Candle Crafting with Joy! Wax, that is...

This will be the first of the actual 'how to' on Candle Crafting. I'm using my wax of choice, which is known as 'Joy Wax', probably because it's a joy to work with, when compared to the others, like Soy Wax. It's what we call 'stupid easy'!

I've got a stock of candles already made, on hand, that I made up during the holidays. Candles, once poured and set, don't grow stale. Their colors may change, but the fragrance stays nice and strong. So, while I've done clearance on my holiday fragrance lines, the fresh fragrances, summer scents, and happy hippie are still good to sell. My on hand stock of them is light at the moment. Candle purchases slow down between Christmas and Valentines Day. So I only make more to replace what's gone, stock up for a craft show or when someone orders something I'm currently out of...that's the case today.

A co-worker of one of my girls placed an order for two of the Black Raspberry Vanilla done in the Apothecary Flats. So, here we go. This information is not what is, normally, done...I'm not one to go by the books. This is an easier, kinder form of candle crafting. ;)

Rather than take out multiple pour pots every time I want to do candles, weighing out the required amount of wax and melting that, double boiler style, as would normally be the procedure, I use the bulk method. During the peak season, I placed two whole 10# slabs into my 18 quart roaster. I refill as needed, but it's still okay, for today, at about half full. I melt the pot of wax at a temperature of 175. This guarantees that I never overheat the wax, and allows me to use what I need, let it cool, put it away as is, and just start again when it's time to make more. When the entire body of wax has melted, I turn the heat down to 160, the perfect temperature for adding the rest of our 'ingredients'. No other additives are EVER put into this master pot, no Vybar, nothing!!! Only the pure wax.

To the candles! I use double wicks in this size, which is an 12 oz. apothecary jar. I prefer the zinc core safety wicking for the candles I make. The wick size depends on the size of your container and whether you're doing a single wick or multiple. These are the 41 series. The coreless variety of wicking tends to flop over, and if you get a deep melt pool from extended candle burning, it's likely to drown itself, and there goes that! I elect to use a cored wick for safety and liability reasons. Use a hot glue gun to secure the wicks to the container, centering as best you can. They'll occasionally, want to lean over...I use two clothespins attached to each other to prop up the wicks. These wicks seem to be behaving.

This stuff is pure magic. It's called Vybar 260, and is an additive that allows me to add even more fragrance, without worrying that it will come out of suspension, leaving puddles or streaks of fragrance oil visible in the finished candle. The prescribed amount is a quarter teaspoon per pound of wax.

Let me mention, here, that the weight of wax does not equal its volume...it takes about 20 ounces, by weight, of wax to fill 16 ounces of volume. Well, that's just a pain in the tuckuss! You pretty much HAVE to weigh it, if using pour pots...

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They're bulky, inconvenient and you can't measure by volume. I've determined that it takes just over 8 fluid ounces to fill these apothecary glasses just over the 'shoulder'. You'll always want to stop your pour where the glass begins to narrow so you'll have a complete melt pool, all the way across the candle's surface. This determines your candle's memory. It will always burn all the way across, if allowed to do so it's very first time burning. If you only do a small pool, say 2 inches of the 4 inch total, it will forever and always only do a 2 inch burn, and you'll waste all that wax around the walls.

Next for our colorant. You should NEVER use crayons to color your candle wax..It will clog your wick, eventually...ruining the burn. I like the block color rather than liquid...cos I'm clumsy and the liquid makes a mess. It's also more costly.
I see Black Raspberry Vanilla as a sophisticated pink...so I add three full shaves of cranberry colorant and a thin sliver of black colorant, to take the pingy bright edge off.

You'll notice that I'm using a clear Pyrex measuring cup...that's because I know that my candles hold 8 ounces each of liquid, melted wax. I use a second measuring cup to add what I need to the Pyrex cup. When the wax is up to the 16 ounce mark, I 'm good!

At the candle holding 12% fragrance oil, I can, safely, add 1.5 ounces of fragrance to the pound plus of wax. I use a plastic one ounce bottle to make it simple. I've got several of these, for a variety of fragrances. They can be cleaned of residual fragrance with alcohol.

Whisk vigorously for at least a full minute to thoroughly incorporate the fragrance into the wax.

And, pour...gently. Just go to slightly above the shoulder, the place where the candle glass begins to taper inward.

Straighten up the wicks and let them be while they set up. The time it takes will depend on the ambient temperature in your craft area, as well as humidity. Joy wax isn't affected by the weather, some others will give you problems in damp weather...Soy is one of those. Picky, like meringue!

These took about an hour to set. Not too shabby! Trim the wicks to a half inch using metal clippers or a dedicated set of toenail clippers. See how smooth they came out!! Absolutely no second pour is necessary!!!

And these two are ready to go to their new home!!! Smooth and pretty, and no cure time is required with Joy wax!!
Another huge plus! I absolutely love it! All they might need would be a cute bow to dress them up! I place my labeling in the lid for aesthetic reasons...I love the simplicity of the clear glass without it being obscured with labels.

My main candle supplier, Natures Garden Candle Supply, actually sells trial kits for both Soy Candles and Joy Candles, which run about $30 each, if you're on the fence about which to use. This gives the new Candle Crafter a chance to try out the methods, to make their own informed decisions. I'll list their link just in case anyone is interested in testing the difference for themselves. I'll share with you, next time, the process for Soy Candles.

For now, my Steemian friends, I'm signing off! Time to clean up my candle mess and reclaim the kitchen! Everyone keep on Steeming on!

For parts 1 and 2 of the Candle Crafting Series, visit the links below

https://steemit.com/candles/@mamajeani/candle-crafting-the-psychology-of-fragrance
https://steemit.com/candles/@mamajeani/candle-crafting-to-soy-or-not-to-soy

Natures Garden Candle Supply
http://www.naturesgardencandles.com

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