birdcharm

Sorry, it's hard for me to draw the picture in words, I'll try again. Yes, the cart is an integrated product ... a section of the webpage that is your catalog and that's where the actual purchasing of the products is completed. On those pages, there is some information about the product, but it's mostly specifics ... in other words, the details about available selections, sizes, etc. That's why I said from a "marketing" standpoint that there can be other pages that go into more detail. It's a similar concept to the types of stores you could go into that were showrooms, but you ordered the products from a catalog. The cart serves the function for ordering, but the site as a whole is where you do your actual selling. I can't recall at the moment, but there has been a candle supply site that I've visited that has product pages, about us pages, etc. that are nice pages for a first time visitor, but there was a link that said "Our Catalog" and that took you to the shopping cart area of the website. I've read that people may visit your site a few times before placing an order, that being the case, if you have product pages as well as a catalog for ordering, they will most likely get their first impression from your product pages and then look through your catalog. It's all on the same site, it's just that there is a sort of invisible wall between your showroom and your check-out counter. I'm probably just being more confusing, lol, but it's a concept that probably makes for a more comfortable atmosphere to customers and doesn't put them directly into the "buy now" area, which can seem a bit pushy in some ways.

Although I don't have a website, I once worked for a small company that had a Zen cart and I spent a lot of time within both the site and the cart. The one thing that I'd like to mention is that the cart (ideally, from a marketing standpoint) should be only a part of the entire site. For example, as ScentedPleasurez has mentioned, a drop-down box for scents per product is an easy way to offer several scents for the product. Now, if you'd like to describe those scents, you can have a page on the website itself (not the cart) to go into detail. In other words, the cart can be for the ordering part, but the marketing (details about the products/selections) is on product pages. I just thought I'd add this to confuse the topic a little!

Yes, fur ... soft bunny fur ... just look at those eyebrows! He or she seems to be peeking from behind something so its nose is hidden. I'm so glad others can see the bunny! It makes me feel a little less crazy!

Can you see the bunny as others can? It's Harvey!! I know it is.

Thanks for posting that ... I'm going to copy that into notes that I can find more easily! I've only used one of them, so I seem to forget the number/code of the other one. Plus, there is another brand that called "Polyboost" and the numbers for that one are 130 and 165, which only seems to have made it harder for me to remember the other vybar codes for some odd reason!

lol, I must be getting tired, I keep seeing the top part of a bunny head sideways with a big eye. 🐰

Okay! We'll look for your notes in a year or so! I guess I feel it could be worth it to know. There are so many little steps in the procedure, that if it's possible to skip one if it absolutely won't hurt anything, then I'm the type to take the "lazy" way out! 😉

Remember, there are two types of vybar, but I always seem to forget which one to use with which type of wax and have to refer to my notes. Only a small amount is needed, I think it's about .5 to 2% max weight or 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon per pound. Someone else can probably make sure you've got the right type for you wax if you don't already know, which you probably do, and also about the other additive, as I'm not really so much help! 😴

Although I don't sell to stores, I've never used a UV inhibitor in any of my candles. For my personal ones, I typically burn them before they might fade or discolor, but I have some around that certainly receive some daylight and going on two years old, there's no difference in color. In container candles, I mostly just do specks or swirls of color, and many are left natural, but they are all scented. So, why don't you put one aside as a test @Trappeur and make one without the inhibitor, keep it around for awhile and see what it does? That way you'd know for sure if you're adding something that needs to be there. My thoughts anyway!

I think I shouldn't read the fine print anymore. The last time I ordered from WSP, I spotted a line item that said "Donation" and it was for 20+cents ... okay, good, I donated!

This isn't a wax I've used, but I've read a bit about it as it looks like a nice wax for me to try out one day. I would try warming the container and doing what you're already doing to cool slowly.

I doubt that it would make any difference in candles. I used to buy stearic acid for candles and it was made from tallow, now suppliers seem to sell both types. If I want an opaque wax, I'll use it, or if I need to harden a wax. I've never added as much as is recommended though and still get good results. Some say you can use up to 3 tablespoons per pound, and I've probably only used about one or less.

I placed a small sample order of eight 1-ounce bottles, which I figured would fit in a small flat rate, and their system accepted it as such, so I'll see what happens! In placing the order, I read some of the reviews for a handful of scents, so I can share a little of that here for what it's worth! Since I use soy wax, I noted comments in regard to throw in soy. Apple-Cinnamon, Pine, and Cinnamon Stick all had a good reviews for use with soy wax. I normally blend my scents and these three would be good candidates for additions to some blends I'm working on. The other ones I ordered were Indian Sandalwood, Sandalwood Ginger Apple, Nag Champa (for my sandalwood-lover friend, I'll see how these work out), Mistletoe, and Red Hot Cinnamon. This should help me start to round out some of what I've got going, and if they work, then I know it's safe to order them in the future. Thanks @Darbla for posting about this offer!

There are many books that say using a double-boiler with paraffin wax is considered the safest method which is probably true, and for some people who don't keep a close eye on things, they should ... that's probably why, as you stated, most books say it's a "major no-no." I only melt a small amount of paraffin at a time, and I just use my melting pots. However, I don't leave the room, and if the phone rings or I'm called away for some reason, I remove it and return to melting later. ☺️

Okay! I can see the sales banner now! It looks like they use Small Flat Rate as well as the regional boxes ... this craft board is a bad influence on me.

About a month ago, I was reading some reviews about their Sandalwood-Ginger-Apple ... a friend of mine loves Sandalwood scents, so a sample sale might be just what I need!

Did you receive this sale notice from a newsletter? I don't see anything about it on their website.

I think it's best to use a double-boiler with paraffin wax, as if it should begin to smoke, that's not a good thing. For soy wax, however, I don't use a double-boiler, just a hot plate. It would have to get quite a bit beyond 200 degrees before beginning to smoke, just as melted shortening would, and, if it did happen to for some very careless reason, it would be similar to smoking vegetable oil ... not a good thing, but not a petroleum product. If you set the hot plate at a setting where it cannot get beyond what is safe, imo, soy wax directly on it in a melting pot is okay.

I think it depends on the type of soap base you're using -- if it is high in glycerin content, then I think you do need to wrap it. If it's one of the "no sweat" types, or doesn't have any or much glycerin, then it doesn't seem as though you have to from my experience.

I cut mine at about 1/4" which seems to work nicely for the waxes I use, and I give instruction to trim to approx. 1/4" between burns. In reality, during my personal burns, if the wick gets too long, I'll trim it back a bit, but I've found that difficult to describe in my burning instructions.

@GailC and @Karen M.... thanks much for the tips! I haven't put together an order yet. I guess I should just try to get some samples sometime. I was hoping that they use that smaller Regional Box so I could add a couple of items that are a bit larger, but they don't use it. The regular flat rate box is much bigger, so I would need to build my order more to fill the box better and I'm not there right now, but I will certainly keep these notes for possible future reference!

It's certainly shrinking away from the glass, even at the top of the candle. It seems that maybe beeswax in combination with your coconut wax isn't a good match ...? I wonder would happen if you were to add just a hint of coconut oil to soften it up?

I'm not real good at putting scents into words, but I'll give it a try -- of the French Vanillas I have tried, they are somewhere between a regular vanilla and a caramel or brown sugar, but not too heavy on the caramel, with a hint of a custard like quality. I think it has a "heavier" quality to it than regular vanilla, which is more like vanilla bean or extract. The other one that is on the same lines, but more creamy, sweet, is Creme Brulee.

Would rubbing alcohol work on this at all?

I've found that certain scents will "take over" most blends if used in equal portions, sometimes this can be a good thing though, depending on what you're wanting to do. I rarely use regular Vanilla scent, but I do like to use French Vanilla or Buttercream, for instance. When I have mixed vanilla, it has gone nicely with herbal scents or lavender, cinnamon, sandalwood, orange. If I've mixed a scent that has become overpowered, I put a small amount of it in a bottle(s) and using other small amounts, add other scents that I feel will balance it. In this way, you're only working with very small amounts and if you don't like it at all, mix something in there that you like that will overpower and use it in some way, forgetting about whatever you thought you were shooting for. It's all experimental after all. For your strong vanilla, I would try adding it to something you wish to mix it with, but start with using about 10% or so. Just take notes while you are mixing as to what you've added, then you can do the math later for your recipe, some blends during the creative process can become rather complex, so there's no way to remember what you did unless you write it down as you go along. @Sunday ... Ramr posted about having issues with getting supplies in this thread. It would seem that there are some U.S. suppliers willing to work with Canadian residents in providing a shipping method that works out okay.