Product Description

More than pretty pictures and hot air, this candle book has real substance as well as beautiful photos. Readers learn how to make 40 kinds of candles: hand-dipped tapers, rolled beeswax pillars, molded candles, votives, sand and water candles, and ice, chunk, floating, hurricane, and cut-and-curl candles. Mail-order resource included. 145 color photos.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1264201 in Books
• Published on: 1997-10-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 128 pages

Amazon.com Review
In Norma Coney's comprehensive guide to candle-making techniques, handsome color photos and detailed text illustrate how to make 40 different kinds of candles, a number of them unusual (marbleized, tie-dyed, carved--even appliquéd). There are some amazing candles here, such as the water candle (in which a pillar candle is surrounded by what look like rolling waves of wax), sand candles, and cut-and-curl tapers.

From Library Journal
Both these books cover essentially the same ground and are good basic guides for making candles. They deal with waxes, wicks, molds, scents, and a variety of decorating techniques. Oppenheimer's book has a more extensive text with line drawings, while Coney's is completely illustrated with color photographs. Both have more information on candle-making than Gloria Nicol's The New Candle Book (LJ 11/1/95), a guide that emphasizes candle display. These are both good basic books for the library craft collection.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
Inspiration combined with great techniques and a troubleshooting guide make this book a wonderful addition to your craft library. Coney has covered about everything you would need to know in order to buy supplies, work with different waxes and create your own beautiful masterpieces. The introduction is a brief history of the evolution of candles and their place in history. Each section of the book covered a topic such as equipment, molds, cautions, special effects and a very good trouble shooting guide. Photography shows clear pictures of each step and there are also many examples of each type of candle to further charm you. This volume is a bargain and would appeal to anyone old enough to handle hot wax. It is especially appropriate for beginners, and can save a lot of time and needless mistakes. --na

Customer Reviews

A truly beautiful book.
Norma Coney has done it again! As with her soapmaking book, THE COMPLETE CANDLEMAKER provides simple and easy-to-follow directions while elevating the quality of the product by providing many beautiful examples and corresponding photos to inspire even the most timid first-timer. The production value of this book sometimes makes it feel like a coffee-table offering; even if you aren't interested in actually making the candles yourself, there is enjoyment to be derived just from getting to see this lovely collection. I eagerly await the next offering from this talented author and craftsperson.

For the beginner, this is excellent!
I saw this book in the store as I was walking by and picked it up. That's when my hobby with candles began. The design is wonderful and Coney covers alot more than other books I've seen with great visual examples necessary to get inspired.

Gorgeous pictures, and lovely ideas, but....
"I was really surprised that the author stresses the use of stearic (animal based additive) and completely omits the additive vybar, which is a viable and most preferable additive to many people. Her creative ideas are sound but some procedures do seem to be altogether forgotten. If it weren't for the pictures and some of the projects I would have rated this book a lot lower. Beginners should not start here as they may be confused later by some of the things that were completely missing, or they may not get the results they want due to a simple lack of knowledge that should have been included. But for the intermediate to advanced candlemaker, this book can offer some interesting new techniques, it should be in your library."