bfroberts

I am a stickler about liability and safety, and I don't know that I could win a liability lawsuit in the event a candle I sold someone in a pre-used container failed and caused some kind of catastrophe. So I don't use them, and I would not advise anyone else to do so. I've done a lot of canning. In addition to candles, we also make and bottle our own BBQ sauce to sell. I am just as diligent about safe canning practices as I am about safe candle making practices. Regardless, I have had brand new out of the box jars fail (crack). Based on what I have read, a whole lot of people do not follow safe candle burning practices. In addition, I see an alarming amount of new (and some seasoned) candle makers that seriously over-wick their candles. Apparently it's all about the quick HT and deep melt pool nowadays. That is yet another reason I would never advise using recycled containers. In the wrong hands, the risk is amplified. All that said, I reuse my testing jars over and over and over. But I know what I'm doing and what the risks are. I am not willing to pass that risk onto a customer.

Yes, that's what I meant.

I wouldn't use them to sell or for gifts, but for testing & personal use, yep.

When I first started making candles, I used 464, and I would pour my leftover wax in molds and use those melts in my own warmers. It didn't take me long to figure it that even though it can be done, it isn't great. Sometimes they pop right out of the molds, sometimes not. They don't hold up to summer heat, which makes them not so good for shipping, craft shows, etc. They smudge their packaging, and so on and so forth. So, long story short, it can be done, and some people do use it, but for me, it just isn't ideal. But I do love some 464 mixed with pillar palm for melts.

Hi! You've found the right place. A lot of good info here. Good luck!

4627 alone is too soft for tarts, but you could mix it with a pillar wax to make tarts. You'll have to play around with your ratio to get the hardness you want. Or you can just buy a votive/tart wax and not have to mix anything.

I don't use many heavy FO's. I'm not a big fan of bakery or spicy scents. I use mostly fruit, ozone, that kind of thing. Once in a while I'll test something outside my norm and it will blow my mind how one scent can require a huge leap in wick size, so I know exactly what you mean.

I've used it. I didn't find it very strong in 6006, but admittedly all I tested was an 8 oz mason jar. It does benefit from a long cure, and I only cured that one a few days. It is good and strong in palm, and it is strong in my paraffin melts. I bought an 8oz to test with, and that is the extent of my testing so far.

Yes, HTP's are self trimming so they do curl. Not a problem really. I wick a little cool so the container doesn't get too hot on one side, and any hang up melts off as the candle burns down.

I for one am glad to know they meant Vanilla Extract FO, because I'm pretty familiar with NG's FO's, use quite of few of them actually, and my mind immediately thought Vanilla Extract...as in real Vanilla Extract. I consider myself a reasonably intelligent person, too. I guess my mind just automatically defaults to food.

Have you given any of your candles to anyone else to test? I cannot wrap my head around Fraser Fir not throwing in 4627. I haven't used 4627, but I've put this FO in 6006, palm, 4630 and my tart blend which is 4625 and 4630, and it was a superstar in all of those waxes. I cannot imagine it would not throw in 4627. Have you tried other wick types? I use HTP's in 4630. I would think they would work well in 4627, too. By the way, I was just looking over Trappeurs list, and the Sweet Orange & Chili Pepper is a nose hair burner for me. That might be a good one to try also.

What the what??? Reads like hogwash to me. There will never come a day when I add vanilla extract to wax. Good vanilla is more expensive than FO.

So many. Apple Maple Bourbon, Snickerdoodle, Fraser Fir, Spring Rain, Violet Lime, Black Currant Tea, Pink Magnolia Blossom, Cotton Tree, Christmas Hearth, and Vanilla Hazelnut are my current favorites. I could go on and on. They have so many great ones.

It might not have been a biggie to you, but it was a happy surprise for me! I'm finding this darn 6006 to be just as finicky as soy, or maybe more so, just in a different way. Today, dancing flames are about to drive me insane. The labels are coming along great. The labels actually looks so much better in print than they do on my computer. The hubby approved them and the whole concept, so now all I have to do is sell out the old stock. We had a great week in sales last week....people stocking up for Christmas, so I might have these on the shelves before we close down for the year. I'm excited!

I've got to give another big thanks to moonstar for hooking me up with a sample of VBN. I lit mine after a 10 day cure, and the throw was still a little light. So I put it away to try again in a few days. I use 6006, and my vanillas seem to need an extra long cure. I'm pretty sure it will be much stronger the next time around. It was very, very nice OOB. Trappeur, those candles are gorgeous!

If your FO wasn't mixing in, you'd see that in your product. Using Blue Spruce, lower your FO to 1 oz pp, pour a status jar and try a smaller wick....51z perhaps. Let it cure a few days before you burn it, and I bet you'll be surprised.

I'm game. What else is good from Candlewic? I've never ordered much from them.

Uh oh. That's a heck of an idea! Wonder what the price is on those. Off to look

The moon doesn't tie into our current logo, but we recently had new graphics done, and when we eventually get everything transitioned, it will all work together. Hopefully we'll have everything switched over by the beginning of the 2017 season. I was thinking of doing the Ball canning jars. They seem more moonshine-ish to me. Because they have "Ball" on the front, I thought a label on the lid and a hang tag would be better. I'm sure I will change my mind before it's all over. The scent is a very simple 2 part blend I came up with that really does smell just like apple pie moonshine. I kinda lucked into it and thought...whoa, this is just what I've been looking for! I have too many oils too. Things I love, but they don't sell. Things that sell ok-ish, but I dont love. Things I never should have bought to begin with. LOL I guess we all have that problem.

Looks like a lot of fun! Your granddaughter is beautiful!

CS MacApple is a great FO that I rely on when testing something new. I only add FO on the heat source for pouring purposes. There is no difference in the HT of the finished candle whether I add it on the heat or off. Just helps keep my wax temps where I need them to be for pouring. To figure out how much wax your jar holds weigh your jar empty then weigh it again full and the difference is the amount of wax + FO you need to fill that one jar. Multiply by however many jars you've got and there ya go.

What do you guys think of this label? It's just a rough draft. Some of the fonts are wrong, because I think I will be using the font moonshine used for most of the text, and I obviously need to straighten things up. This will be on the jar lid. I think we will leave the front of the jar unlabeled and attach a hangtag.

I've personally wasted a lot of time and a lot of supplies doing the wrong things, and I've been where you are. One hard lesson to learn is that more FO is not better. If I were you, I would drop down to 1 oz per pound, use a known powerhouse performing FO, cure for several days, then see what you've got. Figure out the wicking at 1 oz PP, and then if you must, test with incrementally higher FO load to see what happens. I think you're gonna have problems start to finish if you try to use max FO load, especially out of the gate. I have not used your wax, but I have used a lot of 4630 and 6006. Both, regardless what I've read, do benefit from a decent cure. For 4627, I would cure for several days, even though they say you don't have to. With the 4630 and the 6006, there IS a difference in the way the candle burns, and that can affect your throw and your wicking, and I can't imagine 4627 would differ all that much in this regard. I heat to 190ish, add dye, stir, add FO, stir. My wax cools off ridiculously fast so I usually stir in my dye and FO while it's still on the heat source. I pour about 180ish.

I read speculation in one of the FB groups that some of Maple Street's fragrances were the same as Tennessee's. I haven't tried anything from Maple St. yet except their clams and dye, so I don't know if that is true or not. I do know they have a Pina Colada and a Lavender. I was fortunate to find a pound of Tennessee's True Lavender at the back of my FO cabinet, so that'll keep me going a little while longer, but I'm definitely gonna give MS a try.

Thank you. I have been using square masons. I'm not sure that is the best option for these which is unfortunate since I have dozens. I usually do 8 and 16 oz. Moonshine comes in quarts. Oh goodness. I had not thought of that little particular. I thought this was going to be easy.....lol.