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Bayberry candles


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Does anyone here make the bayberry candles for the holidays? I searched a few post and am really trying to get a formula for some nice ones. Does anyone have any ideas? I know that one person suggested 25 % bw and 75 % bayberrry...

Just looking for ideas.

Thanks

Cindy

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I don't do ones with actual bayberry wax but you could use whatever your regular wax is, color them green and scent it bayberry. That is what I do and they sell great at the holidays. I attach the bayberry poem to it, package them up with ribbon and bells and I'm good to go.

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I make bayberry wax tapers for Christmas and actually 75% bayberry wax makes a crumbly taper and sticks like glue in a metal mold (ask me how I know :undecided ). I use pretty close to 50/50 white beeswax/bayberry wax and a 2/0 wick in my tapers. I also put in just a touch of Scent Works New England Bayberry FO to get a stronger bayberry scent to the candles, so the beeswax scent doesn't come through. Someday I would like to try dipping my tapers in 100% bayberry wax, but that gets pretty pricey!!

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I personally don't remember a big difference using 50/50 or 75/25 (BW/Bayberry) or 25/75 (BW/Bayberry). I have some here I never used from last year but want to use up this year. I always use silicone taper molds so never had an issue with sticking with any percentage. Don't dip either - too messy for me.

For me it would come down to what I wanted to pay to make them. I would say 25% BW minimum. I'm pretty sure I can even get 100% bayberry ones out of my molds, but really, with 100% if you just tip them over on a table they would splinter apart so they wouldn't be practical. You might as well just make them at least 50/50 because bayberry is more than 2x as expensive as BW.

If you've ever smelled REAL bayberry it can be "rough" - IMO the FOs have the edge taken off them - and when you are melting it to pour - it REALLY can permeate the air. DW can't stand it.

Have fun!

PS - like your loose incense idea in capsule form - trippy!

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Thanks...

I'm just ordered some bayberry wax and BW. So I'll be trying it once it all arrives. I am going to try dipping, that is what I really wanted to do. I know it's very time consuming, but these will be for gifts. I'll post pictures once I am done.

Thanks everyone for your ideas.

Cindy

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Hey have fun dipping......sometime if I find extras hours in a day, I'm gonna give it a whirl also. Right now my molds work fine!! :cool2:

What taper mold are you using? I have an old colonial type one, but I can never get the wicks to stay straight. Any help ??

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Go at least 50% beeswax. Apart from the brittleness, bayberry has too low a melt point and the beeswax helps with that.

Low MP means you need a bigger wick and a bigger flame to avoid dripping, which makes for a less attractive burn, IMO. Use too small a wick and most of the wax will end up adorning your taper holder. With more beeswax you can use a smaller wick and get a more attractive flame.

Before you get going, don't underestimate how much testing might be involved in designing something like this, especially the wicking.

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What taper mold are you using? I have an old colonial type one, but I can never get the wicks to stay straight. Any help ??

I use the 8" & 12" silicone Taper CF molds from Mann Lake now and really love them!!

http://www.mannlakeltd.com/search_results.asp?txtsearchParamTxt=taper&txtsearchParamCat=20&txtsearchParamType=ALL&iLevel=1&txtsearchParamMan=ALL&txtsearchParamVen=ALL&txtFromSearch=fromSearch

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These are the ones I use - not that size though. I was tempted to try the metal ones to see how bad the sticking would be since the silicone ones are so expensive. I know they use the metal ones also for BW but the molds have a seam on them and I just didn't want to deal with that on top of bayberry wax and beeswax - so I "stuck" with the CF ones (no pun intended).

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Thanks...

I'm just ordered some bayberry wax and BW. So I'll be trying it once it all arrives. I am going to try dipping, that is what I really wanted to do. I know it's very time consuming, but these will be for gifts. I'll post pictures once I am done.

Thanks everyone for your ideas.

Cindy

Where did you find your bayberry wax? I was looking and having difficulty finding it. The one supplier I found with it on their website never responded to my inquiry.

Thanks!

Stephanie

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Where did you find your bayberry wax? I was looking and having difficulty finding it. The one supplier I found with it on their website never responded to my inquiry.

Thanks!

Stephanie

This was the first time I ordered from them , and it was fast shipping.

http://www.betterbee.com/departments2.asp?dept=156&bot=155

I'm very happy with it, now to have the time to make these candles. Going to try this weekend.

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