Candle Kitty

I love those labels! Very elegant but down to Earth as well!

Beautiful, yummy, looks just....WOO HOO!

oooh, those look yummy! Beautiful job!

I have used Lonestar's FO's and I've been very happy with them. Their customer service really is good and they are most definitely a fast shipper. I live in Missouri and got my order two days after I ordered.

I agree with D, it's all Top's fault! Good grief, I jump on long enough to check out a few things and get ready to post some pictures and this is what I walk into. But you have to admit this ladies, at least he's comfortable enough to stand up and belt that out in a thread full of women!

Considering how much of a little terror he's become since that picture was taken....I'm seriously thinking about it, LMAO!

The thing I've found to get my rustics like that is when you get the mold ready, use the wick bars and then pour directly on the bar slowly. The temperature of the mold will cause the wax that's being splashed in to peel away from the sides a little. Pour slowly or you'll have wax splashing out of the mold, but it works great.

Well I woke up and he was a busy kitty last night. My entire dining room floor is covered in peanuts and he was STILL in the box taking a snooze. I tell you, this kitten has really been showing some interesting traits, he's a little comedian if there ever was one, a lot more active than the rest of my brood ever thought about being at that age. We got him those fabric cubes yesterday, the ones that pop up and you can attach them to each other or leave them separate. NO ONE was safe for about four hours, the little weirdo would start chasing one of the other cats or the dogs or even us and all you would see is these blue and red cubes rolling across the floor. He LOVES those things but the second we get a box in here with a bazillion peanuts, he goes straight for it. Reminds me of kids at Christmas time, they're more interested in the boxes than the toys themselves.

Thanks for the tips, Robin, so far they seem to be doing good, I found a couple of votive holders I forgot about that gives them a decent fit, but I've got a roly poly I'm testing tonight.

He's still in there, too! Just hanging out, been in there for about thirty minutes. I still have wax at the bottom!

So, I got the last of my deliveries for a bit today, a 4 x 6.5 hurricane mold and insert and ten pounds of 1260 from Peak's. Also got a sample of Mediterranean Fig, yummy stuff! But then (look at the photo), this happens.... I told UPS not to deliver anymore cats! Actually, Erika tossed Smudge into the box and he was playing with the peanuts. But it's still funny!

Believe it or not, all of those have Universal Additive in them except the rustic, that has Vybar. I really, really like the U.A. because I get colors like those without breaking a sweat. The pink and green on the Pink Lime is liquid, not even quarter drops per color (green is actually a half drop, quarter each of blue and yellow) and the votives all are the fluorescent pigment chips from Peak's. I'd kill to find those colors in liquid.

All my cats think they need to help me when I'm in the workshop. If I try to shut the door on any of them, I've got very loud complainers on the other side of the door and it forces me to open it if I'm concentrating. And mom cat isn't a kitten either, she'll be turning 11 in October so it just goes to show that cats are pains no matter what their age is.

I never could decide on one or even two colors for JMC, too many pop up so I thought this would be the way to go. I think those are my favorite so far.:whoohoo: And prcandles, if you want my cats, just say the word and i'll ship them to you....

What works for me is I put the mold in the freezer long enough to actually get a good frost outside and then I pour at a cooler temperature. 1343 does a good rustic at 149*, but I goofed one night and let it sit too long before I poured and it was at 125*. I figured what the hay, if I didn't like it, I could remelt and do it over but nope! All my rustics are poured at 125* now.

Thanks ladies, I actually thought about the roly poly's after I posted and then realized I don't have any!

Here's the story. I'm finally in the workshop last night for more than an hour and I'm a pouring idiot. Everything's going beautifully, had The Doors cranked up, had my Pepsi stock nice and cold, wasn't too hot or too cold in the workshop...it was just right even with the fan blowing on my legs. I'm in the middle of a marble, first one I've done in a long time with liquid dye and things are moving smoothly.... Until mom cat comes tearing around the corner doing mach 4, jumps on the workbench, scatters molds, votives, a couple of other pillars I had there, sticks her nose in the bowl with the wax, sniffs around, looks up at me with wax covered whiskers, meows and starts purring. Okay, I have the Puddin' Seal of Approval, hot dog! So I pick her up, pull the wax off her whiskers (good thing it was still warm, came right off without an issue), set her down on the end of the bench, start working the wax and here she comes again. Nose in the bowl, meowing, then sticks her head in the mold I was going to use of which I had just used the heat gun on and she pulls back with curly whiskers. So I had to stop what I was doing, straightened her whiskers out all the while she's squirming to get to the wax and purring so damned loud she sounded like a chainsaw. Then, it's time for me to slip the wax in the mold (she finally settled down for five minutes) when she decides I'm not moving fast enough, walks up and shoves her head under my hand dumps the wax in the mold. I think screw it, work with it, blah blah, here comes Erika with Smudge who I guess has decided he likes toes as chew toys and she wants to dump him off on me! Yep, things back to normal, cats going goofy when I'm making candles! First picture is Fruit Slices, two chips of orange and two chips of red to make that color. Ducky, if you're reading this, this is my first fingernail test candle. Second is my new votive molds, all the votives are scented JamaicaMeCrazy and I colored each one in the mold. The tops are darker on purpose, wanted to throw something different in it. Third is scented Peanut Butter and I'm finding a definite awesome rustic at 125* on the 1343. That's how I like them, extra frosty! Last one is Pink Lime and unfortunately, I have a line between the two pink layers, but the green turned out perfect! I have three more I have to post, one is a red/pink Mottle in Pure Seduction, a Moonstone with yellow vertical stripes and the Marble I was working on last night with mom cat. Thanks for looking! CK

Quick question. I got some octagon votive molds today (these things are just TOO CUTE and the candles are ADORABLE) and when I went to plop one in a votive holder, all of mine are too small. Has anyone been able to find 2 inch dia. votive holders? I've been looking and can't find them anywhere. HELP! :embarasse

Keeping the fingers crossed then for you!

I am so glad I'm not the only one that doesn't air condition the workshop, Ducky . I start pouring tomorrow afternoon, I have some new candle scents coming in that I'm considering light colors for. As for no fingernailing a few hours later, grama, I've had fingernailing show up the day after I've poured the candle. We've got a beautiful deep burgundy/wine color 3 x 3 that was perfect out of the mold and a day later, it was riddled with fingernails. Which is why I honestly believe this phenomena is atmospheric. If anymore candles pop up with any out of the blue, I'm putting it in my fingernail test journal.

I'm hungry now, ROFL!!! Great job!

Paraffin is actually a natural wax, not a lot of people see it that way because of the refining process that's involved. If you're comfortable with paraffin, then I would stay with it, but that's my opinion. I've always loved the look of palm wax and soy containers, but the change of wax (from paraffin to soy) is a major big step and you'd basically be starting from scratch. The amount of testing involved is enough to scare me to stay with paraffin, but again, that's personal opinion and preference. And I'm sure I have soy and palm wax lovers about ready to throw the boot at me for that statement, LOL!

Yeah, the magnets are strong, but one jar of the pot or the cord is stretched and there won't be a good enough connection. Give your cord some slack if it's stretched and I'd also double check to make sure the magnets are clean. I had a spot of wax on one (have no clue how that happened) and the pot wouldn't warm up. I never raise my Presto above the 'M' in Warm and it always keeps my wax right around 200* and keeps it there. Hope that Helps!! CK

I only use a chart as a suggestion and nothing else. What I do is smell it OOB to get a general idea and then smell it again in warm wax. The first color that comes to mind is what the candle will be and in the event the colors are different, I use them both in two-tone marbles.

Yikes, I forgot something. My workshop isn't air conditioned, but I have a fan in there to move the air around to make it somewhat bearable (I do that on purpose, I can't handle that much A/C without my joints really hurting me) and I'm using IGI-1343 right now.