starlessjade

My measurement could have been way off... but the flame did definitely seem a little higher than usual. I'll test it again, making sure to keep the wick trimmed- thanks!

Actually I think he wants the other offered by the same seller, a crappie I think? He loves the bass too though. I just can't imagine rubbing anything shaped like a fish on myself... Were you the one who posted the link to the silicone mold eBay search? If so, I have you to thank for the dead fish eyes that will soon be staring at me while I shower... lol!

I'm still trying to get the hang of wicking. My candle looked like this after burning 3 hours 15 minutes. It looks like the wax is about ready to go over the side, and the book that I have says that if the wax is being melted faster than it can be absorbed by the wick, then the wick is too small... then says the same thing but that it means the wick is too large. My brain hurts. I used paraffin with UV inhibitor and 3 tablespoons stearic, 3 inch diameter candle with square braid #1/0. The flame was about 1.5 inches high, if that helps.

lol I only knew that because I happened to read it somewhere before I started making pillars. Although... really, either end could be the top. It's all about perspective. The one in the bottom of the mold is just the more natural choice because it's already smooth and pretty. I love the tops that concave molds make!

That's awesome! I will NOT tell my boyfriend that a bacon-scented candle exists. He already wants me to make him fish-shaped soap from a mold I found on eBay. A mold of a real dead fish, not a cute little cartoon one.

Yup, I poured pretty slowly. That must be it.

I've never tried one, but I've never met a fruit I didn't like... wait, I don't like bananas... Lychee smells interesting though, a lot like grape. Not exactly like it, but the same sort of strong smell. Stunk up my whole apartment.

It's scented with Lychee from JS. I wasn't entirely sure what color a lychee fruit was, so hopefully I'm close. The FO was a yucky yellow-brown color but it looks like my dye chips covered that up nicely. EDIT: turns out that lychee fruit is much more red. Oh well, I still think the color fits the fragrance just fine. It might look like a ridiculous number of layers, but it was actually easier for me to do that many because then they cooled faster and there wasn't so much downtime in between for me to pace around the kitchen or poke and prod them. It's very ridgey- what caused that? I'm not complaining, because I like it, but I'm just curious. If you read my last gallery thread, you'll be happy to hear that this time the candle slid out of the mold pretty easily. I did discover a little trick- squeezing the mold with my hands then releasing seemed to loosen it up just enough.

lol I forgot that I just made a really short candle... not half of one... I poured another today- lychee from JS (I have a friend who is crazy about lychee) There was some kind of heavy oil in the FO that just kept settling to the bottom of the wax, so we'll have to see what happens with that. I poured my layers a little quicker (one too quick that mixed into the last, but the rest were good), and also heated up the top layer in the mold just a bit before adding the next. Cross your fingers for me! Wow, it's getting late... I can't believe how long I spent heating and pouring, heating and pouring.

I just ordered Bamboo Sugar Cane, Lime and Cilantro, Madagascar Vanilla Orchid (it sounded intriguing) and then whatever pine scent they had... so please let me know how they do for you! I'm going crazy looking for a lime cilantro with any noticeable amount of cilantro in it.

I have a silicone tray that makes beer-bottle-shaped ice cubes. Would that work?

I did the relief holes at the end, but made sure they penetrated every layer. It may be sad and broken, but it still smells fabulous!

I was resisting using mold release, but if I have trouble with my next candle- which I will start on soon if I don't get called in to work- I'll give it a shot. Maybe my mold was just not clean enough. I'll also try heat-gunning (would that be heat-shooting? lol) the layers a little this time. I thought about it for the last one but decided to try it without. I think it was just that one layer that didn't want to stick- the rest seem to be attached pretty well. Oh well, I suppose candlemaking is all about experimentation, right? :rolleyes2

I left it overnight... can it take longer than that?

Sorry, I couldn't get a decent photo for some reason. I managed to break it in half when trying to get it out of the mold, but the top half looks pretty good so I'm going to just pretend that the other half never even existed. I scented it with Fresh Peach from NG, which BTW smells EXACTLY like a real peach in the bottle. I'm still playing with the wick so I can't say much about the hot throw yet. So what is the secret for getting them out of the mold? I mean, I've been told to roll it in my hands, chill it a little, etc. but then what? Is it supposed to just slide out when you turn it upside down? I basically had to shake the heck out of my mold to get this half out, after I made the mistake of pulling on the other half.

If it makes you feel any better about your color problems, I work at BBW and it's pretty common for us to get boxes of lotions, soaps, etc. that are an off color. Just yesterday I had a lady bring up two bottles of Sweet Pea antibacterial soap- one the usual pink and the other nearly orange- to make sure they were the same fragrance. If BBW can't make consistent colors, there's no hope for anyone! Some of the other posters did have a point about color being part of the "sensory experience" of the candle, but I still think you should at least give it a shot. Maybe it would put more emphasis on the actual fragrance of your candles, without the color to "help it along". As I said before... I'd be more likely to buy your white candles just because they were different from the ordinary and that tends to pique my interest. I can't wait the see the pics you post in the gallery!

I've actually been told both. Several times. Way to confuse the newbies, guys! I've only made a couple of layered candles so far, and I premixed each color/fragrance combo and reheated to add new layers- it seemed like it would be way too much work to try to remix from scratch for every layer, especially since I was only working with a total of 1 lb of wax. I was actually also wondering if that would burn off any significant amount of fragrance. Hope someone experienced chimes in and helps!

Actually, they have three- Cherry Blossom White Cherry Blossom Japanese Cherry Blossom They are actually all very different, but yes, the names are confusing. I don't make up the scents, I just work there. EDIT: Oops, someone beat me to it. BTW, White Cherry Blossom is my personal favorite.

I forgot to mention- I did order Lime Cilantro from CC as well and it came today. I liked it a lot better than NG's version but still couldn't detect any cilantro... I'll give it a shot in wax though. Today I also ordered it from FOH, so it'll be a face-off. My collection of FO samples is rapidly taking over the coffee table.

I was going to say that colored wax wouldn't really be necessary if your labels were pretty and colorful... and then I saw the pic. Very nice. I think the white wax/colorful label look would actually be very unique and eye-catching.

I got the lime cilantro from NG but I'm not very impressed with it in the bottle. The lime smells artificial and I can't smell any cilantro at all. So, now I'm searching for others to try... let me know if you have any recommendations, or if you've tried the NG one and it was better in wax. Also, I ordered Fuji Apple Ginger from JS and I absolutely love it but I am having trouble getting a good hot throw, plus it was just discontinued. Any others around that I should try? I have the one from Scent Works on the way. I thought of blending one myself, but so far I haven't been able to find a straight ginger, or even a fuji apple for that matter and I think it's a little different from macintosh.

7000 here, but I'm a newbie so I have no idea.

I found some FOs at The Scent Works that sounded interesting, but the 1 oz samples are kind of pricey. Are they really worth it? I was eyeing: Ginger Fuji Apple (anyone tried it? I'm a little afraid of the mango and coconut notes because I've never been a fan of tropical scents) Ginger Lime (can you tell I'm on a ginger kick?) Gingered Honey Ume Blossom

I think someone needs to get this one on Mythbusters, lol. I can just picture them blowtorching the side of the glass to get it to explode.

oops... I put mine on the inside when I made my pillar... that would explain a lot.