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Getting
Multiple-Uses from your Candle 'Tools'
By
Patti Smith
Gel Candle Design Artist
BioMax Candle Supply
www.biomax1.com
ALL
PICTURES AND REFERENCES ARE TO "NON-EDIBLE"
NOT-FOOD ITEMS
I have
always taken things 'apart' and made new things with
them, as I am sure many of you do also. Another thing
we like to do is to find multiple uses for our crafting
tools, increasing their efficiency, while extending
our budgets. So that is what we are going to concentrate
on this month… and we have some neat ideas for
you.
We used our round silicone Belgian Waffle mold to create
a "Deep Dish Waffle Bowl-Ice Cream Sundae Candle"
Of course you can pour the Belgian waffle flat and top
with berries... but to create another design… pour
the waffle and remove from the mold while it is still
slightly warm. Turn the waffle over so that the smooth
side is on top and lay it inside a cereal bowl and use
your fingers to 'mold' the waffle into a deep dish 'bowl'.
We also squeezed the top edging to create a lacy, authentic
look.
Next we used our BET
(BioMax Embedding Tool) to create a center wick hole,
and threaded a wick thru the bottom. We added some wax
ice cream scoops, Chocolate, Strawberry and Vanilla,
and then used Raspberry scented red gel to over pour
and lock the Pieces together.
Next we again poured
waffle-colored wax into our Belgian waffle mold, but
only about half-full because we wanted the little square
holes to remain 'open'. This created our 4 pieces of
'waffle cookie' to arrange on the side of the plate
and in the back of the candle.
So, just with the Belgian
waffle mold, you now can create a deep dish and waffle
cookies---then use all kinds of wax fruits and flavors.
Cool Huh!!? :o)
CinnaBuns in a Jar
While we still have more
liquid wax remaining, we poured our cinnabun silicone
mold with wax scented with our favorite, Cinnamon Streusel
FO.
But instead of just
laying the bun on a plate… we removed from the
mold while still slightly warm and rolled it in our
hands to make it slightly smaller in diameter, in order
to fit inside our jar. Next we used the embedding tool
to create the wick hole and threaded our wick. Then
lower the bun down into the jar.
Now we added some of
our whitening crystals to clear gel, also scented in
Cinnamon Streusel FO. Allow the gel to cool till consistency
of real Icing and then pour over your canned cinnabuns.
We decorated the jar with two of our wax cinnamon sticks
which had been dipped in Cinnamon Streusel FO and tied
with raffia. Yet another way to use your cinnabun molds!
Berries & Crème
Brule Candle…
Next, to use up the rest
of our bakery-colored wax (which is made with shavings
of brown color block and a tiny bit of liquid gold dye),
we again went back to our glass Cereal bowl (used to
shape the waffle bowl above) and filled it half way
with wax. Since we are leaving this dessert candle in
the glassware, we inserted a wick before the wax hardened.
Once hardened, our 'Brule'
was complete and we just added some fruits, raspberries
(yep they are the HIT right now-just look in the upper-scale
restaurants) and blueberries---then drizzled on red
Raspberry scented gel for the 'sauce'.
OK moving along… :o)) you may have recently seen
our Orchid candle, using pretty orchid blossoms glued
to the outside of the glassware - with purple gel scented
with Flowering Laurel... always a favorite….see
picture
Well, many of us know
that silk flowers in gel tend to give us fits with many,
many tiny bubbles. So here is something to help. In
the spray paint section of most stores, look for a can
of CLEAR ACRYLLIC and give your silk blossoms a couple
good coatings. They will stiffen, and then when you
embed, you have MANY less bubbles... remember to use
your embedding tool to place the blossom right up close
to the glassware.
We used one of our new
'BULB' shaped pieces of glassware for the child container
in this FOREVER CANDLE…meaning only the
top glassware with the wick will burn, keeping the larger
'mother' container intact always. And don't forget to
use your PACKAGING as a marketing tool also.
With today's busy lives,
we don't have time for gift-wrapping, and with holidays
coming, your customers will Thank You. Offer the boxes
for an additional charge as the customer purchases the
candle. Make sure you have some samples set up in your
display so customers can actually see the product. They
appreciate the extra effort you invest!
POPSICLE CANDLES
Whether
going all out and creating a centerpiece or just doing
individual candles, these Popsicle candles will be a
big hit and are SUPER fast and easy for you.
The Centerpiece candle is created in a glass
pie pan. Uses 5 wax Popsicles with pieces of gel surrounding,
completed with a slight drizzle of clear liquid gel
to hold the pieces all together. Add a few wax fruits
to balance the design.
The Individual
Popsicle candles are a wonderful addition to any guest
table and perfect gift for Hostesses to give to guests.
A small glass bowl is your container.
We received
a fantastic suggestion from Sharon Brown of Tampa,
Florida. The body of the Popsicle can easily be made
in a DISPOSABLE and INEXPENSIVE Styrofoam cup…
pour your first color of scented paraffin, and set
the cup into a container of rice or sand... to keep
the cup at an angle. We used a red wax scented with
Raspberry. When it starts to skin over pour your white
Vanilla paraffin layer and then continued with your
Blueberry layer. When completely set, peel the Styrofoam
away and use your embedding tool to create the wick
hole. Thread the wick from the bottom and arrange
your Popsicle(s) on the pieces of clear gel 'ice'.
Then drizzle on some clear gel over the pieces to
lock them together.
We left
the wick a little longer than normal, then cut a piece
of a colored plastic straw to be your WICK COVERS.
Adding a little 'instruction note' tells the customer
to "Remove the 'wick cover', trim the wick to
¼ inch, and light".
These
will be very cute on Halloween tables in black and
orange!!! And you can see below a sample we created
embedding the peach slices to make Peaches & Cream
using our fabulous Georgia Peach FO... you could use
the same technique with Orange FO for DREAMSICLES.
Another
variation…. Melt chocolate scented and colored
wax for Fudge sickles--- adding a few chocolate wax
kisses to decorate.
The variations
are simply endless... and all comes from disposable
cups and torn pieces of Gel.
SEASIDE CANDLES
Another
application for the disposable cups uses the same
pouring technique but in blues and whites to create
SEASIDE candles. Again … remove the wax from
the cup and form so that it fits inside your elected
piece of glassware. Short beverage glasses are a great
choice. Add your wick to the paraffin piece.
Next pour
your glassware about half full of clear gel. (We added
some of our tiny shells in the very bottom for that
extra unique appeal.) You want the gel to very slightly
MELT the sides of the paraffin for the swirled 'sea
look'. Push the paraffin down into the gel so that
the gel encloses the wax, magnifying the piece. Allow
this gel to set.
Next pour
a final 'top coating' ½-1" of clear gel
to the top. Insert a blue dolphin but leave his head
just a bit above the 'water' level. The paraffin will
neatly hold him right in position.. NO SINKING! :o)))
Of course, finish off with light dusting of Celestial
Silver glitter.
We hope you will get some inspiration from our ideas…..and
start looking at all your candle tools with ideas
of WHAT ELSE can I do with this….
So Enjoy…
Create…… and be all that you can be!!! See
you NEXT MONTH!
August
2001
Those HAZY CRAZY DAYS OF SUMMER..
I heard today that the Ohio State Fair starts tomorrow...
which has one meaning for me...
Summer is drawing to a close.
How can THAT be?
I have no idea where the times goes... however I DO
know that this means we better be preparing for the
upcoming holiday seasons.
Time waits for none of us, and the gift-giving season
will most surely be upon us.
As a kickoff to the Season, this month we feature
our Flowering Blossoms Candle which has all sorts
of features to challenge, teach and create marvel.
Our second feature is the favorite of many, and becoming
more and more popular... the CinnaBun complete with
icing and raisins in full array.
We have many tucked-away little secrets in both of
these candles to entice, entertain and to increase
your sales/profits.
Our "Flowering Blossoms", scented with our brand new
Flowering
Laurel FO (which we anticipate to be one of our
top sellers for the remainder of the year) is a two-piece
glassware set.
The scallops of the 'mother container' bowl takes
away simplicity and adds beauty.
We selected a center 'insert' container which is smaller
on the base and flares outward at the top.
Thus this candle style will have many hours of burn
leaving the floating wax blossoms intact in their
own beauty.
We have given you a close-up picture of the finished
candle, as well as a view of the insert beside the
candle.
We will be marketing this set as a 'refillable' candle
and there are several ways to do this.
When a gel candle is poured, it is very simple to
remove the candle from its glassware, wick and all
(as long as you have 'seated' the wick using gel instead
of a hot glue gun).
You can then package the 'second' insert and sell
the set at a greater interest level and price range.
Everyone likes to stretch out their buying power,
especially now with the economy in an overall slump
from fuel prices.
Another idea is to sell the candle set WITH the second
insert candle still encased in glassware.
It is very simple to loosen the center insert and
remove the container and all, and set the second 'refill'
candle down inside the 'mother' container without
destroying the main part of the candle.
You could also merely package a pre-measured amount
of scented gel and a wick giving instructions to those
more 'crafty' candlebuyers so they could melt and
refill the insert themselves, saving you the cost
of the second piece of glass.
However if you sell the second glass piece, it allows
them to call you to refill the 'first' and have a
continuous burning candle for years to come.
Obviously you want to make the mother container very
pretty and appealing.
Using the two-piece glassware, you won't have customers
who refuse to BURN the candle because they don't want
to ruin the initial look.
This is for the customers who have not learned that
"Life is TOO short not to burn your candles!"
Now for the instructions to create this candle.
We poured about a half inch of gel in the bottom of
the mother bowl and used it to 'seat' the insert.
Since we were seeking a variety of looks and wanted
to incorporate the red and green look for the holidays,
we poured a small amount of Kelly green sand in the
insert.
Depending on how you are using the refill, you might
prefer to have the colored sand in the base of the
mother container instead of the insert.
We like to use colored sands and glitter shapes because
the gel reflects the color so nicely.
We merely poured the rest of the insert with clear
scented gel and it looks like green gel because of
the reflection.
Then we colored more scented gel with green to pour
the outside container.
You could very easily leave this gel clear --for the
look of water floaters.
Next we allowed the outside gel to almost completely
set before placing the red and white flower blossoms,
with a green wax leaf in between.
Our finishing touch was a light sprinkling of our
celestial gold glitter.
NOTE: Remember that our fine glitters are also
cosmetic grade and the perfect added touch for skin
sparkles (which is a MUST 24/7 in MY book) and you
simply point out the natural characteristics of your
'sparkling personality'.
We creative candlemakers can do NOTHING'part'
way.
All or nothing with us!
And there you have your finished "Flowering Blossom"
candle which will give your customers MANY
hours of beautiful light and energy while not distracting
from its original beauty.
I have also attached a picture of another version
of this type of candle with the middle circular insert
for an aquarium candle.
The ideas for this type of double glass are simply
unending. Our second candle is the CinnaBun candle.
This is a foolproof 10-minute candle which will get
raves.
The wax CinnaBun base comes with a hole pre-drilled
for the wick.
We added just a tad of pure whitening powder to the
gel (don't use too much and clog the wick!!) and drizzled
it over the bun just like REAL life, but without the
calories!!!
Next we gathered some of our new dark raspberries
and easily cut them into little chunks to create 'raisins'
for our bun. (We love when we can buy one embed and
use it in multiple ways.)
Be sure that the 'icing' gel is pretty cool before
adding the 'raisins' because you don't want a bleed
of color onto the pure white icing.
You could add just a SCANT dust of powdered
cinnamon or brown oxide powder if desired.
We scented the gel with our 'Cinnamon
Streusel' FO for the perfect fragrance.
Candles as simple as this are a perfect way to do
on-site candlemaking demos at your craft shows, attracting
volumes of potential customers straight to your booth!
We hope you have enjoyed our featured candles this
month.
Be sure to keep an eye out for the brand new custom
designs we are preparing to bring you in the coming
articles for the Holiday Season.
August 2000
Designed By Patti Smith
www.biomax1.com
Red Maraschino Candles and Olive Garden Candles
Here we are in the middle of Summer. picnics and fun
everywhere. no wonder the food-type candles are major
big sellers right now. So this month we feature
*Candles without Calories* If we could only find
a way to make this edible!
Cherry Candles are perfect for Ice Cream Shops and restaurants
love the Olive Candles for novelty.
Many candleers are struggling with their wax embeds
because they attempt to embed the wax pieces TOO SOON...and
thus you get to miss all the fun of 'globbing around
in the gel goo'. Just think what would happen if you
tried THIS with paraffin!
However, the gel wax is a totally different animal and
can actually be really fun. bringing us back to childhood
days and mud pies. Just slip and slide the gel right
off your fingers.
When embedding most wax pieces.. 'safe' is better than
a sorry-ful 'melt-down'.. so these are the times when
we practice self-discipline and patience. This is even
a good time to empty that dishwasher --something that
we NEVER seem to find time for at our house.
So pour your candle and WAIT at LEAST
10-15 minutes-depending on size.... if you get antsy,
you can stick your finger into the gel.(just like our
many customers do) .and feel the temperature.. (AFTER
your wait-period, of course.. we don't want burns here!)
you will see that you can pull pieces of gel out and
shove them back in and it will still smooth out.
Keep in mind that the bottom of the candle will cool
first.. so you want to get your first row of embeds
planted before the gel is so firm that you can't push
the wax down near the bottom.
I always dye my gel to the same color as the wax for
highlighting.
Then you just have a heyday.. jigsaw your pieces and
let your imagination flow.
Whether you are doing fruits or olives or maraschino
cherries like we did, or even lighthouses or ladybugs.
the pieces give the candle its theme and novelty.
See .. that wasn't hard at all, was it??? :o)) and what
fun!
Enjoy!
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
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