Belinda

On 10/4/2020 at 6:30 PM, wild4waxmelts said:

I wish I could help but it's Greek to me! Sorry!!

I did get a big order from a vendor I buy from regularly and I see many more bubble holes/pitting...and all the colors are at least twice as deep/dark as ever before. Not sure if that has anything to do with it. I need to get back to her but I've been M.I.A. for a few weeks...sick again. UGH!!!

 

So very sorry you're sick. Prayers for a quick recovery.

I don't think the color would have anything to do with the bubbles. I have noticed when I pour too cool I get bubbles too.

What vendor is it? I understand if you don't want to mention names. I still order from vendors on occasion to compare waxes. Do they use all paraffin or a para/soy combo?

On 8/8/2020 at 3:36 PM, wild4waxmelts said:

 

What am I doing wrong? I don’t see any pictures on any posts! Thanks. 

In my experience, this wax and all of the granulated tart waxes have dimples. Some are pouring cooler and getting smoother tops though. I usually ad some more paraffin to it to make it mostly paraffin and to smooth it out. My favorite right now is 4786 to add. It's a container wax but it's hard.

@SSB, when you say TCS, do you mean The Candle Source, The Candlemakers Store, or Texas Candle Supply? 

I second you'll love their sugar cookie! FB's is great too!

Oh wow! Thank you for sharing!

@Candybee, those really sound great! @Marleigha, I like grandma's cupboard too! It's such a good oatmeal cookie scent. I also like your blend idea. I may have to give that a try. I am blank when it comes to blending.

On 9/22/2020 at 4:40 AM, ShelleyF said:

I am looking for opinions on The Candle Source. Their fragrances are cheap but are they good? I am very picky. I only like strong fragrances. What brands would you compare this too. Thank you

I've liked all of the ones I've ordered from them. I don't use them much because shipping is so high to Texas but they have some good FO's. I've used their Vicks, Butt Naked, Banana Nut Muffin, Black Ice, Leather, Lemon Meringue pie, Love Spell, monkey farts, Oatmeal milk and honey, Pearberry and a few more and they are comparable to the other suppliers.

Flaming carries Sugar cookie Royal and it's a good dupe.

If I'm not mistaken FB's buttered maple syrup smells like Brown sugar from Daystar to me.

NG and BCN both have great spiced cranberries

And I'm with Candybee on Amish Harvest. I've never smelled the one from FB but the one from Peak is good.

Oh wow! You hit the lottery!

So you're saying they don't have this anymore at Walmart? I wish I could find some. I might look on eBay or Amazon. That way I'd know if I had an oil that smelled like it.

7 minutes ago, Megannnnn said:

Hey hey! New to the site. I beg someone puts me out my misery and gives me the solution to all problems! Iv made wax melts for 2years now and like anyone else, its taken a while and a lot of tweaking to become satisfied with the end product. I was using soy wax Q220 and all was brill then BAM it discontinued (story of my life). So i then tried Eco soya Melt and what a disaster that was - major frosting, cracking, chipping, the works! So i tried 494, a little better but not great. I read a few forums saying add pillar, so i did. The frosting has gone and my melts are a smooth finish again but no matter how gentle and patient i am while removing from moulds, they CHIP! Iv tried everything, different temp pours, gentle stirring, no colour, less FO. Had enough haha. Story short - please someone tell me a UK wax that isnt going to chip. WHY IS EVERYONES PERFECT AND MINE LOOKS LIKE IV PLAYED FOOTBALL WITH IT Thanks in advance and sorry for the life story! X

I've never used an all soy wax but have used a para/soy that works great. I use all paraffin most of the time now though. I'm not sure which wax is available in the UK though. There are several suppliers here that sell a granulated pillar and votive wax that works great for wax melts. I would recommend finding something like that. Do you order from the US? I would imagine shipping would be a nightmare.

3 hours ago, Michellr said:

Can you share the name of the 6380 wax that’s cj Robinson?  I used 6380 also and haven’t made candles in a few years and need help finding it 

Was it a para/soy blend or straight paraffin? I know that Rustic Escentuals sells both and so does Flaming and Just Scent. They are granulated waxes that are C.J. Robinson wax so I'm assuming it's the same as the one Tri State had. I think Virginia Candle Company has it also.

8 hours ago, jmspgh said:

He lives about 30 miles north of Fort Worth.

 

I just ordered wax from C&S and added a 1oz of their leather to try. I will probably end up getting some samples from TCS...I really like the sound of a lot of them. In my cart right now I have cowboys on the beach, cowboy sunset, dusty mexican morning, leather, leather and lace, sassy, sun washed denim and wild woods fantasy. What is cowboys wild country like?

 

Ooo...I just looked up thoroughbred. Might have to add that one too.

Cowboys wild country is kind of clean smelling to me. It smells good though. I can't really describe it. It's a cologne type. I don't like those type very much but they go crazy for anything with the name cowboy in it down here! I do love Cowboys on the Beach though! Cowboy Aloha smells good too. Those are both summer fruity scents mixed with leather. I think one might be mixed with Butt Naked and I'm not sure about the other one but I love both, especially Cowboys on the Beach. Thoroughbread has a spicy smell to it. It's good too!

I'm 50 miles north of Houston so he's quite a bit farther north than I am. I'm thinking about 4 hours from where I live. 

On 9/14/2020 at 5:54 AM, jmspgh said:

Happy Monday everyone!  My brother in law (who lives in Texas) has requested that I try some leather scents for my candles. My searches here found that Lonestar and Texas Candle Supply have great options.  I really liked the sound of some of the ones through TSC so I added about a dozen 1oz samples to my cart but shipping was more expensive than the actual products.  I live in Pennsylvania.  I will probably bite the bullet and place the order since it's for family but I wanted to see if anyone else had suggestions on good leather scents.

I forgot to ask, where in Texas does your brother in law live? I'm about 50 miles north of Houston.

On 9/14/2020 at 5:54 AM, jmspgh said:

Happy Monday everyone!  My brother in law (who lives in Texas) has requested that I try some leather scents for my candles. My searches here found that Lonestar and Texas Candle Supply have great options.  I really liked the sound of some of the ones through TSC so I added about a dozen 1oz samples to my cart but shipping was more expensive than the actual products.  I live in Pennsylvania.  I will probably bite the bullet and place the order since it's for family but I wanted to see if anyone else had suggestions on good leather scents.

I love the leather from TCS. It smells a lot like the one from LS too. From TCS I also love cowboys at the beach, cowgirl sugar britches, chaps, cowboy christmas, cowboy's wild country, leather and lace, thoroughbred, and I've got a couple more but can't remember which ones I like the best. I'm not much on cologne scents but people here in Texas love them!

Another good leather that I've found is the one from Fragrance Buddy. I like it because it smells good and it soaks up in my aroma beads really fast where as the leather from TCS takes forever and won't hardly soak up. But since you're using it for wax either one will smell great. The one from Keystone is a good one also. Not all leathers are created equal. I didn't like the one from BCN or Daystar at all! The one from AAA smells good too. I hope that helps!

On 9/15/2020 at 11:25 PM, wild4waxmelts said:

Belinda: we are (so far!) the most alike in our interests, liks, etc. So I'm counting on you to tell me all about these Aroma Beads Inquiring minds..... I've hear about using very course salt, gel-beds (pardon my lack of proper terminology: As you know I'm fairly new hear and this is my first time back on CraftServers since April. I've been so sick (I have a myriad of autoimmune diseases, Lupus being the one that took me down since before COVID really even hit! I missed all the lines outside the stores, the directional floor decals showing which way to walk in each aisle, etc. Tonight it for first night since the last week in March that I feel well enough to com online. I feel like I missed so much.

 

OH! I have more pictures regarding the BHG (Better Homes & Gardens) candles vs. wax melts..and more surprises about the wax melts we get at Walmart. !!! ❤️

 

Aroma beads are a lot of fun to mess with! I get mine from a company called Plastic Pellets 4 Fun. I also use beads from Lone Star occasionally. I like them from both places. PP4F offers free shipping so that makes it nice. 

You soak 8 ounces of beads to 2 ounces of oil until they're dry. Some people use glass jars but I don't care for them much. I get plastic containers from the dollar store and as long as there's a 5 on the bottom they're supposed to be safe for scented things. 

I mix my beads and let them dry and then bake them in a cookie cutter the shape and color I want. I fill my cutters almost to the top and bake for 8 minutes at 350. You can google car fresheners and get all kinds of ideas. Some people use paint and glitter on theirs and bows and feathers and all sorts of stuff.

I hate that you've been so sick. I'm glad you're feeling better and hope you continue to do well. I've always heard an anti fungal diet like the one Doug Kaufman on Know the Cause is really good for autoimmune disease. I've known people who have gotten their health back from eating that way and taking natural anti fungals like olive leaf extract so maybe it could help you too! 

I'll be glad to help you get started with aroma beads! I would order a small bag to start with and get some metal cookie cutters and you also need a roofing nail for the hole or you can drill one after you bake but I use a nail. 

What have you found from Walmart? I always love to know of good smells! Do you make wax melts? 

3 hours ago, Candybee said:

 

3 hours ago, Candybee said:

If there are any bayberry lovers out there I have two favs:

 

Bayberry Apple Spice C&S - warm inviting scent of bayberry mellowed with cinnamon and apples; my absolute fav bayberry scent ever!

Bayberry Cinnamon Fillmore - this one is a bit more herbal to me without the apples but nice notes of cinnamon spice

 

To me you can't have a Christmas without a bayberry candle. BTW both are strong in soy, palm, and parasoy at 6%.

Have you ever used bayberry from NG? I tried the one from Aztec and hated it but love the one from NG. I was just wondering how theirs compared to the  ones you mentioned. I may have to give them a try!

On 9/17/2020 at 5:26 PM, Ravens said:

Ok, rotten tomatoes might get hurled my way, but in my experience the addition of some good quality paraffin wax makes a BIG difference in the throw. I tried a few all-soy waxes and was not impressed one bit with the HT.  

hth

Ravens! It's so good to see you on here again! Don't be a stranger! I miss "seeing" you.

On 9/5/2020 at 5:47 PM, Candybee said:

 

Yes its lovely in wax. I used it last year in my fall candles and it was a good seller.

I may have to try that one! It sounds like a different Fall scent other than pumpkin and spicy stuff.

2 hours ago, lovelyscents said:

I've cut up leftover candle wax from them so I could use it in my warmer and it's way more firm than 6006.  

As many waxes as the two of us have tried which one would you say it was closest to? 🤣

2 hours ago, lovelyscents said:

I thought the same thing.

Do you think their candles look like 6006? I've wondered what wax they use. 

7 hours ago, Daisymay66 said:

Thanks to all for your recommendations🥰🥰 Anyone have suggestions for Fall/Christmas that ya just can’t be without? Ya know when ya gotta explain to the Hubs it just makes no scents (hahaha) to order 1 fragrance oil!!! That’s just ridiculous! I definitely have to order at least 5 or 6 to making shipping worth it Honey Bunny!!! And ya know the more I order just increases my profit!!! 🕯🕯🕯💰💰💰                                                                                                 And last but not least here’s me looking all professional! Oh yeah I got all my Sunshine together here! LOL 👩‍🏫👩‍🏫👩‍🏫

Hope everyone has a great safe Labor Day Weekend! 

I have several Christmas scents I love!

Let's see, I love-

Mrs. Claus Cookies from NG

Pumpkin Pie from BCN and CS

Banana Nut Bread pretty much from anyone but use CS-personal favorite all year long

Christmas Hearth-Flaming and CS

Dicken's Christmas-LS

Autumn Leaves-CW-I know it says Autumn but there's something about it that smells Chrstmassy to me so a name change might work with it.

Pretty much any Pumpkin scents from FB

Christmas Tree-Fillmore

Blue Spruce-CS

Bayberry-NG

North Pole-Flaming

Christmas Cabin-NG

Gingerbread-NG and Aztec

Christmas Wassail -NG

Clove-NG

Cinnamon Sugared Donuts-FB

Country Christmas -NG

Holiday Pomegranate-NG

Mulberry-Fb or Cajun

Christmas Mulberry-Cajun

Pumpkin Apple Butter-NG or Flaming

Potpourri Spice-NG

Santa's Whiskers-NG or RE

Spiced Cranberry-NG or BCN

Alpine Cheer-Flaming

Apple Cinnamon-FB, LS or Flaming are all good

Buttery Gingerbread-JS or ICS

Chestnuts and Brown Sugar-JS

Christmas Wish-JS, ICS or Bulk

Cider Lane-Aztec

Cinnamon Crunch Cake-JS

Cinnamon Roll-NG, ICS

Cozy Cabin-JS

Cranberry Pomegranate-JS

Peppermint Bark-CS

Grinchmas Crunch-Haven't put this one in wax yet but I like the smell of it

Hazelnut Marshmallow Fluff-JS-I love anything that smells like hazlenut

Honey Gingerbread-JS

Kringle Crumbles-I haven't put this in wax yet but it smells good to me

Marshmallow Fireside-JS, Aztec and I think Flaming all have this one and they smell the same to me

Peppermint Meringue-JS

Pumpkin Peanut Brittle-FB

Santa Baby-JS

Peppermint Mocha-JS

Sweater Weather-Aztec

Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin-FB

Apple Cider Donut-CW or Flaming

Bayberry & Silver Oak-Flaming-Trapp got me to try this one and made me a candle out of it. It's special to me and I love the scent

Harvest Gathering is sort of Christmassy-Flaming or FB

Nutmeg & Spice-Flaming

Tis The Season-Flaming, RE or FB

Vanilla Bean Noel-The best one is from WSP or ICS but to me Mrs. Claus Cookies smells just as good and a lot cheaper than WSP

Mistletoe Kisses-Aztec

There's one called Christmas Eve that smells great but I can't remember if it's from Virginia or Indigo. I'll have to check my samples.

I have a few more but can't think of them. Obviously I'll never be able to get them all in wax during one season so I kind of rotate a little bit. I wish people around here were as crazy about them as I am LOL! They still want leather and black ice YUK! Some do like Christmas ones or Fall ones though which is good.

On 9/1/2020 at 4:50 PM, Candybee said:

 

I love CS Frasier Fir, Mistletoe, Frank & Myrrh, and Christmas Hearth, Fillmore's Cedar Garland, Nutmeg & Ginger, and Christmas Tree, and of course FB Cinnamon Broom.

How could I forget Nutmeg Ginger and Cinnamon Broom! Those two are defiantly great. 

On 8/30/2020 at 4:24 AM, CandleRush said:

Thank you Belinda! I dub thee fragrance queen of craft server!

I have a couple from your list and some of those you mentioned sound good. Lots of apple type scents I would definitely try. 🌸👍

 

 

 

I like that name! LOL! 

On 8/23/2020 at 6:20 PM, Rachel said:

So I’ve had my aroma beads soaking for 3 days already and they are still not full dry! I think I put too much FO 😬. What would happen if I go ahead and put them in the oven?

I've baked beads before that were wet and it didn't hurt them at all. If they don't soak up after a few days then add a few more beads and let them soak some more. A good ratio is 8 ounces of beads to 2 ounces of oil. Some oils like leather take a long time to soak up.

56 minutes ago, Craft89 said:

Hello All! I'm so excited to find this forum.

 

I have some general candle making questions that I hope you can answer for me. I am purely looking to make some of my own good quality candles to give as gifts and not to sell. I've watched several online videos and it would be nice to just get the basics down so I don't spend a small fortune on a craft that turns out a complete bust. I want to use recycled empty Gerber Baby food jars and Oui Yogurt jars to make small candles. I have so many and this might be a great way to repurpose some of them. Of course, I could be wrong about using these jars.

 

1)  Do I need to use a stainless aluminum pouring pot to melt the wax in boiler or is it fine to use a large glass measuring/mixing bowl to melt the wax slowly in the microwave (like old Pampered Chef one that I would only use for candle making not cooking? So that's a two part question really. 

2)  If it's fine to melt the wax in glass in microwave, what's the disadvantages or problems in terms of the final product?

3)  Would the temperature settings be the same to add fragrance and to pour into jars regardless if stainless aluminum pouring pot or large glass mixing bowl method?

4)  If a stainless aluminum pouring pot is really the best way to go, can you recommend a really good one?

5)  Would Natures Garden Joy Wax be a good quality wax for my purpose and would it be safe in the microwave heating on low?

6)  Are recycled Gerber Baby food jars and Oui Yogurt jars good glass jars to use or do I need to be using jars the have the same diameter all the way through it?

7) If I need to be using jars with the same diameter all the way through it, where do you recommend I purchase affordable jars locally and on internet? Located in St. Louis

😎 Wick Size - HELP! I'm looking at the Natures Garden CD5 (2 inch) and CD7 (2.5 inch) wicks but I'm worried they won't be the right size. The Gerber jars inside diameter measure a little over 1.5 inch. The Oui jars measure inside diameter of 2.25 inch. What wick sizes and brand do you recommend I buy?

9) Fragrance - Is there somewhere that I can buy small sample sizes or even have a scent chart sent to me before I committ to buying a regular jar?

10)  What is the easiest and most accurate themometer to use? (I've seen some that are just digital thermometer gun like you get at the hardware store or somewhere.)

 

Thank you so much for you insights and consideration!

 

 

I'm not a very experienced candle maker but maybe I can help you a little bit. There will be some with many years of experience that will chime in and help you more but here's my answer to some of your questions.

I would get a presto pot from Walmart to heat my wax in to start out unless you have a double boiler. That's what a lot of us small time people use. It's not recommended to heat wax in the microwave even though I have done it a few times but I really don't recommend it, especially since you're new to the whole wax thing.

As far as a pour pitcher, I've used those and a large glass measuring cup to pour wax with and I like the measuring cup better. It's heavy duty and it just seems easier to me. The wax seems to be easier to guide when I pour out of it. It could just be me though.

I think personally I would buy a candle making kit from Lone Star or some place like that to get started. That's just my personal opinion. I started making wax melts and not candles and have been making them for several years but now am branching out to candles and that's the only reason I didn't buy a candle kit. I already had tons of wax and fragrances and things like that. If I was just getting started fooling with wax I would buy a kit. 

Aztec sells 5 sample size bottles for $5. They have some good oils. Most all of your suppliers offer one ounce bottles so you shouldn't have a problem finding some to try out. If you buy a kit it seems the ones I've seen had oils already in them and also jars, wicks, wax etc.

If you're going to buy jars and looking for inexpensive ones then check out canning jars from Walmart or Target or some place like that. I would think a baby food jar would be really small but I guess it would be a good starting place but I would personally start with an 8 ounce mason or jelly jar. Just my preference and opinion.

I'm not sure about the easiest and most accurate thermometer to use. Mine is a cheap one I got off of Amazon and seems to work fine. 

Joy wax will work fine I'm sure if that's the type of wax you're wanting to use. It has some good reviews and it's not all soy. 

A lot of us get jars from the suppliers we're buying our wax and fragrance oils from but you can also buy jars from Fillmore Container. 

I use 12 ounce mason jars and 8 ounce mason and also some apothecary jars and they're pretty much the same diameter all the way down. Not very much variation. I'm not sure if that's the best ones to use but those are the ones that I like the look of. 

Wick size will depend on the diameter of the jar and the FO. Some have to be wicked up or down. I use zincs and find that a 51-32-18 has worked well in the jars I'm using for the fragrances I've tested so far. I can't help with any other wick because I'm using all zinc. 

I hope I haven't confused you even more. There will be others that will chime in and give you better advice.