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9 hours ago, Clear Black said:

 

Yes, actually after I replied to your request I went to my stash and checked the date on those 444 melts. It was from 2/26/17 and they smell better than the day I made them. Then again, the color is a very pale pink where as the day after they were poured they were very vibrant in color.  Within a week the color had faded to where it is now so I would just go ahead and test without dye and see how you like. I think any potential customer is really after the smell of melts, color comes second and maybe able to skip that part.

 

Post some pics of your melts here when you make them!

Thank you for going to the trouble to dig them out. I've been wanting to try mixing my own parasoy  so I'm thinking I might blending 444 with #5 paraffin from California Candle Supply and see what happens. I'll be sure to post pictures! Thanks again ? ?

I'm very curious about coconut wax but can't find much information on what it's like to deal with. Has anyone here had experience with it and if so, were you happy with the hot throw and consistency? Would you recommend it? Thank you for any info?

15 hours ago, Clear Black said:

The only additives you would need IMO is anything that would inhibit frosting. 444 has quite a bit of frosting and your colors will all but fade within a week. As for hardess and fragrance its just fine. I still have some I made 6 months ago that are smelling better than when I first made them. Albeit the loss of color. I was thinking next time I make them just try and go natural and leave out the color altogether.

Thanks so much for answering. I was just trying to decide whether I should go ahead and try 444 and whether I should buy dye. So glad I checked in here because now I know to skip the dye and glad to hear the hardness is fine and that it holds scent. Thanks! ?

6 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Poverty is killing orangutans.

 

People in impoverished countries will plant whatever sells to feed their families. If the demand for palm products were to end abruptly today, would those people stop using the land and just walk away? No. They would plant soy or whatever else sells so they can feed their families.

 

The RSPO (roundtable on sustainable palm oil) has been working toward farming practices and sourcing palm products from areas  where there is no danger to orangutans.

 

ironically, Palm is less bad for the land, and produces far more yield than soybeans per acre. 

 

there is no harmless resource industry ?  Soy farming is killing Americans, American animals, flora and insects at an alarming rate. The voices remain largely unheard because of the powerful soy lobby. 

 

Beeswax and honey are often factory farmed unethically.

 Whoops, I said gorillas instead of orangutans, not the first time I've mixed up the two. Anyway, thank you so much for taking the time to answer. I'm so glad to know there is an organized effort being made to figure out how to farm palm more humanely. You've convinced me to go ahead and try palm and frankly, I'm relieved. I make soy container candles but I've been longing to try wax that has a greater hot throw for the melts. Now I can. Thanks again! ?

I know, weird title. The thing is, I would have tried palm wax a while ago but I saw stories saying the palm industry was responsible for shoving gorillas out of their habitat and that it was having a devastating effect on them. I ALSO read that was a lie perpetuated by the soy industry who is of course, a competitor. I have no idea what to believe, but I'd love to try palm for melts if I can do it without making gorillas sad ??!  Has anyone here been able to decipher the truth about this? Thanks for any info?

Hi.

Does anyone know if 444 works for melts and whether it needs additives? Thank you for any advice ?

Hi,

    I'm looking for a source of phthalate free heather FO and having some difficulty.

    Has anyone here found a good source and do you like it if you've tried it? 

    Thanks for any info! ?

On June 6, 2017 at 1:29 AM, Jcandleattic said:

The only time I've ever even gotten a request from anyone overseas is when it's been a scam. Most average people are not going to want to pay the shipping/customs rates it will cost them to receive a package from overseas, when what they want is so readily available right there. 

Thanks for answering. I actually feel relieved to know it's not practical, so much less worry. ?

Hi all,

 I'm trying to decide whether or not to sell internationally. Having a larger market would be great, but shipping candles a great distance concerns me since there's more opportunity for them to break or melt. Is it worth the risk? Thanks for any advice! ?

I feel so stupid, of course that's the way to do it! I can't think why that didn't occur to me. Whew, this I can handle! Thank you so much ?

Hi all,

  After yet more delays I'm finally starting to list my candles on ETSY  but am a bit unsure if I've done the weight right on  the labels and in the listings. I understand we are required by the FDA to list the NET weight on the labels, but being a math imbecile I'm not sure I have it figured right. I'm using Candlescience 8oz jelly jars  and C3 soy wax. I think maybe 7.07oz  net weight is right, but I'm SO not sure.  To those of you that have used 8 oz jars, does this sound anywhere near reasonable? At least in the ballpark? 

As you can see in the photo I totally forgot about weight on the labels but luckily I haven't printed them in them in bulk yet.  Also, the weight of the entire candle (jar, wax, lid) is really around 12.9 oz. Should I list that weight in the listing along with the net weight or is that likely to confuse customers?  I'd be really grateful for any advice! Thanks?

21 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Step 1: use a much bigger box than you think you need. USPS guidelines are for at least 2" of cushioning between the item and the box. 

 

When i ship glass and pottery i double-box. The item gets honeycomb paper (used to bubble wrap), then it is inserted into the first box. The inner box is then cushioned with the 2" of additional honeycomb or peanuts. Make sure that dunnage is really snug. If you shake the box with some gusto and ANYTHING moves even a tiny bit, use more. Peanuts shift a lot in transit, so even if you put The breakable in the middle it may wind up on an edge during the trip. 

 

Whatever you use, plan for the box to be dropped a minimum of 3 vertical feet (typical drops on postal or UPS equipment). Practice at home dropping boxes from waist or chest height to a cement floor. 

Thank you very much for this invaluable advice! It never occurred to me to double box or to actually practice drop. I have a tone of test candles that I can use for that. ?

Hi,

    I'm just about ready to start selling my jar soy candles online, so it's time to figure out how to get them to people safely and neatly. I'm wondering if I should go the packing peanut, bubble wrap route or maybe use honeycomb paper wrap and brown craft paper. Maybe something else? The candles themselves are not individually boxed, so they need good protection. I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks! ?

On December 18, 2016 at 4:17 PM, pcbrook said:

I don't know of this will be any help to you but I had the same problem, even with my laser printer.  What I ended up doing was buying a can of clear matte spray paint,  After printing a whole sheet I would spray over it with the clear paint and never has a smudge or toner coming off since.

 

HTH

Now, that's interesting! I tried hair spray and it ran, but I never thought of clear matte spray paint. Thank you, I'm going to see if the local hardware store has it. ?

On December 17, 2016 at 10:06 AM, juliejak said:

No I do not change the printer settings.  I found this on the 101,000th forum I was searching thru.  She said buy an Epson, the cartridges use Dura Bright Ultra Ink (which was the key factor as I recall) and buy the Waterproof matte labels (you can buy they sheets at a time which helps starting out).  I've never had a problem with running

or smudging labels since.  All I can tell you is it has worked for me since I found that post 8 years ago :-)

Thanks for this info. I was mistaken when I said I have an Epson, that was the brand of the last printer we had (brain glitch), we have a Cannon Pixma now. The thing guzzles  ink like a V8 engine. After what you've said about being able top use Dura Bright ink, I think we should go back to Epson as soon as we can. ?

On 12/17/2016 at 7:10 PM, KansasEarthandSkyCandle said:

Labels are something I used to make professionally, and I can tell you the ink in printers these days is not only more expensive, its also much less quality.  When we started I had to leverage the cost of making really nice labels on clear, or to print them myself.  To me, there is a big difference when you hold the candle in your hands, its a huge part of how your candles are valued, and therefor might be the edge in the sale.  I suggest getting professional labels made if you have a budget for it, it will likely pay off, especially if you mark up your products to cover the cost.  I use www.AwardDecals.com If anyone needs a graphic designer, I also do that personally. 

Someday, I'd love to get them professionally printed (I went thru MONTHS of alignment issues), but for now, I'll have to do them myself. I'll check out awarddecals.com for future reference. Thanks! ?

10 hours ago, kandlekrazy said:

Are you setting your printer for those labels?  I know even my laser jet smudges if I forget to change the paper type before printing.  Ink jet do take a bit to dry on some paper types, but shouldn't smudge once they are dry. 

My printer has surprisingly few settings and no gloss or label setting at all.  I'll try the matte label idea and hopefully, that will solve the problem. Fingers crossed! ?

11 hours ago, juliejak said:

I had the same problem with lotion and bath labels.  It does cost more, I purchase the Waterproof matte labels at Onlinelabels.com and bought an Epson

printer.  I found the info on a forum after Googling my fingers down to a nub lol.  The combination of both gives me labels that I can use on my scrub jars and

they don't leak ink into your tub water.  HTH

 

Thank you for this info. I'm relieved to know yours can get wet without smudging! Thankfully, I've got an Epson printer, so I guess I just need the matte labels. I'm very grateful to benefit from your research ?

Hi everyone,

   I have a problem with my candle labels. They smudge easily. I can apply them very carefully to avoid the smudge, but I think it will be a problem on the consumer end. Has anyone else experienced this issue? Is there a way to solve it? I'm using gloss ink jet labels. If I can solve this issue I'll be ready to start selling. Thanks to anyone who can give me advice! 

15 hours ago, OldGlory said:

I went back and read your initial comment. One hour is definitely NOT enough time to get a good hot throw unless you are burning a votive.

Is it C3 you are using? I have a friend that uses C3 and her candles are awesome. I use 464 and get a great hot throw, so that leaves out 464. If you are using either of those waxes you have to look at other factors.

Which fragrances are you using? I need specifics here... the name of the fragrance and where you bought it.

How wide and how deep is your jar? exactly

Has your candle reached a full melt pool when you test it?

I am using 4 oz & 8 oz jelly jars, C3 wax (tho I've tried 464 & 444)  and primarily CS and Northstar scents. I've used FO from Bittercreek and Flaming Candle as well as a few others, but 98% are CS & Northstar. I've used SOOO many scents it would bore you if I list them all, but examples of FOs that give great COLD throw (so I think I SHOULD get good hot throw) are : Candle Science- Orange Chili, Lilac, Very Vanilla, Chocolate, Basil, Red Hots & Mackintosh Apple and from Northstar- Banana Cream Pie, Cappuccino and Nag Champa. I've tried probably 35 to 45 scents. I am careful to get the melt all the way across and the pool is usually about 1/3 to 1/2 inch deep. How long would you recommend I burn to test? I appreciate very much any advice you can give! 

11 hours ago, kandlekrazy said:

Since you are in CA I'm going to assume you are buying your wax at General Wax??  Try their custom blend if you want a blended wax, it does come in slabs and is a blend of soy & paraffin I believe.  I've never used it, but you can also go to their outlet store (which is not cheaper, except you will save shipping.)  They also offer classes for soy wax that may help you.  I have never used a microwave to melt wax, even in the beginning I used a double boiler method until I bought my first Presto.  The presto pots are just under $25.00 at Walmart, no spigot but its a good way to start cheaply, just ladle out the wax.

I do get the C3 from General Wax. I'll probably try blending my own and also buy some of their blend and see what works best. I can' hardly wait for the Presto Pot (after the 1st of April). I should have gotten one a long time ago

44 minutes ago, Faerywren said:

I do. It started out because I already had soy and paraffin on hand at the time (along with soooo many different wicks). I added 40% paraffin to my soy and kept my same wicking. Luckily, that is all it took to get me a hot throw I was happy with. I've been blending my own wax ever since. I have considered trying a preblended parasoy like 6006, just for ease of use, but don't know if I want to go through testing again.

Very cool that it was so easy to blend your own with good results. You're making me feel braver! 

15 hours ago, grama said:

Have you ever thought you may have "candle nose"!!  Have you had someone else test your candles? There are several things that can effect/affect (I never remember which to use) you being able to smell them yourself.  Well now I see where you said other family members can't either.  That was all I could think of. 

It's still possible, I guess. We all have sinus issues. Maybe it's worth seeing if friends will test just in case. 

Does anyone else here melt soy wax in a microwave? Do you get good hot throw? Since I've tried so many techniques to get good hot throw that others on here are successful with but I'm not, I'm really thinking the microwave may be altering the basic molecular structure of the wax so that it can't give a good hot throw. I can't do the simple test of cooking the wax on my stovetop in a double boiler because I have narcolepsy and could fall asleep and upset the hot pots as I tend the melting wax. I only use the stovetop for the tea kettle. I'm getting a Presto Pot after the 1st, but in the mien time I just can't help but be curious about whether the microwave is the culprit. 

1 minute ago, moonshine said:

If I was a betting person I would bet your statement of buying soy based oils could be one of your problems - when I started the bery first supplier I bought from was candlesoylutions- soy based and they didn't throw at all 

try CS oils and see what you think- they have many great throwers 

also I don't know about microwave but get a mini presto pot to melt in- they cost 30-40 and Walmart usually has them and very well worth the investment and a thermometer will insure accurate temps and even melting 

Actually, I guess I was wrong when I said I just get soy based FO. I should have said that I just get FO that is OK to use with soy wax. My newbieness showing through! I have heaps of CS FO because they are great with the low postage & quick shipping to CA. I LOVE so many of their scents and the cold throw is usually amazing. What gets me is that I read the reviews on the CS site and I get the ones that people say have a powerful hot throw with soy. The basil (smells like tomato leaf) is so strong some people can't stand to keep it in the house. I thought "great, I like tomato leaf", but the hot throw I get wouldn't run the biggest tomato leaf hater out of their home. I was SURE the lilac would be good with that glorious cold throw, but I couldn't smell it until I got about 2 ft away and then very mild. I'm sure it's ME, not CS. I'll get the Presto pot  after the first of April. I should have gotten one awhile ago but the microwave was so easy for testing. I think I'll try soy in it and then parasoy and see what I get. Boy, when people buy a great smelling candle they have NO IDEA what work may have gone into getting it right!