Mtngrl

I attempted a search for this subject but tons of other stuff came up , so i'm gonna start my own thread . So, i have some raw wick .... square braid, flat ply .... of various thicknesses. I'm wondering how other people use the raw wicks, if you treat it with wax before incorporating it into the candle or wick the candle raw or whatever. In advance, i thank you & look forward to whatever insight you might provide.

Astrolite Q is a veggie container wax that Peaks used to sell a few years ago; i bought mine in 2005 or 2006, which i am just now getting around to using. Based on its crytallization effect, i'm assuming it's a type of palm wax. I've attempted to do a bit of online research here to find out in general where to start my wicking tests. Based on the info provided BELOW, am i anywhere close to a good starting point? (1) I'm using the 9oz hex jars (actually holds 7oz wax), h = 3" (not including screw neck), min D = 2.5", max D = 3" (i never know how to figure diameter for anything other than a circle, lol). (2) I'm also using Peaks Sage & lemongrass FO @ a 5% load. (3) Wicks under consideration are: cotton core 80, HTP 1312, LX 30, & RRD 50. Wick sizes were selected based on the notion that we need to wick up when using the more viscous waxes such as veggie/palm. Then i got to thinking, maybe some of these (i.e. HTP?) are already made for the viscous waxes & I shouldn't wick up. bottom line is, i'm horribly confused & could use some experienced advice. Thanks in advance for your time & consideration of my "problem".

It IS possible for u to add ur own spigot --- to hell w/ the lazy husband!!! lol. I added the spigots to both of my prestos. A lot of times i'll just pour the wax into my pour pitcher or heavy duty 4cup measuring cups. However, the other day, i spilled quite a bit pouring, so i went back to the spigot. lol. Don't remember now who said it, but thanks for the tip about a box w/ plastic lining under the spigot. I've made the mistake ONCE [knock on wood that i'll only do it once] of melting w/ an open spigot. YIKES!!!

A few years ago i was able to buy [what i call] brick [wax] molds of which i have about 20. Ea brick of wax weighs a lb. I then store the bricks in rinsed out kitty litter bins. I love being able to pull out however many 1lb bricks i need. Sadly, the place i bought them is out of business, but i wonder if there r other places that might have them available. I can tell u Peaks does not.

They're too unique to be ugly. Good combo of techniques .... thought provoking, too. I think you're on to something. Keep playing.

do u have a dipped bear that u've had for awhile? wondering whether or not it attracts & holds dust.

WOW ur pillars ROCK. Having a wee bit of a "hippy" side, i don't see any of them as too far out there. They r uniquely beautiful!

i understand from reading the thread that u're using the cloth covers as lids for ur jars, which u cannot buy w/ lids. Since u asked for opinions ..... i have to say that i'm not at all attracted to the cloth cover & twine. If i were to buy a similar candle, i'd be looking for one w/ a bonafide lid, which i consider essential to keep dust out of my candle. I'd lose the piece of cloth, eventually. Tho, it is equally as likely that i'd lose the lid, but i seem to have better luck keeping them w/ my tins. However, i think the REAL test is how well they sell. ;-)

If you add hot wax to room temp wax, it seems to me that adhesion between layers MIGHT be an issue. I know that when ppl make layered candles, that most often the 2nd, 3rd, etc. layers are added while the previous layer is still soft. You can try it & see what happens, start over from scratch, or, if you have a heat gun, you can partially melt the interior of the too-thin 'cane before you add new wax to increase thickness. Let us know how it goes. Good luck!

Can ANY warmer/melting device make the glass of a wickless container candle so hot that it would break if water spattered on it or was touched by a damp cloth? p.s. this question is not meant to start a debate about consumer intelligence and the dumb things we do. We all have our reasons for our choices whether good idea gone bad in practice or some fluke event that no one can anticipate. I was looking at the candle gallery, in particular some glass container candles, and my mind started to put a couple of facts together that made me pose this safety question. For wickless, tin FO samplers (as I call them) that I made a couple years ago, I use a warmer/melter in our 1/2 bathroom, which can only be placed right next to the sink since the counter is so small. For our living situation, the 1/2 b.r. is the safest place 'cuz (1) we use the 1/2 b.r. so seldom, (2) the cats have no desire to explore when no one is in it, & (3) it's the most centrally located room on that level that is not adversely affected by air currents when front door & back sliding glass door are open. My experience from breaking glass comes from putting a glass cassarole lid over a stove burner in which the lid heated up while the oven was turned on. It just so happened that I used a damp oven mitt to move the lid, and it shattered! I'm assuming the glass lid shattered because the damp mitt was cooler in temp than the hot lid. So, seeing the wickless candle someone made in glass, and thinking of my own situation & experience, I began to wonder about the safety issue of glass on a melter coming into contact with water, whether water spatter comes from a sink, a damp cloth or some other source.

I'm really out of sync w/ candle making, but I believe there's an additive you could use that would increase the melt pt of the wax, thereby reducing the likelihood of the forever wax melting when the tea light is lit.

Wow! I especially love the floral set on the right.

Being a scrap-booker, I use a color wheel to find a color that will compliment my main subject, which will make it stand out. For example, if you have a purple candle, some shade of orange can be quite appealing, or vice versa. Another example would be a green candle w/ a red background, or vice versa. As you may know, these color combos are considered "opposite" to each other. The gen'l rule of thumb I use is if it's a light colored candle, use a darker background, & if it's a darker colored candle, use a lighter background. I some times use a "gray" card to obtain a correct exposure setting. If anyone would like more info about taking better pix, plz feel free to send me an email. I'll give you just enough info to make your head explode! lol.

Hey Sharyl, I consider myself to be a person of at least average intelligence -a little smarter in some areas, a whole lot dumber in others (esp math), lol, but photoshop makes me feel like I have NO brain. lol. I have photoshop 7 but it makes me want to pull my hair out in like 6 seconds after starting the program. I'm not familiar w/ PrintShop, though I am aware of its existence. I suggest adobe elements 6, which just recently came out (I have 5) & costs around $70 at costco. It's a much easier program to use & offers all the capability I need at this time, which I consider to be above average of most consumers. Feel free to send a jpeg image to me at genl4stacie@hotmail.com (that's a lower case L in front of the 4) with an idea of how you want your pix to look. I'll see what I can do & send it back to you. Can't fix an out of focus image, but we can play w/ backgrounds.

The first 2 candles, the pinkish/burgandy one & the brown one, those are made w/ palm wax? Looks like the most even mottling pattern I've ever seen, but if it's palm .... wow, how even more remarkable that the patterning is so even!!! So dish, what wax did you use?

I love your label. If you don't mind, there's one itty bitty thing that bugs me .... the words wrapping onto the sides. I would suggest making the font a little smaller so that your words will fit on the "front" panel .... kwim? Jmo, though.

Hillbilly homebrew ... :laugh2:Though I don't think KS is hillbilly country. Those are great, Julie. Nice job, as always! Considering that I've been offline since my comp crashed in march, this technique you're showing is new to me. Dare I ask how you do it or is it a craft secret? I love the look; puts me in mind of the album cover (yes, that's right ALBUM cover .... lol ... for all you young'uns ) for Fleetwood Mac's BARETREES, back in the days before Lindsey & Stevie.

Considering that the whole image is out of focus, I suggest that you may have been too close to the candles when you were photographing them. You might want want to either step back some or zoom out until the image is in focus. Later, you can always crop the image to remove extraneous background. Another trick is to remove the background from the image & put your own background in it's place - like a solid color of your choosing. If you'd like help with editing, let me know.

Love the richness of your colors! Palm wax is so pretty!

Love it! Very clever idea. One cool aspect of 'canes is that they don't require the rigorous testing that wicked candles do. *super banana*

It's always so funny to me how critical so many of us are of our own creations while everyone else seems to love them. I am of the opinion that they are all LOVELY. Nice work. It really makes me want to see the ones you make that you just love. JustRightCandles & jldorrington, I'm glad I posted my comment before reading the rest of the posts, esp yours, as I try to avoid repeating what someone else says. Interesting how at least 3 of us had the same thought.

Excellent yin/yang board. LOVE the way you photographed everything. I do have a safety concern to raise. I don't know a thing about woodworking (though I wish I had a bf/husband who did that kind of thing or was in to that as a hobby 'cuz I've got ideas), but I'd like the cut outs better if they had a bottom. I'd be concerned about potential damage from the heat of the votive on a surface (depending on the surface, of course) once the wick was on the burnt-down-low side. Being somewhat of a clutz, I'd be concerned about someone wanting to move the setup & forget that there were no bottoms & the burning candle goes splat on the floor or hot wax all over someone's hand. Wonder if he could make a circle cut out that was like 1/4" thick & then insert/attach it to the interiors. ... too funny, Julie

That's a relief. Thanks for checking Julie. I'll try again. 2 minutes later ..... No problemo that time. Whew. J, Congrats on becoming a moderator. When did that happen?

I just tried to access Pourette online, but was unable to make a connection. Did they go out of business or ....?

You are going to LOVE this link ... http://www.onlineconversion.com/ ... to use to convert anything from - to anything. Just be sure to select the correct category. Here's the one specifically for volume .... http://www.onlineconversion.com/volume.htm. Here's one for common weights ... http://www.onlineconversion.com/weight_common.htm. And to better understand the difference between weight & volume .... picture in your mind a ton of feathers compared to a ton of lead. They both weigh the same, but because lead is denser than feathers, you'll have a smaller heap of lead; wheres you'll end up w/ a mtn of feathers to get a ton. Hope that helps.