My green candle that’s flat, with the folded over leaves? It reminds me so much of Sri Lankan lamprais, a banana leaf packet with rice and curries and pickle inside! I think I have to name it that. Not sure about names for the little leaves (do they look like rose leaves? tomato leaves?), or for the short pillar wrapped in leaves — suggestions welcome.
I think I like these enough that they’ll be staples in my online shop, though I should really measure the mica powder and the scent the next time I make them, so I can offer a consistent product. My candle & soap-making has had more of a wild, wild west approach so far — lacking in precision and reproducibility. Full of fun, though. Most of the time!
I was kind of frustrated this weekend because I was trying to add dried roses to these candle jars, and if I added them when I poured the wax, they just sank down to the bottom, which was not the plan! (Although I do like the look of embedded rose petals; when you light the candles, they float in the melted wax.)
I figured out a solution, though — I used my heat gun (carefully, on the low setting — I think the high setting might generate so much heat it risks cracking the resincrete) to re-melt the surface of the candle, just enough that I can fix the rosebuds and roses in the wax, without submerging then. Success!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Adding any kind of botanicals or flowers to a candle will be a fire risk — the petals embedded in the wax should be fine, but there’s the risk that dry petals will catch a spark. Candles should, of course, never be left unattended, but I’m planning to add an additional warning to my botanical candles going forward, so people know they should take extra care. (Connor Nevitt, please make sure I remember to include this with the candles at Sprout.) If you’re making candles, remember to place any botanicals at least 1/2″ away from your wick.
I did try holding a burning flame to the resincrete, which is labelled as non-flammable, and while it got sooty, it didn’t catch fire at all. Unfortunately, the supposedly non-flammable resin I had used previously did not pass the same test — even though the resin was completely cured, it did catch fire when held directly to a burning flame. (Which might happen if, for example, the flaming wick touches the side or bottom of the candleholder.) So I’m not going to be pouring any wax into resin containers — I’ll be using glass or metal jars as a safety layer between the wax candle and the resin.
I DO have an idea for a taper holder where the top (where the candle sits) is resincrete and the rest is resin (with embedded botanicals) — I think that would be safe. Need to test it, though. Will report back!
White candles: unscented soy wax
Pale green candles: “Greenhouse” scent (tomato leaf & petrichor), soy wax, mica powder (which goes glittery and darker green again when it melts, fun!)
Should be at Berwyn Sprout by Friday morning.
