Alohagirl

That's pretty good for a first try, and you'll get better with each one because of the feedback from this board. :smiley2:

P.S. Using additives like vybar will get rid of those spots beneath the surface.

Wow, that's fantastic! I've never seen an all-white chunk candle before. It's great-- looks like it's filled with crystal. :smiley2:

I like that little "wave" you got going there. Perfect for the scent. :smiley2:

That is really beautiful, and so delicate looking! :smiley2:

Thanks for that info, Donita. I didn't know about the potential difference in waxes made outside the U.S. I'll make that a criteria from now on when choosing wax.

I do know about the subterfuge in soywax production. A couple years ago I read an investors report on a company that turns soybeans into soywax. I was shocked at how they used chemical solvents to extract the oil and chemical processes to turn it into wax. Then they have the nerve to label their product 100% natural.

And a little PS to people who might want to avoid animal products that are hidden unless you read labels.....marshmellows are made with gelatin...from cow bones unless you buy the expensive kosher ones with the vegetable stuff.

Yep, you really have to do your homework if you care about what you're eating. Manufacturers often use harmless-sounding names to disguise objectionable ingredients. "Confectioners glaze" is listed on lots of candy labels, and most people assume this is just a type of sugar. It's actually made from the secretions of a Beetle!! And tons of people are now avoiding nutrasweet/aspartame because they've become aware of the health danger. So manufacturers sometimes disguise it under other names like "acesulfame K". And people feel safe using "Splenda" because it's advertised as being made from real sugar. Yeah, it starts out as cane sugar, then three hydrogen-oxygen groups on the sugar molecule are replaced by three chlorine atoms. CHLORINE??!!

I just don't understand why this kind of stuff is tolerated by the American people. A person's health is his/her most valuable possession. If you're sick or dying, nothing else really matters does it? :undecided

I threw out my liquid dyes from Candles and Supplies because they stunk so bad, people in my house would complain about the smell when the bottles weren't even open. (I really like that company's wax, though.)

Peak has good shipping prices and quality. Their dyes are in non-drip bottles and don't stink.

It's a lot harder than spelling correctly.

:highfive:

So you didn't use any stearic?

The green one doesn't have stearic, but the red one has 2 TBSP per pound of wax.

Jojoba oil has a much smaller molecule....that would effect the finish...however, the price is so much higher. I only use it in cosmetics. Do you have to use oil for rustics?

I tried Jojoba oil because mineral oil makes the wax look cloudy, and fragrance oil makes everybody in the house complain of headaches and sore throats.

I've found that if I don't use some kind of oil in a coldpour, I get a rough washboard texture and all the frost stays in the mold. With 1/2 ounce FO, I get a smooth, shiny, uniform frost. When I tried using 1 ounce FO pp, my rustics finally looked like the ones in the gallery. So I assumed oil was necessary. Then Dee proved that oil is not needed, as long as you go heavy on the stearic.

So cute!! I can see why they're good sellers. :smiley2:

Are you also going to experiment with extra stearic in place of oil? All things being aesthetically equal, I'd sooner burn the stearic than the oil. It strikes me as more of a known quantity and less likely to contribute soot. You could use the type that's vegetable derived.

Here's the one I made with Dee's method, 5 TBSP stearic pp and no oil. I was thrilled to see it didn't just work, but it's an aesthetically-pleasing type of rustic. Frosty, but still shiny, with a semi-translucent background rather than opaque or cloudy from using oil.

BTW, I use vegetable stearic because I think the regular animal stearic smells bad, plus I don't like the thought of where it comes from. (I'm a recovering vegetarian.)

They look great to me too. :smiley2:

Hi Alycia. Welcome to CT.

1) Concave or flat--just a matter of personal taste. It doesn't affect the candle-making process or the burn.

2) Wick pin or bar is also a matter of personal preference. Wick pins are generally easier, but some people don't like having such a big hole in their finished pillar.

3) Peak's is a good company with excellent customer service. I like their straight paraffin for rustics, chunks and regular pillars, but I haven't tried using it for a mottle yet...maybe today.

We don't really know much of anything unfortunately.

Wouldn't it be nice if the law required everything to have it's ingredients listed, like packaged foods? I wonder what people would do if they knew their bedsheets and carpets were off-gassing formaldehyde? (Probably nothing, now that I think about it. Packaged foods list dozens of ingredients people can't pronounce, but they eat it anyway.) :undecided

By the way, the Jojoba oil turned out to be a good additive for mold release and creating frost on a rustic without stearic. It didn't make the wax as cloudy as mineral oil, and so far doesn't seem to impair the burn. (Yikes, I wonder what vapors are produced by burning Jojoba oil!)

Mineral oil...

For those who were following the thread about making rustics with unscented oils:

The green pillar is paraffin + 2 Tablespoons natural Jojoba oil

The red pillar is paraffin + 2 Tablespoons Parol (mineral) oil

You probably can't tell from the photos, but Jojoba oil made the wax less cloudy than mineral oil.

I clean up my melt pots and double boiler with a heat gun, then wipe clean with a paper towel.

When I make scented paraffin pillars, I often test burn them the same day. The hot throw and burn qualities seems to be the same whether they've "cured" or not.

My favorite is Peak's liquid dyes because they're concentrated, come in a no-drip glass bottle, and best of all they don't stink like some others I've tried. 1 drop pp for pastel colors, 10 drops pp for really intense colors with no wick clogging.

I understand your glee. I'm doing the happy dance myself after seeing what came out of my molds this morning.

One other thing: the Peak's paraffin was easier to break up

I just start using this wax, too. I found the same thing as you: it's very similar to 1343 and burns the same but boy was it easy to break up! :smiley2:

I tried Dee's method for making rustics with no oil. It worked! I like the swirly frost--more interesting than a solid pillar. :smiley2:

(BTW, this was made with Peak's new paraffin.)

Wow, those look flawless!

Those are beautiful, Dee. I never would have thought it possible to get a great rustic finish without oil!

And thanks for posting the photo so quickly--I'll be experimenting with your technique this weekend.

I love that mottle! I'd like to know what wax, also.