UrbanFool

Thanks Meredith... I may be giving up on this one. GAH!! I remelted, added the Vybar, poured at 185 into a heated mold, and the poblem is a bit different but just as bad. Worse, it moved onto a pillar I decided to throw in so I could actually accomplish something for my day's work.

I got mine at Yaley's. There's a tall one and a wide flatter one. I have the wide one, and can't recall where I've seen the tall one, but it's not at the same places! Kelly

The dye is Yaley's as well. I don't know where that falls on the cheap-o-meter, I'll invest in some powdered dye. Black is difficult. Thanks! Kelly

Maybe I've been making it worse then. The mold is so big that it takes forEVER to cool down. I thought I poured at 175, but the mold sealer failed, so I'm thinking it was hotter than that. I'll add the Vybar 103 and try again, and try pouring hotter. Sounds like it wouldn't hurt to pre-heat the mold as well. Thanks!

The black half of my yin yang candles is driving me insane. I've melted it down about ten times now in disgust, but basically continue to have the same problem. I clean the mold by placing it upside down in the oven at 200 degrees, pour at 175 or so. This one may have been hotter because I had problems with my mold sealer. I end up with this pitting and awfulness, and the white side has no problems. This is Yaley's pillar wax, 1 1/2 pounds, 2 tablespoons Stearic Acid, 1/2 teaspoon liquid black dye. I did give the top of this a shot with the heat gun, but it looked like it was just going to make things worse, so I stopped that pretty immediately. Any ideas? Btw... my black 2x6 pillars don't do this, just this 5 1/2 inch-across mold. Kelly

Thank you! Now I'm wondering if my Jewelry Designer software would figure out candle pricing for me. It just might --it's the same concept. It just seems like everything is bought in bits and pieces, some high and some low. Like right now, I'm desperate for Stearix although I have a 10 lb bag on order, so my husband will be stopping at Michael's to see if they have any. The reason I'm doing the price comparison is just to get a ballpark figure. Like jewelry making, sometimes you can't charge what it's REALLY worth considering your time, etc. But what the market will bear. For example, these Yin Yang candles are a real pain in the arse, and I don't know what posessed me to buy the mold! (Maybe that's why nobody else is selling them!) Kelly

I've definitely searched, both here, and on the Internet. I'm not looking to join the craft candle crowd, but am aiming at the metaphysical crowd and I'm having problems with pricing --both wholesale and retail. For one, it doesn't seem that many people sell 2x6.5 candles which has turned into my main product. Also, I have 6x3 (as opposed to 3x6) Yin Yang candles that I can't figure out how to price to save my soul. 3x6's go for $14.95 or so, but mine are double the wax --lo & behold, I can't find a single person selling them on the Internet. Anyway, I'd like to take my candles down to the local metaphysical shop, and so I'm really wanting to intelligently figure out wholesale pricing and am failing miserably. If someone could point me in the right direction, that'd be great. Kelly

Places like Office Max and Office Depot have refrigerator magnets for sticking your business card to. They're reasonably priced for the amount you get, and you can attach any kind of paper to them to get rid of the stickiness.

I'm with ya on the votives. I may not have stirred the fragrance long enough because I'm usually in a panic that the scent is going to burn off. I'm not so panicky about the color, and it goes in before the scent. First and second pours were at 175. Generally, I don't wait as long as other folks for my second pour because I'm wanting THIS kind of effect: Which would have been really nice in mauve and white methinks! Unfortunately, I got the straight line. I'm feeling like chopping the candle in half. At any rate, it's relegated to the garage so the husband can enjoy it without gassing out me and the birds. Oh... and I use Yaley's pillar & votive wax, and add vybar and stearix. I know a lot of people aren't keen on Yaley's, but I can drive across town and pick it up, and so far it hasn't let me down. Kelly

Unfortunately, it seems like a lot of their notices come via your eBay in-box which means you have to sign-in and check your inbox, something I don't do as often as I probably should. I'm actively selling now, but I know I've gone over a year without checking that inbox. Hopefully they'll turn it around.

No not pregnant But I did go to bed early. I feel better this morning, but am just clueless. Unfortunately, all I bought was flowery FO's. The candle turned out truly fugly --mauve and white. It didn't blend like it was supposed to. I'm handing it over to my husband who LOVED the fragrance. Now I realize why people choose votives --so they don't knock themselves out! Kelly

I'm trying to figure out if the Cierra Honeysuckle FO I used in this whopping 3x6 candle today (for the first time) or if something else is causing me to feel sick and lightheaded. Is this a normal bad reaction? I have pretty good ventilation, but I usually make unscented candles. Or maybe it's the leftover Chinese food? Kelly

Do you use Stearix? I'm always making unscented candles, and don't have any more problems than when they're scented. I generally do pound and a half batches and use 2 tablespoons of Stearix to 1 1/2 pounds. They may need a few minutes in the fridge! It hasn't started getting really warm here yet, but when it does the house will hover somewhere around 80 all the time if not higher. Kelly

It's 1/8 - 1/4 tsp per pound of wax

I wonder if they're little pieces of balsa wood?

Er... wick pins are for votives, are they not? I'm not making votives.

I hope everyone says something who receives it. My husband hammers the wax into the right size chunks for me, and so I can expect some "extras" in my wax that I have to pick out, but when I buy it, it better be clean. Kelly

I'm fairly happy with my wick putty except that I need to put a bit of tape on the wick so the putty doesn't stick into the wick and look fugly. Also, if I'm rushing, the putty fails. I need to place an order, so I'd be thrilled if someone shared their best method. I use 100% cotton flat wicks. Kelly

Thanks Judy! I've ended up with that a few times. Mostly, I'm too impatient to let my wax cool to end up with neat effects. (I gotta work on that.) Kelly

I'm sorry this doesn't add to the OP's question, but what exactly is a "rustic" candle? Kelly

I was hoping to get both quotes, but it would be impossible to get the candle out of a metal mold with the silicone piece. (edited: unless that piece came out WITH the candle and you peeled it off afterward?) There's always the idea of making small shapes to stick ON the candle afterward. A little heat gun, or something like that. You could put them in small molds, or cut them out with a cookie cutter. I'd love embossed candles, but I'm not into getting a lot fancier than that. Kelly

This is SO wild. My husband just bought a lathe about a month ago, and he's nearly finished filling an entire garbage can of shavings of all kinds (most are oak or purpleheart.) I'll pass the instructions along to him, because evidently they're discussing it on the wood turner's forum as well! Kelly

I don't know about selling, but when testing out new fragrances and waxes, I generally make 3x4 pillars because I burn them in the bathroom while I take a bath. Those are best for me. Votives might seem easier to practice with, but I haven't found that to be true, then I don't know what in the world to do with them. Soy candles and I aren't getting along so much right now, so I'm trying to ignore my 50 pound box. Kelly

This nylon thing isn't working out for me. It gives a nice matte finish, but is there any way of getting back that just-slipped-out-of-the-mold shine on pillars? Kelly

He puts his pants on one leg at a time like everyone else! Kelly