Jane42

This wasn't the one I was looking for, but I love it!! Thanks! And, yes, it is SAVED!! LOL

Oh, where or where is that wonderful little calculator that someone created?? You put your wax in, the percentage of scent and it showed in ounces how much FO to put in?? I saw it, thought I saved it, and cannot find it anywhere!!

In our immediate area, soy is not a big seller. We introduced it last year and still have alot of stock from then...which was not looking very nice. It has frosted and looks "dry". We finally just gave that stock away to friends and family and have decided to make soy only as a special order. The big "plus" was suppose to be it was easy cleanup - "just wash with soap and water".....well, even after wiping as much as I could out of the jars, I still didn't want any of the residue down my sink. It was just so much messier that just popping the paraffin molds, utensils, etc. into a warmer for a bit, then wiping off. Our paraffin candles are so much easier to work with - and I think make a much prettier candle. The ones I have at the house look just as nice as the day they were poured. If soy were more popular, I would keep searching for the right one. I am kind of relieved that it isn't........

Congratulations! It feels good to get positive feedback on something you create, doesn't it?! I have to agree with the above posters, though. Make sure that what you have created is what you want to be known for - there is only one time to make a first impression! Let your friends test for you. Nothing gets people as excited over your product as helping and feeling a part of it. They will learn to appreciate the differences between your candles and the "store bought" candles. They, hopefully, will also let you know if it is not burning the way it should. If you search the forum, you will find a couple of examples of test sheets that you can give your testers. We THOUGHT we had the perfect candle when we had our first small show. Luckily, we didn't sell much...because I would cringe if I met anyone now that had bought those first candles...and they probably would not buy one from me now, even though our present ones burn beautifully. Please don't take offense - nobody wants to bring you down. We just want you to be sure you are offering something you will be proud of in the future. Good Luck!

At our local racetrack, they now have slot machines. You only have to fill out paperwork and claim it IF you win over $600 (or somewhere near that figure), so I am not sure about a "win" of $100 worth of product.

We do the same, also. I buy the sweater/shoe containers at Walmart and we put the same scent melts and votives in each and label them clearly. We also use those tubs to store our aroma beads and sachet envelopes. Nice and neat!

On both our brochure and a separate card with burning instructions, we instruct customers that if they wish to get the most out of their candle, they need to burn it until the melt pool has reached the sides of the jar, etc. BUT before I started making candles, I had no clue there was a certain way to burn a candle....so I ended up with wax on the sides of the jar, or soot all over the place, etc. so you can only do so much. :undecided My own family members, who have listened to all this more than once, light their candle and forget it. They don't "time" how long they burn it, they don't trim the wicks, they move the candle so the wax sloshes around...it is painful to watch. If they are happy with their candle, that is fine with me. It shouldn't be "work" to burn a candle...it should be relaxing and enjoyable. Some people find it quite annoying to be talked to like they don't know what they are doing...when you know for a fact they are not burning it correctly!! Our instructions are more for those that really care that they get the most from their beautiful candles... And we always "powerburn" - just to make sure the candles can handle being abused!!

I am wondering if some jars are just "cleaner" than others. The first batch of soy jars I did, I washed the jars as I always do, and they look great. The second batch, I just wiped out with a baby wipe, then a dry towel. I haven't seen them yet, but my partner tells me that there are quite a few wet spots on the jars. Normally, due to our label, that wouldn't matter - but these are being used as bridal shower favors and clear labels are going to be on them. The next batch I do, I will wash the jars - but I have still not given up on trying to figure out a better way to prepare the jars without total washing. I will definitely try some of the ideas mentioned. If the wet spots are due to wax, it would not bother me as much...but since they can be avoided by washing the jars, I will do it. But if I were a larger business with larger orders, this would be tedious and one of those things I would want/need to knock out of the process!! Will just continue testing ways to deal with it!

For all of you that do NOT wash your jars...do you use Wick Stickumms or Silicone (or something else)??

Definitely...a couple years ago, Michaels had "hat boxes" on sale and they looked great! I was sorry I hadn't bought more. They still carry a few, but not the sizes I liked. Oh, and SatinDucky - at the auction, I had a listing of what was in the basket - just so people could see exactly what they were bidding on.

I also found that if I filled the base of the basket with bunched up brown kraft paper, then put the filling on top of that, it used less filling - but more important, I was able to "cradle" each item to keep them from flying around. I would "fit" each item into the crushed paper, then fill with stuffing, then place the candle, warmer, etc where I had made the pocket. If you have any of those glue dots laying around, they are helpful to put between items to keep them from hitting each other and to "hold" the items in place. I know all this makes perfect sense to me.........does anyone else understand it???? LOL

We have done a few gift baskets for fund raisers. We usually stay with one scent - but different "spring" scents sound nice too! We included a cachepot warmer and wickless candle, an 8 oz candle, a tealight melter with some melts and a tealight, a few votives with votive holders. We would then use something to dress it up - buy some flowers from Michaels that coordinated with the color of the jars and/or burners. I wish I had taken some pictures to show you!

The Glade candles always made me think of the "electric" candles...where you make a shell with a mold, then put an electric silicone bulb inside of it. The heat from the bulb brings the scent out from the shell. Oh, gosh...I just can't seem to make sense right now......sorry.... It is not the same as the Glade Flameless...because there is no candle wax involved with theirs - but if you wanted to make something that gives off scent, flickers and does not have a flame, this would be the closest I can think of. Good Night....LOL

We have to wash ours...due to the film on the bottom, the wick stickums don't stay put! I would love to eliminate this part of the job, but every once in awhile I try it.....nope, it won't work. Also, I notice if we just wipe the bottom with a baby wipe or alcohol and then pour, the the heat from the wax really shows the film above the wax line...not pretty. Maybe some jars have more film than others?? We can pick ours up, so I wouldn't trade the cost of shipping for jars that don't need to be washed out....

Nope, don't like that either.....I am just in a very negative mood today!!!!

So the dye is just on the edges? May look cool - but I don't think I like the idea of that.... Of course, this person will make their first million and I will still be sitting here thinking "hmmmm, I just don't think that's a good idea"......

OK - now I just have to get a large order........lol Thanks for all the info! The Candletech Crew ROCKS!

Our orders usually take about 2 weeks - we are in NY. We did purchase the Illuminating Warmer, but it made me nervous...in my household, to have a jar sitting on the top like that just wouldn't work! LOL We prefer the cachepots - and I don't see why they wouldn't work with the hex jars. We use a 10 oz apothecary, and it just fits (approx 4" wide), but I have also put smaller jars in it. We love the baby jar (votive) warmers, and we did sell quite a few during the holidays. We used the smaller apothecary jars to put in them, but you can also use votive holders. Very cute. I just received our first order of the mosaic potpourri burners - and I really like them! We spend way too much money there........lol I really like shopping the "clearance" items - gives me a chance to check out different colors and see if they will "work". On a side note, we did have two items returned to us from customers - one was a cherub baby jar (votive) warmer and the other was a cherub electric potpourri burner (sold out) because they didn't work. Levine's gave us a choice of crediting our account or crediting our credit card. Very easy to work with. HTH Jane

OK - I have had this fryer for awhile and I THINK I am finally getting brave enough to look into using it. :rolleyes2 It would be great to use this summer while we are gearing up for Fall Shows!! One of my questions have already been answered - pour melted wax over the coils before starting so it doesn't smoke or burn the wax. I read that it defaults to 200 degrees (we don't usually heat it up that high...usually around 185) but do I understand correctly that it can go down to 150 degrees?). One other question... We usually work a couple nights a week, and then on Saturday. If we fill this up with 4630 wax, how long does it take to melt down to use? Since we don't get started til around 5:00 on worknights (darn "real" job gets in our way!! lol) would it be better to just use this on Saturdays when we are there all day? I can do this...I can do this...:tiptoe:

We used alot of red dye when testing...at the beginning of our "candle career". The scent was horrible - could not figure out why. I came here and was told that 12 drops of dye per pound should be the max. I have always followed that rule - have even tried to use less, just in case - and it seems to work. I can't imagine what a panic this must be! Did you test this combo before this? We make ours in 6-jar batches - that is what they are tested at, but if I had an order that large, I am guessing I would be making it larger and figuring the color as I go. Is that what happened. If so, I guess that is a good lesson for all of us. I would definitely test one or two to see how they burn. The wet spots would not bother me as much (even though they are not my favorite thing...lol) - but the pit holes might make me nervous. I am not sure where/what the "smearing" is. I just don't know what to say to help you, but I hope they burn ok and the other issues are "fixed" by warming. We purchase our red from Cajun also and we use a touch of black to darken it. I don't know if that will help in the future or not. I may try BC's red, since the other poster suggested it can get the same results with less. Good Luck! Let us know how this works out..keeping my fingers crossed for you! Jane

We work with 4630 also..but use LX wicks. When we FINALLY tested a combo that worked, we found that it USUALLY worked with most FO's but there are a few that we have had to go up a wick size or down a size......or ones that we just could not get right. Sometimes, if we change the FO supplier, it will work...sometimes not. So, yes, we have found that once we find a combo that works, MOST of them will test very similar. As you said, each one needs to be tested, at least once if not more, before you can call it good. Sounds like you are on the right track, though! By the way, we are in no way experts. There are people on here that have been making candles a whole lot longer than we have!!! Just letting you know what our experience has been.

.......FALSE ALARM.......FALSE ALARM.....STUPID PERSON ALERT.....FALSE ALARM.....FALSE ALARM I panicked....I am ok now....I think..... I could not find the wick stickums at BC - after not being able to find a dye we use (which I eventually found in the closeouts! ) I apologize...son is getting married...I am making the candles for the shower and the wedding...lost it there for a minute.... Thanks for listening....:embarasse

OK, everyone, how much do you charge to set me up!!!! LOL Candles and Supplies is having a class on excel and how it relates to a candle business. They also email you the sheets so you have something to start with. Unfortunately, it is not a day drive...we would have to pay for a motel, the class, etc. Oh, bother...I just want to MAKE CANDLES! :rolleyes2 I keep telling my son, who is in college majoring in Business, to HURRY UP....we need HELP! LOL Thank you all so much for your help!

Thanks so much!! We will definitely have questions!! LOL We had been considering Quickbooks..and have not ruled it out...but because we are familiar with excel, we thought we should try to give it a shot before changing.

Very, very cool - thanks for the video!