chuck_35550

The intended use is not for candles IMHO. Eventually, someone will figure out how to be irresponsible with a flameless candle.

You are in the best part of the experience. It's all new and exciting. I started with a paraffin votive kit and learned a lot of useful first hand information about how a candle system works. There are a number of good soy or paraffin votove/pillar waxes to choose from and the votive holders are cheap and plentiful at the dollar store or wally world. Usually a pound of votive wax and a one ounce fragrance oil sample will render about 9 votives. Tarts/clamshells are another great option if you aren't interested in wicks. The old posts are a gold mine of information that is still being used by most everyone today. Enjoy being a newby and good luck. Steve

Exactly. Create a new file and title it your candle business and then create new files to place inside it. I use Excel to keep a running account of all the fragrance oils that are in stock and if they are limited. All my labels, wholesale accounts ect. and then back them up on Dropbox or whatever you like to make sure you don't lose that valuable information. I just wish someone had told me that making a great candle was so complicated. HTH Steve

1. Locate your nearest distributor and forget craft store wax and supplies (less shipping charge or you can pick up and save shipping) 2. Start with a kit (you pick out the fragrance oils and type of wax) 3. Ask a few friends or family members to volunteer as testers (don't depend on just your own reviews) 4. Test 1 oz fragrance oils and remember that close-outs means you may not be able to satisfy a request for another candle in a limited fragrance 5. Set up a computer account and log everything in that you buy and whatever else you can think to add to your data base (it will grow quickly)

Awesome! You ladies do such fine work with separation of colors. Are you tempted to do the effect with a skewer Babs? What do you think would happen if you made grooves on each side of the wooden column for the soap to run down into the mold? Steve

Thanks Rae. Lord knows I'm off-centered Babs. Again, beautiful work Rae. Steve

Why are we getting these old threads so often?

That's pretty subjective to what you think Creme Brulee has in it. There are some fos that carry a chocolate note and some have a cinnamon note and most have that buttery note in them. Are you using an on-hand fo to make your comparison? HTH Steve

Rae and Babs soaping up a spree, best by far on the board I see. Does the coloration show up in the suds or on the cloth? Are you using pops? I have not been able to swirl and have some great soaps that are just plain ugly and discolor the wash cloth from the pops. Your soaps are incredible and must be very popular on gift lists. Great work. Steve

Anyone know where I can get Swedish closed kiln pine tar? TIA Steve

My opinion would be to consider what fragrance oils will throw best in this wax combination and be prepared to let your candles cure for several weeks to a month. You should try increasing your fo % to 5 and then to 6% and see how that affects your wicking system. After all, what good is a candle that burns perfectly but doesn't fragrance the air? Test different wicks with the increased fo % and be prepared for a less than perfect candle but one that will do its job. HTH Steve

This is all pure speculation on my part but I think the core wax/wick is unscented and the overpour carries the fo. It has a zinc wick so I think you're right about the whole thing being paraffin with a creamy overpour. So far the candle burns remarkably clean and cool with a melt pool that leaves a fairly large ring of unmelted wax that eventually catches up (but it looks like it might start tunneling a bit). The hot throw is very light and my guess is that the fo is burning off before a fresh supply can enter the melt pool from the perimeter hang up. There is no identification of any sort on the candle but I would bet this is a wally world or dollar store candle. The core is plainly visible in the melt pool and it looks almost granular in appearance. It makes me want to take it apart and examine the components. This is most definitely a machine made thingy, most likely from China.

It has reduced my profit margin but I have not increased prices on any of my products. I don't rely on my side business for income but rather to make enough to keep the business afloat and wait for the better day. The flip side of this coin has been that a hand made gift can be purchased for less money than a store bought cheap china lead death trap gift. I just make sure that what I order is for the stuff that has proven to work and sell. I worry about suppliers for obvious reasons and can only hope that my favorites stay in business. I just wish Paula Dean and Martha Stewart would get out of the candle biz and free up some local market space. lol Steve

I have a commercial candle burning on my desk that was gifted to me. It appears to be a paraffin pillar with a zinc wick with a soy overpour that is colored and fragranced in a frosted tumbler. I say its soy because the color is very pastel and creamy in appearance. I can tell that the pillar is white and the system seems to work real nice (not much ht). Question: Would the pillar wax be a higher or lower mp than the overpour? I've noticed a few other candles with this system and it makes me wonder about the why's and wherefores? TIA Steve

I have used 5 to 10% with wonderful results. The chocolate fragrance does not linger in the soap but it sure does make a great bar. Some literature suggests that anything beyond 5% is a waste but frankly the cost of it keeps me from overdoing any butter or luxury oils. HTH Steve

Silk now makes coconut milk in the carton. I used a 50/50 mix of goat and Silk Coconut Original in my last batch of soap and got really good results. The coconut has some sugar in it and the lather is really bubbly and creamy with this recipe. I wondered if anyone else has had a chance to try it yet? Steve

I prefer a jar configuration that is about as wide as it is tall. This helps keep a decent oxygen flow to the end of the candle and are easy to wick in most cases. I try to stay away from double wicking and or jars that have wide and narrow parts but mostly a cost effective jar that customers will accept. My customers will not buy jelly jars or rustic type containers. Tumblers with lids are great but I currently use a 12 oz and a 16 oz salsa jar with a gold lid. I leave a good 1/2 inch of wax at the bottom and honestly, that last bit of candle is pretty degraded in quality anyway. Customers don't complain because they can easily light their candle each time, it doesn't tunnel and it burns clean for the most part. Leaving the wax is by design and not a sign of a poorly made candle.

I use a similar thermometer and it is very accurate. You can check the accuracy by using several thermometers at the same time. Wax is funny stuff, sometimes it seems like it takes forever to achieve melt point and other times it melts quickly and the temp keeps rising to the point you have to remove it off the heat source. You could place the probe in your oven and set your oven and check the accuracy. HTH Steve

First of all. Get rid of the Yaley crap. Overpriced and poor quality is my own personal experience. secondly, find the closest candle distributor and make a showroom visit or talk to a rep for some guidance. If you like parrafin, I recommend J-223 with a zinc wick in a smooth sided Mason jar (8 oz to start). You're gonna get good hot throw (ht) and good cold throw (ct) and dependable results. Try 6% per pound of wax (1 oz) in Fragrance Oil (fo) and understand that some fragrances are light by design and some others are heavy and cause the wick to burn differently. Use the search feature to look up all the posts about the wax and find out which fos do well in that medium. Buy some warning labels and read up with the search feature on anything that presents a problem. We'll help you all we can but maybe you ought to hold off on the business end until you have a tested product. Oh and if you color your wax I recommend liquid. HTH Steve

Their Coconut Lime Verbena is dead on, as well as the Black Raspberry Vanilla is da bomb. I buy their extra long wicks and cut em in half for double the use. They have good stuff. Steve

Ok, what kind of wax are you using? What kind of container? What kind of wicking? Need some basic information to give you any advice. Steve

Well yes, you got me on the Christmas mugs (still have a few left over). I do use Dollar Tree for some glassware and have re-poured candles for customers. Guilty, guilty, guilty. My wife would stroke if she knew you were taking her beloved Hullware and using it for candles. Aged pottery or pottery in general (even modge podged pottery) gives me the willies. I was thinking more of making a pillar and then using an over pour to protect the containers. You still have a lovely effect and a really safe product. I plan on buying a gas soaked rag candle today at the flea market......honestly, that pie wedge was in a fauxe china container that instructed the user to place on a heat proof surface. The stupid thing smoked up the house and made a huge spot on the heat proof surface. I think anything creative and beautifully crafted is a work of art that most people use for looks only. You could never have enough insurance to cover negligence like a gas soaked rag.

JBN had one called Honeysuckle Blossoms but its gone now (I have a little on hand) NG has an ok one too but I don't sell much of that fragrance. HTH Steve

Personally, I like NG's carrot cake and the AH/RE is pretty good but just didn't sell very much of it. HTH Steve

Sigh* This is one of Scentsys big sellers and nobody has duped it to my knowledge. One of my customers said she woule bring me one and let me whiff it to see if I can dupe it on my own. It's a masculine scent but the ladies are all gaga over it. If anyone is interested, I'll report back after taking a whiff or if anyone has ever whiffed this one; give a shout out. TIA Steve