Expert: John Vercelletto - 2/26/2007

Question
I am making gel candles but don't want to use the gel right away.  I wanted to experiment with objects that I am going to put in it first to see how they will look before I actually make the candle.  Do you know anything I can use, that isn't expensive, that would hold objects in place like the gel will?

Answer
Well, I am not 100% sure what you are asking, but I will give it a shot.  In my gel candles, we used sand to hold it all in place on the bottom.  It made them look nice and allowed something colorful and decorative on teh bottom instead of clear space.  It also covers the wick holder.  But I will assume you don't want that or you want the object to appear to float in the glass.  In that case, I never use anything.  As time passed I was able to see what it would look like in my mind.  Sometimes things had to be moved slightly, but usually that could be done while the gel was still gelling so to speak.  If the gel did get too hard, I would use a heat gun or sun lamp to remelt or soften the gel to move the objects.  In rare occasions, I would use thin wire to hold objects in place prior to pouring so I could see it.  Remember, anything, even inexpensive you would use in place of the gell, will eventually have to come out so not sure what you are trying to do that is worth the time and effort that would be involved.  One final option, pour some gel, set your objects, then pour the rest.  But either do it quickly before the first layer gels or melt the top of the gel before pouring in the rest or you may get a layer mark.  Hope that helps, John