Redclaygirl, you dont have to buy a double broiler, you can use a old coffee can set in a pan of water or even a old slow cooker,you can not use pans for cooking after useing for melting wax. its like melting chocolate, you want it to melt but not burn from the heat.there are alot of good sites that explain candle makeing, you should read some as there is dangers to candle makeing ( hot wax can catch fire )also to much oil or scent in a candle when burned can catch fire! I like useing the candle warmers myself, insted of pouring a candle I melt wax add scent and pour out on a old cookie sheet covered with waxed paper as it cools I stir with a old spoon , when set I break up the wax and you have wax chunks that can be put in a old candle jar or mason jar and set on your candle warmer,I also like useing the root watering crystals, you add scent and water, not sure of the amounts I think its called smelly jelly or something like that after mixing it can be put in a old jar and set on a candle warmer, I have a small electric crock that I use for this and it puts the scent out real well, the water will evaporate but you just add more water and the scent comes back.I have ordered from save on scents.com and liked what I got but most of the time I buy at a local candle makeing shop cause I can smell them and know what I am getting, I am sure others will post that can help you more, there is also a candlemakeing fourm here, check it out
oddie

here's some sites to look into

Bittercreek
greatcandle.com

Oddie--Thanks, for the info on the mason jars, as I have loads of them (quart size) from canning. They fit nicely into my candle warmers I got for Christmas. I had been racking my brain out on what I could use for containers. That was a good idea!!! Terri, I will be looking into the website you gave me as well as the one that oddie gave me. All the info was so much appreciated. I have an old crock pot I could use to melt the wax.

I use liquid potpouri in a dish on my candle warmers. It works great for me.

Be Safe, Rach

Just wanted to add that you can clean up old candle jars and reuse my sil burns candle alot and saves the jars for me, the kind with the lids I have used to give bath salts in. when you buy your oil if you get ones that are skin safe you can use the oil for all kinds of bath products and not just candles, opens up alot of ideas,the mason jars will do great but please do not use babyfood jars, I had one break and the hot wax poured out , I asssume it was because the glass was kinda thin and not made to withstand the heat.
Happy crafting
oddie

Very Good Tip Oddie..Canning jars are made to withstand heat for years! Just double check over the glass well for any weakness, hairline cracks or bubbles in the glass near where the heat source might touch.

I wouldn't use the crock pot to melt wax. It's not heat consistant. Wax can burn easily enough and that stinks.
Best bet is an old saucepan you don't want to cook in anymore(hold an inch or water) and tin cans. My favorite can is the Hunts Spaghetti sauce cans, washed well, label removed and dried.
When you get into actual candle making, even if you don't use a wick. Make sure to get yourself a digital scale to weigh out the wax and fragrance oils.
I run a few Ezboard forums that are candle based. One is for a particular brand of wax, and the other is a general candle/craft/Bath and Body board.
email me at kittyfr1 @hotmail.com(remove space) and I'll send you the links to join us if you are interested..

i bought some candle smells at joanns i think. then i just add it to my old candles after they melted on my warmer, than i let it harden..works great for me!

i also saw at a store where they have little pellets of wax, they were so potent smelling. if i would have had money on me, i would have bought a lot!

Chatrbug, I'm glad it's been safe so far..but the problem with adding more fragrance oil to used wax is.....
You don't know what the ratio the original wax was holding..even if the scent is decreased, I'd assume that there is some oil retention in the wax.
Waxes can only "hold" so much additives. Including color and fragrance oil plus any other additive a company may add to help with color and scent hold.
It's really not the safest thing to do...so please always be within eyesight of your concoction.
~at the risk of you just never know~
On Christmas Day, yeah earlier in the week, my husband and I kept smelling hot, burning type smell..we pinpointed the area..we checked the walls around the outlets, we checked the lights in the tortoise tub, we checked alot of things..couldn't figure it out for the longest time...We were befuddled..my youngest son plopped into my desk chair and pushed the computer to on..it didn't come on..so I checked the plugs..Nope..pushed the button..it started, and then stopped..called hubby over..he said..hey the smell..
I unplugged the computer from the wall.. He took the cover off..Sure enough my power supply was dead/dying..the dust accumulation on something in there was shorting it out. He said that if it had been let go, and kept plugged into the wall (because a computer always will pull a small charge even when off) that it could have started a fire. The tower is about 2" from a curtain....
Scary scary to think that if we'd been away for the weekend instead of home..we might have lost our house.

hmm...never thought of that. i had a friend who makes candles tell me that it was okay. i dont burn candles, just put them on the candle warmer...not allowed to burn candles (dh says no way) since i almost burnt our house down a few yrs ago... we had a candle explode in half and burnt down the kitchen.

I make candles and everything that I've learned says be careful with additions, when you don't know exactly what you are starting with.
And I very rarely burn other peoples candles (definately not commercially made candles anymore), I only burn my own.

redclaygirl, hope you have not been scared away from makeing your own candles it can be alot of fun, as with anything there are dangers, sounds like terri pacnw can help you to learn while keeping it safe! I to have done some of the no no! posted. I use old candle wax to make cookies with for decoration purpose only, for christmas I made sugar cookies useing the scent in a old candle that i melted and poured in a cookie cutter, after set I melted more wax and poured over the top like a glaze for the cookies and added sprinkles you would not beleive the people who asked if they were real, I did the same with pumpkin cookie cutter and pumpkin pie scent.
happy crafting
oddie

Oddie, what a great idea to use up the wax. I did something similar many years before I actually started making my own candles.

I took wood ornament cutouts, dipped them in old wax, sprinkled sawdust and other things to grunge them..and then redipped until you could only see bumps in the wax, not the grungy bits. They smelled really good..and looked cute too.

When it comes to a heat source, wax and fragrance oils..best to know exactly what you are dealing with.

I'm more than willing to help people make candles.

Thank you all for your suggestions, and experience. Yeah, I am kinda scared, but not scared enough to give up. I bought some scent from Michael's and am going to try that. Sorry, about not getting back sooner, but I have this sinsus, cough, congestion, that keeps going away and comming back. Dang weather, so unpredictable!!
Thanks again, I will let you know how my first candle turns out. Ellen