Mtngrl

I have absolutely no idea if what I'm about to suggest would work for wax as it does in printing photos ... if you're trying to neutralize the yellow to make it look white, you could add a touch of blue. I'm thinking either a cyan blue or sky color would work better than say a navy or "country" blue. HTH

Glad you posted. I've heard about the N, but never knew the difference! I love being educated!!

Before the crash I had seen in the gallery some votives (150 of them! or there 'bouts) of wedding cakes that were very pretty & had lots of detail. Perhaps that person will chime in here & say where s/he got the mold. Wish I had made a note of it when I had the chance. *sniff sniff*

I feel the same way. I finally ordered a bag of tabs to use for those wick remnants that I then use in either votives or floaters. You cand find needle nose pliers at any hardware store. I would think that craft stores would sell them, too. If you use metal core wicks (i.e. zinc), they also have little wire cutters. I had bought a set of 3 - needle nose, wire cutters, ... can't recall what the 3rd piece was.

One thought that occurs to me is to write up a document listing proper candle handling, along w/ precautions, & have the owner sign & date it. One lesson I keep learning in life is CYA - COVER YOUR A$$. Devra's comments about wooden shelves immediately suggest to me that decorative metal shelves could be used. I wonder if it would be feasible to have a metal piece adhered to the wall where the candles will burn ... kinda like kitchens have "back splashes" to keep water from running down the wall. Maybe even a mirror to help bounce the candle light into the room. One type of candle you might want to consider making are pillars w/ a hard, outer wax shell & then fill it w/ a container wax. Those would probably be more work than they're worth, but it's a thought.

Everything about candle making really does come down to personal preference. What one person likes, another doesn't. As noted on another thread, there are so many factors affecting the burn of a candle - humidity, ambient temp, candle ingredients, etc, that what works well in one region might not work well in another region. As much as I hate to say it, you really have to try different wicks to see what works best for the type of candles you make. In other words, test, test, test. When it comes to wicking, the one strategy that I have come to appreciate the most is using wick pins for pillars and poking a wick hole in containers. These methods allows you to remove wicks that aren't working well & inserting a new wick, either "wicking up" (using a larger wick) or "wicking down" (using a smaller wick) or even using a different wick type all together. For your current project, it sounds like you need to wick up. However, sometimes it takes a few burns for the hanging wax to catch up w/ the rest of the candle. So, I need to ask about your test burns - how many have you done? For how long? I highly recommend buying several of Peak's wick sample packs to find out for yourself which wicks work best for you. Lastly, you might want to consider double wicking that 4" diameter jar. I have a hard time w/ containers that are larger than 3".

Wow, that's a lot of wax you've got there. You're so lucky! It occurs to me to wonder that if the ambient outdoor temp is 107*, how hot is your garage getting? Since you have container wax, I'm guessing the MP must be around 123*, & looking at your boxes, your wax is melting to some degree. I had once read a suggestion by a cat owner who re-uses their old cat litter plastic containers to store their wax, which is what I've recently started to do myself. However, you have way too much wax for that. Have you thought about buying some larger, plastic storage bins so that when your wax starts to melt it won't be absorbed by the plastic like it's being absorbed by the cardboard? Another concern I'd have would be the wax picking up cardboard particles. Straining wax is just another chore I try to avoid. But you've proably already thought about that stuff.

Since I've never used the M38, I can't compare it to the 1274. However, I have made a couple of mottles w/ the 1274 & the 1343 & the results seem pretty much the same. I do think a more consistent mottle is achieved using FOs instead of MOs. However, this is just a preliminary impression. Hope this helps, at least a little. You might find this a little more helpful ... as an experiment I made two mottles in the same mold w/ the recipe being exactly the same 'cept for the amt of stearic I used. In Candle A I used the recommended minimum amt, around 2% stearic (by weight) and in Candle B used just under 5%, which is the max recomendation. While Candle B did sweat less than Candle A, to my surprise I discovered that mottling was somewhat inhibited in Candle B. I learned that too much stearic can be bad for mottling.

DanaE, thanks for sharing so much of your insight. For pillars I've been using the 1343, but I'm one of the few ppl who feel that FOs aren't the end all to get all. That is to say, since container waxes generally have a much higher FO load compared to gen'l pillar waxes, I'd rather put my FOs in my containers. Since the 1343 is so versatile, I'd rather use that wax w/o FOs (especially since so much of what I do is experimental & I just don't want to waste a good FO) & concentrate on perfecting appearances - mottles (using mineral oil), marbles, rustics etc. JMO, though. BTW, if/when you decide to try marbles, I highly recommend using polycarbonate molds. Although it's true what you see in the molten state is not exactly what you get in the solid state, the advantage of using the clear, plastic molds is that you develop a much better understanding of what the wax is doing while you're working on your project. Then, when you use metal molds, you'll have a better idea of what you'll get in the end. Again, JMHO.

For what it's worth ... I'm not sure if this would help to prevent blowouts in the 2" candles, but it seems to me the answer would be to wick down. I know there is a size smaller than the 18 ply ... sadly, Peak's doesn't carry it.

I've recently picked up a sample pack from Peak's to try out. I've been using the HTP in my containers (6006) & they smoke like a bad dog! From what I've come to understand, the smoking is indicative of using too large of a wick; ergo, I ought to wick down. Right now it's just too dang hot to turn on the oven to remelt & rewick. I have certainly learned the value/importance/strategy of post-wicking, which is to say, put the wick in later to make it easier to pull out when it becomes evident the wrong wick was used. I digress. Glad to hear from others that the cottons are working well, & I look forward to trying them out soon!

If you don't mind me saying so, to me it's not an issue of being a "snob" as it is knowing what a good candle is & knowing how to make one. When one considers the inferiority of many factory made candles, it's really a wonder they're in business. On the other hand, we know why they're in business - too many ignorant consumers! I'm just saying, don't feel bad, feel proud that you know the difference between quality and ... ho hum!

Very interesting read ... I had no idea. Now I can be smarter than the average bear (for about 2 seconds ).

Love everything about that candle! Very clever mixing of shapes & colors.

Wowzer! If those were any brighter I'd have to put on my shades. Love the bold colors.

I would like to add ... cwap, I have nothing new to add since everyone has your candles covered. I need some new adjectives! Excellent job. Did you have a preconception of what you thought the candles would look like or did you feel lucky when you unmolded them?

I'm glad you posted the pix, & there's no reason for you to be a chicken about posting your pix esp since I have yet to see a hideous creation made by you! Those are all wonderful earth tone colors that work well together. No shame here!!

Seems to me "playing around" works for you.

I like the idea of your graduated layered chunks. The vertical white lines show up just fine in your image. I wonder if the blue wax at the bottom would have found their way into the grooves you made if you had heated the wax from the bottom. *sheepish grin* You probably had a metal mold. I've been using the polycarbonates lately, so I sometimes forget that metal is widely used, which is pretty funny considering most of my molds are metal. lol.

Seems to me using your scanner was a good option after the demise of your camera. I'm still trying to figure out the art of resizing. I'm sure you'll get it. In the meantime, I love the larger image 'cuz it shows more detail.

Wonder what a marbled candle would look like using that wax. Those are VERY cool! If darker colors work better, I'm having visions of a deep purple color. Wish I had some of that wax to play with! Look forward to seeing more of your work.

Wonder if you have an increase in humidity in your neck of the woods now that summer is full on, which may be causing the bubbles & fingernailing?

If you made them a vivid shade of yellow and throw in a bicycle shape ... you'd have a lot of bikers &/or sports enthusists going nuts, especially if Lance wins his 7th tour de france.

Love the colors. What wax are you using & what type of color?