Scented Candle Deals

Archive for December, 2009

 
By Sara Patterson

It shouldn’t come as a complete surprise that as we begin to focus on recycling programs at home and work that we would also begin to look to use renewable resources in our home candle making. Some people make the switch to all natural products for health reasons and others switch because they like the idea of using renewable resources. Whatever your reasons we’re lucky that there are some wonderful, all natural choices for your new found hobby.

Soy wax is perhaps the first eco-friendly wax that comes to the mind. Many people turn to soy wax candles if they find that paraffin wax candles give them headaches. Paraffin is a petroleum product and as such burns certain chemical compounds. However, soy wax is made from hydrogenated soy beans which creates a nice, basic wax for taking color and fragrance. Soy candle wax has another benefit in that it is produced here in the United States as soy bean crops have increased exponentially. By using soy candle wax in your candles you help American farmers, help soy wax producers, and you are making a cleaner burning candle that is made from a renewable resources. Not bad a deal all around.

Palm wax is another eco-friendly wax that other candle makers have turned to for its all natural characteristics. It is considered an especially excellent base for aromatherapy candles. One thing to keep in mind, especially if being environmentally conscious is a consideration for you is that countries like Indonesia and Malaysia have been known to strip-clear rain forest in order to plant palm plantations due to increasing demands for palm products. This has had disastrous effects on local ecologies. If you are interested in purchasing palm wax just be sure that it comes from a producer who is a member of R.S.P.O.,which works to make sure that sustainable practices are adhered to.

Beeswax is a traditional and eco-friendly way to make homemade candles. Reputable beekeepers don’t harm their bees and beeswax is an infinitely sustainable resource. It also has some fine qualities in that it doesn’t really require an added fragrance. In fact, the sweet scent of beeswax is one of the reasons many people choose to work with beeswax so adding an additional fragrance would defeat their purpose entirely. Occasionally, you will see beeswax candles with added color but just as often you’ll see them in their ivory or natural colorings.

Whichever wax you choose the actual steps for making your homemade candles will be the same except for variations of melting points that may come with each wax. Also, if you are adding fragrances or color to your wax you’ll need to be sure to pay attention to the optimum temperature at which that particular type of wax should receive those steps.

Similarly to buying organic food it can seem that purchasing eco-friendly candle making wax is a bit more expensive than using regular paraffin wax. That is probably true. A few things can be said about this. First, it might be worth it to you to use eco-friendly wax at least part of the time especially if you are making candles for people with health or conscience concerns. Your gift and your forethought will be truly appreciated. Second, the more people that make a point to use eco-friendly candle making supplies the more the prices will come down. It’s a law of supply and demand.

And third, if you are considering turning your hobby into a business you might want to think about eco-friendly candles as a niche market. Think about what is important to the community around you and whether this would be appreciated. For a small investment you could run a test with a small batch of your homemade candles and see how they sell. Give it a try and see if eco-friendly candles are as much of a hit in your community as they are elsewhere.

Sara Patterson enjoys eco-friendly candles. For more great tips on soy candle wax, visit http://www.homecandlemakingtips.com/.

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By Sara Patterson

Walk past any display of candles in a store and you’ll see a wide variety of scents. Some are familiar and expected and some may come out of left field. The key is to find the right fragrance for you when you are making your own homemade candles.

All candles start out being made the same way. The first step in homemade candle making is to prepare whatever wax you’ve chosen. The wax is melted in a double boiler, or you can create a double boiler by simply placing a metal bowl over a pot of boiling water. The top of the double boiler contains the unmelted wax. Once the wax is melted, hold the wick in place inside your chosen mold, and you pour in the wax. Allow the wax to cool for several hours, preferable 4-6 hours, before you attempt to remove it from the mold. Some tips that might be useful to know include using non-stick cooking spray on your mold before you pour the wax so that it is easier to remove the finished candle. Also, you can even put your candle in the freezer for half an hour before trying to take the finished candle out of the mold!

Now that you have the basics for home candle making let’s look specifically at scented candles. As you look for fragrances to add to your homemade candles remember that oil-based fragrances work best because wax is mostly oil – and oil and water don’t mix!

Next thing to remember is that fragrances are added after the melted wax is taken off the heat. With paraffin wax you can add one ounce of fragrance to a pound of wax. With soy wax you can add a bit more – 1.12 ounce per pound of wax. If you are working with gel wax consult the density of the wax with which you are working because the amount of fragrance it can take will depends on this.

How do you choose a fragrance? Your local craft store will have many scents and fragrances in stock and you’ll be able to find hundreds more on the internet. Some of the most popular are cinnamon, apple, floral scents, pumpkin, clove, and clean scents – like baby powder.

Just thinking about some of these bring to mind holiday gifts or perhaps a nice bathroom candle. Scanning through listings of fragrances can be a great way to come up with ideas for uses for your homemade candles. Cinnamon, pumpkin, and clove fragrances make me think of the autumn months. These would also make nice kitchen candles since these scents are traditionally known to cut through those tough kitchen smells. Then there’s balsam or peppermint which would make great Christmastime candles and there are all those wonderful floral scents which just beg to be made into candles for a living room or bathroom.

As you begin to explore adding fragrances to your homemade candles one thing to keep in mind is to start off carefully. If you add too much fragrance to your candle it might not burn properly. You can experiment as you try different scents and amounts of these scents because these are your own creations. Adding fragrances to your homemade candles will make them unique and interesting and your friends and family will be glad to get scented candles that you have made especially with them in mind.

Sara Patterson is a scented candle making enthusiast. For more information on how to make scented candles, visit http://www.homecandlemakingtips.com.

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By Anna Hart

Learn how to make gel candles without bubbles, and you will soon be turning out crystal clear creations that garner oohs and aahs from all who see them. This wax always produces bubbles, of course. It is in its nature as surely as it is in the nature of champagne. As champagne without bubbles is just wine, so this wax without bubbles is just mineral oil mixed with a polymer. I know of no one who wants to remove the fizz from champagne, but there are chandlers who want to know how to make gel candles bubbleless.

Some people protest that having a lot of those shining little globules obviously adds to the inner beauty of the wax. They pour their wax in a way that is guaranteed to produce the greatest amount of fizz. Others consider it just as obvious that an abundance of fizz or globules or whatever you want to call them hinders the inner beauty, but…

…how to make gel candles bubbleless? That isn’t so obvious.

My personal search for a solution to the problem produced four very different possibilities. Some seemed easy. Others seemed far beyond my reach. I think you will agree, however, that all four are interesting.

Which way would you choose?

1. Pour the Way a Bartender Pours

This is the most common answer I got to my question of how to make gel candles bubbleless. I was advised that you have to pour the same way a bartender pours beer. Hold your glass container at a 45 degree angle. Gently pour the hot wax down along the inside of the tilted container, making sure it hits the side of the glass and not the bottom. This will avoid a “head” on your luminary. Alright. That reduced the amount of fizz, but it certainly did not give me a definitive answer on how to make gel candles bubbleless.

2. Maintain High Temperatures

Asking a traditionalist how to make gel candles bubbleless, I learned that you can do it by keeping your wax hot for an extended period of time. This will allow a certain number of those pesky little globules to rise to the top and burst. It doesn’t answer the question of how to make gel candles bubbleless, but it does help reduce the number of bubbles you get.

3. Bake Your Creations

One of the largest manufacturers of this type of wax gave me a third idea. Preheat your oven to 65 degrees Celsius (150 degrees Fahrenheit). After pouring at the high temperature of 90 degrees Celsius (200 degrees Fahrenheit), set your creation in the preheated oven – and hope for the best. Well – this, too, failed to answer my question of how to make gel candles bubbleless. Hope does not burst shiny globules, and although you can reduce their density this way, you are not going to eliminate them.

4. De-Air Your Luminaries

A chandler who wanted as badly as I did to know how to make gel candles bubbleless got in touch with a scientist who taught her to de-air her creations with a vacuum device. She explained to me that she adds her dye and fragrance, mixes it in very well, and then puts her very hot wax in a specially-created vacuum device (see caution below). Finally, this was how to make gel candles bubbleless. She had not one bubble!

You can learn how to make gel candles bubbleless. You can learn how to create them with a reduced amount of fizz. Personally, I’ll just forget the struggle, think of those shimmering little globules as though they were in fine champagne – and enjoy them immensely.

CAUTION: Do not try this with a household vacuum cleaner. The chandler’s vacuum was specially designed for her use.

© 2009, Anna Hart. Anna Hart invites you to read more of her articles about how to make gel candles at http://www.secretsofcandlemakingcrafts.com. Anna has also posted articles on that site about other candle making crafts. If you want to learn how to make gel candles unique, you won’t want to miss her article on the subject.

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http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Make-Gel-Candles-Bubbleless&id=3448672

 
By Tom Taft

No matter how much you have enjoyed creating candles for personal use, building a business around your pastime is still difficult. First, you need more provisions. You have to think of your present as well as future supply if you want to be competitive during the peak months.

Secondly, you have to pick a dealer that won’t rip you off. Without a doubt, the candle making merchandisers you choose play a big role in the success of your business. Your provider must offer discounts but will not cut corners when it comes to quality. Any bargain hunter can find any type of candle-making supply at a price cut, but you need to have a regular seller of inexpensive products for your enterprise to really develop. When you find reliable merchandisers, make sure you ask for their contact number and catalog.

Ask for a commitment that they will tell you ahead of time if they’re increasing their prices. Awareness of the price trends will help you decide on your own selling price. One way to qualify your candle making suppliers is to obtain a catalog of their offerings. In particular, note the prices of the bare necessities like waxes, coloring materials and fragrances. Most of the time, these materials are on a price cut because of the shelf life.

Check with your contact monthly or weekly to confirm discount rates and sale dates. You must also keep a list of merchandisers that sell utensils, trimmings and replacements for parts. This is just in case your utensils break down, you can get a spare one without difficulty.

During the peak season, you must go all out with your supply acquisition and production. People are on a rampage to buy your candles and so you need to be prepared to put out when the patrons flood your store. A good way of looking for suppliers is to attend trade fairs and talk to other candle merchants. The prices of their merchandise will give you hints on what type of supplies they are using. With any luck, you might even find merchandisers in these trade shows.

Most of the time, these merchandisers are on the prowl for more business and will readily negotiate with you. Ask for wax, wick and pigment samples from the craft shows if you can. Moreover, ask for a brochure or a company contact number so you can phone them and talk to a sales rep.

You never know when you might need extra dye chips or unique fragrance oils. Verify if your regular suppliers have online stores. More than a few candle making merchandisers use drop shipping companies to cut costs. Internet discount candle-making supply stores often have extremely low overhead costs and are able to sell their products at great rebates.

You must also be conscious of seasonal rebates. A good example of this is the reduction of price for green and red coloring materials during Christmas. Another one is the almost-free price on red dye, chocolate brown dye and chocolate scents during Valentines.

Tom Taft is a Candle Making enthusiast. Here is more information on Candle Making Equipment. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Candle Making.

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http://EzineArticles.com/?Get-Low-Cost-Goods-From-Candle-Making-Suppliers&id=3395701

 
By William R. Frederick

Why do you want a Personalized Photo Candle? Is it for a gift or for yourself? Perhaps a Baby Shower, Wedding Centerpiece or Gift, Memorial Candle or other Special Occasion.

Why? Because they make terrific gifts, rekindle memories long after the giving and tend to become heirlooms to name a few.

Easy? Designing a Personalized Photo Candle Glass can be as easy as selecting a pre-formatted design and emailing pictures and/or personalized text to a specialized service provider.

If you could design the “PERFECT” photo candle, what would it be like?

Here is a list of common responses that you would probably include:

1) Clear images, digital image quality preferred

2) Permanent, you want the images to last

3) The ability to burn candles without damaging your pictures (Is this possible?)

4) Reasonable Cost

Additionally, you would like it to be easy. There in lies the rub. While it is relatively easy, having all the resources to do so is not practical, nor cost effective. However, it is possible to design a personalized photo candleglass using your own pictures and further personalize it with the text of your choosing. Be as creative as you would like!

Why not concentrate on designing your very own personalized photo candleglass using your favorite pictures and leave the hard stuff to the professionals. Get your very own Personalized Candle design without learning a new skill and buying extra materials.

Here is all you need to get started…just sort through your favorite pictures for a selected person, place, event or whatever. Favorite subjects for photo candles include baby pictures, family pictures, birthdays, weddings, memorials, vacations and even a selection of YOUR favorite pictures. This is the FUN part of designing your own photo candle.

The next step depends upon how artistic you are and more importantly, how adept you might be at using computer software to manipulate the pictures into a 7-1/4″ x 10-1/2″ format. Several photo editing software programs are available for this. Programs ranging from Photoshop on the high end to free programs such as Picasa and PhotoScape are suitable.

If you are comfortable with this, then you will have total control over your design. If not, don’t despair. You can enjoy sorting through the pictures and leave the manipulating to others. For service providers, just google “Personalized Photo Candle”. You can compare these service providers for quality, design flexibility and price.

You can design your own photo candleglass or leave the technical stuff to them. Either way, YOUR Photo Candleglass will be a striking centerpiece and certain to become an heirloom.

SIMPLE 1-2-3

1) Select Your Pictures

2) Select your preferred service provider from google search “Personalized Photo Candle”

3) Create Your Own Design or select one of many pre-formatted designs

The FUN continues in about a week when you receive YOUR Personalized Photo CandleGlass.

Have Fun! Your imagination is our ONLY limitation!

ENJOY!

William Frederick
ForgetMeNot CandleGlass
http://www.ForgetMeNot-Candle.com

I am a coating engineer, having developed a specialized coating for glass that enables my company to print digital quality photos and text on candleglass. This is a technological breakthrough that has elevated the quality of “photo candles”. You can now burn candles to illuminate your pictures without damaging the pictures. These candleglass were designed to allow repeated use… day in…day out, year in… year out!

Have some fun and design YOUR special Personalized Photo CandleGlass today.

Enjoy!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=William_R._Frederick
http://EzineArticles.com/?Personalized-Photo-Candles-Made-Easy&id=3389438

 
By Stephen A Jackson

Although candles have played their part in providing light for homes for many years, they are now present in far more homes, and no longer just as an emergency source of lighting. Candles have become works of art, with creative designs made to enhance a room, and with fragrances to help relax, or invigorate, depending on the aroma. Yes, candles have come a long way over the years, and here we will take a look at how we can make our own, the type that are the best to use, and some tips and tricks to candles too.

It used to be that candles were merely a source of light, with a tiny bit of warmth too from the flame, but they did provide some comfort from the warm glow that they gave to a room. In those days there was no other lighting source at night. Since then huge advances have been made in the world, allowing whole cities to be lit up regularly night after night, so the need for candles did decline.

But in time, it was realized that candles still had a value. Our cities did not always stay lit and candles were and still are used as backup for power cuts, and it is reassuring to know that, should we lose power in our homes, and the batteries in flashlights not work either, then we can still have light, courtesy of candle power.

However, the recent surge in candle sales is not due to emergency needs, but rather to the attractiveness of the various candles that are available these days. Candles have become works of art, many of them too intricate and attractive to ever be lit and burned. But of those that are, we now have candles that are better for our health as they burn than the candles of old, and we also have aromatherapy candles whose scent helps us relax, or become invigorated, depending on its aroma.

So let’s take a look first at what candles are made of these days. We now have a choice for our candles. Paraffin wax candles are still available, but we can also purchase soy candles, made from soy bean wax, or make our own beeswax candles, or gel candles, we do have a choice these days. The beeswax candles have a very pleasant smell already, whereas soy and gel candles can have any scent added to them to make them more appealing.

If you are at all concerned about using up the earth’s resources, then you need to stop buying paraffin candles and paraffin wax – and they do produce a lot of soot which is not good for your lungs. On the other hand, soy candles use a renewable resource, soy beans which can be easily grown in many different locations, and one that burns much cleaner, and is far better for our health than the paraffin wax candles. At least nowadays we do have a choice of the kind of candles we light.

Pillar candles, votive candles, or gel candles are all easy to make candles, and give good results. There are a lot of choices to make when you want to start candle making, and probably the easiest way is to buy a starter kit which has everything that you need to make a few candles. When you are comfortable with the process of candle making, and you have a little more experience, it is easy to branch out and get candle making supplies based around your own ideas and creativity.

If you are hoping to customize your candles with trinkets and the like, then you need to look for candle gel through which you will be able to see the various objects that you have placed there. The trinkets you use in your candles should not be flammable, so you reduce the chance of accidents with your candles. You could use a small amount of glue to stick them to the inside of the jar you are using for your gel candle, so that your design is as planned, and doesn’t change as you add the gel. One of the advantages of gel, is the wide range of different colors that you can use, creating some wonderful candles.

Now the use of aromatherapy essential oils to provide a scent for your candles is entirely your choice. However, do make sure you get the essential oils, rather than using any other scent.The essential oils will provide a scent whenever the candle is lit, and is designed to mix well with any wax that you use for them. You may choose to use an essential oil that promotes relaxation, or perhaps one to help you sleep. You have a wide variety of options, just make sure that you know which is which before you light a candle with the wrong aroma for the mood you are trying to create!

Don’t be too upset if you do end up with wax on your carpet – accidents do happen, and you will be able to remove it quite easily. This is easy to do by placing a paper towel on the carpet with the wax on it, and then using a warm iron, not hot, run the iron over the top of the towel. It will melt the wax, and the paper towel will absorb the wax.

To extinguish candles without causing the wax to splatter, hold your index finger in front of the flame, not too close, and gently blow onto your finger. This causes the air to go around your finger, blows out the flame, but the molten wax will not spatter – a very useful tip. I’ve also found that this method causes less smoke too.

If you want your candles to last longer, then put them in the fridge for an hour or so first. Wrap them individually in foil or cling wrap to keep the wick dry, and also to reduce any scents transferring from the candles to your food. Do not freeze candles, as this will increase the chances of them breaking.

And that is about all for now. This should give you the chance to look at candles in a whole different light!

Candle making has taken off as a hobby in recent years, and for good reason as Steve Jackson has discovered. It is something that everyone can do, and there can be some pretty amazing results. For more information on candles, you need to go on http://www.candles-alight.com where you will find a wealth of information about candles, candle making and more.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephen_A_Jackson
http://EzineArticles.com/?With-So-Many-Types-of-Candles,-What-Should-You-Choose?&id=3393251

As you well know, candles are nothing new. They’re old technology, but that doesn’t mean they can’t continue to improve. One of the recent changes in the world of candle making has been the development of soy candle wax.

For centuries, the main fuel for candles was tallow. While tallow did burn, tallow doesn’t make a good candle. They smoke and they smell badly. For these reasons, paraffin rapidly overtook tallow as a candle material choice once it was developed.

However, paraffin is a residual of the petroleum refining process. That’s why people have been interested and coming up with a renewable, naturally occurring wax suitable for candle making. Soy candle wax resulted from this search.

Soy beans are a good source of oil. However, soybean oil is liquid at room temperature so when it’s original form it isn’t appropriate for candle making. But that can be changed.

Whether a fat is liquid or solid at room temperature depends on its degree of saturation. Fat molecules contain hydrogen atoms and a fat is “saturated” if it’s holding the maximum possible. It’s possible to saturate an unsaturated fat by adding hydrogen. That changes the oil from liquid to solid.

Now that description admittedly simplifies the situation, and various soy wax manufacturers treat the soybean oil in different ways, but all we need to know is the outcome: soy candle wax.

Pure soy wax is soft. It works great in container candles, but isn’t very good for making some other sorts of candles. Candle makers often adjust the rigidity of the soil wax by blending in paraffin and additives. doing that greatly increases the range of applications the wax is suitable for.

But many people want to use 100% soy wax, in which case they will probably get the best results if they stick to container candles. I’m sure you’ve seen and probably even have used container candles. These are candles in which the melted wax is poured into a nonflammable container with the wick positioned in the center. The candles never remove from the container, but rather is burned within it.

Of course there is a lot more to know about soy candle wax. One the best places to get details on it is:

Soy Candle Wax

And of course if you’re interested in soy candle wax you’ll probably be interested in how to use it. You can learn about the insiders techniques at: How to Make Soy Candles.

Better yet, I suggest you take a look at the e-book Home Candle Making Made Easy.

That book covers all aspects of candle making from selecting what type of wax to use for specific situations, what additives to use and when, the best way to scent candles, and so much more… Getting the information this book will make you an expert candle maker in the shortest possible time.

Candle making is a wonderful hobby. Get Home Candle Making Made Easy today and get started.