Onion pickling Keilly.  Bet you got a whole load of onions from your allotment 

Oh - I have that yet to do with my shallots! Can you think of anything creative to do with my phwoar...Aragorn??

*rushes in ready with advice*

*slopes off again quietly as Keillys has already made gorgeous candles*

 :mwaha: They're fab, well done!

I know what you mean about the fragrances, I can never smell my candles either. Apparently my stall could be smelt outside the craft fair today, but I couldn't smell anything!!

Powerful stuff PS!

How did the fair go?

Well done on your first go!  Now let's talk GLAZE!

The reason your orange peels didn't show up is because you were using your beeswax/ecowax blend, which as you've noticed isn't clear.  What you actually need in order to get any pretty bits on the outside to show is a clear parrafin wax, and then a glaze.   even though parrafin is nasty stuff, as you won't actually burn your candle all the way to the edge, it's actually not such a problem, but you DO want to make sure that you don't end up burning your candles too long.

Essentially, it's just like someone said previously in the thread - you take your newly formed burnable "base" and put it in a slightly larger jar (and ack, I should have said, you probably don't want to put anything straight beeswax into a glass container, it burns so hot it may end up shattering!).  Centre your candle (you can even put a small dab of blu-tack on the bottom to keep it in one spot.  Then arrange your dried pretties, staggering them a bit so they'll show up in a proper symmetry or asymmetry if that what you're going for.

Clear wax has a lower burn rate - make sure it's really CLEAR wax though, which will take some hunting about.  Melt very carefully, then pour carefully along the sides of your candles, one side, then the other - I tend to do a "four corners" sort of pour.  Be warned if you are using flowers they will seem to just soak up wax and potentially lose their shape, so you may want to choose a more solid material till you get the hang of it.

That works for containers, sure, well and good..what about pillars?  Well there's one of two ways to do this.  Invest in some slightly larger molds and do the above - or you essentially "pin" your organic matter to the candle (I think there are some sort of special pins for this, but I could be wrong) and then you dip your candles into the clear wax, which takes a bit of time, but can be done.  There's pros and cons to both; in a mold you don't have to muck about but depending on the opacity of the mold, you may have to just guess at what your final design will be like - while with the latter you'll see it exactly, but it will involve a lot of faff.  It's up to you, but the main requirement is that there needs to be enough wax that your organic material doesn't poke out of your clear wax layer as it looks shoddy.  Also, if you want a really shiny candle, you can add a bit of glaze or you can pop your half-solid candle into the freezer whilst it's still in the mold.

Indeed, good job on a first go!

wow - thanks for that SG! What is the best wax to use overall - I've heard of parafin wax but not sure of it's properties - i'm guessing it's not very environmentally friendly?
I had the candles on last night for a good 4 hours and they didn't burn down too much - I'm guessing there are alot of hours of burn time!!
Now I did go to bed thinking about  'how to' with the flower and botanical imbedding candle (how sad!) and what if you lay the botanicals out flat on a tray then just pour a thin layer of wax over them, let it set but it's still mouldable then cut a strip and wrap it around an already made candle...wonder if that would work? I think I aslo read somewhere that you can stick your stuff on the side and then paint a layer of parrafin wax over to make them stick - am going to a few experiments I think!!
Purplesparkle - I know I've alredy made some but would LOVE some of your advice - as your candles are FAB!! Did you like the link with the image of the candles on?

Parrafin is from petroleum refinement, so no, not really something you want to breathe.  however, I'm not so sure about the "eco-wax" either as unfortunately it often takes a lot of energy and resources which isn't so eco-friendly, so might want to do your research.  As it is, even beeswax is really expensive right now due to the honeybee crises.

I use the beeswax because it naturally smells lovely and burns for ages.  It's more expensive, but I think the burntime makes up for that.

The moldable idea you have might work, but the problem would be actually keeping it warm enough to mold and yet not have your fingerprints all over it at the same time.  It is also true you can stick things to your candle with a "sticky wax"; it's sort of like blu-tack, but it's wax and burnable.  So yes, you could stick it on there, but I'm not sure how it would work to "paint" it on without streaking, and dipping might be problematic too as it would potentially melt the sticky wax.  It's certainly worth experimenting.

I haven't been able to burn candles at home for years (my son has autism and it just wasn't safe).  However I'm rather thinking maybe I should make some more again.....

Keillys you are so inspirational girlie??  I can feel your entheusiasm from here. Go FOR IT! 

Ooh I've just looked at the link, they are really gorgeous! I might have a go at some of those!
To me they look like they are hurricane candles. With a hurricane you have a hard wax 'shell' which doesn't burn and then the candle burns in the centre of the shell. I've made a few hurricanes, but I haven't tried them with embeds. I'll come back to you on that one!

I like the candles of that type with a mosaic like "shell" - presumably pices of wax cut/broken from a sheet and held in black wax, I'm sure I've seen some millefiore ones somewhere.

WAYHAY......I am booking onto a candle making course (same lady that Joy did whipped soap with) so watch this space when I start experimenting!! I am also booking on her wedding favours/gifts course aswell - I think this may be a new venture for me - would work brilliantly with candles!!

You certainly don't do things by half, do ya? When are the courses? Just so that we know when we can expect more pics of gorgeous products.

Am just waiting for Sarah J to ring me back as she said she had a few other people interested in candle making and wanted to arrange a day that would suit us all.....would tomorrow be convenient I nearly asked!! Gawd - I am so impatient - I want to make candles NOW!!!

Wow keilly that is brilliant, you are like a young EJ who can do anything you try!
(did that come out right??)
It is weird because my son said to me on Sat night 'I know mum, why don't you do a Maia candle to go in the gift sets'  At the time I thought 'OMG how hard is that going to be when I've never done it before' but it might be do-able after all!
You are an inspiration  :buttrf:

:mwaha: You are gorgeous PS! Perhaps you can help me if i get started  :mwaha:

I might start with tea lights, nothing as extravagant and exciting as keilly!

Am going to have another experiment tonight with some olive wax that H kindly donated to me - so am going to make tealights using  beeswax/soy wax/olive wax - and compare burning times!! This sounds rather boring actually does'nt it!!haha!!
On a more exciting note... I am going to freeze a metal mould, apparently you get a rustic looking candle from this technique!!