candlemama

Beautiful. Do you make them for the other services as well? I've been to many Marine Corps and Navy exchanges over the years, and I think those candles would sell like hotcakes. There are hundreds of exchanges to approach world wide! Great idea and good luck.

Disregard. Helps to read all the other posts first!

I love them! How did you do the labeling? Are they screen printed or is it a clear label attached to the jars? The colors are beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

As an avid candle and lotion consumer only (new to candle making and obviously not a seller), I'm confused by this product and don't think I would ever buy one as I don't see the purpose. It's a lot quicker to squeeze out some lotion from a dispenser when I need it. Why wait for my candle to burn long enough to use the hot wax? It's just a little weird, IMO...

Hi everyone. A few quick questions that are probably pretty obvious but I'm new so have to ask. Do I need to set up a double boiler with the presto pot? If not, why not? I thought the purpose of a double boiler was to control more even temps and avoid heating to flash point. This is not a concern with a presto? Also, how long should I wait to test burn my container candles for burn and throw? I'm using IGI 4630, 1/2 oz FO per pound, one dye chip and 51-32-18-Z wicks. Thanks.

jeni18, thanks for the heads up on General Wax. I think I'm going to skip the class based on your comments! Have you bought supplies from them before and if so, would you recommend them for supplies (for waxes and FOs)? Since they are local to me, it's a lot cheaper to drive there and buy my supplies than pay for shipping from another company. topofmurrayhill, thank you for sending me the links on how to make hurricane shells and imbed photos. I'm planning to get the supplies I need this week and give it a shot. Would you say these two techniques are advanced or really difficult? Gbhunter, I used to fly for a hobby, too, and my husband's hobby is photography and digital art -- so I can definitely appreciate your comments!

Thanks for the replies, everyone! Very, very helpful. I really appreciate your taking the time to help out a newbie like me. I am going to definitely start keeping notes on the different FOs/wax/wick combos I experiment with to find the ones that work for me. I can see how this hobby will become expensive very quickly. I want to make candles all the time now to see how they will turn out and am excited to play with different waxes and scents. I took your advice and checked out the fragrance discussion, making notes on which ones I want to try out. I'm going to order from CS next. I like how they have reviews for the different FOs. I think making candles is so interesting because it seems to be part science and part art. I've been thinking about it for a while now and just bought my first supplies last week. The funny thing is, I thought it would be cheaper to make my own. I also am addicted to candles, but they are so expensive, and I burn through them really fast. I am very picky about the scents I buy and tend to buy the same ones over and over, so I naively thought I might be able to make my own for less money and get exactly the scents I want!! Haha. I guess if it was that easy, everyone would be doing it. Really, my goal is to get good enough to make container candles for myself and friends/family as gifts. I hadn't really considered selling scented candles for profit. However, I am really interested in making personalized hurricane/luminary candles for a very small business I have that provides remembrance items to parents who have lost children. Our first son died four years ago and something as simple as lighting a candle for him is really comforting. I've been researching ways to personalize candles for months and have finally settled on a couple different methods. But first thing's first -- gotta see if I have the talent to make candles. I'm planning to take a couple classes at General Wax soon. Anyway, thanks again. I'm about to make another batch while my little one is taking a nap. Happy candle making!

I am new to candle making and hope to get some guidance on choosing FOs before I spend all my savings experimenting! I realize the FOs are highly concentrated, but how do you know if they will smell good both hot and cold in a candle? I have seven FOs from Peak, and they all are so strong and sweet OOB, they give me a headache. I poured a couple container candles last night using IGI 4630 and Cranberry Citrus: one pound of wax and 3/4 oz of FO. I expected the fragrance to be really strong during the melting/pouring process. Problem is, more than 12 hours later, the candles still smell super sickly strong to me, and I haven't even tried burning them yet. It could be the FOs I have just don't appeal to me, but since I have to order online, I am hesitant to purchase more FOs. The ones I have are scents I tend to choose when buying candles (fruity, spicy, etc.), so I am not sure why I'm having a hard time with the seven Peak FOs I have now. Thanks for any insight you can provide.