Giving candle-making a go

[Catscankim]

Giving it a go on a very small scale. I bought all of the ingredients for bb Willow and Ivy candle project.

First of all, I have never made a candle in my life, but deep down always wanted to lol. I am just a crafty person. I can sew, crochet, embroider, make soap, etc. Adding candles to my list.

Anyway. Considering that I don't know what I am doing...I assumed that this project (not kit), recommended everything that I needed to purchase to make my 4 candles.

I am pretty impulsive, so I just added all to cart and purchased. Not realizing that I also need wick stickers and a container to melt/pour. I do have a candy thermometer, I am assuming thats ok. I don't make candy, so i don't even know why i have it LOL. So ruining a candy thermometer isn't going to kill me, especially since its been in my drawer for years untouched.

So i ordered the wick stickers, wick holder uppers (lol), and the pot from Amazon. Anything else i need??

The project ingedients included the Golden 464 soy wax, fo, ceramic jars, wicks, and dye flakes.

btw, this Willow and Ivy fo from bb is the bomb dot com. It smells divine. Its my new favorite. I cant stop sniffing it. And all my supplies shipped in less than a week, so i am pleasantly surprised with bb.

I love the jars too, but a little pricey if i ever decide to sell.

 

[Nona'sFarm]

Sounds like you have all of the supplies. I would recommend watching a few videos on candle making next. I like Candle Science for their easy to understand information and videos - CandleScience Candle Making Supplies | Shop Fragrance Oils, Wax, & More. Go to the LEARNING section.

 

[Quanta]

I use a candy thermometer myself, mostly because it has a clip that keeps it in place and it measures in the right range for candle making.

I have never used wick stickers. I usually put a smidge of wax around the wick tab, but recently I made a magnetic wick tab holder that works great. It's basically just a piece of plywood that has magnets embedded in the surface, with guidelines drawn around them for centering my container over the magnets. Of course I only ever make just a handful of candles at a time, but if I made a lot at once I would use the stickers.

 

[Catscankim]

Sounds like you have all of the supplies. I would recommend watching a few videos on candle making next. I like Candle Science for their easy to understand information and videos - CandleScience Candle Making Supplies | Shop Fragrance Oils, Wax, & More. Go to the LEARNING section.

I spent way more time on that site than I planned on Sunday LOL. I literally got nothing else done around the house.

I usually put a smidge of wax around the wick tab,

I was gonna do that. I wasn't sure if it was normal practice or not. I figured that since I needed a pot anyway, might as well wait for the stickers as well.

 

[Nona'sFarm]

I spent way more time on that site than I planned on Sunday LOL. I literally got nothing else done around the house.

Research is a good thing!

 

[Quanta]

I was gonna do that. I wasn't sure if it was normal practice or not. I figured that since I needed a pot anyway, might as well wait for the stickers as well.

If I'm doing it, it's probably not normal.

 

[Catscankim]

Just made my four candles. Fingers crossed they turn out ok lol.

The pitcher that i bought didnt have much of a spout on it. I feel like i need a more tapered spout. My first pour...i got wax everywhere Inside and outside of the jar. Now that i knew how it poured, the rest of them were better.

oh, then i tried to clean up that messy first jar...that didnt go well either lol.

But with the exception of that first one, i must say that was the most stress-free project i have ever done.

The only bump in the road that i really had was that the instructions recommended 2-4pinches of dye flakes. I need more accurate measurements lol. I did 2 1/2 pinches of flakes to start. Its way too dark (and i dropped some to let cool to see the final color). I had a big handful of wax left, so i dumped that in to try to lighten it. It didnt lighten much.

Now i have a bunch of melted wax leftover that i dont want to waste, so i washed out a mason jar and its in the oven drying off lol.

So I guess the only real-ish problem is that i have less fo than the recipe calls for, but i didnt want to do a guessing game with trying to figure out how much fragrance to add to compensate for the extra wax i added.