starlessjade

You're just trying to create more work for me...

I guess they could work together, so I'll give it a shot.

I got some Peach Magnolia Raspberry from Alabaster, and I'm trying to figure out what color to use for it. I can do multicolor, but I'm not sure how the raspberry and peach colors would look together... and magnolia blossoms are sort of creamy colored, right?

Burn time calculator:

http://www.candletech.com/calculator/burntime.php

Hope that helps you

So be prepared to regret ever adding a wick.

I know I do.

Very nice job Wick. I love those words stuck-ish and okay-ish

Hey, is that more of your British slang, WNW?

My brother painted some wine bottles as a gift for my parents and stuck tapers in the tops. He knows nothing about candles, but they've been burned like that plenty of times with no problems, so I'd say give it a try!

I've also seen candles that look like little corks. If you can whip some of those up, you'd make a fortune.

My square molds haven't come yet, but my LX wick kit did, and... wow. Forget the square braids, these LXs are fabulous. Right now I'm test burning a 16, 18, and 20. I may also try 21 and 22 just for the heck of it. They're all burning great and giving me a nice sized melt pool, so it'll take a few more burns to decide.

I'll pop 'em into square candles as soon as the molds come and see what happens... promise.

Well, the most basic decision would be containers or pillars. What's more important, scent or looks? Containers will give you an awesome scent throw, but pillars are gorgeous and there are all sorts of creative things you can do with them.

Make sure you take a look around in the gallery... some of these candles will blow you away!

It's all about Bartlett Pear from Peak. Smells just like a... bartlett pear... lol... and has an amazing throw.

for those 'over the pond' if I called Anjie a big dope then? or I said I'm off outside for a fag

I've had enough sleep today to figure those out, lol.

nice pillars and tins. Looks like a bum in the pink tin though!

Wow, I really need to start checking the locations of people before reading their posts, to see if they are in the UK. When I read this, I must have spent a good 10 minutes staring at the photo, trying to figure out how the candle could possibly resemble a homeless guy.

The candles are beautiful! I love the mottled one.

:laugh2:Well, I guess you'll just have to start using cream colored paper.

The only one that I've done much work with so far is Citrus Splash from BCS. Either I have the right wick for it or nothing can mess up this FO. I'm using it at only 1/2 oz pp and the throw is great, with no fuel. If you're looking for a citrus blend, you must try this one.

Next I'm starting in on Cactus and Sea Salt (ICS) and Key Lime Pie (Snowtop). Wish me luck. I ordered an LX wick kit so I'll give those a shot.

My square molds are on the way right now!

A lot of people wick down on square pillars so that the shell remains and it doesn't warp the corners as it burns down.

Oh, that makes sense. But when it starts tunneling really deep, won't you have problems with the flame?

Flowers, I'm using square braid #1/0 but I haven't tried LXs at all yet, and from what I've heard it's not crazy at all to use different wicks for different fragrances. I'm moving on to my 2nd fragrance now so we'll see how that one behaves, lol.

I am wondering the exact same thing- I've been working with 3" round pillars and am trying 3x3 squares.

I'm thinking it's possible to have to wick up to get the melt pool out to the corners, but then again you don't want it going too close to the sides of the square, so maybe the same wick. I was just going to play around a little.

What wick are you using?

We need to buy one or two....is it worth ordering them, or should I just use the Michael's coupon and pick them up there? Are the pour pots at Candlewic better quality than Michaels?

I have one from Michael's and the quality seems just fine. It was about the same price as most of the ones I have seen at supplier websites and you don't have to pay the shipping!

Your thinking on too small of a scale, you should be thinking how large of a house your candles will fill. Votive = small Apt. large candle= clampets house

Bruce

Well, since I'm in an apartment, I have it made no matter what candle I choose.

Okay, thanks. Maybe I'll start with 2 T and play around from there.

I'm trying to figure out how to make mottled pillars with 1343- what is the ideal amount of stearic to use? Anything else I need to add or do to it? I can't seem to find instructions anywhere.

While I'm at it... would I wick a square pillar about the same as a round pillar of the same diameter?

I work at Bath & Body Works, and we sell 4 oz candles for $10. They're really great quality and smell fantastic (I own a whole pile of them), but I bet yours are just as good or better.

Of course, I know people aren't always willing to pay what something is worth... selling polymer clay art at a local craft fair, I was barely able to break even on my cost of supplies, and I don't even want to know how many hours of work I put into it.

I know what you mean about only being able to afford one 10 lb slab at a time, but once I settled on a wax, I saved up for a while so I could order a whole case of it at once... I think it was totally worth it considering how much I saved on the wax and especially the shipping.

Yep, it's a good thing to blame because it's not my fault!

I did try different FOs to make sure it wasn't just a specific fragrance that was messing me up... nope.

I decided to start a new thread since the other was getting long and I'm sure everyone was tired of wading through the posts.

My rustics were turning out well when I first started making them- when it was still cold outside. It warmed up, and that's when they started turning out smooth no matter what I tried. In the last few days it's gone from 70 degrees to snowing (that's Arizona weather for you) and as it was cooling down, the candles I poured came out with more and more texture, and they're back to the way they were looking originally.

What do you think? Has anyone noticed the temperature affecting the finish and texture of their rustics? I'm trying to figure out a way to test this by letting the candles cool at a lower temperature, but I think a fridge would be overkill so I'm not sure what else to try.

Maybe I'll just have to make smooth candles for the next few months.

:embarasse :embarasse I saw that wrong, thought she meant Arizona. :embarasse :embarasse

I was a little confused there.

On the other hand, I am in Arizona... I use Peak but I'll have to check out Cierra!

This isn't me, but I like her work- http://www.janetjewelry.com/

I have the Sakura/Cherry blossom pendant and wear it almost every day. Too cute.

I don't make these things, but I was reading out of curiosity. When you mentioned the liquid soap I thought aha! The surfactants bind to both water and oil to emulsify the mixture.

I knew there was a reason for taking all these chemistry classes- to learn the science behind smelly jellies!