Kamis, 25 Februari 2010

Making Good Candles Better

Every candle maker continually looks for ways to improve their candles. As with many hobbies, it's good idea to start off making simple candles and mastering the basic techniques. Then, once you have a firm base of experience you'll be able to experiment with different techniques to make your good candles even better.

One of the first things to experiment with is making scented candles. Adding fragrance adds yet another dimension of enjoyment to the candle and it is relatively straightforward.

By far the easiest way to add scent is to buy fragrances made specifically for candle making. In a moment, I'll point you to the webpage that will fill in the details but for now know that quality does matter with regards to scent. There is a limit to how much fragrance you can add to wax. This varies with the type of wax, but the practical result is that you can't strengthen the weak scent of poor quality fragrance by adding more of it.

Of course adding color to a candle can add to attractiveness, but most candle makers start out adding dye even with their first candles. One variation to try is to make a taper or a pillar candle of one color, then dip it in wax of another color. The easiest way to start is dipping a white candle in a brightly colored wax, but you can obviously use any color combination that appeals to you.

Another simple way to decorate a plain candle is to attach decorative elements to the side. There are paints that can be used on candles. Candle makers also will use thin sheets of wax that they cut into shapes and attach to the candle with melted wax.

The making candles better, it's also important to pay attention to the finished results and how they work. Specifically, notice how the candle burns.

One of the common areas that beginning candle makers can improve on is their choice of wicks. At first, you will get decent results by following the recommendations for size that most wicks are labeled with. Over time, though, you'll find that your best guide is you own experience. Here are some things to look for.

Ideally, the pool of wax should extend almost to the edge of the candle. If it doesn't, the wick is undersized for that particular candle.

On the other hand, a candle burning was too large a flame (assuming the wick is probably trim) indicates a wick that is too large for the candle.

Although you can't replace a wick once you've already made a candle, you can make notes of your observations so you will make better choices with your future candles.

Source : ezinearticles.com

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