BitterCreek.com Blog!: Shimmer Palm Creations

Shimmer Palm Creations

This month, it's all about standing out.
And that's just what our Brand New Palm Waxes do!

As soon as they came in, I was anxious to try out both of them right away, so I started by using the Shimmer Palm Wax in containers. I always love waiting to see the different unique patterns that are created with each of our palm waxes.

I often times have customers come into the show room and are immediately drawn to the beautiful palm candles on the display shelf. A very common question that comes up, is "What additives do you need to add, to make that beautiful design?!" The answer is amazingly simple. Not a single one! All of our palm waxes already contain the optimal blend of additives for a superior finished product. You may want to however add UV Color Stabilizer to prevent fading and chemical color change.

All of our palm waxes create a unique crystal structure within the candle's interior and exterior during the cooling process that creates patterns that shimmer through the finished product. Our palm waxes come from RSPO sources and are made from 100% natural palm based raw materials and releases no polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon.

All of our palm waxes can be used to make pillar candles, votive candles, wax melts and taper candles. There are very versatile waxes with an exceptionally unique look!

So let's begin!

Materials you will need:

*Shimmer Palm wax

*Thermometer

*Scale

*Candle Dye (I used the Liquid Candle Dyes)

*Fragrance (I used Hot Apple Pie, Basil Sage Mint, Vanilla Velvet & Blackberry Sage)

First, go ahead and start melting your wax. One of the big advantages about all of our palm waxes, is that they all come in granular form. This makes weighing and storage an absolute breeze!

Shimmer Palm Wax

While the wax is melting, I like to use this time to decide on dye colors and prepare my containers by securing the wicks in place with Wick Stickums.

I don't know where I'd be without those handy little things lol.

Prepared containers

Liquid Candle Dyes

Once the wax has completely melted and reached a temperature of 205-210*, you can then weigh out your wax using a scale. I find that 5oz of wax by weight, before adding scent or colorant, is the perfect amount for making one single 8oz jelly jar candle.

Once your melted wax is weighed, add your choice of dye. Palm waxes hold color beautifully!

Liquid, chip and powdered dyes seem to work best in palm waxes. Other dyes may interrupt the crystalline structure and appearance of the wax. Be sure to mix well!

After you have added the dye, then add your choice of fragrance.

Again, be sure to mix well!

Melted palm wax with Coffee/Caramel Liquid Candle Dye

Now it't time to pour your melted wax into the prepared containers!

Be careful, this is extremely hot!

As soon as your wax mixture has reached the temperature of 200-205*, pour into your containers.

It has been found that heating your containers a bit first, has helped with the crystal formation. However, when I made all of the candles for this blog, I did not heat the jars beforehand. The containers were all at room temperature (about 68*), and every one of them turned out perfectly :).

Now this is my favorite part of the process! After pouring, it will take just a few moments before the transformation starts to take place, and the crystal formations start to appear.

The beginning stages of the crystal formation

There aren't words to truly describe how neat this process really is.

To really try to show you just how intricate and unique the crystal formation is as it begins,

I turned all lights off and set a flashlight behind the candles. Talk about neat!

The beginning stages of the crystal formation (shown with a flashlight)

Palm waxes usually require a re-pour, due to sink holes. If you are experiencing sink holes with your candles, wait until the surface of the candle has crusted over, poke multiple relief holes through the surface of the candle around the wick and about 3/4 of the way down the candle.

The candle center will still be fluid at this point. Top the candle off with wax that is 10* hotter than the first pour. Repeat this process as needed.

Palm waxes should be cooled as slowly as possible to inhibit the crystal structure to form fully.

*Note: None of the candles that I made for this blog, required any sort of a re-pour. I let them cool at room temperature (around 68*), and let them set overnight on the counter.