Low cost items you use to make candles

[zanny1978]

I have a digital scale from a few years ago from trying out stamps.com

and i use an embossing tool that i have had to smooth out the tops

I also use mounting tape and cut little squares to anchor the wicks

and clothespins of course to hold the wick straight

rolodex for info

I also use paint strainers from ACO to strain my wax to make sure thet nothing goes into the candle besides the wax

Suzanne

[Elli P]

Hello All

I am a new member and new to candle making. Just wanted to say that it must be true that Great Minds Think Alike, because I already use some of these things. But I have learned alot just reading your posts, so thanks for sharing.

[lindsaycb]

expired credit cards is my favorite free tool

they scrape up wax drops on the floor & counter tops.

[momscandles]

Ok don't laugh, but I use cans. Those 16 oz cans that have vegetables in them. After I make a big pot of vegetable beef soup I was and reuse the cans. I use them for paraffin that is all ready scented or a small order for the soy. You can bend the can to make a little lip to pour out of.

Like I said don't laugh because that keeps my pouring pot clear for another batch.

[firstlady]

i saved my last two metal coffee cans ( large ones) they make a perfect pour pot. and all the sales papers i get in mail , i keep and use to cover counter tops and table. i keep a rag bag for old t-shirts and socks, to wipe out wax.

[Rsvlbrat]

I use the free paint stir sticks from Home Depot. I also save any clear plastic container to put things in from wick pins, votives, etc.

I save my scraps of wick for firestarters (as well as leftover candles/wax)

[scrubzz]

I posted this before either on the old board or possibly here since the new one opened up, I can't remember (I'm old - give me a break that my memory is gone)

Anyway - I use plastic med cups for measuring out FO - put em' on the scale, tare it out, pour the Fo and then after I pour the FO into the pour pot I just toss them - cheap, easy and no clean up

[topofmurrayhill]

I go through people's garbage to find cans for molds and pouring pots.

I get my wax from deli paper and the coating on turnips.

I process stearic acid from road kill.

I've developed a process to manufacture wicks from saved belly button lint.

I melt my wax in the sun with a magnifying glass.

I buy fragrance oil and dye with stolen credit cards.

[Vintagemama]

I posted this somewhere else too, so forgive the cross-posting, but it is saving me a lot of work and perhaps may help someone else too!

Since I make only small quantities, stretchable plastic wrap is my weapon of choice for wrapping tarts and putting a temporary cover on a container candle. I have an old rotary cutter and cutting mat used for quilting.

The cutting mat has a surface grid of inch-sized markings and is about 18x24". The rotary cutter looks like a pizza cutter (only sharper). So - I unrolled a length of the wrap, rolled the cutter along the guidelines for the size I needed, and had easy-to-manage squares of plastic wrap in seconds. Perfect to slap a tart face-down on, pull up the corners, and label - quick and easy.

This would work for tissue paper, fabric, or any other kind of wrap, of course - and one could draw a grid on a big flexible cutting board or something similar (the mats are not cheap, but I had an old one lying around).

[candlesprite7]

I go through people's garbage to find cans for molds and pouring pots.

I get my wax from deli paper and the coating on turnips.

I process stearic acid from road kill.

I've developed a process to manufacture wicks from saved belly button lint.

I melt my wax in the sun with a magnifying glass.

I buy fragrance oil and dye with stolen credit cards.

Very resourceful!!

[tlc26]

I go through people's garbage to find cans for molds and pouring pots.

I get my wax from deli paper and the coating on turnips.

I process stearic acid from road kill.

I've developed a process to manufacture wicks from saved belly button lint.

I melt my wax in the sun with a magnifying glass.

I buy fragrance oil and dye with stolen credit cards.

Top- you better hope that the FBI doesn't read this board. You could end up behind bars for any number of crimes:laugh2:

[diamondgirl_26]

I go through people's garbage to find cans for molds and pouring pots.

I get my wax from deli paper and the coating on turnips.

I process stearic acid from road kill.

I've developed a process to manufacture wicks from saved belly button lint.

I melt my wax in the sun with a magnifying glass.

I buy fragrance oil and dye with stolen credit cards.

The MacGyver of Candlemaking.

[Sharon in KY]

Since I can't top the TOP, I'll just add a cheap trick.

I cut the tops off FO bottles and then use them as a pour pot. Make sure the wax has cooled off cause the heat does transfer thru the bottle. Toss when done.

[OFCILynn]

There are some great ideas that were given here! Funny, when making candles the other day, I was using the wooden skewers and thought that I had come up with something new! LOL I also use the Metal TURKEY sticks used to tie turkies together with years back. I always held on to those things for something or another and they work great for making wick holes and popping air bubbles.

I also use the 3 gallon size containers that bulk ice cream comes in for cooling my candles. It is wide enough even for a can mold and I can adjust the amount of water in the container to either cool shorter pillars or my votives.

I also use a large canning pot to use as a cool bath for the large pillars and canes. Since only water and molded candles goes into this pot, I have no fear of using it again for canning.

I have found that using a canning jar lifter used for canning is a great tool for lifting HOT filled molds!!!!!!!!!!

I had a old, large microwave years ago that stopped working. When we replaced it, I kept the inner glass tray. It is a large tray about 18" across. I place all of my utensils that I am working with on that and since my counter top is white, I can drop my test drops of wax on there to see the final color when it cools. It is also great for transporting a few dozen votives!!

I started out doing the double pot method for melting wax using a mini bundt cake pan, its about 2 1/2" across and setting my melting pot on top of that. I filled it with water so it was weighted and set the top pan on top of that. That worked ok till my melting pot became lighter as I took more and more wax out and I had to keep recentering the bundt pan. Tjen I used a turkey roasting pan and lid on my stove with cookie cooling racks on the bottom and then placed my coffee cans and a old fondue pot that I used for melting wax. It allows me plenty of room to add a few different cans and pots to each roasting pan!

I have to give myself shots and have found a use for some old syringes that have never been used. I used them to measure my FO. It works great for accurate measurements and drops at a time if need be. I keep the cap on and use a rubber band around the bottle of FO to strap that syring there so I dont use it for another FO.

Since I dont have a actual pouring pot yet, I am using small, metal gravy ladles to ladle my wax into votives. I have three different sizes so I can measure the right amount easily. I keep them in the hot water, handles sticking out of course so they stay hot and the wax doesnt cool during the pours.

I am using any type of plastic container that I can get my hands on for storing my supplies! Old butter containers, odd plastic containers for sets that are missing lids and such, baggies that I had used to store packaged meat in the freezer, rince out and am using them for my wicks and such.

I am just starting out but am using all that I can that I have around the house!! I also started saving all those darn peanuts that are shipped to me in orders along with bubble wrap so I can reuse them for shipping!! Ive been canning alot lately and my children who live all across the country love Moms cooking so I have been sending them care packages and those packing peanuts and bubble wrap come in handy!

Ok, thats enough of my two cents worth!! Keep the thrify ideas coming!!

God Bless,

OFCILynn

[ruthie]

I use coffee stir sticks---the red plastic kind---to drip my liquid color into the wax(because I didn't realize that the place I bought the color from didn't supply any way to drip it) and I use a circular glass tabletop from the little side tables as my pour spot. I prop my presto pot up, put the glass top next to it, put the votive cups on the glass and turn it like a lazy susan. It works like and assembly line, I open the tap and pour my votive, turn the glass, pour my next votive, turn....etc. The glass top that I have is from a broken sculpture table--the kind where the base is a ceramic lighthouse or animal, something like that---and the top screws onto the base. It works great for me and the clean up is a breeze, I just use a razor to scrape the wax drips off. I even spoon a small amount onto the glass to check out what the color looks like, and then just scrape it up and put it back into the pot.

[mindy5140]

I use garbage bag ties to hold my wicks, works good. I tie it around the wick then bend the sides down on the side of the jar.

I also use clothes pins to hold my wicks but I think that has already been mentioned.

I have also used old ice cube trays for tarts and that's about it.

Mindy

[VerticallyEnhanced]

A lot of mine are similar, but don't think I saw these two: I put my scale in large zip locks so that the scale stays clean.

Also collect smallish jars (large baby food and small pickle jars or olive jars) and my husband screwed the lids to the underside of a shelf that is up above the part of my work table where I put my dye in the wax. I use them to hold my chips and even some of my liquid dyes. It keeps the dye bottles upright and off of the counter. I also have a pretty big one with UV powder. It is very handy and right in reach. It does not get totally lost on my work counter like things have a tendency to do.

[OutlandishLady]

I love to use metal kabob sticks to stir with. They have a circle on the end that I find very helpful in getting that last bit of wax out of my pour pot, especially if it is cooling down. I bought some for DH hubby to use in the kitchen/on the grill but they were soon pressed into candle (and B&B duty). Hmmm. Kitchen. Oh yeah, that's the place I used to COOK in............

[Janette]

I go through people's garbage to find cans for molds and pouring pots.

I get my wax from deli paper and the coating on turnips.

I process stearic acid from road kill.

I've developed a process to manufacture wicks from saved belly button lint.

I melt my wax in the sun with a magnifying glass.

I buy fragrance oil and dye with stolen credit cards.

Actually made me LOL! Nice.

Things I use:

Fondu Fork (mixing, poking, scraping, positions chunks, couldn't live without it)

Cookie Cutters

Wooden dowls

Large Coffee Cans (different pot for each scent)

electric hand mixer (whipped wax)

2 Clothes pins clipped together, to hang thermometer in my melt pot & pour pots.

Thats about all I can think of. Fun thread.

Cheers,

Janette

[stephnms]

Wax paper to work on and silicone utensils to mix with.

[Sherri in Canada]

I save the wax paper that seperates the slabs in a case of wax and use it on my work table...when it gets dirty just throw it away.

[Sab]

I bought a case of disposable wooden chopsticks at an Asian Market. I break them in half and use them to stir my wax. The case of 200 was 2.99 and I actually got 400 stirrers out of them.

[pamperme]

I love this topic..I am a frugal person and cheap..lol

clothes pins for wick holders

pen casing for wick setting

gallon ice cream buckets for storing molds, wicks, clothes pins etc..I can stack them when the lids are on and save space...since we moved I have about 1/2 the work space I use to.:undecided

baby wipes to clean my pour pots, thermometer and icing spatual between batches...I sold off a bunch of stuff to close down my biz and just recently re-opened and now have to start over and be more frugal...I only have two pour pots..gonna have to grab the coffee can before hubby pitches it.

old knives to stir with

leftover wax makes nice little melts .5oz ..I use candy cup mold things in the shape of stars.

Good idea about the cookie cooling racks..I have tons of those from doing dipped bears..gonna have to pull those puppies back out to cool the candles quicker.

tin pie plate to drop wax on to test the color..it is cold and metal so it sets up real fast.

I buy droppers for all my B&B safe scents and attatch one to each bottle with a rubber band ..I think I read that on WSP a long time ago and thought is was a great idea.

I keep all my 1oz bottles from sample FO's and wash them out with tons of soap and HOT HOT water and reuse them for samples of B&B stuff.

In fact I keep pretty much every type of container from butter to bath & body ones that I can take lables off of and re-use for samplers or testers OR when I am trying out a new product and need to store it.

I save all bubble wrap and peanuts to ship stuff..use priority mail alot because of the free boxes and stuff..

Oh and the little plastic container that the little debbie pecan spinwheels come in..I have a ton of those..and gonna try some MP soaps in them..they are nice and round..or maybe even some firestarters..use it as a mold and pop it out.

oh ..the edges of my biz card paper that you tear off..makes great little inserts for the tabs on your file folders..I am constantly changing mine and they don't give you extras.

I shred all sorts of paper..for gift basket stuffing..packing paper..etc.

Here is new one I am gonna start doing..the clamshell molds..I tried one and popped it out and packaged it in a little baggie..lookes nice..used a cardstock header ontop.. can punch a hole and hang it...and re-use the mold.

ok..I think I am done ..haven't posted anything useful in a while though I would since I had some time.

[bttrflikiss]

i do alot of canning and i have a blancher pot that has a smaller pot in it for straining blanched veggies , perfect for cooling hurricane shells in cold water then lifting the strainer out with the mold

i also hate throwing things out so i made a friend a 3 wick candle with a large empty Maxwell House coffee can , turned out to be pretty cute , i always have young people ask "how big is the biggest candle you make?"

[linwvr]

i've posted this somewhere before but the thing i LOVE the most is my old koozies i have lying around. some people didn't know what i was talking about so here it is....

http://www.bestimpressions.com/koozie.html

maybe they're not as big in other parts on the world...but here in the south, every function you go to hands out free koozies. i make 8oz jj's and they fit perfectly into them for cooling