TxSioux

I hate repeating myself, but ... I'd never make a votive if I had to use the metal molds, but I love making the Dixie Cup votives. It's just too simple. We all find our groove & like what we like. Votives seem to be a supply & demand issue, so it seems to hinge on how well they sell in your area. For me, votives sell like crazy & I have a huge profit margin on them ... it almost seems like no matter how much I raise the price they never drop in sales. You didn't mention your wax, but I've always altered my container wax w/ a few additives to make votives, so it's not a huge financial headache to stock different waxes & do individual pours. Susan.

Carol beat me to it, but I'd suggest Starrville for being the closest to you. BTW, I'd love to hear fo reviews for them. I sell tons of their High Maintenance (Tyler Candle dupe) & recently got Decadent Desire & Midnight Pomegranate. All are so wonderful, but it's hard to order from them, since they don't have any fo descriptions. GreenLeaf has amazing fo's & a great 70/30 soy blend -- also excellent customer service. Get ready for the Tx heat, you'll be begging for snow again!! Susan.

I really like the cardboard basket. Nice presentation & pretty candles. The only thing I would suggest ... add a glass holder for the votives. I'm still amazed at the idiots who throw a votive on a plate & light it up, so I try to 'idiot-proof' my boxes & make it a ready to go gift. Hope you do well w/ these. Susan.

Excellent fo's & customer service. I'd consider their fo's to be premium & well worth the price. Susan.

Hmmm, maybe it's not tempering you're after ... maybe it's a good long cure. I've given up on the fruitless battle of trying to tame 100% soy, but when I was working w/ it, I had candles w/ really poor scent. Nevermind, how great the fo smelled oob -- the candle just didn't live up to my expectations. I had several scents I pulled off the shelf & they sat around for a yr. When I 'found' them they had the strongest throw ever. Now, I'm not suggesting a 1 yr cure, but soy has a mind of its own. As far as your original question, I never got a shiny soy candle till I started tossing in additives & paraffin. Keep in mind, the truth lies in the eyes of the beholder. There are no labeling laws for candles & someone can 'say' they use 100% soy wax (cause that's what they start w/), but then they add paraffin or additives ... It's all a matter of perspective, but I'd be willing to bet that guy is using more than soy wax, fo & a wick. If it walks like a duck ... it ain't soy!! Susan.

Isn't it funny that now matter how many hundreds of times we do something ... it sure does evaporate into 'duh' so quickly!?! I think that's the definition of short-term memory auto pilot ... or in my case, a know-it-all that topped 40! No matter how many times I dedicate myself to keeping accurate notes, I always skip writing down the really simple stuff that is so simple it doesn't need to be written down. You know, the important stuff we forget to do! BTW, glad to hear you're settled in & back in business. Where are the pics? Susan.

Dang, C3 shouldn't be tricky, so that's good insight. I've been a big zinc fan for ... ever, so after testing the UC wicks they really made those zincs look great! I'll take a little random mushrooming over all those problems any day! Thanks for making me feel better. Susan.

I have no idea why it works, but it does. Most of my fo's are skin safe, so I really can't imagine the small amount I toss in those cracks is more harmful than what Corp America tosses into our public waters! It's like Carebear says, dilution & proper usage is the key when we use these products as they're intended. Think about Botox ... I'm sure I don't want botulism injected into my face, but my Mom loves the stuff ... at least I think her wrinkle-free face is expressing love! LOL And yes, I do have the best smelling cement in town. I've tossed out scents that won't throw in a candle, but my patio smells amazing for weeks!! Susan.

I really like the UC wicks, but they just won't work w/ my wax blend. The flame is a torch, no matter how low I trim the wick & the soot is awful, no matter how many sizes I test. Also, I could start a mushroom farm w/ these things! All this is just my problem cause I insist on using a wax blend that's a wicking nightmare, so the testing continues. I was told by Fil-Tec to ask your fav supplier to request their wicks & they would work to make them available. Try calling your supplier & requesting what you're interested in. Susan.

I've always associated French market w/ green. I use a kind of bright yellow green, but since we're neighbors ... <grin>! Actually yellow sounds pretty, but I (as a customer) would probably like a more Tuscan yellow, kinda brownish-gold yellow. I like the 'warm' colors. BTW, the Singing Butler is one of my very fav prints! Susan.

This topic comes up every few months & it's amazing how polar opposite the opinions are. I'm not a massive tree hugger, but I do try to follow general courtesies to the future of our environment. So, I don't toss them down the drain or in the trash. Now ... to somewhat contradict myself ... it occurred to me last year that fo's can't really be much worse than some of the chemicals we buy to kill weeds. I use my old fo's to kill weeds that grow in the cracks of my patio, sidewalk & driveway. I don't apply this to my lawn, but a small amount in those cracks kills weeds in 24 hrs! So far, this has worked far better than any expensive chemical actually designed to kill weeds. Susan.

I'm sure there are many brands of CO, but the LouAna that we all get at WalMart is a solid form w/ a meltpoint of 76 degrees. Now, when it's 100+ degrees in Tx, there is no solid form anymore ... it's all liquid! LOL I try to keep 'production' as fast as possible, so I do prep work w/ CO or BW. I melt them down, pour into tiny icecube trays & store them in the freezer. I know each piece weighs .20oz. As far as your 1/2t -- that's a volume measurement & doesn't change. If you scoop out 1/2t of solid CO & leave it out till it liquefies, it will consume the same amount of space as the solid form, so they're the same. There are exceptions to this rule & don't try to compare solid CO w/ liquid BW. Now you're dealing w/ density & that turns the tables! Susan.

Personally, I really couldn't care less what wax is used, as long as it burns properly & has great throw. Also, I'm a MAJOR sucker for label/packaging. If it stands out as unique or upscale, then I'll gravitate to that product & am much more willing to pay more. The old logic of perception is reality. FWIW, I sell 3oz votives for $3.00 each & don't price them to reflect any discounts for multiples. I regularly give a discount, but it's at my discretion. I'm lucky that votives sell well for me ... I've seen many post how some can't give them away. You'll have to find your market. Susan.

In theory -- all ingredients would need to be added in increments that bring your total to 100%, so if you don't adjust your math, then you would need to lower another ingredient to make up for the added CO. In reality -- it's such an insignificant alteration that it won't throw the world on its axis if you just add it to your current equation. Just make sure you keep test notes & keep your formula the same. Personally, my math is only based on the wax & fo, cause the amount of additives I use isn't worth the aggravation of perfect math. JMO -- Susan.

I'd try calling Cajun, since they're in Louisiana & would know what you're really looking for. Most people won't know what a beignet is, or they'll try to sell you some pastry fo. Now you have me thinking of Cafe Du Monde! Susan.

I tried this w/ Krylon Satin Finish spray paint, got it at Hobby Lobby w/ a 40% off coupon. The can said it was for inside/outside use for wood, metal, glass, wicker & more. It looked pretty burning, but I wasn't happy w/ how it looked just sitting there. It was really easy. I used a cardboard tube (from inside paper towels) to balance the container & make it easy to spin as I sprayed the paint. I also recommend wearing a glove, cause that stuff sticks to nails really well!! Susan.

ROFL -- I'll never get the image of a Thomas Jefferson candle out of my mind. Now ... if you could make a Bush candle ... I'd like to watch that one burn! <grin> That's what I'd call a true 'therapy candle.' Good job thinking outside the box, Sassy! I know how it is to have an idea rattling around your head that you just can't let go & it's even better when it's something everyone says can't be done. Susan.

Does the paint actually hold up or will it scratch off? They look really nice. The paint is very even. Susan.

Funny to see this, cause I've been researching this like crazy for the last month. I got hell-bent on using wax seals as part of my packaging. I found both the sealing wax & the seals to be difficult to find & pricey when you do. If you google 'how to make sealing wax' you'll get lots of hits & most seem to be the same basic recipe. Pine resin is the main ingredient that makes this wax adhere properly. Also, called for a specific type of turpentine & most sites advised it would be a bit difficult to find both of those ingredients. It really *seemed* too difficult to make & pics looked really messy ... guess that explains the high price, huh!?! Please let me know if you find anything in your search, cause I still want to do this. Susan.

Beautiful candles, packaging/labels ... poor choice of background color by the photog. You didn't ask for any critique of your website, but I took a look at the whole presentation on your home page. I *think* the text falls a bit short as a professional representation of your business & you could be much more concise. I appreciate how you're trying to up sell your product, but you do it in a manner that fuels misconceptions about competing products & skirts the boundaries of truth. It's one thing to give stats on how your candles are made & perform, but quite another to allude superiority to major manufactures or other waxes. You have a beautiful product, but I'm not a fan of the website. Susan.

I really like grapefruit a lot, but it doesn't sell at all around here. I've tried quite a few, but never noticed a fuel smell to any of them. Have you asked anyone else what they think of the grapefruits you've tried? I'd guess that your nose has receptors to make this scent smell differently to you. Susan.

Another one w/ no scent is Bird of Paradise, but Circle E decided to use the name of an unscented flower & made it famous. It always cracks me up when a candle site lists that fo & describes it as 'smells just like the flower.' Hmmmmm. Susan.

No kidding! I can drive to GL, but the $10. increase is making my head spin. Susan.

I've yet to see an explanation. Obviously comes down to cost ... but really, how hard is it to frost glass for mass production? I gave up & just went w/ etching my own w/ Armour Etch Bath. It's another step, but not too much of a problem to get what I want. I just wish I could figure out how to get the colored frosting. Glass paint takes away the etched finish, so it must be a process when they sandblast. Wish I knew all these answers. Susan.

This got me thinking ... what's the difference between USA & PSA? I've found the description of each, but just a bit muddy on how they differ from one another in application. I've always used PSA for soy, but can't figure out what makes USA really different?? Susan.