Kudos to Pourers of Tealights

[comfortscents]

I purchased a gross of tea lights (tin based) at least 5 yeards ago and some clear plastic ones later on. When you reach my age buying birthday presents for friends who are 1) old and 2) have everything it gets harder and harder. While the majority of my shopping is online I was channel surfing and saw that QVC or HSN was having a Beleek showcase at 3 am so I tivoed it as my gf collects Beleek...I bought her two bunnies that are tea light holders. Yippee! I had tea light makings and was all set...p.s. Her birthday was in January but she's a snowbird so we're celebrating on April 4th and the bunnies work even better. So, I finally decide to pour her Lily of the Valley green tea lights.

First all of those tin cups were disfigured and the p,astic ones didn't fit....I have a very poor sense of proportion so I "estimated" 24 tea lights would hold xx amount of wax, filled my pot so DONE get out my green dye DONE wick and wick tab 24 tea light tins DONE pour in the Hyacinth fragrance oil DONE oops...it was supposed to be lily of the valley NO BIGGIE hyacinth is a spring scent...pour the was into Dixie cups so it would be less of a mess. DONE poured 24 tea lights should be DONE however I had a bit of leftover wax..so with my " little bit of excess wax" I poured a 22 oz lantern jar, two flowerpots and still have wax in my pouring pot. So to those of you who do this on a regular basis kudos to you....now off to pour 24 lily of the valley tea lights...this could be ugly.

[B@BlissStreet]

I pour my wax into a 2 cup plastic measuring cup with a pointy pour spout. Does that make sense? My pyrex cups have rounded spouts, and the lightweight plastic cup makes it much easier to pour the little buggers.

[Jewls819]

I purchased a gross of tea lights (tin based) at least 5 yeards ago and some clear plastic ones later on. When you reach my age buying birthday presents for friends who are 1) old and 2) have everything it gets harder and harder. While the majority of my shopping is online I was channel surfing and saw that QVC or HSN was having a Beleek showcase at 3 am so I tivoed it as my gf collects Beleek...I bought her two bunnies that are tea light holders. Yippee! I had tea light makings and was all set...p.s. Her birthday was in January but she's a snowbird so we're celebrating on April 4th and the bunnies work even better. So, I finally decide to pour her Lily of the Valley green tea lights.

First all of those tin cups were disfigured and the p,astic ones didn't fit....I have a very poor sense of proportion so I "estimated" 24 tea lights would hold xx amount of wax, filled my pot so DONE get out my green dye DONE wick and wick tab 24 tea light tins DONE pour in the Hyacinth fragrance oil DONE oops...it was supposed to be lily of the valley NO BIGGIE hyacinth is a spring scent...pour the was into Dixie cups so it would be less of a mess. DONE poured 24 tea lights should be DONE however I had a bit of leftover wax..so with my " little bit of excess wax" I poured a 22 oz lantern jar, two flowerpots and still have wax in my pouring pot. So to those of you who do this on a regular basis kudos to you....now off to pour 24 lily of the valley tea lights...this could be ugly.

Oh my...your having one of my days :smiley2:

[Candybee]

Not a big fan of pouring tea lights. They can be a pain in the butt. Now you know!

[HorseScentS]

Are tea lights worth the hassle? Are they good sellers? Good samples? Profitable? A good use of leftover wax after pouring? I never use them so I don't know.

[Vicky_CO]

Tea light are a royal pain in the butt. I feel your pain.

[LuminousBoutique]

I HATE THEM lol.. I only do them 20-50-100 at a time.. because uuugh

[B@BlissStreet]

I HATE THEM lol.. I only do them 20-50-100 at a time.. because uuugh

Ditto that. I got all crazy once and poured 20 dozen in one day...the "tennis elbow" was a mess the next day.

Mind you I haven't played a real game of tennis, ever.

They are hard on the body to pour, but I have learned that the higher the elevation, the easier it seems to be on my back and arm. I pour them on my stove (level) with a large cutting board or cookie sheet underneath. Good lighting from the stove hood, the exhaust fan, and the only level area in my kitchen as we are under construction (still:().

[EricofAZ]

Yeah, I messed around with these and have a box of plastic molds. They make good samples of the larger FO candle for folks and I'm thinking they go well when matched to the tarts in a tealight tart warmer. Otherwise, my junk wax goes to firestarters.

[HorseScentS]

Yeah, I messed around with these and have a box of plastic molds. They make good samples of the larger FO candle for folks and I'm thinking they go well when matched to the tarts in a tealight tart warmer. Otherwise, my junk wax goes to firestarters.

I love the idea of fire starters!

[comfortscents]

Well great news...not one of the finished tea lights are round..there's a blip on every one of them and of course I poured them with container wax...I'm going to start jamming those suckers into the rabbits and see if I can round them out....what a b$tch...so if anyone wants some free tin tea light cups the rest are yours...I'm also going to see if I can jam the plastic ones into that damn rabbit. Although speaking of tea lights I do love the really large ones that pier one sells anyone know where to find the cups for those? Ya know, some mold maker makes a silicone tea light mold I should have thought of that first although Jay has banned me from my drill and my heat gun..one too many oopsie daisies and they just sort of evaporated into thin air....lol

[comfortscents]

I am now humiliated..I did a second pour for the tea light (I deliberately poured them short so I could center the wick, did this before I realized I have tea light centering thingamabobs) and although they smell deeeeeevine they look like crumpled up waxy crap, how's that for a visual...so I rammed them each into these damn beleek rabbits, in a way that would get me a strongly worded email from PETA and it is what it is...I have literally hundreds of tea lights in my home but felt compelled to pour my own to remind my friends I have a business and they are a hit mess. Just another banner day at the Gsell's...lol...now off to rant about my husband on the off topic thread...damn man started painting our bedroom today while I was still in bed....no lol

[marcuset]

I should have read this thread before I started pouring tealights yesterday. Only doing them in small doses, but they are a bit of a pain in the butt.

[Bernadette]

I make tons of these things for wedding/event planners, restaurants, etc. Luckily, I don't have to worry about fragrance because they're usually used around food and no one orders them with scent, but I do have to custom color AND I found it more economical to order the longer wicks and make my own tealight wicks(cut and crimp wick tabs). The only way I can stand to do them is to put the cups on cookie sheets, then with the wick centering devices in hand, go to the familyroom couch and make and wick them while watching TV:laugh2:! When I pour them, I fill a comfortable sized pyrex cup and each sheet goes pretty fast. But I am always so glad when each order is done!:tiptoe:

[Sharon in KY]

I have a box of ? clear cups I haven't opened and a container filled with at least several hundred. I always have to buy a bunch just in case. When ever do pour them I only do the unscented. And I bought the long wicks, hundreds, so I could re-tab the cut offs. Mind you I may have only poured 50 of these things but I have everything I need just in case. Even bought 4 t-lite molds so it will be quicker...you know for when I make that big bunch I'm gonna make...someday.

Edited April 4, 2011 by Sharon in KY

[LuminousBoutique]

I have a wedding order for 640, but its not until July.. so I'm doing 100 or so every weekend. Not so bad.

I hate them, but I'm not in a position to turn down any orders right now.

edit- and yeah, they are beeswax and unscented so they take much less of my time and effort than soy, they cool SO much faster, I can pour twice as many in half the time with half the space.

Edited April 15, 2011 by LuminousBoutique

[Darbla]

Well, I found this thread because I'm considering trying tealights. I have so many candle holders (Moroccan lanterns, holiday themed holders, etc.) that are made to hold only a tealight so no other size will fit, plus I have plenty of container candle supplies, so I thought I might as well make them than buy them. But this thread is making me reconsider! Is it worth making them or should I just keep buying the crappy Hobby Lobby ones in the bags?

[bells4shells]

I personally don't think they're worth making. I just can't find a way to make it worth my time. Maybe I just have a pour pot that sucks. lol I spill more than I get into the little containers.

[moonshine]

Haha- I HATE making Tealights!! They are so Dam time consuming and unforgiving

I hate the metal ones- they look all banged up and warped so being anal me I try and re/shape them- plastic ones are a fire hazard (I had no issues but read about many) and pouring them is ridiculous- my hand can't go that slow to not result in a flood- then they solidify so darn quick I make a mess trying to make sure the Wick is perfect straight up....

They don't last long - and most holders/burners you don't really want scent anyway- so all said and done....I buy the cheap crap ones at michaels when I need them! LOL

I only make them now when someone begs me to!

[Chefmom]

Wow, I haven't done them by the hundreds, but I don't mind tea lights. I pour the plastic ones with the pre-tabbed little wicks and they work great. I pour sitting down and I elevated them off the table.

Also, I don't pour them with my 4 pound pour pot, but a smaller pot that I had from Pastry days. It has a lovely pour spout and doesn't spill the small amount of wax. I just keep the wax in the large pour pot at the temp I want and pour it into the smaller as I need it. I just poured about 50 and it worked pretty well with my small set up, I like to have them on hand for Jack-o-Lantern season because I do LOTS of pumpkins in the yard.

It's like dipping the tapers, there's a Zen to it.

[Darbla]

Well, if any of you can recommend what type/size wick to use with 4627 in a tealight size, I might try it. But you've about scared me off from tealights!

[Chefmom]

Well, if any of you can recommend what type/size wick to use with 4627 in a tealight size, I might try it. But you've about scared me off from tealights!

I just picked up a sample of TL 13 thru 21 and made a bunch of plain white tealights, then lit them at the same time. Just like container candles I found that the one size is just right and lasts about 6 hours but as soon as there is color or fragrance, then you have to use the next one or two sizes up from your base wick. I like that the TL wicks are already cut to size for the little things.

[Darbla]

I don't think I've seen TL wicks yet. Where do you get them? And I wonder how close to LX-20 AND 36-24-24z they are, because I have plenty of those at about the right size for tealights where I trimmed them off of votives because they were too long.

[ChrisR]

I don't think I've seen TL wicks yet. Where do you get them? And I wonder how close to LX-20 AND 36-24-24z they are, because I have plenty of those at about the right size for tealights where I trimmed them off of votives because they were too long.

I don't know what kind of wax you are using, but LX 20 is WAY too big for a tea lite or even a votive. I use a soy/paraffin blend for my teas and use LX 8 for most of my FO's.........patchouli & nag champa use an LX 10.

[Darbla]

Thanks, Chris, that gives me a great comparison since I know LX-20's and 36-24-24z's. I may try a dab of my 4627 with one of the 36-24-24 and just watch it closely. Heck, I could even just mush some of the 4627 into a tealight cup with a wick and not even have to melt anything. I'm just experimenting for myself, not to sell.