lwood

Some days, you can't get the Catholic out of the girl...because dangit, if you want me to sling mojo/fling woo/etc at someone (or ones...) for an extended period of time, I'm lighting a candle, so that every time I go by I remember and send another packet of Good Thoughts.

But what gnaws at me are these perfectly good classes I'm leaving in a trail behind me, and the fact that I was using paraffin candles--when I'm trying to pull away both from non-durable plastics and reduce my waste.

So, what would happen if I refilled these with molten wax and new wicks?

And what did we learn today?

The experiment: what is the correct proportion of beeswax to soy wax that will make a candle that will not burn so hot as to crack the glass?

Things I Learned Today:

Yes, you can safely combine 1/3 soft soy wax with 2/3 beeswax.

The beeswax will throw off some kind of brown spoodge. I'm guessing ~~bee parts~~ some sort of proteinous remains. This can be safely skimmed away.

Yes, I should have a vessel underneath whatever I'm pouring into. This should not be the kitchen sink without some intermediate catchbasin.

Because otherwise, I will clog the disposal.

However in the event that I fail my WIS check, I can make my save vs Wrathful Husband throw: candle wax is naught but an elaboration of bacon grease, and Drano works great here. Drano is clearly a path of the Way-Opening Power of Your Choice.

That tacky wax that holds the metal plate at the bottom of the glass is great!

Until you actually pour the wax, then it, too, melts. Use it anyway, it helps you know how long to make the wick, and then you can just maneuver the chopstick back to center.

1/3 soft soy + 2/3 bee - brown gunk = a pleasant cream color when cooled.

This mix does make a "sinkhole": a crust of wax forms at your ideal pouring height while wax contracts beneath, leaving a hole. While, yes, I could mash this down with my thumb, in the future, a second pour is the recommended course.

I have one filled seven-day glass (yer bog-standard church candle), a half-height but otherwise identical-seeming glass, and a third glass that looks like some sort of double shot/on the rocks/etc glass. All have previously held candles (two paraffin, one soft soy, respectively). We'll see how they do on this blend, provided by the fine folks at Juniper Tree here in Berkeley. I've lit the seven-day and will see how that goes.

No marriage were harmed in the making of these candles--remember, kids, Drano can help you make your saving throw!

-- Lorrie