Candle help please! Need to find supplies for making candles at home.?

Question

I live in Germany and am looking for places to buy candle supplies (wax,molds,wicks,scents, etc.) here in Germany, Europe as a whole or the U.S.

Are there companies in the U.S. that ship to Germany? I've noticed that some don't ship internationally. I do not have an APO.

Also, which is better soy or paraffin wax? Do they have the same properties or is the process different for making them? Which is more cost effective to produce?

Thanks for your help!

Answer 1

That's a lot of questions rolled into one :-)

I think Candles and Supplies will ship to Germany, see the links I add below.

Soy and Paraffin wax each has their own uses. We like Soy wax for container candles and Paraffin for pillars. They tend be fairly close in pricing. We find that Soy is harder to get sharp colors (most turn out pastel) and don't tend to have great scent throw. You might also look into Palm and Gel wax, which make some really beautiful candles!

And here is my standard answer:

Candle making is not really that hard, but you do have to be cautious (making candles involves high temperatures, flammable substances, and potentially harmful chemicals). The beginner should start with container candles (usually in tins or glass jars) as this will get you some experience working with waxes, wicks, dyes, and scents. Note that there are many different types of waxes (container, pillar, soy, gel) and scents (not all are all safe together). I would recommend that you look at some of the sites I provided links to, take a lesson, or buy an introduction book/video. There is a lot of good and bad information out there, please use caution.

Sites:

http://www.candlesandsupplies.com (good for kits, supplies, info, videos, etc)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/candlemaki... (great on-line group)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/candleques... (great on-line group)

http://candleandsoap.about.com/ (good instructions)

http://www.candlecauldron.com/ (a very informative site)

http://www.gatehousecandles.com/ (my site)

Hope this helps