WAHM Forums

Hello Everyone</span>.

After reading
almost every post here, I decided it was time to post my own.

First
off, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Danielle, and I live in
Oklahoma. :)

I've always liked candles (never really met a
person who hated them), and I've always been into crafting things,
creating things, painting, also writing music. --&gt; (My main
passion)

My husband currently works, and I do not, so I read
about things I could do at home to make some extra money. Now I have
seen a lot of work at home ads, but then I saw this one from
candlewealth about making soy candles. This really sparked my
interest. So I researched it online, and all that junk (skepticism,
which I should have) and was surprised I couldn't really find
anything bad about the company unlike some. Sadly, I wasn't ready to
commit to sending them 200+ dollars for my candlemaker kit yet. Heck,
I thought, "I haven't even made a candle, I might hate it."

So
I let it sit on my thoughts for some days, and decided I'd try to
make some on my own. So here's what I did. I bought a pour pot &amp;
a small kit off a soy-candle maker on ebay to give it a shot. The kit
had everything, dye chips, soy wax, wicks with stick-ums, the scents
I chose. She left me all the directions, plain as day, easy to
understand. I followed all directions, and even got a digital
thermometer to try to be accurate as possible and voila, I made my
first candle.

Now after letting it sit for 48 hours to cure, I
just lit it for the first time yesterday, and so far so well. :D

So
I decided to pour my next candles. &amp; here is where I have run
into some problems.

I noticed kinda huge wax marks inside the
containers. After reading, these are wet spots, no? Trial and error,
yuck. So what causes wet spots and how do I avoid them? Take a
look.

Here is my first candle.
smileys/smiley1.gif

http://breathehope.com/candles/candle01.jpg

and
--&gt;

http://breathehope.com/candles/wet01.jpg

Second
candles were disastrous</span>!!!
smileys/smiley11.gif

http://breathehope.com/candles/candle02.jpg

Well,
I made some mistakes obviously, but I learned that I like to make
candles, a lot, and I want to continue with this, and learning how to
get good at it!

I obviously need some advice ladies &amp; your
thoughts on candlewealth.
Please also correct me on any candle
terminology.

Thanks for reading this huge post. I like to
talk, can you tell?
smileys/smiley17.gif
Warm days ahead.
Danielle.
smileys/smiley27.gif

Hi,

I found this about wet spots (http://onestopcandle.com/candle/ctroublewetspot.php)
I hope it helps.

zg04 Wrote</span> --&gt;

</span>Hi,
I found this about wet spots (http://onestopcandle.com/candle/ctroublewetspot.php)
I hope it helps.
---------------------------

Aha! Thanks. Bookmarked. :) I especially like this part --&gt; "I've never had a customer complain about them as long as
the candle burns and throws scent well."

Fine by me. smileys/smiley2.gif Still my second candles look funky. smileys/smiley13.gif
Edited by: smallsparks

FYI, I just want to add different wax's may or may not give wet spots. Certain types wil not give wet spots this is just a matter of trying different blends of wax and test burning. For each wax the teperature you pour at will affect the adhesion to the glass.

You may want to heat your jars before pouring. I heat mine in the oven at 150 degrees for about 10 minutes and than pour at about 185 degrees, this helps me. Just a thought.

Hi Danielle! Welcome to the wonderful world of candle making!


To answer your questions...The wetspots are not a big deal and some of the biggest candle companies experience them. But, if they bother you, you can try some of the things recommended above.


One way I get them out is to take my blow dryer to the side and it heats up the jar and you will see the wet spot disappear. Sometimes, you will even see bubbles crawling up the side. Once you decide this is what you want to do, you should invest in an embosser/heater. It makes the whole process go faster and you can use it to smooth over the tops of your candles.


Now, the second picture is known as frosting. Frosting usually occurs when you poured the wax at a cooler/hotter temperature. For instance, you poured your first set and then decided to do a second pour. Some people experience frosting because of this and the wax you are using will also be a factor.


I typically heat my wax to 125-150 and then pour around 100, so I don't see a lot of frosting. You might want to try pouring slower. I mean S-L-O-W. This will remedy some of the problems.


I am also with CW so I look foward to helping you in that area as well! You should contact your sponsor and they will be able to help you, too.


ErikaEdited by: tranquilityrose

I am also with CW so I look foward to helping you in that area as well! You should contact your sponsor and they will be able to help you, too.


Erika

Wow, thanks for your advice. I don't have a CW sponser yet just so you know. :)
Edited by: smallsparks

Welcome Danielle!


Erika will make a grand sponsor ;-)


From my thinking, you'll want to get your kit sooner than later 'cause their wax blend will act differently than what you're using now ... and there will be plenty of other CW folks to help resolve problems with that particular recipe, kwim?


Andrea
(who's not a CW rep ... but has business/marketing support to offer &lt;grin&gt;)


Edited by: agoodsaid

Wow sounds great. I figured once I get some things taken care of, I will probably join candlewealth. ^^ We'll just have to see how it goes.

Looking forward to it.