Alohagirl

Thanks for that advice, J. You were right, and there was no way to guarantee it would be in California when I get there. Next time I'll order way in advance.

Since you're just starting out, I assume you're heating your wax over simmering water. If so, try placing the mold over the water for a few seconds so the steam can soften the wax. Then wipe clean with a paper towel. That's how I clean my plastic molds since I can't use a heat gun on them.

Thanks for the replies. I checked out the CT list of suppliers by state. I found a West Coast source for crystallizing palm wax, so that'll save time and money. Unfortunately, I need tealight plug inserts and aluminum hexagon molds which I've only found at CandlesAndSupplies.com. But now that I know how long it takes for some of you to get your orders, I'll be on the safe side and pay for fast shipping. Thanks again!

Hi everyone. I'm finally back on my feet and making candles again. I moved to New Zealand, and a local art gallery wants to sell my embed pillars. Unfortunately I can't get good supplies here. I want to order wax and stuff from my favorite U.S. suppliers and have it sent to my sister's house in California. I can pick it up when I visit her next week. So I'm wondering how long it takes for shipping within the continental U.S. I want to order from Peak's and CandlesAndSupplies.com, but I'm not sure if it will arrive in California within a week. Does anyone know? Thanks!

Truly amazing! I especially like the peach one that looks like a basket weave.

Some people choose palm wax because they believe it's more "natural" than paraffin and comes from a renewable resource. 2" pillars are sold in many health-food stores and they're really pretty, but they don't burn well. Palm wax is really nice for molded tapers though. Wicked properly, they're self-consuming with almost no dripping. I get my palm from GloryBee in Oregon. It comes in loose flakes which is easy to scoop and weigh.

I just want to add: If you keep getting those bubbles on the edge like that, after pouring, run a chopstick or bamboo skewer along that part of the mold to knock loose any bubbles.

Have you tried taking him off milk products? Lots of info out there. Here's a quote from a Berkeley education site: "...a child with an extended history of ear infections will either cease to have them or will develop infections much less frequently once dairy products are eliminated from the diet. Of course, you can prevent many ear infections by never starting on cow's milk at all. We as humans and particularly as children do not need cow's milk for calcium, protein, fat, or anything else). Of course, a diet which includes calcium is important, but this is possible without cow's milk." Source: http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/health/earinfections.html "Of all the potentially allergic foods, dairy is the most common. A food allergy causes nasal congestion and congestion in the eustachian tubes. This buildup allows fluid to collect in the middle ear, which can lead to infection. If your child does experience ear infections and you suspect he or she may be allergic to dairy, remove all dairy products (milk, cheese, formula, etc.) from his or her diet for a minimum of one month. Substitute soy and rice milk products." Source: http://www.truestarhealth.com/members/cm_pages05SL3HL2P1.html Hope this helps. :smiley2:

Tester sheets get posted once in a while. I found this one re-posted by Trish in October: Name of tester: Date candle given for testing: Date tested: Size of candle: What type of container? Room it will be tested in? Is it the right size room for testing this size candle? Reccommend ______ size room for this test. Approx size of room? Small Medium Large How high are the ceilings? Standard, High, Cathedral ceilings Is the candle appealing to look at? Cold throw: Heavy Medium Light Comments on cold throw: Is the wick centered?_____ Time test started_______ How long after lighting did you notice the hot throw? How close were you to the candle? Does the scent fill the room of testing? Does the scent travel into other rooms? How soon did it greet you in other rooms? Full melt pool was achieved in______ hours. Was not achieved_________ Explain. Did the wick mushroom on the first burn? Second burn? Comments after three to five hour burn time. No scent throw Hang up of wax on side of container, Full melt pool never reached, Tunneling Off center wick Soot Container is very hot. Flame drowned Flame too large Flame too small Others! Hours of first burn________ second burn__________ Was this candle Marathon burned? Results? Did other people comment on the candle? Date test was completed? Grade candle on scent throw: Cold_______ Hot______ Grade candle scent: Popular, Okay, Didn't like it, hated it! Final comments for this candle?

Hey Stickywax, you asked about the cloudy spots inside the candle. They're sometimes called "fingernail" marks. (I thought your search might be easier if you knew the terminology to look for.)

Thanks for the links, Eran. Those colors are beautiful, and if they look that nice in soy, I'd expect them to be even more intense in paraffin. Bigcat, I went to Lonestar's site and looked at their liquid dyes, The names of the colors look like they might be the same as Peak's. In which case I agree, they are great dyes! In the vegetable wax forum people are saying there's no smell at all from EVO dyes, but on the supplier's website it claims they have a "mild, pleasant" smell. I'm wondering how a dye can smell pleasant unless they put a chemical fragrance in it, in which case they could no longer call it non-toxic. Why can't anything be easy?

oh that is so cute! Santa on an old-fashioned bike, I love it!

Wow, that's gorgeous!

Oops, I didn't realize she was asking about "industry" standards. I thought we were talking about hobby candlemaking. Sorry! I no longer have my old candle books, but I'm certain they both said not to use more than .5 oz in order to avoid burn problems. My first supplier used to sell their FO in .5 oz bottles, and it was perfect for hobbyists like me who don't want to buy in bulk!

Hi everyone. I'm getting back in the groove after a long absence, and I noticed there's a new product out there. Does anyone know anything about EVO dyes? They're advertised as being a really concentrated and odorless liquid, but without any "hazardous solvents." My favorite has always been Peak's liquid dyes because you don't need to use a whole lot, and they don't stink like the ones I got from BCN. But they do have a little bit of a "fuel" smell that's noticeable in unscented candles. Edited to say: oops, I forgot to mention that I want to use it in paraffin, but when I did a search they were talking about soy--not sure if that makes a difference.

The long-time chandlers can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the .5 oz/lb was considered the standard because: a) that's what the old candlemaking books recommended until recently there weren't a lot of companies producing candle FO's, so everyone was using the same stuff and following the manufacturer's recommendation of .5 oz/lb and c) highly-scented candles have become popular only in the last 10 years or so. Before that, people were content with .5 oz/lb, so it became the standard and was never questioned.

I started making candles because I like having several pillars burning every night. (nice ambiance) Unfortunately, the nice-looking pillars are always scented and I'm sensitive to chemical vapors. So I learned to make them myself without the fragrance oil. Sometimes I make scented ones for my friends, though, cuz the first thing anybody does when you give them a candle is sniff it!

Thanks, I'll try experimenting with other waxes. It's worth the effort, I think, because palm tapers are great--if I can just keep them from breaking that is!! :undecided

I can't keep the shroom out either. Usually it falls off, and I use the wick dipper to scoop it out.

Has anyone tried making these? I found some for sale in New Zealand and tried them. They were beautiful and burned well with no dripping, so I'm trying to make them myself. I bought a metal taper mold that makes 8 at a time, and used the crystallizing palm wax from Glory Bee. They turned out great but were so brittle, most of them broke in half when I tried to insert them in a candleholder! Any ideas for making them less brittle?

Fortunately, not all stearic is made from animal fat. You can also get vegetable stearic which works the same and doesn't have that funky smell.

Thanks. I scented those with "Christmas tree" FO.

Merry Christmas everyone. I made candles and flip-flop soaps for my friends this year. Wanted to share...

I thought this was kind of cute...

I've only used their straight paraffin pastilles. I like them because it's easy to measure exactly how much you need, and the wax is consistent from one batch to the next.