jsanger

I have been making special candles for my friends for various occasions for awhile now. Up to this point they have all just had my regular labels on them but my girlfriends 40th b-day is coming up and I wanted to create a cool label that has a picture of all of the girls on it. Has anyone done this before that could give me some advice on how to go about doing this?

Thanks for the link

Does anyone know what the name of the company that makes wicks to order. I have come up with nothing in my search for #65 zincs. I was also wondering if anyone knows what company supposedly will test your candles and give you a free recommendation as to what wick you should be using. TIA

I'm not sure if it is an exact dupe or not but aroma haven/rustic escentuals has one from KY called toasted marshmallows - it is amazing!!!

Has anyone tried melting say a 1/2oz cube as well as a 1 oz "tart" of the same scent in the same size warmer (not at the same time of course ) just to see what the verdict would be?

Thank you Pam for the link, this is actually one of the first waxes I tried when I started this mottling crusade. It is a very nice wax that mottled very nicely most of the time, actually better than my current wax, but didn't give me near the ht I am getting now. I haven't tested it in quite a long time though so maybe I will pour a couple of candles later to test them head to head.

I have never ordered from them, I take it they are a little pricey?

This is the part that is so frustrating when trying to get a consistent product. Just the time I think I have it figured out I'll pour another candle (different scent) and that one will suck. What do you do with those fragrances that you love but have an ugly or non-existent mottle? Hard to sell a candle that isn't pretty even if it smells awesome.

Thanks guys for responding so fast. I am hoping someplace has them where they don't have to be special ordered....I'm afraid of what that might cost.

I have seen somewhere on the board that there is a #65 zinc wick but I cannot seem to find them anywhere. I use a 4# apothacary jar and am currenty double wicking which is working well but I would like to see if I could single wick this jar. The 62 was just not enough in most cases leaving too much hangup on the sides in the end. TIA

What wick type are you using? I know that they aren't "recommended for any soy or para-soy blend but after ALOT of testing various wicks I found the zincs to give me the best ht and overall burn. The cds were a close second. Also, what % of fragrance are you adding?

I guess I'll be the odd man out and put my vote in for 6006. I have tested both and they both are really nice waxed but I just get such an awesome ht from the 6006 with almost every one of my fos that it just won out in the end. Now, if I could just get my mottles down pat I would be a very happy camper:).

The look I am trying to achieve is definitely a complete, soft mottle...not bright snowflakes. Not sure if that's what happens when you hit them with a fan or not but I am curious about putting the cover on after the repour. Would you mind telling me if your candle is completely cool when you do your repour?

Ksranch...thanks for the encouragement, I am bound determined to figure this out. As frustrating as candlemaking can be sometimes the feeling you get when you finally get it right makes it so worth it. As soon as my ahha moment arrives and I can declare victory I will post pic. Barncat...when you say you try to cool your candle down asap while trapping in the warm air do you mean like just on the counter with a lid fast or like in the refrigerator with a lid fast? This is something I haven't tried but I I will tonight for sure.

I sooo hope that I can figure this out with my wax because I love the hot and cold throw as well as the fact that I finally have a handle on the wicking with most of my fos (now watch that I said that out loud that will go do the drain too..yikes). I have tried using mottle max as well and that too failed to give me that complete soft mottle, instead it produced that starburst, blotchy effect that I want to avoid...pmho

Pam W., in your experience does adding stearic change the look of your mottle? When I have used it, it does help my wax retain more fo but it has made my mottle more "starbursty". I will try pouring at 180, but what would you recommend for cooling them slowly. I have tried cooling them in a warm (but turned off) oven overnight but this must have been too slow because they hardly mottled at all??? Ksranch, my wax does seep at 1oz/lb about 1/3 of the time so for those I cut back a touch at a time until it holds. I am however one of those people who likes my candles strong enough to burn my nose hairs. The lady that I consulted with told me that by adding oil (such as crisco) it would soften the wax therefore giving me better ht even with 1/2 the amount of fo. With my limited experiments however, this definitely was not the case - although my mottle was better as was the overall appearance of my wax. Thank you both for your help

I have been playing around with making mottled containers for quite some time now but have yet to achieve a consistent result across the board with all my fos/colors. I was wondering if anyone could help me figure out what the problem is with my equation. I use 130mp straight parrafin and I normally use 1oz per pound of fo if it will hold. I bring it to 190 add my dye stir well, add fo at around 185, stirring well until I pour into warm (not hot) jars at 160. I have found that just putting them on the counter to cool gives me the most consistent results but still I can never count on it. I have tried adding stearic with varying results but usually it makes the mottle a little weird or it decreases my hot throw. I am aiming for a complete, but more muted/oil in water appearance for my candles, not stark snowflakes or blotches. After consulting with the lady where I get my wax I tried adding 1 tbl of crisco /lb and decreasing my fo to 1/2oz/lb with my trouble child dark green mistltoe candle and got a better mottle but a significant decrease in ht. According to her this should have strangely enough helped with ht??? I have searched the board over and have tried and tried various combos and concoctions and found my current "technique" to get me the closest, but there is still something I am either missing or doing wrong and I can't seem to put my finger on it. Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated :)

Thank you guys for the new suggestions, you are all so much more creative than me. Horsescents- your suggestion is really funny, I actually lol. It reminds me of a little encounter my husband had with a real moose while hunting a few years back. Well, I thought it was funny, my husband had to throw his shorts away afterwards (hee hee).

Thanks, I have it on my list for my next order

Does anyone know where to purchase a #65 zinc wick? I use 6006 as well but have a 4" jar and have resorted to double wicking with my zincs because most of the time the 62's just aren't enough. TIA

Thank you all for the suggestions, they are really great! Candybee, s.c.p. is really hard to describe but it doesn't smell like kettle or popcorn to me. It has this sweet and creamy base with a bit of bread/bakery? Note to it. Magandgarr, now that you said that about the blend of the corn bread and sugar cookie I can definitely smell them both in there. Thanks again for the ideas:)

Thanks for the link, I order several things from re especially now that they carry ky's oils. Do you or have you used this particular base?

Oh geez, I guess it would help to locate things if I were to spell them correctly . Thanks for the quick response, I am running low on my retail reed diffusers and I don't really want to purchase more (seeing I have to buy a case) if I could figure out how to make a comparable replacement product. Thanks again!

Caryfh, could you tell me where to I could purchase IPG to try? I checked all of my regular suppliers and they don't have it listed. TIA

Good morning everyone:smiley2: I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a great reed diffuser base. I only tried making these once but they sucked in comparison to my favorite Country Crossroads. I'm not sure where I bought my original base and reeds from off hand but I will look it up before purchasing more. These work so great in nurseries and unattended rooms but I have to order a case in order to get them wholesale and that's around $120.00 and that's without shipping. I hope to figure out how to make them soon but I'm not willing to sacrifice quality even though it's costing me an arm and a leg vs making them myself.