Fresholi | Melting Pot Café

The nights are getting darker, I will be watching Lord of the rings (at least twice a week) with a glass or two of wine and lots of candles burning!! I'm starting to think about candle making because it's getting dark and some cosy nights in are on the way - I have NEVER made a candle in my life and was wondering where to start - I do have some ecowax, local beeswax (alot) some wicks and plastic moulds - is it a case of melt the ingredients and put in a mould or is it ALOT more complicated than that...sorry to be bit ignorant and I'm sure I will become hooked on candle making once I get going - but just need some tips please!! ;D

I wish I could help but I have no idea, never made a candle before. I have seen some really gorgeous candles in glass containers though, some country style ones in those lovely pot bellied lidded jars, or very modern square glass containers, with different coloured and scented waxes poured in layers, some straight, some at angles.... looked fab. Really looking forward to seeing your efforts, I am sure you will be just as good as that as everything else.

Keillys   ---You are a Human Tornado. You make all this amazing stuff and will make wonderful candles too. I am just in awe XXXXXXXXXXX

I think PS makes candles, Soheila does.

Until someone come along take a look here (http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/candlemakingbasics/a/candlebasics.htm)

Thanks girls xx When I get an idea in my head - thats it....it has to be done - I can be a bit obsessive like that, my friends all laugh and say "oh no what she making/doing now" - I must be a nightmare to live with!! But I do love trying to be creative!!
Just had a look at the link EJ and it's quite good!Thanks!
 Does anyone know anything about the beeswax and ecowax? Wondering if I could mix them? ;D

We have discussed candles fleetingly on and off but I will certainly be watching this thread with interest  :popcorn:

I've been planning to make'em too! It suddenly occured to me that it is something I can do anywhere, not necessarily in the UK and I dont need a SA. So thats my plan for the long cold winter.

AW's newsletter says that candle prices are rising rapidly - oil prices filtering through so best et your materials stocks in if you're thinking of selling and keep your eyes on a few candle websites re current prices.

I made many a candle back in ze day.  Depending on where you are, I found I saved a mint on molds and so forth by saving juice cartons and the circular frozen juice tins from the supermarkets in the states.  All you have to do is tear them off and you're set!

Beeswax is the hottest wax - unlike paraffin or other conventional waxes, this has to get rather hot before it melts and if you get it on your skin, it's agony.  So be CAREFUL.  However, beeswax lasts longer. 

I haven't had a whole lot of experience with molds as I was often too skint to buy them - but as my son drinks plenty of juice, I just used that, or milk cartons, provided they're no wider than about three inches in diameter (what is that, the one litre cartons here?  something like that).  What you'll need then is a big pan, some proper wicks and if you're so inclined, the "wick savers" (those metal bits that go on the end of the wick).  I never bothered - I'd just put a small hole in the bottom of the carton, put the wick in, tie a knot in the wick so it's bigger than the hole, then put a bit of tape over that.  Sometimes it does leak a bit so be warned - I tended to place them on a flat baking tray or something similar.

I cut the cartons down to about five inches high (you can vary the height for interest), then wrap the other end of the wick around some skewers, chopsticks, or whatever will rest over the top of the carton.  Make sure the wicks are straight and centred, or your candles won't burn properly.  You can tape the wicks in place, but I often would just come back and tug them a bit to make sure they straightened out.

Melt your wax - I did this on the stove in a castoff pan I would only use for candles, as there's a goodly chance you'll never get all the wax out of it, ever.   You could do this with a microwave and a pourable glass container, but you want to be careful not to overheat the lot as beeswax will smoke if it's too hot.  Normally I heat it until there's still a small lump floating about in the melted wax, and I give a stir with a skewer until it's fully melted - that way it's not too hot.

Pour your wax into your prepared "molds" - be careful not to knock the wicks to one side.  You are going to want to reserve a bit of wax in your pouring jug, because wax has a tendency to "tunnel" around the wick when it cools - top up by remeling your reserved wax as needed.  You want an even surface.  You may notice your molds tend to distort a bit and become more "diamond" shaped.  I've rectified this sometimes by placing them in plastic cups to hold them steady...and then found myself using the plastic cups to make candles (but I'd invert these candles as they burned more nicely that way).  After several hours, unmold by tearing off the cartons, trim your wick, cutting it even with the bottom, and leave about 2cm at the top, no longer.

When you burn a candle, burn it till the wax pool is within about .5 cm away from the rim of the candle - it's about a hour for every inch (those American measurements again!).  Wax has a "memory", and you might have noticed your pretty pillar candles never burn right if you blow them out too soon the first time you lit them!  But burn them for a good steady period the first time round and you'll be fine.

These aren't fancy candles but they are functional - candles are actually a lot cheaper to buy these days than to make, but if you've already got the supplies, go for it!

WOW.. thanks for that SG! Am off right now to have a go...anyone want some piccies :whist:

Why on earth would we want piccies Keilly  :whist: :popcorn:

Right then...am back! Thats was quite quick and painless ....melted my two waxes together added ginger & grapefruit EO blend to be a bit christmassey and added orange slices - BUT will wait until dark to do the real test - but for you piccie lovers here's some for a taster.....

More... more.... we want more!!!!  The slices are really effective.  They would look great with an orange, clove and cinnammon flavoured one. 

Is that the eco wax?  What is eco wax?  Is it a blend of different waxes or just soya wax  :-\

P.S.  Blimey... that was quickety quick!! 

Not quite sure what eco wax is...could be soya wax - I will have to go back to where I brought it from and check!! Well they are setting nicely BUT the orange slices have become a bit hidden in the wax - but I will be patient!! I will, I will!! The smell is divine though - a blend of grapefruit, ginger, cedarwood and geranium...umm!!Given me an idea for soap!!

Bet the room smell gorgeious - waiting for pics in the dark!

Indeed we are EJ  ;D

Bella !  Will it stay that lovely amber colour ?

Nope...not stayed that amber colour but creamy now - I can't even see the orange slices!! Will have to think of a way to 'glue' them onto the outside somehow!! But they are now burning lovely - so got the basics ok just need to develope the creative side to it now!! AM HAPPY!!

Ooh Keiily, what a fantastic first try!!  Aw... don't they look warm and cosy.  What's the aroma like?  How much did you use (%)?  I wonder, could you use some melted wax to stick the slices on?  Kes (a while ago) found some pictures of some amazing candles (decoration) which would have probably been quite inspirational.  They are lovely and look really cosy  :buttrf:

I used about 3% EO, the blend smelt gorgeous when I spilled it down my top but not sure how it smells now while burning (as I've been sniffing it from my top for the last hour and now cannot smell it!!) Will have to ask the other half when he comes home what he can smell!! Does anyone find that when working with scents that your sense of smell goes - I can't smell anything in my workshop anymore but when people come round they say they can smell the house from down the street! Isn't that weird!! :mwaha:

Lovely atmosphere . I think with the jar candle you may have to make it in a mould first , decorate it , then put it into the jar . I am not a candle maker so it is just a guess.  I have seen gel candles that have lots of bits in.

Ruth I think you are right!! Will have a try!!

People certainly say that when they go in my treatment room but I don't think I can smell what they smell  :-\  When creating blends, I'll take regular sniff breaks ( :mwaha:) by inhailing deeply in some material (such as my jumper or something like that), it usually eases the fatigue but in my room, people will always go 'wow it smells lovely in here' yet I can't smell anything, only when I am actually doing a treatment can I smell anything  :)

Just realised, I barely took a breath there  :mwaha:

They look good - you can just see a glimpse of the orange slices; You could call it Orange Surprise 'cos they'll eventually appear.

Watch them when they're exposed and the candle's lit though - they might take fire!

I had this wonderful candle that had little bits in.  It had the most wonderful aroma but these little bits used to have mini-explosions which in a way was rather effective.  I don't imagine that the slices would explode - It's just EJ reminded me of that candle  :mwaha:

those look great, and I thought Mai was our only human tornado till now! Wow-I once made a candle and actually set fire to the back of my cooker and i couldnt put it out-all the wax spilt down the back out of reach and caught fire. I did obviously eventually put it out but -that was the end of that particular adventure.  Yours look great-purple sparkle will probably have some info-she makes very creative ones too

Last year I brought an amazing candle with a wooden wick and it was marketed as saying it really crackled when lit...and it did, it was really lovely and scented with EO in a glass jar - infact the glass jar I have just recycled for my candle!! I think I am going to enjoy my new 'hobby'!! Just been looking at images of decorative candles on google and the most amazing image came up - there were candles with all sorts of flowers and botanicals melted into the outer edge - they looked fab - I am totally inspired now!! ;D

plenty of pics forthcoming too I hope Keillys?

you don't hang about girlie, do you? Those candles are gorgeous! Scent mix sounds very delicious, too.

JUST LOOK AT THESE......AMAZING!!!! Hopefully by next week I shall be er...maybe not!! Getting a bit overly excited again!!
http://menrvainternational.com/home

AND....just found some wood wicks on ebay....wayhay - anyone want to sample when I've into the swing of it?

WOW --Now those are something really special. Can we expect piccis of your new range next week :-)

Of course Ruth....just call me 'tornado'!!

MEMEME ME ME . I have to be very careful with candles with all the kitties----don't even think about it. But I can put it on late evening when they have all gone to bed.

Lets try and think up yet another cool project to suggest to our little Tornado...... I don't think there is anything she wouldn't give a go, how I wish I had your drive, girlie!

oooooooh, a candle to try, that would be just lovely, if you need more than just one volunteer............ are you open to bribery?

OMG....deja vu - look at the beginning of this thread...dark night/lord of the rings/wine & candles - look whats on tv - I have my handmade candle burning and oh...have some wine on the go!! :mwaha:

Does it get any better than that?

An Omen --LOL !

how about a years supply of salt bars??

OMG - I'm going to get rat arsed, burn the house down with my new candle and form an aversion to Lord of the rings!! NOOOOOOOOO!!

Lol.... that's funny (well its not but you know what I mean  :mwaha:)

HEHEHE  --Not that kind of Omen ---as in scarey dude !!! An Omen of good things all coming together.

 :mwaha:

Right I am up for it if you lot are.....come on hit me with something!!! :mwaha:

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

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? ;D

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!! ;D

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'  ;D 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!! ;D

Are they done yet?  Are they done yet?   :yipee: :popcorn:

hold your horses woman....they are just setting!! even added a wax crayon to see how it colours!! :D

Waaaaaitinnnnnng...................   :whist:

I actually found a beeswax supplier who sells the wax in coloured bricks.  I am giving a WOOT here - I love the colour or natural beeswax, but I sometimes want a change. I was looking about for beeswax pillars and the prices were a bit eek - so maybe I really should sacrifice a pan for the greater good this winter.

If you want the link to the coloured beeswax,keillys, I can post it t you in PM.

Thanks SG that would be very helpful!! :buttrf:

Well Mrs.... are they done yet?   :whist:

honestly, Helen, some people, eh? No regard for others, tut tut, making us wait and wait and wait. Or maybe she is suffering from corrieitis.

Indeed LLL - humph!  She said she was making these yesterday and I gave her a whole 10 mins to get home and get started before I pm'd her about this.  Outrageous if you ask me.  Humph, humph, humph  :tantrum:

You go and give her what for!  :mwaha:

Don't know which supplier SG found but Thorne's (https://secure.thorne.co.uk/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/millhouse/thorne/shop/shania?ACTION=THISPAGE&THISPAGE=page34.html&ORDER_ID=299582311) beekeeping supplies have a wide range of coloured wax blocks plus soy wax and palm wax.

Loads of moulds and other equipment for candle making (and carnauba wax for making polish).

Aye, that's the one, cheers!

after experimenting last night heres a picce -
1st candle - olive wax...very yellowy in colour
2nd candle - soy wax...very white
3rd candle - beeswax...stuck in the mould - doh
votive candles at front coloured with a little bit of red crayon

will be burning tonight with lord of the rings and wine after a hard day slogging over a hot stove!!
BTW...am booked on the candle making course 16th October - YIPPEE - only16 days to go!! :hap3: :hap2: :woohoo: :yipee: :joy:

Pic??

 :popcorn:

sorry it's there now.... ::)

Comong on nicely - if you heat the outside of the beeswax mould will the candle slide out then?

I don't know - will give it a go!! ;)

Wow!!  you have been busy Mrs.  They look brilliant.  Did you fragrance them or not.  I can't wait to hear how they burn.  Flippin' great stuff Keiily  :buttrf:

That is really impressive, is there no end to your talents, girl? What fragrances did you use in them? What sort of candle are you going to try next?

I had some orange FO for soap - not sure if it was suitable for candles aswell but they do smell quite pleasant!!
I can't wait to go on this course - gel candles, pillar candles with botanicals on the outside, floating candles, etc!!  ;D

......Candles for H and everything  ;D

Right that's it !!! I am now officially on a diet of red wine and Lord of the Rings. That MUST be your secret . Fantastic candles. Hope you get the beeswax one out.

I could get used to that diet as well

Hi Helen

A couple of questions...I hope you are sitting comfortably!
Do you ever have soy wax?   I am going to make Christmas presents this year - starting with candles, and soy wax is really easy to use (and being a messy mare tt helps that it is easy to clean).

T'other question - do you know if any of the products you sell are Fair Trade, and are you able to get Fair Trade if we want them? 

Regarding the soy wax, I think it would be highly unlikely that I could get that before xmas Suzanne  :-\

Regarding Fair Trade, the Nilotica and virgin cocoa is, the unrefined shea and tamanu are fairly traded (from community projects) - all are certified organic  :)

just want to add, don't reuse glass containers that have already had candles in, as the heat from burning the first will weaken the glass and you might end up with shattered glass and hot wax everywhere.

ask me how i know  :mwaha:

depending on where you got your orange fo from should be good for candles, would check with where you got it from first as some fo are not candle friendly,

EO's do not always give a good scent throw in candles,

I did a little experiment with some olive wax that Helen kindly donated for me to have a mess around with on the condition I report back ;D
well... I made a soy candle, an olive candle and a beeswax candle (that is still stuck in the mould!!) - the olive wax has lots more burning time it seems and stayed as a nice candle...the soy candle has...well melted into a heap as you will see...

Shame about the soy candle - are there different grades of soy wax? I've seen candlemaking sites offering Pillar Wax and Container Wax (don't know wheter its was soy though).

Ooops, probably not what you were expecting, but it does look kinda cool in a weird sort of way. Not what you want from a candle though, sorry that one didn't work out. What are you going to do about the stuck beeswax one?

 :mwaha:
thlnk I will have to melt it all and pour it back out and try again!!
I'm quite pleased with the olive wax though and it has a lovely glow - might have to put an order in with Helen for some!
 EJ - I'm not sure on different waxes for different candles - will ask when I go on my course next week!! ;D

Don't know much about candles but it looks like you have used container rather than pillar wax. The pillar wax is harder. Miss Sparkle mentioned this to me when I wanted to make one for a preesie. Haven't made it yet and sent something else.

Oops, but they still look great!

As far as I know the soy container wax is much softer than the pillar blend.  When I do my wax melts I use a mix of the 2 so they aren't quite so soft & sticky.  Never tried to do one with a wick in it yet - too scaredy cat.  :-\

Oh dear, mind you like LLL said, it kinda looks good in a weird sort of way (although those were not her exact words).  Hey, I am thrilled the olive wax worked well.  I have never seen a proper candle made with it and was really interested in how it worked so thank you so much for that Keilly.  Seems like you still have more burn life left in that.  Not sure about candle wax (hence my reason for wanting you to experiment  :mwaha:) but do you know whether the soy was container wax?

Thanks again Keilly, I really appreciate the test run  :buttrf:

The soy candle is very " Goth " . I'm sure if you made them in black you would sell a cartload

Or should I have said " by the coffin load "

 :mwaha:

I have had a massage with a soya wax candle.  It is lit, then the melted wax is poured on you.  The candle has some eo in it.  It was quite nice not too hot.

 :)

yes you used container wax can't make pillars out of container wax you need pillar wax, and lots of wick testing takes time to get it right,

pillar wax is a lot harder than container wax and won't go in a gooey mess when melted, I use pillar in my votives as well as for pillar candles,


you were lucky you actually got it out of the mould using container wax,

WAYHEY.......I'm going on a candle course tomorrow...hopefully will come home with lots of goodies..would anyone like me to post some piccies :whist:

 :hi:  me

nah, don't like pics




what a daft question, grrr, OF COURSE we want pics, many many pics!

Pics, pics, piccies!

I have this great plan of making container soy candles so I need inspirational images :) Well, I need my container soy wax, too, but it should be on it's way!

Taking a candle course sounds like a good idea - it would even in case of not having created a strangely interesting pile of candle mass  ;D

Well...am back - a bit earlier than expected!! Drove for 2 hours and arrived at the front door to be told the lady that was teaching the course is quite poorly in hospital! I hope she gets well, but unfortunately my name was not down in her diary so her hubby didn't contact me :( So drove 2 hours to get home!!
Right...plan B - learn candles the hard way...read books, womble on the net, spend loads of money on materials and try it myself!!!!

AND.....when I got home a speeding fine was waiting for me!! They do say it comes in 3's...so what else is gonna hit me today I wonder :o

Sorry to hear that keillys, but that would explain why i havn't heard from Sarah J for a while..  Your candles look lovely anyway and i'm sure you'll manage to teach yourself  all you want to know..

fingers crossed number 3 isn't too painfull for you...

How very disappointing! Its not just that you didn't get to learn how to make superduper candles, but all that wasted time as well, especially this time of the year when you are so superbusy anyway. Hope the teacher is alright though, she must be in a bit of a bad way if she is in hospital. Fingers crossed that the third is only a teeny weeny little baddy.

Yeah I was REALLY disappointed! I had been reading my candle books last night, thinking of a thousand questions, then it cost me 30 quid in petrol and the time...but hey - you can't help it if you are ill and I really hope she gets well soon - I'll have to rearrange another date with her. I am booked on the wedding course she is doing in November so will ring first to make sure it's still on. I think I'll email her later to send my wishes and hope she gets well!

Am now waiting for number 3..... :::hide::

Oh Hecky Thump!!

I found out yesterday that SJ was in hospital and it didn't click - could have emailed you!! Ever so sorry.

Oh poor Keilly. Mind you poor SJ, hope she's OK. It's no mean journey to SJ house either. Hope she's soon better.