightly different!

Hey anjie good for you! theyre fun arent they!!! Wait till u turn out the candle. I saw some cross ones when i went so maybe u might have to rumage. When i go nxt i will look and let u no if i see some other shapes. How horrible is the weather today? its raining cats and dogs here definately candle making weather!! kids to bed @ 7.30 wax out at 7.45 OOOH YEAH:highfive: :highfive:

It makes me so mad that someone can get sued when there is no fault with their product only that someone is not responsible enough to have candles in their home in the first place! When i go out i always check that electricals are turnt off as well as my fire and oven. If i was to cause a fire by leaving my oven on i would never dream of suing the manufactures of the oven!! Surely if the product isnt used properly and with the guidlines it is sold with then there isnt a case?? I always put warnings on my candles even when i give them to friends,you can never be sure wot people will do with them. When i was 4 i bumped my head and started crying my mum left the dinner to check on me when she returned to the kitchen the room was full of smoke coz the chip pan had caught alight. The whole house had to be decorated and kitchen re fitted!!!and we lost alot of personal possesions,and had to stay with family for 4 months whilst we had our home insurance go through and the work done. My mum never sued coz it was the way she was using the pan and leaving it unattended, she was relieved that everyone was safe! Surely thats the same with candles???

Cheers guys that clears up alot of things,but im still a little unsure if he was correct in saying that by using these wicks it makes their candles burn longer ? They were by a company called bridge water dont know if anyones heard of them, just launching over here in the uk but apparently have been in the us for years and are verry popular!! they might have been using a different name coz the guy said they had trouble with the name and so they took longer to get over here,look very much like yankee candles!

I was at a trade show a few weeks back and saw a company selling jar candles which i went and had a look at reminded me of another brand and was intrigued. Was speaking to one of their sales reps and he must of realised i knew a bit about candles coz he did this spill about how wonderful their candles are. He told me that their wicks have a zinc core which allows the wick to get to a higher temperature before it meltsthe wax and makes it burn longer.In their catalogue it claims to have a totally clean and even burn because of the wick with a great fragrance release. He told me they were a paraffin soy mix. I assumed if that was true then everyone would use the same wicks right? Just wondered if any one could shed some light on this as i've never used zinc wicks and wondered if they are safe obviously lead isnt!!

Thinking of you and your neighbours! i havent heard whats happened im guessing a bad storm can some one please feel me in please dont think im being rude just dont read papers and havent seen anything on the news!

Well good luck with them, no didnt see those,bummer!! will av 2 drag other half in again he loves it as much as me, last time we had just finished in a meeting near to ikea and stopped for a 'quick' look stuck to the path and whizzed round nabbing a few bargains as we went about £60 and an HOUR later we finally made it to the till where we smelt the hot dogs and couldnt resist (have you tried them- georgeous!!) An hour well it only felt like 20 mins could you imagine if i was let loose?

Unfortunately i have to work today but will be getting out the wax tonight to try rustics again"!!! Im sure that will be interesting. Hope you all have a great weekend and that the fairs and markets that you are getting ready for are great!

Sorry forgot to add that i did mine at about 80 and they came out fine. poured at 70ish once coz i was in a hurry and they were quite rustic looking but i think it depends wot wax you are using i would just heat a small amount of wax and pour a line row of shapes at a time making a note of the temp of each and you should be able to see for yourself they don't take too long to set the top did dip a little but i wasn't bothered coz i was doing pillars and put them good side on the surface. would be great to see a pic of how they turn out, must take one of mine and be brave enough to post!:highfive:

OH YES how great is ikea!? got those ice cube trays jigsaw puzzle and bottle ones which look great as embeds for pillars,thought the bottle ones would be great for a 'new baby' keep sake candle, or maybe an 18th birthday with green bottles. makes a change to your normal ones and they are so inexpensive and easy to use. Saw the glass wear but had to resist buying too much!!! My boyfriend thinks im leaful in that place, hes probably right. Going bac soon wot other ones did they have if you dont mind me asking? have fun;)

I was lucky when i first started making candles coz i found a little craft supplies shop about 10 mins away,brought a little and got addicted!! Went to hobbycraft about a week later and was so shocked by their prices, i was paying less than half of what h.c was charging, the moulds and oils were so much cheaper too!! I would recomend trying sensory perfection. Jo is really good free delivery in the uk. Havent tried the wax yet as i havent run out from my current supplier but her oils are great (i use parrafin, guessing thats what u use!!) she had an offer where she sent me a free sample. Theres a wide range of accessories such as moulds,jugs and warning labels definately worth checking out!! Have you tried the search link at the top because i remember some good suppliers in the uk were being talked about in the summer try typing uk suppliers and im sure you'll find some suggestions. Good luck hope you find one soon i think hc are sooo expensive!!

Only a few more to go fro me then(and the rest) lol. Yiou inspired me to try another one yesterday went for blues and greens. The first one had some marking on it but was really smooth and shiny, guess i poured too warm? The second was a total disaster it got stuck in the mould and after about 17 hrs lost my patience with trying to ease it out so i banged it a litttle which didnt work. put it in the freezer for 10 which probably mafde it worse so then i walloped it on the work top just one more time which to my satisfaction came out only to see that the rustic bit kinda crumbled off, the candle broke in two and i mumbled a few words!! Should learn to have more patience i know!!! Liked the colour though, would post but far 2 embarassed to show you the state of it, never had such a bad candle not even my first which ended up looking the a very shinny blue leaning tower of piesa!!! Will continue to be inspired by you beautiful ones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:embarasse

Have to agree with all the above!!! just curious how many attempts it took to get yours like that? im attempting but am no where near to yours!!!!!! Can anyone advise on how thick to do the layers getting real stuck with them!! LOVE the colours my daughters 5 mad about pink and wants em'.

Yeah tried the library books there was only four on their list i have one of them already,borrowed 2 and the other was booked out. Will try the works have been looking in there but haven't seen any as yet but will keep looking!!

The library are more helpful than book stores think i might haveto take a trip to the us !! good excuse for a hol!!!