Friday, April 10, 2009

My first batch of candles

I love this soy wax. This is the first time I've made candles with it, actually the first time I've ever seen it, and it's awesome. I decided to use EcoSoya Advanced, which is a little more expensive, but it's made from American grown organic soybeans that have not been genetically modified (non-GMO). I'm pretty sure most people don't seek out an organic non-GMO wax, but that's the only kind I want to use and I think this one is a good choice.

I put a little on the palm of my hand and if it hadn't been so hot I would have stuck my whole hand into it. It's really smooth and creamy. I spent about a month browsing candle making forums to see what other people are using before I finally ordered. I'm really happy so far. I like the way it feels so much I'm going to try making some lotion with it, too.

I realized when I was setting everything up that all the other candles I've made were pillars. I'm not sure why I decided to do containers this time, but I learned a lot from the few I made today. The only reason I mention pillars is that I had a little trouble keeping the wicks centered and straight once the wax was poured. With pillars you just set the wick and fill the mold. I used to put a clothes pin at the top of the mold to keep the wick in place, but that won't work with the little tins. I ended up lining the tins in a row and putting some metal kabob skewers on top on either side of the wicks. It's not going to work when I start making larger quantities, though, so I'll have to come up with something else.

I also think I put too much fragrance in the first couple of batches. I'm going to call them "super scented" because they are pretty strong. I think it also depends on the scent and I'll just have to get comfortable with each one and make some notes about the really potent ones.

The lids in the photo have the fragrance written on the top and that's not the way they'll be sold. I'm not quite finished with the logo and labels, but it'll work for now since I'm still in the testing phase. The logo will be close to the one on the right, but I'm not completely happy with it yet. The candle line will be called Green Lights and since I think the lotion will be awesome, too, I've decided to make the full name Green Lights Organics.

The last couple of weeks have been so busy and I'm glad I finally got the wax in and had a chance to make some candles. The fact that they came out as well as they did on my first try is a bonus. It makes me feel really good. Sphere: Related Content

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