MissMori

Thank you! That's a keeper. I ordered the dyes from CandleWic. I think I'm going to make a votive using each color to see what they look like initially, then I can blend going from there.

That's really good, headed in the right direction, but it looks like you would have to use their dyes for it to be true to color and they don't provide a color chart so that you can see what you are getting. Thank you though for helping out.

Does anyone know if there is such a thing as a color wheel that tells you how much of each color to blend to arrive at another color. Such as x parts blue + y parts yellow and you get a lovely xy green. What would such a thing be called and where can I get one?

Olive... $89 Apricot... $89 Coconut...$76 Their prices went up the day before I ordered... I know someone somewhere hates me. I'm still considering a co-op... would be for full boxes.. 50 lbs each. I need to figure out how to get a pallet to my house.

Thanks for the replies. I never thought about beeswax pulling away from the container. Maybe I'll save what I have for new adventures in pillar candles or lip balm.

Are you trying to enable my new addiction? I'm expecting apricot, olive and coconut wax in the next few days.

100% or mostly beeswax container candle? It seems that for the most part everyone on this forum makes either soy, palm or paraffin. Other than the expense, why not beeswax? Did I mention I'm now obsessed with trying every wax under the sun?

Hey, that's my husband's theory on how the world works.

I'm using C3 to make container candles, so I'm not sure how much I can help... being new and all. Although, shopping around, I did see something about wicking up if you are using vegetable or soy wax. I can't remember which supplier's website, but they test their wicks using paraffin and suggest wicking up 1, 2 or even 3 sizes if you are using veg/soy.

I ordered today. With the price of gas and having to beg, borrow and steal time to drive up there, I ate the shipping charge. If all goes well, I'll pick up my orders in the future. The prices just went up on all their waxes. You have to "place an order" on their website, which is really more of sending them an email with the contents of your shopping cart and then they call you for credit card information. Right now they only have their waxes in bead form, as the slab machine is not working properly. I'm not sure of the breakdown on each wax, but I ended up paying about $100 less than the shopping cart had indicated. I should have the invoice when the order arrives. They are 2 companies, insist on it, but have the same people working for both . Their fax numbers are the same, telephone numbers are a bit different. They don't sell to anyone who doesn't have a seller's permit, at least they asked me to fax mine over. Could be because I live in CA and they didn't want to collect sales tax. Maybe different if you live in another state. I'm still considering a co-op in the future... it would have to be for 50 lb boxes of wax.

Thanks for all the responses. I bit the bullet and ordered CandleWic's "ever wick we have" sample pack. If I can't find a wick in there, I should give up on candles.

Are you moving the container after wax is poured but before it has cooled all the way?

Questions, questions, questions... I have anywhere from a generous 1/32" to 1/4" hang up (soy wax right now, I have 150 lbs of it)... should I wick up? My container is 3" wide top to bottom. I'm using an htp 105 wick, which is recommended for containers that are 3" to 4" in diameter. Should I wick up to an htp 126 which is for 4" to 5" containers? OR should I find another wick, cotton core perhaps for a 3" diameter container? Maybe try zinc core? I know, I know, this is where testing comes in.

Did you order from Accu-Blend or Cal Candle Supply? I called Ca Candle Supply and the lady had to get permission for me to order a box (not sure if 50 or 55 lbs) at pallet price. I haven't called Accu-Blend yet. Any info would be helpful. I'd like to take a drive up there this week or next week.

Thank you, makes sense now.

Measure in grams. You will get a more accurate measure. 1/10 of an ounce is 2.8 grams, so by measuring in grams, your error will be less. Then round up or down, depending on the decimal. Being off by half a gram is much better than being off by 1/10 of an ounce. Also, unless you are making a single bar of soap at a time, being off by half an ounce won't matter. Also... depending on the size of your batches, you don't need to measure to 1/100 of a gram. But it all depends on how large your batches are.

Forgot... Micas are made by taking a mica sub-straight (the mineral) and applying pigments and dyes. So, a blue mica that is colored with Blue 1 will turn pink or purple in cp soap. Keep this in mind if you are going to experiment. If the dye or pigment does funky things on its own, the mica made using that dye or pigment will do the same thing. The supplier should be able to give you information on what is in the particular mica. If you are using micas to make lipstick or eyeshadow, make sure those you experiment with are safe for lips or eyes. Not such a great concern, other than being skin safe, if you are using in soap.

I know this reply isn't about pop colors, but it may be helpful... Here is what I do... I mix my own colors using fd&c/d&c dyes, ultramarines, and oxides, etc. I weigh out 1/2 gram of dye to 49.5 grams of water. That way I know the ratio is always .5:49.5 or 1:99. I put the powdered dye and water into a dropper bottle. Shake, shake, shake. Add preservative. (Preservative may not be needed if you are going to refrigerate. I've done this without problems. Just keep in a fridge that is about 34 degrees.) There are a lot of fd&c/d&c dyes to choose from, but most suppliers will give you an idea of what red 40 looks like compared to red 3 or red 28. Blue 1 turns a shade of pink or purple in an alkali environment (in contact with lye) depending on how much you use. The color of the soap base, most being a bit yellow/gold or greenish will affect the ultimate color. If you are trying for a blue, you need to experiment a little (I cheat and look at the inci info for LabColors & Select Shades and go from there.) I keep my basic colors mixed (blue 1, red 40, red 28, green 5, green 8 among others) and then either mix in the lye water for a solid colored bar or if I am swirling, use oxides/ultramarines. They seem to bleed less than the fd&c. After I have a dye blend that I like, I mix a batch in a dropper bottle. Some dyes are oil or glycerin dispersible, therefore, use oil or glycerin. Use appropriate preservative. I haven't seen the inci info for pop colors, although I have looked, haven't found. If anyone has the info, it wouldn't be hard to mix them up yourself. (On a stinker note, if the company is keeping them secret, I have a bit of a problem with this because they are intended to be used on the skin and want to know if there is anything that I may be allergic to. I'm allergic to some of the oxides.) If anyone has the inci info, could you pass it along? Thank you

What is CMYK and RGB, oh and EVO? I know there is a sticky with supplier abbreviations, but for the life of me, I can't find it. I'm trying to reproduce the orchid dye chip I got from Genwax using liquid dyes. The color isn't dark enough using 1 entire chip in less than 8 ounces of wax.

I've been using dye chips, but am thinking of switching to liquid dyes. What are your thoughts? 1. Cost? Do you find liquid more cost efficient? 2. Versatility.... liquid has to be easier to use for mixing your own colors. 3. Ease of use... having only used dye chips, I can't comment of ease of use, but how much easier than drop drop drop from a bottle can it be. Are there any other considerations? Lastly... who has the best?

I may have to drive up to Pomona... ugh... but worth it.

Ok, now I understand. Thank you.

How funny. On the website you listed, they call themselves, 'an authorized distributor." They are at the same address but using different business names. Now I'm kinda annoyed that the person I spoke to didn't tell me I could purchase less than a pallet.

I have spoken to Accu-Blend. Their minimum purchase is 1 pallet. When I inquired about purchasing a pallet of coconut wax, I would have to buy 1750 lbs. Doable, and I'm still considering a co-op, just have been too busy to squeeze it in. I'm going to call again on Monday to find out about olive wax and see if perhaps they will sell me a mixed pallet.

So, if you don't want the last 1/2" of the candle to burn... do you make it idiot proof? Pour in 1/2" wax, then add wick? Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but I'm picturing 1/2" of wax under the wick tab. Is this really necessary? What about containers (glass) that have a thick base already? Like these? http://www.jarstore.com/8-oz-Libbey-Heavy-Base-Rocks_p_92.html