Easter Jelly Bean Candles and
A Brand New Idea…….
U-Make-Em Candle Toppers, 2-in-1 Candles

By Patti Smith
Gel Candle Design Artist
BioMax Candle Supply
www.biomax1.com

ALL PICTURES AND REFERENCES ARE TO "NON-EDIBLE" NOT-FOOD ITEMS
All pictures can be "clicked on" to enlarge their view

We, in the Midwest, have had ENOUGH snow to count for THREE years but, to avoid the doldrums of cabin fever, it has stirred our minds into new creative ideas.

This month we show you a cute little Easter Jelly Bean Candle and, in addition, a new '2-in-1' candle idea, which should be a great marketing tool for you. This is a 'work-around' for customers who simply REFUSE to burn their candles because they don't want to 'ruin' them.

While the "Forever Candles' have been a fun source of creativity for us… we, as candle artisans, never stop wanting new ideas and challenges.

EASTER JELLY BEAN CANDLE….

This is a good beginner candle and further gives experience in wax embedding. We believe in "KEEP IT SIMPLE". We know that some candle makers go to the extra effort of coating each individual wax embed with a product called Modge Podge, however that takes more of your labor and time, which cuts back on your profit and volume.

The key to embedding wax is simply to allow the gel to cool sufficiently in the container, so that you don't melt your wax embeds when you add them. Remember the gel pours at 200 degrees. The average wax embed has a melt point around 150-160 degrees. While there are waxes with added polymers to get a very high melt point, there can also be disadvantages to them. So the EASY way is to just (1) cool the gel and THEN (2) embed.

Some other tricks:

-Lightly tint the gel to coordinate with your colored embeds so if you do have a little bleeding, it won't be as noticeable.

-Make sure you push your wax embeds flat to the glass surface… then you don't care if there are bubbles BEHIND them. This keeps the center cylinder 100% gel for the long burn.

-Use a candy thermometer to test the temperature of the gel.

-If you do get an 'air pocket' at the side of the jar while inserting a wax piece, just pull the gel back a bit from the side, and re-pour a small amount of liquid gel.. it will fill that air spot in nicely.
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For our Jelly Bean candle, we poured a very light pink gel, scented with our JELLY BEAN fragrance, leaving just enough 'head' room at the top of the glass for the displacement of the wax pieces. We allowed the gel to cool down to about 160-165 degrees and then simply used our fingers to 'poke' the wax jelly beans down into the gel. We then used our Embedding Tool to do any last minute positioning, for a nice attractive look and to make sure some beans were down to the bottom also….

Snip the wick to that ¼" and you are finished!! (Remember to tell customers to cut those wicks back to 1/16" NUB after their initial burn. This insures no smoking, less mushrooming, a nice size flame and excellent burn. )

U MAKE EM - CANDLE TOPPERS

We have just recently designed a new wax base piece that is simply going to have a ton of uses for us. AND, another great thing, it gives us a chance to double wick our candles and create TWO candles-in-one. We have all dealt with customers who "won't burn their candles". Thus they miss a lot of what we are trying to give to them.

We have now designed a candle idea where the customer can actually remove the 'topper' to preserve it, if they wish, and still have a full-size gel candle beneath, to burn. (Of course they can burn BOTH separately if they wish, or they can even burn the 'topper' candle on the base until gone, and then locate the 'folded-down' wick in the 'base' candle and start burning their 'second' candle…. (Since we placed a separate wick in the base AND in the Topper itself).

Here is the assembly: Let's start with the Strawberry Shortcake.

Supplies: FOR THE BASE- 5" glass cereal bowl, a 60s wick and bead, pink gel scented with Strawberry Shortcake FO, and a few wax strawberries. FOR THE TOPPER- we used our new 4" wax candle TOPPER in tan, a 50s wick, wax strawberries, and some of our whipping cream blend- which we scented with the same Strawberry Shortcake FO.

We poured the small cereal bowl with the pink gel and allowed it to set almost firm. Since we didn't want this base candle to be 'plain and boring', (we want to be able to intrigue customers by removing the topper and showing two nifty candles in one… we placed a few Strawberries on the top for decoration, allowing them a embed slightly so the surface remains flat. Snip the wick and lay it flat… similar to how you see paraffin candles that are packaged.

Next we insert our 50s wick thru the hole of the tan Topper. Position the wax strawberries around edge of the topper. Melt some of your whipping cream blend and pour off a small amount so it can skin-over and start to cool. When semi-solid, but still
'wet' use a plastic spoon to gather spoonfuls to lay on top of the strawberries and build your mound of whipping cream- making sure the edges of the strawberries remain uncovered by the paraffin.

A wonderful thing about gel--… it can also act as your candle 'glue' and gives a professional finishing GLOSS to your candle. We allowed some clear gel, scented with Strawberry, to cool until a slightly thickened and we lightly poured over the whipping cream and strawberries- sealing them together.

Now just set the "Strawberry Topper" on the cereal bowl 'base' -again the gel is fantastic to hold the topper in place. And you have the finished 2-in-1 Candle. Does that look great or What????

Now a couple of examples using the EASTER Theme. (As you can see the ideas can be endless).

EASTER EGGS & BUNNY 2-in-1 Candles:

Supplies: FOR THE BASE- 5" glass cereal bowl, a 60s wick and bead, pale green gel scented with new White Lily FO, and two glass Easter eggs and a glass carrot. FOR THE TOPPER- 4" wax candle TOPPER in green, a 50s wick, wax sparkle Easter eggs and one of our wax Easter Bunnies, and some stearic flakes mixed with neon green color for our 'Easter Grass'…

Very similar to above, we poured the bowl with the gel and allowed it to set almost firm. Then we placed the two glass eggs and cute glass carrot on the top, and a light sprinkle of celestial gold glitter.-again unique, eye-catching selling points. … Fold over the wick and move on to create the Easter toppers.

Very similar to the Strawberry topper, we inserted the wick thru a green topper, and then tossed some stearic flakes with some neon green color into a bag and shook well. Pour the grass on top of the wax topper and placed our sparkle eggs around the wick. You can pour a little gel on the grass to hold them in place now if you choose. Next we positioned our Bunny in the front and, (using our scented gel as 'glue') poured a thin coating over the entire topper to lock the pieces in place. Sit the topper on the base and you are finished. .

Another Easter Topper ---and you could use a purple topper base this time, (again very similar to assemble) -- add the green stearic 'grass', place the sparkle eggs and a yellow wax chick, give it a final thin coating of scented gel, and snip the wick. A fun final touch would be to randomly sprinkle some EASTER GLITTER SHAPES on the topper, little eggs and bunnies in shiny foil metallic, add a great finishing touch and the gel will hold them in place. Now position the topper on the candle bowl base and you are done! Cute, fast and easy!!!

We hope you enjoy these ideas and find lots of ways to work them into your own line of candles. AND remember … SPRING is JUST around the corner!!! :o))

March 2000

Designed By Patti Smith www.biomax1.com

GREEN IRISH BEER CANDLES AND DECORATED IRISH IVY BOWL CANDLES

As with each holiday, we are challenged for presentation of the new and unique novelty and gift idea.

How about a Green Irish Beer Stein? Using Irish Creme fragrance oil... simply dye the gel a great shade of Kelley Green, and pour into a heavy beer stein leaving about 2 inches top head space. Then you need to create the white 'head'. Melt a piece of wax, easily found in the grocery store, canning section. Add a few stearic flakes to whiten and give better consistency. Once melted, add just a touch of scenting oil. As the wax begins to cool, it will start to 'skin-over'... as the skin forms, stir with a fork creating 'clumps'. Lift the clumps and lay on the top of the cooled gel candle (remember to leave the wick long enough to raise above the 'white head'. Keep stirring the wax in the pan and lifting more and more clump-loads until you have built at least an inch or so...allow the nooks and grannies to fill in but leave it looking fluffy too. Then take a pretty Irish theme ribbon with a piece of shamrock wire tinsel to wrap around the handle... add your appropriate candle caution stickers and label with your company name and watch the smiles.. just make sure the St. Patty's Partiers don't try to drink it!! It will look THAT real.

A second idea is an Irish Ivy Bowl. Pour kelley green sand about a third of the height of the cande to give a nice green-colored base. You can also mix some white sand on one side and just 'shimmy' slightly to get a great sand design from the two colors on the viewable side-angle. Then pour the rest of the candle with a lighter shade of green gel. Remember to add some twinkle sparkles to create the reflection of millions of twinkle lights in the body of the candle. Next drop some beads or other foil confetti(s) of your choice that have the St. Pat's theme..... Next find a non- flammable irish shamrock, pin or novelty item.... Wait for the gel to cool until semi-gelled. Drop the embeddable down the side of the ivy bowl to create the 'front' of your candle.... you can use more than one if you wish. Use an ice pic to help center the item where you want it. The incision of the gel will self-heal as long as the candle isn't too cool when you drop the embed. Then take a piece of wire shamrock tinsel to wrap around the scallop of the bowl. After the candle has cooled and gelled... you can pour some white wax beads on the top to bring the green and white theme to surface. Cover with a clear lid and you have a very professional finish, and an EASY sales item!


Designed By Patti Smith www.biomax1.com

One of the reasons we have sooo much fun in our 'candle-creating' is that there are just so many different occasions, holidays and events to create Theme Candles. Whether it is a Thank you, a Birthday, a Wedding, or A Romance Suggestion. we have ways to incorporate just about ANYTHING in our candle designs.because as artists, our minds never stop generating illusion.

This month, since Easter is RIGHT around the corner... we have our Peter Cottontail candle...(and YES! Peter is adorned with his very own white cottontail and can be seen just by looking around his side!) Add wax and glass embeds, with some special pouring techniques, and foil shapes, and you have an irresistible candle for just about everyone.

We started our candle with a base of green sand in a scalloped ivy bowl.

First 'seat' your wick tab (high stem for safety), pour the sand, and then pour a thin layer of unscented gel over the entire surface of the sand to seal it in place (and help keep any possible fragrant oil from pooling into the sand).

Then we wanted the appearance of Easter grass, so we placed about ½ cup of stearic flakes into a sandwich bag and added our neon green pigment powder. We then sprinkled our 'Easter grass' on to the sealed sand. Next we placed some chunks of un-melted clear gel on top of the Easter grass to keep the molten gel from completely melting our Easter grass.

Now it is time to scent the gel we want to use in the body of the candle. Remember to use strong, unadulterated cuts of pure, gel-safe fragrant oils.then you should only need 2-3 teaspoons of FO per pound of gel. OVERSCENTED gel is the number 1 cause for flaming candles!! We scented our candle with Jelly Bean FO. yum... yum. We continued to pour about two thirds of the height of the candle.

NEXT is the wait period since we want to use wax embeds. Since we don't want the gel to melt our wax Easter eggs... we give the candle a rest while we start getting our next creations ready. This is even a good time to empty that dishwasher that we never seem to have time for.

Once the gel has gotten to a soft, gushy point, we can embed our wax eggs, and add our glass Peter Cottontail, a couple swirl eggs and carrots to make the front scent in the candle complete. This is a good time to add some un-melted chunks to the rear and sides of the candle, since we want to sprinkle some purple diamond foil glitters for mid-candle suspension to add more of the 3D look.

Finally pour the remaining part of the candle with clear, scented gel. Of course one of our KEY points is making sure we work AROUND the wick and don't cause bending; we want a straight, erect wick for the look of professionalism.

When you first 'seat' the wick, trim the excessive length, just ½ inch above the glassware... that will help the wick to stand upright and straight without wanted to lean because of the weight of extra height. Then as you are pouring the candle. a gentle, yet firm tug on the wick will continue to remove any slack so that it remains taut and straight. Always give a final tug on the wick as the candle is in final stages of setting also. Trim that wick back to ¼" for its initial burn. Subsequent burns should have the wick trimmed to about 1/16" of an inch to reduce mushrooming and wick droppings.

Our last touch was to add a strip of Easter Garland around the base of the candle, add our company sticker and warning label. Remember!! Never leave a candle burning with no one in the room. Candle atmosphere is calming and beautiful. But it is still FIRE. Fires burn houses and can kill those we love.. so we take NO chances.

This is the GOLDEN RULE, and we must never underestimate its significance; and we must constantly crusade. You never know when some small word you have said may some day save the life of a small child or loved one.

So Happy Spring and Happy Easter! ! ! Enjoy your candle making and let your creative eye blossom as the springtime takes us into warmer days and happiest of times.

Patti
and the Crew at
www.biomax1.com

Wick Reminders

We recommend that you use only ZINC core wicks--you need the added heat from the metal core for sufficient temperature to burn the gel well... a 50s series for up to 3" opening and 60s series for 3.5 and higher, when you don't go to three 50s.

The biggest mistake we encounter: you should trim the wick to 1/4" for the initial burn, say first half hour. This is the time that the wick actually 'seats' itself into the candle. After that, to avoid smoking, trim the wick back to just a bare 'nub' meaning 1/16th of an inch. When a seated gel candle wick smokes.. 95% of the time, it is because it has too much length. People are used to the height of a wick in paraffin candles which is too much for gel candles. When you extinguish.. teach customers to do a little wick maintenance.. use toothpick to remove any wick droppings. Keep the wick at
the nub height to avoid excessive mushrooming.

This should help you immensely.

Beginning & Advanced Videos by Patti HERE

More Info about the Book & Video Set HERE