Is this winter I'm smelling?

Take a deep breath... Can you smell the winter Bay Rum? Or is it spring Lavender? Summer Coconut? Autumn All Spice?

Every season has its unique and wonderful scents. This is the time to make great winter candles, and start thinking about the spring.

Browse through this season scent list by Candle Business Corner for great scents ideas that will match your season perfectly!

Ever if your current seasons are different, you can still use the scent list. All the seasons are there!

Happy holiday season!

Eran.

technorati tags:candle, making, scent, list, seasons, CandleBusinessCorner

Great Votives

If you are out for good old fashion votives, Candles And Supplies have got good instructions for great votives.

Don't forget to put aside some of the melted wax for that second pour that will fill the "pit" around the wick.

Eran.

technorati tags:candle, making, votive, project, instructions, pour

Triple Scented Candles - True or Fake?

Have you ever heard about Triple Scented Candles?

It is quite common to hear or read people advertising their candles as triple scented. They are trying to suggests that the candles' scent is very strong or rich.

However, it is usually just a marketing term. You see, wax is like a sponge. It can only hold a certain amount of fragrance oil. The industry's standard used to be 3% (i.e. the FO weight is 3% out of the weight of the wax), but today you would usually use 6%.

Candles that are made based on 9% are sometimes called triple scented. They might have stronger scent, but they might not. 9% can be sometimes more than what the wax can hold.  You can definitely have a strong beautiful scented candle by using the standard 6%.

It is ok to use marketing terms - hey, it sells! But it is important to be able to distinguish between the marketing and professional knowledge of your candle making business.

Eran.

technorati tags:candle, making, business, triple, scented, industry, marketing

Why is my beeswax cloudy?

Have you ever experienced a light dust layer or film over your beeswax sheets or candles?

Don't worry! This is actually a natural effect of a pure beeswax. Although it can give you candle a bit of an ancient look, it can be easily removed by a soft cloth or warming it with a hair dryer.

You can read more about bloom and other beeswax questions in Honey Glow Farm's Beeswax FAQ page.

technorati tags:candle, making, beeswax, bloom, faq, tips, HoneyGlowFarm

The Coolest Candle Holder Ever!!!

Take a look at this COOL candle holder:

This is so classic! A bit of wax, a bit of vinyl, a bit of retro!

"Instructables" shows just how to make this amazing candle holder. Check it out!

Eran.

technorati tags:candle, making, candle, holder, vinyl, retro, cool

Your next step in candle making

If you are getting serious in candle making, here is what you need to do to get to the next level.

Replace the good old double boiler system with a Presto Pot.

The presto pot is a cheap non-stick surface Presto Kitchen Kettle used to melt up to 8 pounds of wax in 20 minutes. You will also equip it with a spigot to dispense the wax directly into your pouring pitcher.

As Candle Tech warns in their detailed instructions of the Presto Pot, make sure you buy one with an adjustable thermostat! It is a MUST!

Eran

technorati tags:candle, making, presto, pot, double, boilder, melting, wax, cheap, safety, tips

You want to be close to your supplier

Finding a good supplier is a hard job.

Finding a cheap supplier is hard as well.

Finding a good and a cheap supplier is a blessing!

One way to cut the cost of supplies is buying local and save on shipping. That's why it's important for you to know which supplier is close to you.

Here's Candle And Soap Stuff list of suppliers sorted by the US states.

Hope you find it useful.

Eran.

technorati tags:candle, making, supplier, supplies, local, shipping, cost, cheap

Dipping made SO easy

Here's another great example of using your everyday household accessories.

When it comes to hand-tipped tapers, you need some dipping mechanism. You can either buy one, or make one from a bent wire coat hanger.

And once you have your taper dipper ready, making the taper are as easy as dipping them! Follow Candle Help instructions for hand-dipped tapers to get these beautiful results:

Eran

technorati tags:candle, making, hand, dipped, tapers, project, wire, coat, hanger, tip

A highly recommended starter kit

If you are only a beginner in the candle making world, a starter kit can be the perfect thing for you! Some of those kits have everything you need to make your first candle.

Lately I've read some very good reviews on Candle Peak's starter kits. Here is an example from Candle Tech's forum:

I did hours and hours and hours or research... I like Peak's starter kit because it offers you by far the MOST for the BEST price. No one else gives you as many fragrances to try and color dyes to try as Peak does, and they even threw in an additional scent giving me a sample of SIX fragrances. You will NOT be disappointed with a Peak starter kit. And I am now certain that candle making is for me :-)

Obviously there are lots of different starter kits out there. You should check and compare them carefully. There is a big range both in their price and their content.

If you have any other recommendations about kits or other equipment, feel free to share!

Eran.

technorati tags:candle, making, starter, starting, kit, beginners, recommendation, PeakCandles

Candles Kill Bacteria

Would you believe candles can kill bacteria?

Well, according to this research, burning some scented candles killed both E. coli and Staphylococcus!

Read this very interesting article.

Candles With Essential Oils Kill Bacteria
Flame and Oils Work Together, Say British Researchers
By Miranda Hitti
Candles containing certain essential oils can do more than set a mood and smell pretty. They can also kill bacteria, according to a new British study...

Candles With Essential Oils Kill Bacteria

Eran

technorati tags:candle, making, scented, oils, kills, bacteria, research, article

I'm Dy(e)ing for a tip!

After talking about dyes, here are some candle dyes tips from Pourette Candle.

I think one of the best tips is don't overheat blue candles dyes. There nothing more disappointing than discoloration of your beautiful candles. So read closely and take notes :-)

Eran.

technorati tags:candle, making, dyes, tips, overheat

Matchmaker, match me colors and scents...

What color would match an "Hawaiian Dream" scented candle? And how about "Ocean Mist"?

Matching colors to fragrance in only limited by your own imagination and preferences, but to make your life easier here is a good starting color guide chart from Cajun's Candle.

Mind you the number of drops in the chart refers to Cajun's concentrated liquid candle dyes. If you are you using any other kind of dye, you'll have to test, test and then test some more.

Good luck!

Eran.

technorati tags:candle, making, match, matching, colors, scents, chart, table, CajunCandles, liquid, dyes

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season for all of you!

May you make beautiful candles that will shine and light your home and life all year long!

Eran

technorati tags:candle, making, merry, christmas

Soy Candles Success Story

Burning desire: The Candle Attic hitches onto Soywax wagon
By Liz Chretien
Lorna-Faye Belleville used to make her Soywax candles in a six-room attic in Haverhill, Mass. Now, two years later, The Candle Attic in Sandown boasts 70 scents and more than 30,000 candles sold. "All those candles were poured by me," Belleville says. "I’m very proud of that."...

Exeter News-Letter Currents: Burning desire: The Candle Attic hitches onto Saywax wagon

What a great success story of Lorna-Faye Belleville who has a thriving soy candles making business and tells all about it. She also elaborates on some of the soy benefits such as cleaner and longer burn and easy of make.

A great idea she has introduced is a "refill program". Customers can bring their own containers and get them refilled for a much cheaper price than buying a new one. That is a great idea!

Eran

technorati tags:candle, making, soy, success, business, story, refill

Groovy Candles

As a part of their "13 Groovy Days of Joy!" Groovy Green are offering you to shine your own light on the holidays!

Read about Steve Balogh own experience on making candles, and his recipe for pillar candles. Don't forget to discover what other joy suggestions they have for the rest of the holiday season.

technorati tags:candle, making, groovygreen, project, ideas, holidays

More Troubleshooting Candle Tips

Having problems?

Wick smokes? Flame dies? Wax is left on the side of the container? Or did your candle just sadly break down?

Ohhhhhhh.... Don't worry! Help is on its way. Here are helpful troubleshooting tips from Cierra Candles, guaranteed to help you make better candles.

Eran.

technorati tags:candle, making, troubleshooting, tips, better, candles

New Soy Candles Video

Take a look at these new videos on how to make soy container candles. ZionsvilleCandle did a good job showing how easy it can be to make candles in the convenience of your very home.

For full instructions on how to start making candles see Candle Making Techniques basic instructions.

Eran

technorati tags:candle, making, soy, container, video, ZiovsvilleCandle

How much time would my candle burn?

Isn't this one of the most popular questions about candles?

But how do you know how much time your candle will burn?

Well, similar to other things in the candle making world - it's all about testing! But you don't need to light a full candle to that. 3 hours will be enough.

Read Candle Cauldron's explanations and estimated burn times for standard candles.

Eran.

technorati tags:candle, making, calcuate, calculating, burn, time, CandleCauldron

What's the secret behind this candle?

Isn't this candle just cool:

And surprisingly enough, it is pretty easy to make. The secret, according to One Stop Candle, is coating a white candle with masking tape, dip it in red, and then peel off the tape.

Easy does it.

Have fun!

Eran.

technorati tags:candle, making, perppermint, project, masking, tape, OneStopCandle

Happy Hanukkah

This is the coolest Hanukkah video I've seen lately:

Hanukkah is all about lighting candles. After the Jewish people won back their Temple in Jerusalem from the ancient Greek empire, there was only a small vase of oil left to light the Temple menorah. Thanks to the Hanukkah's miracle, the oil lasted for 8 days. So on each day of Hanukkah, you light an extra candle, starting with one and finishing with 8.

The menorah is a universal symbol of freedom. May we all share it and cherish that freedom.

Eran.

technorati tags:candle, making, hanukkah, candles, temple, menorah, miracle