Pam W

Welcome to the forum.  For candle making, this is the place to be.

Welcome to the forum and please tell us what type of candles you are into, i.e, pillars, containers, etc. 

Welcome Marseyus..I am surprised by an automotive repair man being into candle making but ya just never know who gets bitten by the ''candle bug''.  It is a wonderful hobby that can be profitable...personally, I do not sell but enjoy making candles and B&B products as a hobby and for gifting to friends and family.

Tell us more about the ornaments and if possible post some pics.........OMG we love pics.

On 8/3/2018 at 10:34 AM, NYCole said:

Candlemaking has been a lifesaver as far as my sanity!

Welcome to the forum and I can totally relate to pouring candles to retain ones sanity.  Never hesitate to ask questions no matter how trivial they might sound to you.......when a newbie asks a question, we all learn .... if that makes any sense.  :-)

Since you mentioned the dog, you have to tell us more....breed, personality, etc, etc, etc....most of us here are pet lovers so tell us more about your dog in the off-topic forum.

Way back in another life, I made some candles that were similar but there were not referred to as slime pillars.  Once the pillar was pour and cooled some wax was laid around the top edges of the pillar and gently hit with a heat gun, making the wax drip down the side.  I used this method to make some pillars for a restaurant...they could not take the chance of a lit pillar burning out the side and causing a fire hazard(liability ya know) so I made some pillars with a deep inset to hold a votive candle.....that way the candle could be burned without the hazard of blowing out the side during the evening because it was certain that the staff could not spend the time watching the pillars and doing the necessary hugging,etc so the '''forever'' type candles were the answer but with the wax melted and dripped down the sides, it gave the appearance of a real candle burning.

But if you are making the slime pillars for individuals to burn, then just pour the initial candle then lay the different colored wax on top and gently melt with a heat gun to make the wax run down the sides........or you could melt some in a pour pot and GENTLY pour over the finished candle......whatever works best for you......kwim?

Ok, here goes:  melt you wax in your pour pot, add one drop of liquid dye and dip a little out and put in some sort of container (I use tart molds for this) let it cool and then decide if the color is what you are going for,,,,,,,,if not, add one or two more drops of the dye and again pull some out to cool for testing.......keep doing this until you get the color you are looking for....like if you started with one pound of wax and ended up with say, 4 drops of the dye to achieve the color you want then you have a starting point.  It's all trial and error.......

Sometimes when I'm going for a light color, I will use a toothpick....dip in dye, swish around in wax and go from there. (like sometimes a full drop can become more darker that I want.  Especially if I'm making an orange color....a little yellow with a little red.......too much red and you end up with a red candle instead of orange)  This is just something that you have to play around with to get the hang of it........yeah, I know....not what you wanted to hear but as usual, everything is trial and error.......but keep in mind that liquid dyes can go dark in a hurry so go lightly in the beginning.

If you really screw up on the color, you can always send to me .........lol

On 7/31/2018 at 9:18 AM, GoldieMN said:

I agree with everyone on this!!!  Sheesh!    

GoldieMN

Same here.........ain't worth the ''rip-off"...kwim

I have a very dear friend that has recently started buying leftover wax from a wax factory and making container candles with it...from what I can gleam, it is CONTAINER wax and we all know how that will burn in a glass jar....I remember her making the comment that she wondered how many drops of FO to put in each candle.........DROPS......give me a break here.

She lives aprox 200mi away and I told her that when I had the time, that I would come visit her and bring some container wax, wickes, scales, etc, etc and spend a day with her to show her how the ''''world'''' actually works.

There is no way that this friend can afford to purchase the appropriate supplies to make candles for sale but I hope I can educate her a little bit. She and her husband both have extreme health issues and live on SS benefits....so there isn't much hope in her being able to buy the appropriate products and do the proper testing.

It's really difficult when the uneducated candle maker is a dear friend.,,,,,,kwim?

I so wanna be like you when I grow up  :-)

On 7/22/2018 at 1:52 PM, ellajoan said:

Can anyone who's tried Essence of Jesus compare it to something for me?  I'd like to try it but would hate to have another overpowering or powdery masculine scent.  Anyone love or hate this one?

Ok,  I use Essence of Jesus in container candles and am happy with the HT and I do not consider it a """"masculine:""" scent but more of a pleasant earthy scent.........very iight and not overpowering;  It has a nice HT throw in 4630 container wax...... in the many candles that I have poured with this FO, I have never considered it a ''powdery'' scent.

On 5/31/2018 at 12:54 PM, NaughtyNancy said:

 

Purple Sandalwood is THE BOMB, hard to describe it but it's super nice. They somehow managed to balance that sort of earth/wood+flower thing without it coming out like some cheap baby powder incense smell. I add a drop of cedar EO to it for a little extra depth and it's awesome

Purple Sandlewood is a great scent all by it's self.........pour that baby and enjoy it!!!   As Nancy suggests, you can add other FO/EOs to the blend..........adding some more earth scents OR adding any other FO that suites you fancy.........purple sandlewood is a basic scent that is so above the charts as a wonderful scent but can also be blended with other scents...........nothing more than your imagination can take you further.........kwim???????

All that said, I am partial to any sandlewood FO blend........with sandlewood being the starting FO, you can add anything from fruity, floral; other woodsy scents to create your own special scent.

DO not be afraid to experiment with adding misc FOs to earthy scents...........

On 5/31/2018 at 12:54 PM, NaughtyNancy said:

 

 

On 7/23/2018 at 10:00 AM, Forrest said:

I don't need another FO supplier so I am not going to read this thread. I'll not let y'all tempt me, I'm just going to ignore it. Although the Cuban Tobacco sound really nice.

you mentioned Cuban Tobacco and I have to say that this is an FO worth having on hand.......

Amish Quilt..........great for holidays

Sweet amber musk......the hot throw fills the entire house with a great scent.

Ok, so in the near future we can expect to see some amazing recreations coming out of the new addition...........Will that be candles, soaps, B&B, etc??????????

On 7/25/2018 at 8:22 AM, TallTayl said:

I keep several widths of drywall scrapers for cleaning floors and work surfaces. 

It is all about what works for each of us....and that does take time to figure out.  The last case of 4630 I order from a supplier arrived in a form that royally ticked me off....there was no paper between each of the slabs so in order to use the wax, I had to just cut into the case.........personally, I prefer having a pre-measured slab to work with but in this instance, that wasn't an option.  So I used a tool similar to the one that you posted to cut my wax into the amts that I need to use for each project.

Hey, whatever it takes to make your journey easier..........kwim.

Not being a soap maker from scratch, I am totally confused by this thread but I will watch it for more info down the road..............??????????????

Hey, ya know there is no limit on what one can create when pouring a candle.............just to keep in mind is if you want to re-create any particular experiment.,  you will need to take notes on what you did........otherwise,  you are screwed but that does not stop you from creating another specimen and moving forward.

Hey, I'm up for viewing candles without any particular color........I absolutely love seeing pics from newbies.......but that said, wherever you venture on your quest, please keep us updated.

Forrest, you have opened an can of worms here....there are so many scents that can be blended with a woodsy scent......so I challenge you to come up with a scent combo that's off the charts.........fruits, woodys, etc, etc..................what ever you decide, I will blend the recommended scents and let you know what I think after I have burned it............

On ‎7‎/‎23‎/‎2018 at 9:11 AM, TallTayl said:

the first question is, "why?"

what are you trying to accomplish?

As a newbie to candle making you may not be able to answer the above question.  When I started my journey into candle making way back in 2005, I really didn't have a specific goal in mind other than to produce a pillar that I could get to burn properly.

Sometimes we can get so overwhelmed by the info at hand that we forget that we are a newbie to the craft....so many waxes, so many  wicks, etc, etc........

As a newbie that had NO idea what I was doing, I narrowed my experiments down to 2 waxes.....one for pillars and one for containers and totally forgot/ignored any info on other waxes.....I needed to master these waxes before moving on and/or considering other waxes.

All that said, being so into wanting to make some quality candles.....reading all the postings on results of the various waxes, I did learn that I needed to focus on ONE wax at a time

There are so many waxes on the market that we (as newbies) can get confused.........for me....I narrowed my choices for pillar waxes to 1274 and container candles to 4630..... I will learn to master these two waxes before I move onto other waxes........

BABY STEPS AND THE SAYING GOES.............................

and to add.......NO you are not the last to know.....this hobby (candle making) is an ongoing process beginning from buying the wax to lighting the wick.  And along the way of this journey, we pick up on things that help us along the way.

I joined this forum way back in 2005(?) and have not stopped learning little tricks of the trade as I venture thru the realm of candle making.

46 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

Can it take a good hard pull to keep the wick taut for a hot pour? I cannot stand when the wick pulls loose. I've been known to throw pots of wax when that happens.

 

I'd rather go with candle stick-ums in glass as they're more likely to be covered by my insurance should any incident occur.

I've had no problem with the wicks pulling loose on hot pours but that SAID,  since I don't sell and don't have the appropriate insurance to cover my a$$ in any particular situation, this is something that you'd have to test for yourself.  There is such a difference between pouring for personal use and pouring for public consumption.

I'd rather go with candle stick-ums in glass as they're more likely to be covered by my insurance

Ya know this is a big consideration on your end...........for me it is not an issue but for those of you that sell, it can definitely enter you realm of reality.

On ‎6‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 5:28 AM, MrDan said:

Maybe I’m just not understanding how you can pour cleanly with a Presto Pot. Is this pot being physically lifted to pour the wax, or is it being scooped into something else to be poured? Are the dyes and fragrances mixed in there as well?

I looked at the pots and I can see where it could be really useful, but I also noticed the lowest setting was for 200 degrees on most of these pots. Isn’t there a good chance I’d just scorch the wax?

Mr Dan:  to answer your questions in order asked:

1) no you don't lift the presto pot to pour out the wax, but you scoop the wax out into a pour pot. Place the pour pot in a pan of hot water and take your temps there...adding FOs and dyes at the appropriate temp.  I use the presto to keep the basic wax ready and waiting from me......when I have the urge to make candles(I'm a hobbiest only) I heat up the presto pot then dip out what I need/want to work with into my pour pots.

In response to your meth comment,  I do get a little paranoid when I'm pouring some of the 'earthy scents' hoping that my neighbors don't think that I'm running a """kitchen""" in my house...when I pour scents like Nag Champ, the smell drafts out into the neighborhood but at the present time, I don't have any neighbors that will complain....  smile!!!  Oh well, if anyone does complain, the 'officials' are more than welcome to browse my house.

In my other life, I am an accountant and sometimes I would get stuck on a particular client's situation and my mentor told me:  You are overthinking the situation.  And I find that the same is true in candle making....sometimes we just have to pour what we have and go from there...taking notes on what we did, see how it burns and adjust from there if necessary.

Get a presto pot.......that will give you approx 8lbs of wax ready and waiting for you when you get the urge...........kwim????

TACKY WAX from the craft store.......that wick will stay where you put it.

Hey, wax is not the only use for this tool...............my son uses one to cut his dough mixture into appropriate sizes when making tortillas.........SO, EVERY KITCHEN SHOULD HAVE ONE  :-)

And a heck of a lot more fun.  I have so many FOs that I won't even count them but I do use them for various things:  pillar candles, jar candles, lotion, body spray, body scrubs and the most important....fart spray for the bathroom.

Oh and one more:  I make my own carpet deodorizer.....put some baking soda in a jar, add a few drops of FO, let it sit for several day, shaking it often then shake it around on the carpet, let it set for a while, then vacuum.  This is really a nice way to freshen up the car too.