Sally

Those waves are fabulous, & I love the sparkly chunks too. Sally.

Wick I'd suggest you stick to PW for a while, master it & a few styles that you want to sell, if that's your aim, then move on & try soy. It's a very different beast from PW & I think it needs rather more work to get things performing well. Also as you are new to this addiction it could become even more confusing to be trying different types of wax at the same time. Hope that doesn't sound condescending it's all meant with the best of intentions. Given enough time ....& a budget to match.... you could end up producing great candles from both waxes. Whatever you decide on I'm sure you'll be having as much fun as I am. Sally.

MMMMMMM they look delicious Sally.

Nicely done Ilona, hows Manchester treating you? Sally.

I never had any luck with black but I've not tried liquid dyes yet. Your pillar looks great tho. Sally.

Good to see such bold colours. Sally.

Looking good to me. Sally

My mates daughter would love those bunnies, but I feel your pain.....I have enough trouble with getting stars out. Sally.

Thats really pretty. Sally.

OOOOOOOO I like! Your customers could buy a matching pair & turn them into earrings when the candles are finished. Sally.

He He, you'll be having who can make the best candle competitions...they're both great, especially the purple, you got good colour there. Sally.

Both my pillar & container soys are in flake form,the pillar blend feels harder than the cb which usually feels more greasy. I use the pb for tarts as its easier to demould & doesn't mess up the packaging so I'm guessing yours is a pb. I started out making pillars with soy only but I'm finding my blend works better all round. Sally.

Is the soy you're referring to a pillar or container blend? Not quite sure if this will help at all but I'm experimenting with soy /para blends @ 50/50 & 70soy/30pw both are pillar waxes anyway & both work tho I prefer the 70/30 myself. Sally.

I love them, not seen a pan like that over here tho'. They'd make a pretty addition to a gift basket. Sally.

Yes hun jam is made in one pot on direct heat, if your thermometer has a brass back to it you're laughing, if its just glass take care not to tap it on the side of your melting pot....they tend to break toooooooo easily....yes, been there done that! Sally.

If you're using plastic moulds just now I would recommend you get a thermometer, it's all too easy to overheat your wax or pour it too hot for the mould. Plastic moulds warp under high heat VERY easily....I've ruined a few myself that way. Sally

http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45943 try this hopefully it will be the right link. Sally. (sorry if it doesn't work I'm not very puter savvy) & you might not be registered long enough, I cant remember off hand how long you have to be a member for before you can get on the classys

Some folk on here use metal tape, I finally got myself some & can vouch for its effectiveness. I cut off a piece big enough to tape over the whole of the bottom of the mould & press it down carefully especially where the wick comes out of the hole (I don't use wick pins). It seals perfectly & if I'm careful when I remove the tape I can stick it on my kitchen tiles & use it again. Sally.

Take a look in the classifieds someones selling moulds just now. HTH. Sally.

They are sooooo good, look really fresh & spring like. Sally.

When you're making layers you need to pour the second layer a little hotter then the first so that the layers bind together & are smooth when they come out of the mould, if you pour cooler the layers tend to come apart & will be rougher/more rustic looking. If you're trying tilted layers the process is the same just make sure your mould wont fall over & spill hot wax everywhere...she speaks from experience...lol. Rustics are poured cooler but not too cool & they have more stearin in than normal pw candles. Try a search about that cos I can't really explain why, except it makes the wax harder & more opaque. Lastly you really do need a thermometer especially for doing layers or rustics, but for safety first & foremost. Sounds like you're having fun Sally.

I've not found any loss of fragrance at all when I remelt my wick failures & repour them. So long as it doesn't get overheated I think it should be fine. Sally.

A lot depends on the wick you use as well as the wax. Give us the diameter of the glass & tell us what wick you are using & I'm sure someone will chime in to help. I use 0.5 -0.6 oz per # wax when I use E.O & usually get a good throw with that amount....you can overdo the amount of EO or FO which won't help you make a stronger candle but will cost you more $$$$$. Try using the search at the top of the page, it's wonderful, & there's a sticky for newbies too.........btw, welcome to CT & your new addiction.:smiley2: Sally.

Thanks all I really like these too. If I was going to scent them it would have to be something tropical, very fruity, like monkey farts or something with hot summer or sunset type influences. I'm using a pelleted pw, melt pint 57-59f with 3 tablesoons stearic per # wax. I've got a 25 kilo sack sitting on my kitchen floor for everyone to bump into.....you know how it is! Sally.

Thank you so much for your help Daria, now I know why it wasn't working quite right. I poured the whole candle, a little hotter than normal then dripped the melted wax in, when I've done this with the pw I always dropped little scrapings of the dye in so it ran through pretty well but I sometimes got little lumps of dye which hadn't melted. I'll have another go when I've got the time. The other candle in the pic is one of the rustics I also posted pics of today, I love playing with colour....like you. Sally