candlemakingmomma Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Hi everyone!! So glad that I found this site!!! I need some good advice about candle making .. I started about 1 year ago as a hobby and alternative to buying expensive Yankee candles. I decided to go with GB 464 and Eco wicks, which I have stuck with ever since. I use the 8 ounce jelly mason jars. Over the past year, I have been mostly "sampling" oils from different companies. I have noticed that I am spending much more money on oils than I am making. I only charge 7.50 per candle.. when you figure in 1.00 for the jar, the wax, the scent, and wick.. it is costly to make. So my first question to those who sell their candles, what is a fair price for an 8 ounce jelly jar soy candle??? Now for the tricky part. ... I want to break down what my routine for candle making is so that I can get advice on what I could be doing wrong as far as hot scent throws. I have one of those steamers that I bought at Walmart that I use for the melting pot. I add enough usually to do two 8 ounce jars at a time. (since most of my oils are in 1 ounce samplers) I heat till about 185.. then I have been pouring hot between 170-180. I add my fragrance which is usually added still while hot... I stir about 20 times clockwise, 20 times counter clockwise, then pour into the glass jars. Most of the time they cure for about a week or two before I sell them. However there have been times where they were sold the next day. Am I not allowing them to properly cure?? The scents are usually strong after the set up.. you can open the jar and the fragrance is awesome, however, most of the time while burning the candle the scent is lost. Based on what I have mentioned about the routine of my candle making, what suggestions can you tell me to help tweak this problem I am having with the scent throws? My scents lately have been coming from Candle Science ( I used to mainly be a customer of Midwest Candle Supply aka Gelluminations aka Brighter Scents) Any suggestions would be appreciated.. Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HorseScentS Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I believe you should stir for 2 minutes. And, stick to FO's that are known to throw well in soy, like from Candle Science. And soy has to cure for at least a week or two. Soy is not known to have a good scent throw anyway. I don't make soy candles, so the others will be able to help you more. There's a veggie wax forum on this board where you can ask about soy candle making. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deb426 Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 My advice is to just sit and read, read, read this forum. There is already a ton of info in here, just waiting to be read. With respect to your system, are you just making candles with samples that are new every time? How do you know what wick to use if you haven't burned that FO yet? Each scent you use needs to be tested for the best wick. For example, Very Vanilla might use an Eco 6 in your jar but Hazelnut Coffee might need an Eco 8. The wick will effect your hot throw so if your candles are not wicked properly, your throw will not be as good. You can't use the same wick for every oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksranch Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 (edited) Are you weighing your ingrediants? Not all suppliers weigh when they fill those small bottles, so some have more than an actual ounce in them.. you could be putting in too much FO if you aren't weighing. You aren't going to have a good profit margin using small quantities for your supplies. When you buy a pound of FO, you pay much less per ounce, for example. It's not a cheap hobby/business to get into. Plus, if you go read the vegetable wax forum, you'll see how much testing it takes to find the right wick for your soy, like deb426 says... Edited March 16, 2012 by ksranch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck_35550 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Try Creme Brulee from KY and or any of the KY fragrances now available at AH/RE. Totally awesome and huge sellers for me. I mix pineapple from KY and coffee with the creme brulee and sell a lot of those blends. You can't go wrong with those fragrances IMHO.Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottlecrafters Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I use 464. It has taken me a few months just to get my wicking down, now I am working on expanding my FOs. I use CDN wicks mostly. I have also found that it is hard to find FOs that throw well with 464.Like Chuck said, Creme Brulee throws well. I have also found Amish Harvest, Black Canyon, Birds of Paradise, Banana Nut Bread (all from Peaks) to throw well.Just got a new batch of 10 testers from Peaks, and poured 5 this weekend. Can't wait for them to cure to see, cause the smelled good oob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
periwinkle Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Hi candlemakingmomma! Welcome to the group I am by no means an expert, but I do know that if your candle is buring too hot, the FO will burn off really fast. How long does it take before your candles reach a full melt pool? And how deep is a typical melt pool for your candles? This can be a good indicator as to whether or not you are burning too hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicky_CO Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 You sound like you have not tested your own product?While 1 ounce are great to see if a FO might work in your wax it is not enough to do a proper test. Also I would never buy 1 oz samples to make a candle to sell that is just not cost effective. Buying 16 oz is barely cost effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mountain Soy Candle Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Not all FO's will work with soy. I can't stress enough about testing testing testing. You and only you can see whats right for your line. This is a great place to come for info but it's not the cure all for your answers. Use this site as a guideline. I used to use 464 but couldn't get good enough throw so I switched to 415 and never looked back. People say that soy doesn't throw well and I disagree totally. If you put the time and effort and of course cash into the research you can achieve the best for your candle line. Remember one thing everyone has the best burning and smelling candle so don't judge yourself on that. Take the time and work with your resources and you too will one day say yours is the best. Read the veggie wax forum. I am sure you will find HOURS of reading material.Good luck,Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 You sound like you have not tested your own product?While 1 ounce are great to see if a FO might work in your wax it is not enough to do a proper test. Also I would never buy 1 oz samples to make a candle to sell that is just not cost effective. Buying 16 oz is barely cost effective.I agree. I was surprised to read you are using sampler FOs for your candles to sell them. Those sample FOs are for testing. You have to test each FO to make sure it works in your wax with your jar and wick combo. Some FOs will work while others will not. Thats why we test each combination. Until you have that testing down you should not be selling. JMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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