Mozzie

If you can get your hands on some pre-made wick assemblies, you'll love them with your wick pins.

Sounds fabulous, but I think that I'll be wicking (after priming of course) my own for quite some time yet. LOL.

Thanks for all the positive feedback everyone - almost makes me wish I could keep them for myself. LOL. Still, I'm feeling more confident that the girls will like them.

All right, I give up - what's the secret? How do you get the second and third layers rustic when the pouring temperature is 10deg higher than the first pour? As I understand it, it's pouring cool that causes the rustic effect. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. TIA. BTW, I use straight paraffin wax (plus fo and dye).

UPDATE: It worked! To see your new creation (well, you all had a hand in it's birth), follow this link: http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=3661

At least you're in there and giving it a go - I haven't felt brave enough yet. Keep goin' girl!

Lola, I LOVE your chunks, and these look terrific (of course). Keep up the good work. Oh, and thanks for the comment about rustics - the same thing keeps happening to me so I'll also try the heat gun treatment. Isn't it great how information and handy hints get passed around.

Wick pin and primed, tabbed wick here too. Any special reason why you want to use raw wicking? This is probably like most areas of candle making. No absolute right or wrong just what works best for you.

Not really, just thought that if it was one less thing to do it'd be nice.

... is there any need to prime votive wicks? I am using a zinc core wick and inserting it after the candle has cooled - have just discovered the joy of wick pins.

Thanks for all your great suggestions everyone. I've decided to think outside the square and am bringing the kitchen into the workroom. What that cryptic little comment means is that I've just bought myself a portable hotplate so will be able to use a proper double boiler again and get that water sloshing up the side of the pot. You guys are such a fantastic source of inspiration. I know that I would have run out of steam (no pun intended) a long time ago if it wasn't for everyone's help and support (and stunning candle ideas to steal). Thanks again - I'm just off to try out my new hotplate.

WOW, you've certainly been busy and your statues all look great. What type of wax did you use and what pour temperature? The reason I ask, is that any candles I've made lately with those sort of moulds have come out sort of mottled and yours look pretty smooth (and COOL).

Love your pillar, those colours go so well together. That's it ... you've inspired me to dash off and create something of my own (instead of doing all the things I'm meant to be doing instead, you bad influence you). LOL

Stir normally and don't whip air into the wax - it won't help.

Are you sure about that? It certainly helped me vent my frustration although I will admit to not seeing any difference in the mixture. LOL I've just bought myself a portable hot plate so will be better able to control the temp. of my wax while I'm mixing which has got to be a good thing. The reason I took it off the heat before was because I was stirring over boiling water and getting very hot hands (my pour pot was sitting in an electric fry pan). Just talking about it with others and getting suggestions (and hope) is definitely giving me the strength to give it another go. Thanks for all your help and encouragement.

Will try to help but need to know the following:

What wax are you using?

Are you using a scale?

How much fo and did you weigh it?

What temp. did you add the fo?

Using straight paraffin wax with 6% fo, weighed on my to-the-gram scale. Added wax at 175 and stirred and stirred and stirred. Also stirred again when did repour at 185. And it still had blobs!!!!

That looks great, and so do you and your daughter - lucky you.

They look fantastic - love the different effects - very interesting candles. It's a struggle but I'll force myself to keep on looking at your pictures LOL. Thanks for the warning though.

I know that some fo's are hard to mix but how long does it realistically take to mix in (I know, how long is a piece of string)? I have stirred vanilla fo for over 5 mins and it still seems to sit on the bottom of the pot, also the wax temp has dropped considerably in that time if taken off the heat. What's worse - to keep stirring while wax is heating or to take it off the heat but then reheat when fo finally mixes (if at all )?

I know that some fo's are hard to mix but how long does it realistically take to mix in (I know, how long is a piece of string)? I have stirred vanilla fo for over 5 mins and it still seems to sit on the bottom of the pot, also the wax temp has dropped considerably in that time if taken off the heat. What's worse - to keep stirring while wax is heating or to take it off the heat but then reheat when fo finally mixes (if at all )?

Help, I'm tearing my hair out trying to get my wax to reach higher temps. I use an electric frypan as a double boiler and put my pour pot (I only make 1 or 2 candles at a time) in the water to heat up. The trouble is that when I need to really stir in a hard to mix fo the heat from the steam is too hot for my hands but if I take the pot out of the pan the temperature drops too quickly and I can't seem to get it to heat much over 175 especially when there's only a little wax left for repouring. It seems to me that maybe too much heat is lost through the large surface area of the frypan compared to the tiny area of my melt pot. Am I making any sense to anyone? I use an electric frypan so that I can melt wax anywhere there is a power point however I didn't have any trouble with high temps when I used a proper double boiler on the stove top and wonder if this is because all of the steam in the bottom pot was being used to heat the top pot instead of simply heating up whichever room I'm in. Aaaarghhhh! suggestions please

Yes, I was thinking that 6% seems to the figure bandied around. Thanks, I'll start from there.

Hi, when you're trying out a new FO is there a general rule of thumb regarding the percentage of FO to wax. I know that the percentage can vary considerably depending on type of wax, additives, etc, etc, etc, but wondered at what level you start testing? TIA

Forgot to add that I make pillars (if that makes any difference).

Your candles sound lovely and your imagination and creativity are fantastic. :smiley2: Do your candles burn well or are they just for decoration? I am looking forward to seeing your photos.

How patient are you! Great job, well worth the effort. So much of what we do as chandlers is purely for love as we'll never get paid enough for it but that's all part of the creative expression (and obsession with candle making). LOL

WOW!!! I'm impressed. Your set up looks brilliant and it's really great to be taken behind the scenes. As a person who thinks she's really got it going when she makes more than 2 candles in a day I am totally in awe of what you've created. Thanks for sharing.

I think that that looks really effective - great job.

Hi, a friend of mine asked me to make a candle for each of her 4 nieces and to use my imagination regarding colour and fragrance. I've made them as dissimilar as I could think of (while still all being the same size and shape). They are (from l to r) Purple Passion (with Vanilla fo), Stored Sunshine (with Coconut fo), Tangerine Tang (with Lime, Orange and Lemongrass fo's), and Pretty in Pink (with Strawberry fo). I'm hoping that I've covered all bases but will probably find that the girl who likes the look of the pink candle really wants it in coconut, etc, etc - sigh. Still, will hope for the best. :smiley2:

Donita, your work never ceases to amaze me - you are so creative and your designs are simply beautiful. Thanks for letting us all see possibilities beyond our own imagination.