Siren12

I'll have to try those! Thanks so much!

I just poured sandlewood vanilla need to test it but cold throw is good in my 444. I really liked grandma's kitchen also. No sales on these scents just personal opinion.

They have the tumblers at candle science also

I am making vanilla, lavender, black raspberry vanilla, English garden, and meadow.  Soon I am going to make for the first time lilac, beach linen, and I have some other ones I got for the first time including lemon pound cake ( I am excited to try that one) All my scents are from candle science. 

That candle was only burning for 2 hours! I can burn my soy candles for 4-6+ hours and never have a pool like that nor have the wicks act like that. Wow... Makes me feel good about the quality of what I make.

Thanks so much!!! I have seen online some mixed citronella candles so I was curious about that. I also wanted to make the citronella last longer since its more expensive.

50 minutes ago, Jcandleattic said:

No, more isn't better where you can see an oil line, ESPECIALLY in a candle. It's probably even more dangerous than in tarts/melts, because you have an open flame with a very flammable free floating oil that is not mixed in properly with the wax. 

I hope all those people in the FB group have good insurance if they are proposing that this is a good way to make candles. 

Sorry I wrote that quick and wasn't clear, most of the people only buy candles and don't make their own so they are looking at yankee candle, Kringle or village candles etc... And are seeing extra oil, many times though I think its just frosting as I a have a Yankee candle here at home and it has a bunch of frosting in it.

i cant really help you since the only thing that i have used with Bourbon in the name is CS- Apple and Maple Bourbon which i think smells amazing! but its more of a baked apple smell than the straight up bourbon. sorry 

I am actually part of an international FB candle group that lots of people talk about how they love when they can see "oil" lines in the candles (container candles) i dont really get this they seem to think that it means that they are getting a  candle that will have a stronger smell ( i dont really thinks thats true and from what i have read on here more FO isnt always better) 

Now i havent seen them comment on tarts/ melts so im not sure what this groups reaction would be to that, just sounds messy to me. 

Thanks KandleKrazy!  I had my friend draw it for me, he did a great job. 

wanted to give you guys an update

So i ordered some labels from Avery and had them print them for me through their online order system. i just dont have the time to sit there and fiddle with the settings etc and didnt order a ton because i wanted to just try it out. 

here is what they looks like with some hobnail jar candles behind it. 

I think that they  came out pretty good for my first design. 
I also got the mermaid on two different sized square clear plastic labels, they look nice on the glass i just dont have a photo of them.

for the size of the wick they are referring to the diameter of the wick, so i would think that you may want to consider going to a smaller diameter. since you said you burned the one you posted the same night as you poured it the center probably wasn't fully cooled and helped it melt that quickly, i would try letting them cure longer and test again. 

i know that CS has a guide for their wicks/wax and what their best suggestions are for what they carry. they have the melting points for their soy waxes so maybe you could find a good comparable soy to use as a base for which wicks to test in your coconut wax. 

one of my thoughts with the coconut is that since it melts so quickly you may not get the burn times as with other waxes. 

- as for the scent if the 3oz is filling the room i would think that was a good throw, each scent varies though. A smaller wick and slower burn might help with the throw?

it totally agree with candybee, i really wish that they had a patchouli since they are the closest supplier for me and i order the majority of my supplies from them. 

19 minutes ago, GoldieMN said:

I always worry that such containers might not be safe to burn a candle in.  Although I would think if they are sold for candlemaking, they would be safe.  

Goldie

I get that concern, i bought some that were on sale and when i got them i realized that they were coated with some cheap paint and the glass was really thin. I made two candles for myself with those but dont trust them and im going to sell them on a wedding facebook group to get rid of them since they were clearance items. I have been extremely cautious with those.  

But the thick Hobnail jars are actually really sturdy and i see candles sold in big stores in the exact same jars that i have. 

I would really like to make my line be unique, such as using hobnail jars, milk glass, vintage style containers. using different containers will ad an additional challenge i know, but it is one of the ways i think i can get people to chose my candles over the other soy/mason jar candles that are flooding the market right now. I really love my square 8 oz mason jars and they work really well (way less $ than the other jars i want to use) so i would keep some of those maybe for the more traditional "country" scents. 

I am going to take some time to buckle down and take a look at where i see this going but right now i see it being similar to @moonshine since i have a job that i dont for see candles being able to replace in income. 

Thanks so much! you all gave fantastic advice. I was thinking that a rotation of scents would be a good start for me, and trying to get those sold out first before adding on more scents. I know that its trial and error, i was finding my self getting over whelmed. It also didn't help that what i know work are pretty seasonal. i don't for see myself getting this started very quickly so i plan on doing my homework. 

There are tons of soy candle sellers on etsy and i bought one from someone that I liked their marketing and they had good reviews. Burned the candle and found that i liked my candles better lol. i want to make sure that mine stand out. 

I think i will start small, hopefully i can get my sales to at least cover my cost of insurance at this point (that's really all i want right now ;-)    ) 

edit: i have a facebook page and thats where i plan to keep it right now, and maybe sell at a farmers market or two this summer if i can get in. there are also lots of antique/ consignment shops around that i maybe able to get into but that's more of a commitment, i would like to see what the interest is like before going there. 

I am just starting to try to develop my base line of scents, when you just started out how did you decide what you would carry? whether it be candle scents, soaps/beauty products? I am personally interested in what candle scents people first carried, all of these suppliers have great scents and i cant decide which ones i like the most. I am finding that i am getting overwhelmed. 

I know that i have a vanilla that works that i want to carry. I also have an Apple harvest scent, and apple and maple bourbon (more of a bakery apple scent), these two are fall scents. 

I know i need to limit my scents just starting out till i make some actual sales lol 

any suggestions or how you started your line would be helpful. 

thanks ;-) 

21 hours ago, thelittleflame said:

I feel that I may be guilty of what you are referring to, although at this point I am giving more candles away than selling them, as I am still in the trial and error stage.  I wonder, how do you go about pricing your candles in an affordable manner that will give you some profit? Is there any kind of per ounce guideline or do you just figure your cost and add in some cushion? I would love to know your advice, or some examples of how you candles are priced, that is, if you don't mind sharing. Assuming that I get my 100% soy 8 ounce tins (really 5.75 oz of candle inside) throwing in an impressive manner, how would you price such an item?

Littleflame: i am in the same situation, I have yet to sell a candle yet because the prices for hand made soy candles are all over the place in my area and i am also still testing go to scents. i mostly have just been giving candles away to family and friends for their feed back right now and once i figure out what scents i want to be my go to ones i can calculate my cost better. GoldieMN's $12.50 11 oz is 1/2 the price that i could afford to do at this point, i was thinking i would need to list my 8 oz jars at $12.50 to make a good profit but similar 8 oz candles are selling for that in my area, i guess it really depends on the market. although i have seen them for less in my area.

I plan on testing more and doing more homework. 

Thanks so much, when i opened the bottle and was immediately knocked back and knew i needed to wait till i could have a fan and open window going to make the candles. I actually bought some nice ceramic buckets that look like they are for shellfish and beachy. putting a warning on them is a good idea, the buckets that i got are big so i think i will only be able to make the two candles and now need to buy bigger wicks than i currently have. Ill stick  with the 1oz and see if that works, i am going to make them as gifts for my sister and mother in law. 

Thanks so much. That's good to know that I'm not the only one. I do think that their website doesn't rate it as very strong but I didn't expect it to be as light as it is. 

I got a sample of blueberry cobbler from CS and put it in my GS 444 wax with an eco 16 wick. I usually ways get a good throw with any of the CS scents I get in my wax with this same wick. But the blueberry cobaler seems to have no throw at 1oz per pound. It has a really awesome cold throw though, I really want it to work. I am sending my other test candle to a friend and maybe she will be able to smell it better.

Have any of you used this FO? Do you get a good hot throw? 

Would it be worth it to order more of the blueberry cobbler and increase my fo %? Or should I just try a different  FO?

i love their

Apples and Maple Bourbon

Apple Harvest 

very Vanilla

Blue Spruce 

edit: 

I also like their:

cranberry Marmalade

pumpkin souffle

Amaretto Nog

Black Raspberry Vanilla 

Grapefruit and Mangosteen

Pomegranate Cider

I just got and am still testing alot of other ones from them but so far i like 

Blue berry Cobbler and Creme Brulee 

I bought citronella from CS and boy is  it strong! I got a 3oz bottle but I have no idea how much to use, they sell it in odd sizes because of the strength.

Have any of you made citronella candles before? I don't want  to make them too strong but obviously want them to keep bugs away.

Any suggestions helpful, I usually  do 1oz per pound but that's going to be to strong I'm guessing

FYI-The CS 99 cent fragrance sale just popped up on my Facebook news feed it goes until friday

Thanks so much!  I have been thinking of a booth or something.  I have a full time job so having a display in a store would allow me to get the product out there without taking time off of my fulltime job. I would need to use vacation days to go to the local farmers maren't  ( which I do want to do I just can't go every week). I have lots of antique /consignment /gift shops near me I am hoping to contact. 

Your info is very insightful, thanks puma52