Lantern Light Mama

I've done this combo in my body care...not in a candle yet. Mine is actually 1 part baby powder, 1/2 part vanilla, and 1 and 1/2 parts stargazer lily. I call it Pixie Dust! Now I need to put it into a candle...thanks for the push!

I had a girlfriend who used to put leaves into her pillar molds and swirls, then pour the candle with white so it looked like flowers. She would color her paraffin (green for leaves obviously) then pour it into a cookie sheet to the thinness she wanted, then carve them out when they had cooled enough but were still pliable. You'd have to have your tapers ready...I would imagine you would need a touch of glue, but if the leaf is pliable you could bend it around a taper lying flat, let it cool, and glue it on later with Tacky Wax or something. Good luck...they will look beautiful.

I have 5oz tumblers, 4oz lidded jars and 16oz lidded jars. I don't take the tumblers and small jars to the same show because of the price difference with the lid. I would keep two sizes. I like the tumblers and have ordered 11oz ones...they are so much more sophisticated looking than cutesy lidded jars. JMO

I've found with my limited double wicking experience, that you can probably even wick down further that your 2 inch plus 2 inch melt pools = 4 inch candle. Otherwise your glass will get too hot. The radiant heat from both flames will melt more wax in general, so you don't have to wick "mathematically". I used to use a template, but now I do it by eye. I turn the jar upside down and press the wick into place based on the bottom of the jar. This is much more exact than trying to do it from the top.

With my palm wax pillars I can actually get away with this! I've pulled them out and can still hear wax sloshing around in the middle of the candle! I rarely do this, and only if it's obvious the candle can just slide out. Then it's all warm and yummy...like bread just out of the oven. I know how you feel...

My tarts all turn frosty if stored too long. I use the clamshells. I use the C-3 soy with USA...it doesn't happen as badly with this. It's just cosmetic...

I use C3 with the square braid in votive containers and all of my scents are from JBN. They test in soy, so I know they are all going to work. I've never had one not throw. My votives send scent all the way down the hallway. I agree with Stella, FO not good in soy or the wick is not appropriate. Good luck!

I get my tumblers from Genwax, and they actually sell lids that fit theirs. JBN also sells lids, but it only fits the tumblers they sell. I used to use little organza bags...those were cute. You could smell the candle through the bag, but long term did not keep the dust out.

I have found that this happens more when I pour too hot...the cavern is really big. It also takes FOR-E-VER to do this when the candle is still soft, so I let them cure overnight. Then I come back with my heat gun and sweep back and forth so as to fill the hole from side to side so that the melted wax slides into the hole instead of covering it and "burping". If the hole isn't large enough, I hit it with the heat gun (I use an embossing gun from Michael's) so that the wax can slide in from the side easier. You might have to come back if a few bubbles escape, but I think this may work for you. It does for me anyways!

That would make sense if curing did make the wax harder. When you burn right away the wax is still soft, so your melt pool will be bigger. I just poured some candles in really cute christmas tins I got from Michael's. They have seams, so I am pouring much cooler than I usually do, but burned it right away because I DON"T want the melt pool to go to the square corners (it's not, hooray!), and figured if it doesn't go that far today, it won't a month from now.

You could warm the candle in a hot sunny window before you try to dig out the wax. I sometimes set the candle in the bottom of the presto pot (clean of course) and put it on WARM to remelt it.

I've seen directions on how to make these...I think they are fairly complicated as it takes a mold that is wax-tight but will later come apart. There is some kind of stamp on the inside of the mold, and you put it together and seal all the edges, pour the candle, let it set, then take each side off so that the embossed side comes out clean. You can make them with cardboard...too much of a pain for me, but a very neat effect!

One year this month! I love it and love staying home with the kids. I'm slowly building the business and hope it keeps growing!

My three inch palms are wicked with some Yaley cotton flat braid wick from Michael's. It's rated for 2-3 inch candles, and works well. I have some left, so I still use it, then I will switch to my #1/0 square braid cotton wick. My pillars burn closer to the edges and get paper thin...they get stalagtite-type things inside as the flame pulls the wax from the sides...they get very artistic looking. I have a picture in my gallery on my website in my signature to give you an idea.

If you like the soy, you can try the soy pillar blends. The wicks you just have to fiddle with and do a lot of research of what the ratings mean so you have an idea of where to start.

Do you mean a crystallizing palm wax? I use that and love it! It's just beautiful. You have to pour at 200 degrees and use the aluminum molds.

I think Bell-a-Roma has a wholesale page with these on them...it's been a while, but they have votive holders and boxes and other cute stuff too. Don't recall if they need a tax id or not. I think the minimum was relatively high...$250 or something.

I get mine from Just By Nature in Texas, but Swan's carries some blends too in southern California. I use square braid wicking.

I am soooooooooo jealous! Sounds like a grand slam! You go girl! Love the wholesale account connection too!

I sure hope so! I'm giving a class in February on just that! After all the Christmas crunch I'll fiddle with it a bit.

I fill mine all the way, but agree that they are easier to deal with when a bit more shallow. So long as you price it right, it doesn't really matter. That person must have been using a pipette or something to fill those. Way to much detail work for me! It's Bag-n-Tag for me! Mine are 100% soy, so they break apart relatively easily already because they are so soft.

We did Bates Nut Farm this past weekend...did ok. We only made 3x table for the weekend (did a bit better at the Bates show in October), but met a lot of local people, which is what I've always been after. Hubby made some of those great stair-type displays I've seen posted here for the candles. HUGE difference in the look of the display! I loved it! I also gave a class through the city for the first time. Everyone (all 6 of them:) ) had a great time, and I sold 5 candle-making kits on top of the materials fee and tuition percentage they owe me. We also brought candles up to an Open House type show in Temecula...didn't sell a freakin' thing! It's one of those where you drop off your stuff and they set up and take a commission off what you make. My stuff was all piled on a teeny table at the top of the stairs in a corner. Just looking at it made me not want to touch it for fear of toppling the whole thing over! You know, like the fruit at the grocery store? $80 plus driving time and frustration out the window! Oh well, live and learn. At least we went up as a family and got to eat at a great pizza place! Guess I'll stick to the local shows and the classes...my goal is to be "discovered" and have greatness follow...:smiley2:

Try the Jar Store...they are online and it seems you can buy a case at a time and the lids come with it.

Can't wait to see all the great knowledge you have to offer! See you soon!

All of these ideas are great in the short run...I wouldn't want the shrink wrap to touch anything either personally. You know what I see when I look at your beautiful box? I see "gift" written all over it! If you could get an acetate lid to custom fit right over your items, tape it down at the four sides, and wrap the top with whatever your style (raffia, ribbon, etc) it would look very contemporary and the lid would showcase the items and protect them without touching anything. That may be down the line for you, so don't sweat it for now. But that box is gorgeous! That's what I would do with it. There are companies out there that custom make things like that. I use Kent Landsberg for those kinds of items. Good luck!