Justjasen

Sometimes I see the exact opposite...a candle with a wonderful label and shoddy craftsmanship. I tend to be hypercritical of candles when I see them in stores or at arts/craft shows; especially when I see a 6oz tin that is being sold for like $20-$25. I personally do not label my containers (except the caution label on the bottom); rather I use hang tags...I feel the label can detract from the beauty of the jar/candle.

I like to call my candles hand crafted not hand poured... for some reason I think it sounds better. There is a lot of writing on the label and no design/logo which makes it feel kind of generic to me - maybe a pretty border on the label would make it seem more elegant/less generic?

I converted a small storage barn into my candle shop...was a lot of work but it's always nice to have a dedicated space for candle making. Before that I was making them in the kitchen/dining room which meant getting everything out...making candles...then putting everything away lol. Candle making can be a very expensive hobby, but it is relaxing and fun. I love to make candles for friends/family, but I support my hobby through selling through craft shows and having a few shelves in a local store.

As far as labels go...you can try asking here on the forums for someone to design a label for you. I met someone on here who put me in touch with a friend and she designed my logo for me. Eventually I will get my logo redesigned into exactly what I want but for now it works Me personally I do not label my jars; rather I use my logo on hang tags...this allows my logo to be on one side and then I put the scent and price on the other side.

I use cosmetic glitter in some of my candles. Finding a retailer can be difficult though. I have found the best place to get cosmetic grade glitter is Sally Beauty Supply. They have quite a few colors and their glitter is $0.99.

I have tested many waxes and ended up picking 464 as my container wax. I used to add coconut oil (1/2 tsp to every pound) but did not notice any difference in throw or frosting so discontinued using the coconut oil. I pour mine at 135-140 and have very little frost issues. I do not pre-heat my jars so they are only room temperature.

I heat my 464 to 185 and add FO/Dye and my candles turn out great. Not sure where Aztec got their information from, but uhm yeah I would go by the manufacturer instructions which for 464 state... to heat to 185

Great and economical idea While I have not messed with votives...I plan to in the future and this is quite the cost saver

Save the cut piece of wick, get your self some wick tabs and a crimper (Hobby Lobby) and turn that cut piece into a new, usable wick. Saves money in the long run.

While the Excel does make a beautiful candle...I had trouble getting it to throw well at all. After much experimenting I gave up on the Excel and moved to the GB 464. Like everyone else has said...adding PB to your container wax will probably result in the candle pulling away from the container slightly.

I make candles to order so a lot of the times I will make just one of a candle so measuring is pretty important to me. Here is the formula I use.

I weigh my jar and then tare it on my scale. I then fill the jar to where I want the wax line to be and weigh it; this tells me how much liquid weight I will need. So let's say it comes out to 10.5 oz. I then take 10.5 and divide it by 1.125 which gives me 9.33333333 so I then weigh out 9.35oz of wax I have found this formula to be extremely helpful and doesn't leave me with excess wax I actually made a spreadsheet for the main jars I use so I always know exactly how much wax and FO to use for each jar.

I have a spray bottle that I use...with vinegar. The vinegar breaks down any residual wax and then I use a paper towel to clean it out. If I want to make sure it is thoroughly clean after that I simply use a wipe (Either a Clorox wipe or something similar). I use GB 464.

I use 464 and I do 9% FO and have extremely good throw. I used to add 1/4 tsp of coconut oil to my 464 per 1/2 pound but never noticed any difference in throw so stopped.

I did not have any luck with EcoSoya Advanced...I too had a lot of wet spots. I now use GB464 and very rarely have wet spots. I find that heating jars some helps quite a bit with wet spots.

I add my fragrance to my EcoSoya PB at 185. I use 9% FO and have great results with my tarts. I use the jumbo 5.5oz clamshells. I pour at 150 otherwise when pouring it sticks to the pot a lot towards the end of the pour. I do not use any additives in my wax.

Hmm interesting. Wish there was a place that sold the wicks online. Did a google search and all I can find are the actual candles for sale.

Hobbs, NM here which is about 15 minutes from Texas and in the summer feels like the surface of Mars

I have specific clothes I wear while making candles. It's not that I am messy I just would hate to ruin a shirt or pants I really like with an accidental spill of dye. I tend to make candles for a few hours so my candle clothes tend to be either baggy sweat pants and a sweatshirt or tshirt - I gotta be comfy while making candles

I use pure GB464 and do not have these problems, but when I was testing waxes I found the ECO CB 135 had a lot of "top" issues. The only consistent EcoSoya wax that I personally found to have great tops was the Excel (But I also found the scent through somewhat lower). Maybe a combination of GB464 and Eco Excel may provide you with better results. My brother uses GB464 and the Excel at a 70/30 ratio and he swears by it.

Type of Soy or Soy Blend you use? GB 464

Additives if any? UV Inhibitor

Preferred dyes? LoneStar Liquid Dye

Preferred wick (Not sizes)? ECO & CD

Pouring temp you recommend? 145

What you do to prevent frosting? Not an issue

What you do to prevent rough tops? If I get rough spots...just use heat gun to smooth them out (Very rare)

Do you do anything to prevent wet spots? Containers warmed to approx 100 degrees

I use tongue depressors for my wicks. I just drill a small hole large enough for wicks to go through. I haven't had any increase in uneven tops since switching to the tongue depressors.

I currently buy from AAA and LoneStar. I am actually going to both places in 3 weeks to smell some of their fragrances and stock up on supplies. They are the closest retailers to me...6.5 hours away.

Thanks for all the info everyone. I am still torn between online places to go to for labels; especially after reading about the misprints some people experience. Once my friend finishes with my logos I will post them here so you can see them He is doing 4 logos: 1 for webpage, 1 for hang tags, 1 for rectangular labels and 1 for circular labels.

So I have some questions for those with more experience

Do you print your logo/labels at home or do you order them through a printing company?

If you print them at home...is there a software you would recommend?

If you use an online printing company...same question...is there one you would recommend?

I am currently having a friend who does graphic design do my logo...and I would like to have hang tags, rectangular labels, and circle labels. I am leaning towards printing them at home so that I can include the scent on the label.

Meant to put CD8

The jars are 2.5" in diameter.

What diameter are your 6 oz jars? The CD 6 may prove too small. You have been busy, though!

I always let my candles cure for at least 48 hours.

I won't even be distributing these until Monday night to people to assist with my tests

Give your soy adequate time to cure or your results may not be so impressive.

Some FOs need longer cure times than others.

So a friend who frequently helps me in my testing asked me today if I could make her a .... BLEACH candle. She says she loves the smell of bleach and it makes her think of clean. So I looked at a few sites and used Google as well, but I didn't find anything. Any insight? She went on to say I should make PineSol and Pledge candles too... LOL