newbie

[carey]

Hi, I'm new to candle making! :yay:I have always been a candle freak but gotten to the point to getting tired of buying other people candles at stores since I feel I can do it myself.. and so I bought a kit and couldn't believe how easy it was so I'm on a roll now! I started out with container candles and waiting on more jars I ordered to come in. Next I want to learn is to make votives and tarts. I did read older posts to see which wax you candlemakers prefer for votives, tarts and I got the idea it was Peaks? I can't remember.. which wax do you use for tarts.. votive wax, right?

I also ordered some graphics to redesign my website and to use to make labels, and it won't be here until a couple more days so I'm dying to have labels on the containers I made. I am interested in the Brown Craft labels, do I have to order those or are they in computer stores?

I do have a wholesale question, how do I compile a list of terms? I get the idea of a $ limit to 150-200 and certain amount of scents each and products but what is the rest of the legal jumbo that needs to be listed? please lmk!!

I also want to learn how to make those grubby candles, they are soooo cuteeeeeee!! where can I find a link to learn??

I am soo excited:yay: to find this forum to associate with other candlemaking members!!!

I hope you guys can help with my questions.. I really appreciate it.

I also married wahm mom of 1 and live in South Louisiana.

Carey:grin2:

[dcroome2005]

Welcome to the board.. You will love it here.

I havent tried Peaks Wax.. I have used Cajun Candle Wax but prefer Candlewic. I love their votive/pillar blend and then their palm wax is to die for ( just difficult to use)..

We will all help you as much as we can. Welcome to the most addicting hobby out there. It's sooo much fun.

Christina

[Fern]

Welcome Carey! It's nice to have you join us. The first thing that I would like to tell you...in the very nicest of ways...is to slow down a bit. There is much more to making candles than you think. There's lots of testing since different waxes, wicks and fragrance oils effect the way your candles burn. It's not just melt wax, add fragrance oil and dye, then stick a wick in it. You have to learn how to make these from scratch, learn about different sized wicks and when and how to use them...each candle you make may have different requirements. Take your time and learn slowly...it's much more time consuming and complicated than you think. Your kit had everything already figured out for you, making them on your own is a whole different ball of wax...no pun intended.

Craft labels can be found on line, however, they may have some available at Staples or Office Max...not sure about those since I use different ones. Votive and pillar waxes are really a personal preference. Look for a supplier close to your home so you don't pay an arm and a leg for shipping. Start out with a sample slab before you buy a whole case. As far as candle making equipment goes, I don't know what you received in your kit but you made need some other things so do your research. All of us are here to help you but you will have to do a lot of this on your own, just as we have. We're here to help you when you get stuck and just don't have a clue.

Good luck to you and let us know how you make out.

Fern

[carey]

Cajun Candle is an hour away from me. I will try their votive wax. I am still wondering if this is the same wax to use for making tarts?

How do you "test" candles? Buy small jars to practice with? I have made 2 batches so far, so good. I did order more FO to play with and 1 slab of container wax. I need more jars first, lol.

I am really satisfied with the container wax I use, it's a beautiful pre blend mix. I want to keep using it and the wicks are perfect.

Do some FO really "stronger" than others? I am thinking some scents just stronger than others.. like cherry is really strong and not vanilla... I don't want to disappoint people :embarasse

If you could tell me where to learn, send me the way. I am a very very new newbie LOL:grin2:

[TeddyB]

Welcome carey! I ditto what Fern said in the nicest way. I was just like you when I began seriously. It was 3 years ago and I bought a kit and poured some conatainers and everything went beautifully. Heck I didn't even measure much just a little of this and a little of that. LOL I got lucky. I thought wow this is easy. Then came the different FO's and different containers and things went downhill fast. Wicks drowning and tunneling mostly so I had to start measuring what I was doing and taking notes so I knew what worked and didn't work. I think candlemaking is the most enjoyable "hobby" anyone can try. Granted it's not rocket science but there is a lot more to it than melting wax putting in scent,color and wick and burning them. I didn't sell a candle until last year but I wanted my gifts to be as good as possible. If you're just making them for yourself and friends then you can have time to test before you actually start selling them. Believe me when you start selling and someone comes back and says your candle didn't have any smell or it burned down the middle you'll be glad that you tested and know that you sold a quality product that has been tried and true by you and your friends. Good luck and enjoy!

TeddyB

[carey]

Ok, I'm slowing down.... I plan to go to walmart to get their small jars to test with. If you know which FO isn't good, what to do, etc. lmk.. I have lots to learn!? I am measuring, I have a scale and use tablespoons for FO only.

So far I have 1 slab of wax and ten FO oils to test with.

I really would like to learn... I love candles.

[prairieannie]

Hi Carey~ you came to a GREAT place to learn. You will probably find that you won't get a lot of folks telling you exactly what to do..because we all know from our own experience that learning is far more than that. If you take the time to read through this forum, especially the Sticky threads at the top, and the FAQ's you will find a whole bunch of the answers to almost every question you can come up with. It's not that we don't want to help, but we've learned that the candle making experience is different for everyone, depending on a lot of things. Most everyone here is quite happy to help with specific questions you may have..and if you want to know where to go to buy supplies..well, there are so many places, and everyone has different reasons for using different suppliers. Being so new, you probably won't find a very warm reception from folks here giving you wholesale information, and selling information, that's stuff that if you insist on doing it this early in the game, you will more than likely have to read and figure out on your own..the board has tons of information in that respect too. We're happy to have you join us in our passion, and even in selling your candles, but most of us go to great lengths to be sure that we are selling the very best candle we can create, and we expect that you will too We've all learned the hard way that this usually doesn't happen without lots of research and testing your candles from the top to the bottom to be sure they are going to do what you expect them to do.

Again, Welcome to the board~ and Good Luck as you begin what will probably soon be one of the great loves of your life;)

[SatinDucky]

Howdy and welcome to the board

I agree with the others. Slow down just a tad. When you test, it must be everything. Each container, wax, FO, wick change will change the burn. If the container is just a hair different in size or shape, you may have to change wicks. Anything can change the finished candle. Sometimes just the weather you poured it in. You do want a full melt pool, but not too fast. You don't want any hang up or soot on the sides of the container. It needs a nice size flame, but not a torch and no smoking. Also a good hot and cold throw. Theres a lot to aim and test for. Reading through here will help a lot. And ask if you're not sure. Good Luck

[carey]

Yes, I am glad you are here to let me know that I need to practice first LOL I am practicing and researching, researching, researching! I just realized that omg there are wick sizes for each jar size. ok I have 10 oz wide jar so that needs to be doubled wicked and the right size, a different size from the small 8 oz jar... got it now! If you double wick, do you still use the bigger size?

The only thing is that the kit I have came in with hemp wicks and so far, so good with those wicks. Should I stick with hemp or move on to zinc core wicks? I will have to order more wicks for the bigger jars since all I have is the small size ones from the kits.

[SatinDucky]

That's a simple question, unfortinatly there's not a simple answer. There's NOT a wick size for each jar. Depending on the wax, FO, additives, there's probably a dozen wicks for each jar size and only one will work for you. And that one is can often be different for each person, even if using the same jar. You may have to change the wick when you change the scent, you may not. What others use will get you in teh ballpark area, but only your testing will tell you exactly which one works. And if you have any hair left by then, you're ahead of the game Oh yeah, how many oz a jar holds has no bearing on what size wick or how many. Not always, but on average, an opening over 3" wide you'll probably need to double wick. Smaller openings it's too much for...

[carey]

You're kidding... test each wick with each scent? I am not going to be able to afford this after all....yike. I got the impression that zinc core wicks were fine with the mason, jelly and apothecary jars I wanted to use. and I notice the wick faq list how they use different wicks size for jars sizes...? I'm going back to read up about it again...

[SatinDucky]

When you start testing, you'll find they're often a starting point. I can't count how many new people who've come in here and said their supplier or a chart or someone told them to use such and such size wick for a certain size candle and it turned out not even close. Some work more often than others.

Expense is one major drawback to making candle. It's so much fun and highly addicting, but also very expensive! You can become a profitable business, but it does take a while. Especially in the beginng because buying smaller quanties actually costs more in the long run.

I'm really not trying to discourage you, but it's better to research and find out just what you're getting into before you decide if it's for you. I had no clue I would spend soo much money before I ever sold a candle. You really have to love making candles.

[Fern]

One other thing that you mentioned...that you were using tablespoons for fragrance oil. The standard amount of fragrance oil that is used is 1 - 1.5 oz of fragrance oil per pound of wax. That is a starting point...some oils are quite strong and will do at 1/2 per lb of wax...but that is not always the case. You said you didn't get much scent throw from your candle and it was probably because you didn't use enough or your wick wasn't big enough or maybe even the FO wasn't of good quality. Since you said that Cajun Candles is close to you (it's a good supplier), I would suggest that you settle on one type of candle you want to make and master that first before you start branching out. Say you want to make container candles first...try making them in all different size containers, using different FO's and dyes and test burn them from start to finish. Purchase a sample pack of different sized wicks so you can test them in the different sized containers. To determine if you have the right size wick for the container and scent you've chosen, you would look for your wick to burn at a rate of 1 inch in diameter per hour. If it burns faster, then your wick is probably too big and you need to chose a smaller wick, if it burns very slow and you don't reach a full melt pool (which is about 1/4"-1/2" in depth within 3-4 hours in a 3" diameter container), then you need to chose a larger wick. See what I mean about it being a bit complicated. You'll make many bad candles before you make some good ones but don't be discourged, it's so much fun when you finally get it and you start producing some great candles. Hang tough and take it slow and don't make yourself broke in the process. It's very easy to do when you see all the good fragrances out there...you'll want to try them all!

[carey]

Thank you... I better go order wicks to test with from Cajun Candles. I understand about testing, I would want a product that has been "tested". I have learned a lot today, not to worry. I still want to try! My family and friends will be my best testers. Thanks so much..

I thought that 2 tablespoons = 1 oz...

[SatinDucky]

Depends on what you're measuring and how heavy it is. Some FOs are heavier than others. An exagerated sample... a cup of water will weigh much more than a cup of feathers. Volume (fliud oz) and weight (oz) aren't the same thing. Just as 1 cup of water 16 fl oz is about the same as 20 fl oz of melted wax.

Good to hear your still up to the adventure

[Bev]

Ditto to the advice you have been getting from others. In answer to your question, yes, you can use votive wax to make tarts. Enjoy making and testing your candles. If you have any questions, check back here. There is a lot of helpful advice to be had. Welcome to candlemaking and welcome to the board!:wave:

[carey]

I guess I didn't measure right.. but duh, the bottle of FO is 1 oz, so I should just use the whole 1 oz bottle for 1 lb. wax?:embarasse

[Julie D]

Carey, I happen to be a newbie too. I have only been making candles for 4 years and am still making them on a small scale. That is for gifts for my friends and family. I agree with everyone. Testing your wicks is very important. My suggestion is for you to go to one of the candle suppliers like Bitter Creek who supply wick testing kits. That is they sell you 5 of each of the pre tabed wicks available for you to play with. (At a more reasonable price than having to buy in huge bulk quantities) Another thing that I find I need is to have a special book to write all my findings down in. You may need the info down the road and things can get confusing. Trust me.....trial and error. And if one wick doesnt work......melt it down and try it again. Another suggestion is to use wick pins when you are making pillars. That way you can take the wick out and try something different. I also budgeted X amount each year to buy molds. (That is where a lot of the expense is) That and postage for wax.....you lucky girl living so close to a supplier. I am soooo happy that I stumbled across this website. The prices on the FOs and molds are great and I can see myself going a little crazy in the near future. :smiley2: Julie

[The_Dallas_Texas_Dean]

Welcome to the board Carey!!!

Have FUN!!!

Michael

The Dallas Dean

[carey]

I calculated the shipping between the two and realize I would have to switch waxes.. if I order a case I can go pick it up, which is even cheaper. Thanks Julie:grin2: