Tee

Hemlock pines have cones that are teeny tiny. They are about the size of a quarter, or smaller in height, and not as wide. I'll take a pic of some that I have, and post it tomorrow if I get the chance.

How about something like.... The Beginning of Our Lives or When Our Love was Young Just a thought

I have seen people ask about saving on shipping charges, just not specifically related towards waxes in Indianapolis, hence the reason I took the initiative to offer the information that I had. If I had been meaning to "PLUG" the company, I would have gone ahead and mentioned their name in the original post. I was merely attempting to help some local people save on shipping charges. Better yet get them to come here get supplier status and have them post in the supplier section. The company itself is not a typical company that sells candle supplies...it is an oil company that distributes gas, oil, and other petroleum based products, included wax. So, anyone else that may read this and you are NOT in Indianapolis, do some searching yourself. You may have a goldmine of savings closer to you than you think.

and use any of the following waxes: 2243, 4777, 4761, 1284, 4786, 6006, 4627, 1239, or 1250... I found a place in Indianapolis that carries this wax. The prices are about the same as what you would pay elsewhere, and you can pick it up and save tons on shipping. Not sure if I should advertise the name on here, so if you want to know where, please PM me, and I'll be happy to give you the information.

Not a stupid reply about the Mr Clean Magic Erasers. I use em for everything, even cleaning dye stains out of the pour pot. Works great!!!

I live just a little west of Bloomington. How are are you willing to travel to attend a soaping class? Maybe there is one just inside Illinois. We could check there too if the Ft. Wayne one is too far. Heck, I've never been north of Indy, so I don't even know if I could find Ft. Wayne! Thanks for the info Ruby. Just might PM you and get more info. Tee

If you find one, please let me know. I would be interested in attending as well. I'll look around too.

I work in a rehab facility for people who have had surgery, strokes, etc., and we supply bottles of 2 oz lotions to the patients. I had one in my pocket one night to give to a patient and got side tracked by a family member. I forgot about it, and brought it home in my pocket. I had it on the counter to take back the next day and my husband opened it and used some. Needless to say, I couldn't take it back, so I doctored it just a little. I added some FO, and shook it like crazy. Loved the way it smelled and felt on the skin. Took that bottle into work and let some of the staff try a little, and now they are all begging me to make them some lotion. Try it. You might like it. If you don't, you're only out a couple of dollars for the lotion and a few drops of FO.

Using a screwdriver and a hammer works great for breaking them up. I just put the scredriver where I want it, hit it with the hammer a couple of times, and it breaks apart. I leave the wax in the box, and it doesn't make a huge mess. Any little piece that happens to chip off stays in the box.

First of all, welcome, and I hope that you will enjoy your new addiction as much as I do. Second, I can't answer your "will it be profitable" question, because I have yet to start selling my candles. Hopefully soon. However, I would like to share these thoughts with you, as a possible new candle maker, and also share them with the members here, since I've been thinking it for sometime, but have never said it. I have been making candles now for almost a year and a half. I started out with votives, and to a lot of people, votives are more difficult than containers or pillars. I started with those because I figured they were smaller, and I always tackle the little things first, then gradually head to the bigger ones. After I became comfortable pouring votives, not necessarily testing them at first because I just wanted to perfect the "look"...perfect edges, centered wicks, etc., I began testing scents and colors and wicks, and burn times, and mushrooming and soot, or lack of etc. When I became comfortable that I could do those, and make a nicely scented and good burning candle, I started dabbling into 8 oz jelly jars. Again, I did it the same way..perfecting the pour and look, then testing the rest. I am now able to say that I would be comfortable letting about 5 scents of 8 oz containers, and 10 scents of votives leave my hands, knowing that I CAN make a quality product that will be safe for consumers. I still have about 5 more scents to do in jars before I even think about selling, although I do have a name picked out already, and am working on a label and logo for my future business. Before I even started, I found this board, and I read and read and read and read (get the picture?) for months before I ever joined as a member. I don't post a lot on here compared to others, but I definately spend my time reading what they HAVE posted, and I have gained an awful lot of knowledge from everyone here. I don't ask questions, I do a search, and sure enough, someone else has had that problem or question, and sure enough, there is an answer as to why or how. I started reading the newer posts when I first found CandleTech, then realized that I was doing it ALL wrong! When I realized this, I would browse the new stuff, pictures etc, and then when I had an hour or two to kill, I would start on a particular section, say General Candles making, or soy, and I would go all the way back to the first post, and read forward from there. I would read every single post made in that section, under ever topic. This is when the old board was still up. I am glad that there is still access to it in the Archives now, and there is a lot of information in there as well as here on the "new" board. It took me quite some time to do all of that reading, but my friends, it was worth it. This place is better than a set of Encyclopedia Britannicas!! Any and all information that you need to know about candle making can be found right here. There are some very knowledgeable members, and I have found that they are all here to help you if you have a problem or a question. But, let me warn any new people reading this.... If you have a question, the people here usually know what they are talking about. Some will tell you gently if you are doing something wrong, and some will use a tone that is about as equivalent as being flogged! However it's said, it's all meant to be good advice to you, for your safety, the safety of your product, and for the safety of those that you might sell to in the future. They are true craftspeople, and I admire each and every one of them. I hope to be one as well when I grow up!!!:rolleyes2 Right now, I consider myself a baby, crawling along the sides of experienced adult marathon runners. One of these days I'll be able to be right up there beside them, but until then, I'll just watch, and read, and learn. Their favorite phrase is test test test and then test some more. You are never finished testing your products! Once you get one scent, wax, wick, and container (if you use one) down to a tee, it's time to start testing the next scent, wax, wick, and/or container. It's a viscious cycle, and the members here will remind you of that quite frequently. Thank goodness that they do. I really think that what I want to say is that any questions that you might have about candle making, doing a show or fair, what color to make a particular scent, where to buy a particular needed item, you can feel free to post that question here. Anything that you will need to know about starting your business, from inventory, to websites, wholesale/retail orders/customers, fundraising/homeparties, can be found right here, and the information that you receive about any question that you asked is pretty much the way it is. There will be the occasional dispute between two parties of course, but all in all the information is invaluable. I am so glad that I found this site. If you decide to jump into this venture, do so with gusto. Put your heart and soul into it as much as the members of this forum have, and your business, if you start one, is sure to succeed. I myself, would like to thank the members of this forum for being such nice people. It's really hard to find sincere, honest, and knowledgeable people, that don't mind sharing that information with you. Good luck in your endeavor!!! Tee

quoted from the site.... "I can't say how many full body massages you'd get out one candle -- probably three or four, but I've been using mine for hands and arms, feet and legs for about a week now, and I've barely touched the surface." Hmmmm....someone doesn't know how exactly how long their product will last? Seems to me that someone might have needed to do a little more testing before posting the above statement on the site.

I have been following this post with extreme interest....and have to ask...even if the pic has been changed, do I smell possible lawsuit? Isn't is illegal to use photographs from a site that has this on the website?? All Contents ©2002-2005 Candle Making Techniques, All Rights Reserved

According to this other topic, she's making a killing selling "free" stuff from these people, or at least that's what I got from it. http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41600

An 8 Oz bottle of shower gel for 2-4 bucks..and making a couple of dollars?? Hmmmmmm...if you charge 2 bucks, and make 2 bucks profit, are you getting it for free?? It's already been determined that you aren't making your products. If YOUR suppliers are going to give it to you for free for you to sell and make a profit, then I'm starting out the wrong way by making my stuff.

If you read closely on the first posted site, Luna Candles, it says "do not light electronic candles". They are only made for looking, not for burning.