tlayne

I do know that he doesn't make candles so I am not sure why he had the wax. I think he gave it away because he had no use for it. The wax is rather opaque, hard, and it doesn't really feel greasy so much as it just feels sticky/tacky. Maybe slightly greasy, you can feel a light residue on your skin after touching it. When you press your finger into it, it sticks to the wax a bit.

A friend gave me a slab of paraffin wax. I have no idea what brand/kind it is, it is just wrapped in white paper, no information on it. I've never used paraffin before, only soy. Any ideas or suggestions for what I could do with it?

I am going to get some of the Acqua di Gio, for sure! I love that fragrance.

When I first posted this thread, I was having a terrible time working with PB and XceL, but I realized that I was overloading the blend with too much FO *hangs head in shame*. I cut the FO down and I have had no trouble since. My tarts are looking smooth, creamy, no noticeable frost, and they throw good, imo. They also pop out of my silicone molds just fine. I still want to try paraffin. I am new to working with wax, and I have yet to try any paraffin, straight or blended.

I am ordering some 1oz testers. This will be my first time trying NG's oils. I have heard many good things about Cracklin Birch. I am excited to try that one out for myself! I'm also getting Satin Sheets. I'll have to add Lavender Apple to my list, it sounds like a good one.

Would some of you recommend some good scents from NG that fall into these categories (that work well in soy)? Thank you!

I really like ICS's Zucchini Bread. It doesn't seem spicy to me. It is the best ZB I have tried so far. I have heard a lot of good things about the Southern Scentsations Grandma's Zucchini Bread. I am going to try that one soon. BCN's Zucchini Bread wasn't good, imo. It did not smell like any sort of bakery at all. I got JS's ZB recently and it smells like sweet potatoes...

Melted you definitely can pick up on both notes. But I would say that the chili pepper is dominant in the CS version. I have not tried this scent from NG.

I just made some tarts in this scent from CS recently. I have not melted them yet. They smell mostly like Chili Pepper to me. The "orange" is *almost* non-existent to my nose. I've been reluctant to melt it, I can't decide if I like it or not (based on CT), but I have heard a lot of people say that it's a great scent. I think I will melt one today and see how it is warm. I'll report back...

Thanks so much for the replies and advice everyone. I need and appreciate it. I knew I was pushing it with the 3oz...but it seemed like a fantastic idea! Super tarts! But, for my tarts (and my wallet), I'm going to cut back on the amount of FO. Hopefully doing that will get my tarts to look like I want them to, and I will be able to make a lot more.

I haven't noticed any weeping. But I am going to chill out on the FO, lol!!

These were made with 3oz/lb of some Just Scent oil. Perhaps the amount of FO is too much, I hadn't really thought of that because it was working fine with straight PB. I am going to try a batch with less FO...I bet I see a difference. I feel kinda silly now... What is "weeping"?

I have used metal molds. At times I had the same "frosty" appearance, but it was more uniform. I hope that makes sense. This is happening even when I am sure my molds are not too cold. I have to be doing something wrong I am just not certain what it is yet.

I am getting great throw from the PB/XceL blend that I recently started...but the tarts looks horrible, imo. (I just posted a new thread with some pics of some problem tarts.) I have only tried these two waxes, I have never worked with Paraffin before. But I am betting it will make the wax much easier to remove from molds and will be less messy with packaging. These tarts that I have been making smear like crazy when I bag them. Worse now that I added the XceL into the picture. But they perform pretty good, so I am not sure what to do. If I can find a paraffin blend or straight paraffin wax that works just as well AND looks MUCH better, I will likely switch.

Here is one of my recently poured tarts. It is made with Ecosoya PB and XceL. 60/40. They were poured ~150-145° in room temp silicone molds (~70-75° room temp at that time). Is this just normal "frosting"? This is the first time I have had a tart do THIS: This one was made with PB/XceL 70/30. I heated the molds a bit before I poured these in, but not too much warmer than room temp. They were poured at the same temp as the tart above. Can anyone explain to me what this is called and what causes it to happen? I tested these tarts and they throw pretty good, it is just the appearance that I am not happy with.

I am going to try the KY ParaSoy for sure. Might I ask why you are switching?

I have been trying to make tarts with soy. I have had decent luck with the EcoSoya PB, but I don't like the way the tarts look. I added XceL and it has just been terrible, and no matter how much tweaking I do to my temps/molds/etc, I am still having issues. So I am planning to try some ParaSoy wax and see if that doesn't make my tart making much easier, and make my tarts look and perform better. I've heard a lot about the KY ParaSoy Tart/Votive blend...what's the current word on this wax? What are some other good waxes for making tarts? ParaSoy/Parrafin blends...

I am thinking that using all soy is not going to work for making tarts, for me anyway. I just recently started mixing the PB and XceL and that is when the cracking began. I have tried pouring more with heated molds, with no air blowing in the house, with the room temp at 70+...and I am still getting cracking. I think my next step will be to find a good ParaSoy wax for my tarts.

Silicone molds and I am using EcoSoya PB mixed with XceL. I had a batch crack and frost really bad the other day. It had never been an issue for me before, but I moved all of my stuff into a new room, and I think the room is much cooler than where I was pouring before, and I am pretty sure the window A/C from the other room was blowing cool air in at the time I poured, so I am only pouring with the A/C off, and was going to heat the molds to make sure they don't cool too fast. I am pretty new to all of this stuff, so I am not really sure if it is one thing or another that is causing my problems yet. I just poured a batch with the A/C off, and the molds were heated a bit in the oven before I poured...no cracking this time. But it would be much easier if I could heat them up in the same room that I pour in. I am wondering if just having the window A/C off is enough to prevent what happened the other day from happening again. I think I will pour my next batch in room-temp molds and see what happens.

I don't own a heat gun. I only make "tarts" right now. Would a heat gun be something worth getting for heating my molds up? I've been putting my molds in the oven for a bit before I am ready to pour, but it seems to be a bit of a hassle since my work space is in another room.

What are some different ways to heat your molds before you pour?

After thinking about this a bit more...I am wondering if the window A/C unit in the other room was creating air flow that affected the tarts as they were cooling in the molds (the rooms are basically open to each other by a large doorway). I usually pour in my kitchen, but switched to a new room today. I never thought about turning the A/C off before I started pouring today.

I just recently started dabbling in making my own wax melts. I started out with EcoSoya PB, and now I am mixing that with the CB XceL. 60% PB - 40% XceL. I made the mistake today of pouring into my silicone molds that were way too cold. So, I have lots of frost and nearly all of the tarts cracked. :embarasse I heat to ~190° add dye and FO. Then I pour at ~145°. Can some of you give me some advice on when to pour, how to heat my molds conveniently, tips/tricks to get my tarts to pour even (because I get a bit of a dip in the middle too, not too bad but I want them to be as flat as possible) and lessen the frost issue? Any advice would be really appreciated, thank you!

Thank you both. I will have to try both of these.

That is a great idea!