Belinda

5 hours ago, birdcharm said:

 

It's "yes" as long as you create a list of inventory for the products you didn't use to create your candles.  If you aren't going to subtract those expenses through an inventory list, then you can't write them off if you didn't use them.  For instance, if you spend $100 on supplies and use $25 of it to make some candles, you can't deduct the entire $100.  The only way you can do that would be to place $75 of those supplies into inventory, as that would be subtracted from your expenses and when you use those supplies in the future, then you can take them out.

Oh ok, I see what you mean. Well, she's already submitted our taxes and I asked her about that so I hope she knows what she's talking about. I guess if I get a knock on my door from the IRS I will know for sure! I sure hope that doesn't happen.

3 hours ago, birdcharm said:

Uh-oh!  That could be why you were being asked to create an inventory list, it would, in some ways, make an adjustment for your previous expense lists.  If it's only small amounts, I wouldn't worry about it, but otherwise, you might wish to consider claiming it as inventory, that would help set things right.  They really should have explained it all to you a little better from the beginning, but, as with many things, live & learn seems to be the way.  It might make you feel better to explain this to your new tax person to make sure they know what happened and see what they think.  Paperwork isn't one of my favorite things to do either!

I did ask her if I needed to add it even if I didn't use it and she said yes so I hope she knows what she's talking about LOL! 

10 hours ago, birdcharm said:

 

I'm gathering that this means to add up what you've spent to make the candles you've sold, not everything you've spent, which makes sense to me.  It would not make sense to me if it was to add up everything you've spent without taking out what you haven't used in the form of inventory, because you can't write off all of your supplies, just what you've used to make your products, at least that's how I've always understood it.  The thing about doing the inventory is that it follows from year to year.

That makes sense. I've been adding up everything I've spent whether I used it or not! Whoops! I won't do that this year.

1 hour ago, franu61 said:

what are some good scents?  I havent bought ANYthing in months!  

I love several FB oils. This is what I use from them.

Mulberry-very strong!

Sugar cookie

Pumpkin peanut brittle-love this one!

Pumpkin pecan waffles

Cinnamon apples and peaches

Strawberry Pound cake-yummy!

Blackberry Jam Butter Cookies

Blonde moment-same as the one from JS

Buttercream Mint

Cinnamon Broom

Cinnamon Pumpkin Bread

Cinnamon sugared donuts

Circus Concession

Coconut Cream Pie

Cookie Kitchen

Creamy Nutmeg

Downy Blue Ultra

Fizzy Pop Soda

Fruit Loops

Harvest Gathering

Both Home Sweet Home FO's

Homemade cookies

Sugar Cookie Royale

Juicy Fruit

Mango Peach Salsa

Mint Chocolate Chip

Pearberry

Pumpkin Cupcake

Pumpkin

Pumpkin Milkshake

Pumpkin Spiced Cheesecake

Pumpkin Sugared Donuts

Salted Caramel

Serendipity 

Spiced apples and peaches

Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin

Sweater Weather-smells the same as the one from Aztec to me

Tea and Cakes

The Perfect Autumn smells good but haven't put it in wax

Tis the Season

Vanilla Pumpkin Marshmallow

Warm Welcome

I'm sure I have a few more but I can't remember. Most of the FO's I've gotten from them have been very good plus now they carry Moonworks and Peak oils.

On 7/1/2020 at 10:38 AM, Paintguru said:

Haven't gotten quite this far yet, but when I run business expenses through Turbo Tax, I believe it gives me the option to either go the inventory route or just look at what I spent vs. made.  

That's what a different tax lady told me too. Ours apparently isn't working in our area due to the office in town being shut down so I found someone else. She said just add up what I've spent versus what I've made and any expenses. Thanks! This makes me feel much better.

On 7/2/2020 at 5:26 PM, birdcharm said:

 

I think she's asking for a list of everything you have that is something that you might use in order to make products with for sale.  The best thing, imo, would be to make candles with those supplies and see how much of it you can sell before the year is out so you don't have so much in your stock.  🙂     If there are scents you want to personally use only, just treat them as something personal and don't include them on anything, either the expense list or the inventory.

 

 

I spoke to another tax lady today and she said I could go either route so I think I'm just going to add up what I've spent and what I've sold and do it the easy way LOL! I have WAY too much on hand to go through and count all of that stuff. 

On 6/29/2020 at 10:14 PM, birdcharm said:

I'm not in the business of selling candles, but I do know a little about inventory.  Your molds, melting pots, packaging materials, and other equipment would be items that are considered expenses, not a material that you sell.  So, then what you have would be any materials (wax, containers, etc.) that you bought that you can still use which you've set aside for making/selling. 

I always add up what I've spent and take that to her but she says I need to do inventory on what I have left at the end of the year. I spend WAY more than I make and like most here I'm addicted to FO's so I have tons of those that I've never even used so I guess I don't really understand what she's wanting. I went into my wax room and kind of did a quick assessment of how many bottles of FO I have and not even counting several shelves I had in the hundreds so I'm thinking that's not what she's wanting. I guess I'll just have to give her what I have and see if I did it right. I'm so not a business person and wish I had not filed a tax number to do this. It's just become a very expensive hobby where I make a little money but then turn around and spend three times that amount for supplies that I never seem to have time to use LOL! 

So are you thinking she wants a list of what I've spent, which I give her every year, and then supplies of what I have left over? 

On 6/22/2020 at 1:22 PM, Daisymay66 said:

Hello Friends!
Would anyone happen to know if there is a good Cotton Candy fragrance anywhere? That seems like a popular scent but haven’t been able to find any good reviews really. I tried NG a while back and a few others but none wowed me.

I second Soshiegirl. I have JS cotton candy and even her blue cotton candy and they're both great. I've also used the one from WSP and it's good too. Want me to send some to you?

My tax lady has been telling me the last couple of years that I need to do inventory at the end of the year. How do y'all do this or do you even do it? Do you count the number of bottles of FO, molds and wax or what? I'm not even sure how to go about this.  I've spoken to two different wax people who haven't had to do this so I'm wondering if it differs by state or what.  As you can tell I've waited till now to do my taxes for last year LOL!

Thanks for your help!

On 6/16/2020 at 12:50 PM, karinz40 said:

It always mixes very nice and I pour each melt quickly before they start to set up.   Very good HT and CT on the melts.  I love making melts and experimentsing with 8 oz tin candles right now with 4630 but this wicking thing is killing me....... 

Is 4630 hard to wick? I've only made a handful of candles so I'm not very experienced in that field. I do hope to be one day though. I think I've decided on 4786 for my container wax and that way I can use it with whatever tart/pillar wax I decide on and it doesn't smudge. I hate smudges on the bags!

Have you ever used this was for candles? 

Anyone have any advice on 4786? I've been wanting to really make candles for a while and I think I've decided on this wax. I love the way it looks in a jar and have only made one candle with it so far. What wick would you recommend? I know this is all subjective but it's good to know a starting point.

On 6/7/2020 at 1:05 PM, Karen M said:

@Belinda Floral?? That's very weird. 

I thought so too Karen but it defiantly has a floral note to it.

I"ve been wondering this same thing. My printer is an HP but not a very expensive one and my type doesn't come out very sharp on it so I was thinking about switching to a laser printer. I've been buying  ink that's been refilled for it so I'm wondering if that could be the problem too. I think I'll place an order for some good ink I guess and see if that will make a difference. I hate to invest in another printer although this one wasn't expensive. 

20 hours ago, karinz40 said:

I have used this wax for my melts for two   2 years.  i heat to 180   add fo at 160 and then pour.  Great hot and cold throw and never had dimples they come out perfect

Maybe pouring cooler helps them be smooth then? Your FO mixes well at 160? I add FO at 185, stir for 2 minutes and then pour. When I've added FO at lower temps for some oils like vanilla, it won't mix in. Any advice?

On 6/15/2020 at 8:51 AM, Karen Ov said:

Especially like melts , their not the deepest like a candle jar..their more shallow so why the dimples.. lol

Exactly! I've never been able to figure that out. It's always the granular wax that dimples too.

On 5/25/2020 at 9:41 AM, Karen Ov said:

Thanks..I'm only familiar with soy, so not sure on these para soy blends. I noticed the melt temp and pour temp are close not like 464 , so i feel like i have to work quick .  

I've poured hot and cool and I don't really remember if it made a difference in the dimples. I know if you use a container wax with it it will smooth  out but I hate the smudges I get with using the container wax. The only container wax I've ever used that didn't smudge doing shapes is 4786. Also, 6006 isn't as bad about smudging as 4630 or 4633 or at least in my experience. I hate the dimples but I've never had a customer complain about them and it's just going to melt anyway so I guess it's not really a big deal. I just don't like the way it looks.

On 5/30/2020 at 9:51 AM, Hometown Handmades said:

I'd like some advice please. Ive been using the specific soy wax for tarts and melts (494) to make my wax melts. I've been using 0.75 lbs wax with 1 oz bottles of FO. I let it cool for 8 hours, then close the lid. Let it sit a week and then heat in wax warmer. Myself, and people I've let test for me have concluded that they have amazing cold throw, however when heated,n the smell is fantastic and strong., but only last a couple days (off during the day turn on in the evening) for approximately 4-6 hrs at a time per single cube. Then you can't really smell it anymore. Do you have any advice on what I may be doing wrong? As I'd like to start selling these. I'm mixing color at 185, then immediately adding the FO, and pouring at 160 as recommended. Or possibly does  a single cube only last so long with the scent?

I have never used all soy but from everything I've read you will get a stronger hot throw with paraffin or a para/soy mix. Also, it will depend on the fragrance oil used as to how long the scent lasts. It could also be you have candle nose maybe? Other factors will affect the scent too, where the warmer is located etc. What fragrance are you using? How long are you letting them cure? Like Lovely Scents said the warmer is a big factor too. Also if you're just using a single cube from a clamshell and it's lasting that long then that's really not bad at all. 

@jmspgh, welcome to your new addiction! LOL!

All of the above are great places to get supplies. I think I would order a kit and go from there. Lone Star also offers kits.

If you're looking for a particular scent such as sugar cookie for instance, you can always ask on here and we can give our opinions on which are the best ones we've tried. Or where you can find good pumpkin scents and so on. Don't hesitate to ask for help!

15 hours ago, EAM said:

Would you say that RE para-soy is about the same as NG POB? I have used POB for a long time and it no longer has the same scent throw. I was told, I do not know it to be a fact, that they changed the soy in the blend. Now I am trying to make my own blend.  Nothing to date seems to knock my socks off.

I've only bought NG POB one time and while I didn't think it was exactly the same as KY tart wax and 650 from Flaming I really think it is. I thought it was slightly different but I've been told since then that it's the same CJ Robinson wax as theirs. 

2 hours ago, Daisymay66 said:

Thank you so much for sharing those with me! 🥰🥰🥰

I love their Mulberry

Circus Concession

Tea and Cakes

Sugar Cookie

Apple Cinnamon

Banana Cream Pie

Pumpkin

Pumpkin Milkshake

Pumpkin Vanilla Marshmallow

Pumpkin Pecan Waffles

Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake

Cinnamon Sugared Donuts

Pumpkin Peanut Brittle smells amazing to me!

Pumpkin Sugared Donuts

Pumpkin Spiced Cider

Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin

Pumpkin Cupcake

Cinnamon Broom

Coconut cream pie

Cookie Kitchen

Creamy Nutmeg

Fizzy Pop Soda-the same as Paradise from Daystar

Fruit Loops

Harvest Gathering

Home sweet home

Mint Chocolate Chip

Spiced Apples and Peaches

Sugar Cookie Royale

Tis The Season

Warm Welcome

Cinnamon Apple peaches

On 5/24/2020 at 4:11 PM, TK81 said:

so I've started making clamshells using 4826 tart wax. Once they cool I notice they are all dipping. I've tried pouring at cooler Temps(150-160) and warmer Temps (175-180). I've tried cooling racks and no cooling racks! What should I be doing? Can I just top them office? I'm so confused lol 😆 

Thanks in advance!

TK

Since that's such a hard wax I would mix a container wax with it. I use 4625/6006 at 50/50 for clams and they come out smooth. I have 4826 that I'm using for shapes and it reminds me a lot of 4625 so I think it would do well mixed with a container wax also.

If you want to use that particular wax alone with clams and want the tops to be smooth I think you'd have to do a re pour. I know the times I've used KY para/soy wax or 133 (which are both granulated) I have to pour half and then let them get hard and then top them off to get a smooth top.

On 5/12/2020 at 2:22 PM, Karen Ov said:

Hi...So I tried the 650 for some snowflake molds and I got some dips on all of them . I'm not use to using anything but 464..I followed the heating and pouring instructions so not sure why this happened lol..

 

Thanks  

Their para/soy tart wax is the same as the one from RE and they always have dimples when you pour. You have to do a re-pour in order to get a smooth top. I wish I knew why that happens because I love that wax but hate the dimples.

I use 6006 mixed with 4625 for clams and a 2 cup measuring cup filled up will make 6 clams and maybe 1-2 shot cups. 
making brittle sounds good too. I think I’m the cookie sheets I use it takes about 3-4 cups of wax to cover the bottom. 

10 hours ago, Kaitlin Geibel said:

I’m going to order that wax tomorrow and I’ll try your pouring temp and your heating temp and see how that works and I’ll try with the wax I have her idea and see if I can figure something out. Thanks so much for all of your help. I’ll let you know if it works or doesn’t work if it doesn’t maybe you have some more advice. And do you use a double boiler?

I don't use a double boiler but a pot I got from Walmart. It's called a presto pot. It's like a deep fryer. 

10 hours ago, Kaitlin Geibel said:

I also read somewhere about getting a fan that it may be cooling to quick and that’s maybe why it’s uneven? And someone said use coconut oil. Another said heat gun or hair dryer to melt the top again. Another said do two layers. Are any of these good ideas? 

I've never had to use a fan or a heat gun when I use 4625/6006 blend. I have poured twice when using a blend that doesn't set with a completely smooth top like I like. When I've used KY tart wax or any wax that doesn't harden with a smooth top I've poured twice or when I want two different colors and that always makes a smooth top but it's totally unnecessary with their tart wax unless that's just the look you want. I do prefer a smooth top but it's just double work. But, when using 4625/6006 at 50/50 I get a smooth top every time with no double pour. It's just going to melt anyway so I'm not quite sure why that bothers me but it does LOL!

Read the reviews at Rustic Escentual and Flaming on their para/soy tart wax. It's a very easy and good wax to make shapes and clams with. You won't get a smooth top without doing a second pour but that's just us. Most customers don't care about whether it's smooth or not. Their para/soy tart wax gets great reviews and it's granulated and very easy to use. It's the same wax from both companies. It does require a few days cure time but that's pretty much any wax, just longer if there's soy in the mix.