Botanical candles

[Vee]

Can anyone please tell me how to make botanical candles... what kind of flowers...I made some and the moment I pour the wax over the flowers they move away from the front and thereby look like they are in the background.. no sharpness at all...

is there something I can add to make the wax a little transparent so that the flowers are more visible... love the look of those candles but unable to achieve it myself 😔

Attaching a picture of what kind I mean... Thanks  guys in advance .

Edited March 1, 2018 by Vee

[Trappeur]

Hello Vee,

 

As many times as I have looked at candles made like the picture above, I've always thought they were just soooo beautiful....But in my honest opinion those candles are a big fire waiting to happen.   Not trying to dissuade you, but then again, I guess I am....In answer to your question, I would think it is a good thing that those flowers do move away from the wick for the sheer purpose as like I said a fire..Just be careful...I guess if it were just for you solely to burn, it would be ok, but definitely not for friends, family and retail.   Just my opinion...

 

Trappeur

[moonshine]

I don't know what to think about those - they are pretty but being in containers I would be hesitant to make these for obvious reasons, fire- wick clogging- sooting 

in a pillar I think it could be really nice as they are designed to burn down leaving a shell but I'm not really sure how you would get the botanicals to stay on the sides - I am not a experienced pillar maker, only just started and I can't even get the tilt method down 😂

There are more transparent paraffin  waxes out there as well and adding stearics can increase opacity but I haven't clue which ones those would be, maybe scented TallTayl or JC will chime in here as they are masters of the pillar craft 

[Jcandleattic]

42 minutes ago, moonshine said:

There are more transparent paraffin  waxes out there as well and adding stearics can increase opacity but I haven't clue which ones those would be, maybe scented TallTayl or JC will chime in here as they are masters of the pillar craft 

Arent' you sweet.

Okay, my .02 is, those are hurricane shells with container wax poured in them after the shell is made. If it were me, I would make sure all the botanicals were covered in wax, and not exposed at the top like the ones in the pic are, because Trappeur and moonshine are right, it's a fire hazard and a disaster just waiting to happen. 

For hurricanes I like using IGI1260 wax, and for containers, I like using IGI4636 (formerly J50) - I have never tried making a hurricane using any other type of wax. 

 

Here is a link to making the hurricane shell, and once that's made you can just fill the inside with a container wax of your choice. or do what they do, and use a votive with a holder.  

https://candletech.com/candle-making/tutorials/hurricane-shells/

 

[Trappeur]

10 minutes ago, Jcandleattic said:

Arent' you sweet.

Okay, my .02 is, those are hurricane shells with container wax poured in them after the shell is made. If it were me, I would make sure all the botanicals were covered in wax, and not exposed at the top like the ones in the pic are, because Trappeur and moonshine are right, it's a fire hazard and a disaster just waiting to happen. 

For hurricanes I like using IGI1260 wax, and for containers, I like using IGI4636 (formerly J50) - I have never tried making a hurricane using any other type of wax. 

 

Here is a link to making the hurricane shell, and once that's made you can just fill the inside with a container wax of your choice. or do what they do, and use a votive with a holder.  

https://candletech.com/candle-making/tutorials/hurricane-shells/

Oh yeah JC, I believe you are correct as I went back and looked again.  I'll bet they are shells...

 

Trappeur

 

 

Quote

 

 

Edited March 1, 2018 by Trappeur

[Scented]

They've certainly shoved a lot of potentially flammable material in there, which makes it colorful and attractive, yes, but most of it is likely plastic or material to hold the vibrancy of the color. Definitely doesn't make it safer. 

Another method though is to make a core candle in place of filling with container wax and then pour wax around it, but you want softer wax than your shell. 

Getting the material to come through against the wax can be tricky, but it's doable. Pressure applied against the material helps to make it more visible. 

 

Just adding a thought that you could make the shells, pile in the material and then put a very low wattage bulb inside and achieve a better effect that a flickering flame. 

Edited March 1, 2018 by Scented

[moonshine]

52 minutes ago, Jcandleattic said:

Arent' you sweet.

Okay, my .02 is, those are hurricane shells with container wax poured in them after the shell is made. If it were me, I would make sure all the botanicals were covered in wax, and not exposed at the top like the ones in the pic are, because Trappeur and moonshine are right, it's a fire hazard and a disaster just waiting to happen. 

For hurricanes I like using IGI1260 wax, and for containers, I like using IGI4636 (formerly J50) - I have never tried making a hurricane using any other type of wax. 

 

Here is a link to making the hurricane shell, and once that's made you can just fill the inside with a container wax of your choice. or do what they do, and use a votive with a holder.  

https://candletech.com/candle-making/tutorials/hurricane-shells/

 

Ah ha - so that's what a hurricane shell is 

And here I thought it was a container 😂

 

[TallTayl]

To keep the flowers pressed against the outer shell, you could try mod Podge to affix them to glass until the wax is poured. I’d be inclined to put a glass tumbler inside for a smaller container candle. 

 

Totally agree with the others about the boanicals sticking out over the rim. They will become brittle and fall into the candle causing a potential fire hazard. Plus what a mess to package and ship! 

 

This is not a product i would attempt myself, though they look pretty. 

[Vee]

Thanks guys...I dont think it is a container..and as a pillar the flame goes inward and creates like a shell and the flowers look beautiful through the flame.

I do make ones with lime and orange etc.and they turn out nice...picture below

I have tried it as a hurricane shell too but what I struggle with is that... in the pillar mould the flowers move inwards the moment I pour the wax and if I use the heat gun to try and expose the flowers the shape of the candle gets warped and it does not have a smooth and shiny image.

Are these real dried flowers or paper flowers ?

[Candybee]

Don't have anything to add, just wanted to say how pretty your candles are!

[Trappeur]

Ditto what Candybee said plus your photography is beautiful.   I could just reach right into the picture and pickup one of the candles.....

 

Trappeur

[lenarenee]

 

What would happen if you made a candle within a candle?  Very expensive, certainly. But take 2 large glass containers, with the smaller placed inside. Take the flowers and place in the narrow space between the 2 walls of the jars, fill with wax. Then treat the smaller, inside jar as a real candle and fill with wax and wick. The outer "candle" would surely have to have a thick wax layer on top of the botanicals so the flame/sparks can't ignite the flowers.  Just an idea - feel free to input any problems you see. 

[Jcandleattic]

27 minutes ago, lenarenee said:

 

What would happen if you made a candle within a candle?  Very expensive, certainly. But take 2 large glass containers, with the smaller placed inside. Take the flowers and place in the narrow space between the 2 walls of the jars, fill with wax. Then treat the smaller, inside jar as a real candle and fill with wax and wick. The outer "candle" would surely have to have a thick wax layer on top of the botanicals so the flame/sparks can't ignite the flowers.  Just an idea - feel free to input any problems you see. 

What you are describing can be (and has been before) done. It's just a hurricane/forever candle within a container instead of it being outside of the glass and a stand alone actual hurricane candle. 

 

30 minutes ago, lenarenee said:

What would happen...        have a thick wax layer on top of the botanicals so the flame/sparks can't ignite the flowers

Worst case scenario, the flame melts the wax, exposes the flowers and ignites them. That would take an awful lot of errors to have that happen, but it could happen for sure. 

 

[Scented]

Well to eliminate some things: 

1) larger outer shell, made from a harder wax. The thought is that the wick on the core candle limits the expanding of the burn to keep the flammables as far away as possible (but there could easily be problems as the candle burns down)

2) Consider the core candle wicked to its diameter not the candle overall. Might even consider underwicking but one to two sizes.  

3) Try pinning your stuffing with a bunch of chopsticks. You pour the shell and typically the mold comes with an insert. You pin and press the florals to the outer wall using the chop sticks or whatever you have. You can get a package of like 30-50 somewhere ... or even up 20 pretty inexpensively. You press into your florals as the shell continues to harden, which means you do your best to keep the opening open so you can see. Does that make sense? And then top off once you feel you've got your stuffing secure. I used to make something similar with the cloth fall leaves that actually have color because everything goes from green to brown here unless we have a very wet spring and summer. I also used to embed other things and to get them to show through on the outer shell I would have to do a lot of pushing and securing. About 10 years ago another member here and I were discussing how to get the wax more translucent. Unfortunately she passed away before I learned her secret, because I couldn't nail it down. 

4) If you want shiny you can buff your candle with nylon and then over dip in a glaze. 

 

Another possibility is sticking your embedded material either with the stick up stuff or pieces of wax glue with the understanding that it will melt when heat hits it. 

Edited March 3, 2018 by Scented

[Vee]

Thank you... you guys are great . When you say over dip it in a glaze I am sorry I did not get that... do you mean dip in wax again...

[Scented]

44 minutes ago, Vee said:

Thank you... you guys are great . When you say over dip it in a glaze I am sorry I did not get that... do you mean dip in wax again...

No there's a candle glaze or a gloss out there ... or there used to be one. Candlewic and Candles and Supplies and Aztec and Bittercreek North appear to carry a candle glaze or a gloss.  

I think the very old board probably had a way of making the gloss. I vaguely remember such a post, but that was 10+ years ago. 

 

[Laura C]

On 3/2/2018 at 2:12 AM, Vee said:

Thanks guys...I dont think it is a container..and as a pillar the flame goes inward and creates like a shell and the flowers look beautiful through the flame.

I do make ones with lime and orange etc.and they turn out nice...picture below

I have tried it as a hurricane shell too but what I struggle with is that... in the pillar mould the flowers move inwards the moment I pour the wax and if I use the heat gun to try and expose the flowers the shape of the candle gets warped and it does not have a smooth and shiny image.

Are these real dried flowers or paper flowers ?

 

Those pillar candles are very pretty.

[kfintoni]

I see more and more people making candles with the dried flowers and herbs in them. I just see someones house burning down. They are beautiful to look at but not to light. 

 

Karen in MA

[Laura C]

On 3/1/2018 at 1:31 AM, Vee said:

...is there something I can add to make the wax a little transparent so that the flowers are more visible... love the look of those candles but unable to achieve it myself 😔

Attaching a picture of what kind I mean... Thanks  guys in advance .

 

Hi @Vee, I can't speak about the embeds or flowers but I do know from experience that the IGI 4625 Pillar Wax Blend is a very translucent or clearish paraffin wax. It should be perfect for that type of thing. I bet there are other paraffin waxes that look translucent but that is the only one I know of for sure.

[Laura C]

Here's a few transparent look melts I made with the IGI 4625 Pillar Wax Blend.

 

[Laura C]

Hi @Vee, I checked out your crackle & burn facebook page and everything is so nice and beautiful. Very impressive, not only with your lovely candles but also with your photography, packaging, branding, etc. I imagine you hire out those tasks so you can be free to make products? Those people know what they are doing and it shows.

Well done, well done. 

 

I'm curious, is that gold mica and do you use stencils to apply it to the outside of the candles? Looks so pretty.

Edited January 25, 2019 by Laura C