jbradshaw

6 minutes ago, Incendia said:

It's used as a landscaping plant here. (Rosemary). Some locals toss it in the bbq when roasting chicken. It makes a lovely, smoky scent. Perhaps, if you have some sort of fireside (burning wood) scent, you could mix it with a bit of that.

 

Real rosemary tends to be a strong, non-frilly scent. It might go with a conifer scent, like cedar.

 

Since it's in the broad mint family, as is Lavender,  you might try mixing those two.  Or perhaps with another floral like rose.

 

Or perhaps mix some with one of those 'clean laundry' scents. That might be nice.

oh lavender! I didn't think of that. It's not a straight rosemary, but still quite nice. 

1 minute ago, Moonstar said:

I just went on the site and there 

was 1 review that stated they 

didn't get a good HT in 464

please repost now I'm curious to

see how it works in your test

The description sounds great !

I hope it's good! If not, I have a friend who makes beard oils and scrubs so if it doesn't work in soy I may pass on to her. I just love the scent though. 

17 minutes ago, Moonstar said:

I'm wondering if it would work 

with some type of lemon ? How 

would you best describe it?

The Aztec description is: Citrus and mint accent the refreshing sensation of rosemary in this garden blend. Lush greens and warm patchouli blend with rich woods for the vegetal sensation.

I don't get much citrus but it's really nice - so I'll try a lemon as you suggested. I think it would be nice on its own - I just have so much of it now I may as well experiment. 

Jumping in to add that Toasted Marshmallow is also great from her! Super strong in a 464 candle (I've never made melts). 

Seconding Wood Sage and Sea Salt - good CT but still curing so not burned. Someone here also recommended Chestnuts and Brown Sugar - I haven't poured it yet though. 

I'm by no means and expert, but I've been using CDs lately with 464 and find that the hangup usually catches up and is gone by the 3rd or 4th burn (depending on how long those burns were). 

The melt pool on the CD 6 looks pretty deep to me. I think there was a thread going on wicking mini masons (they were maybe 1-2" in diameter?) that might be helpful for those small jars. 

This is so helpful, thank you for sharing! I've definitely been breaking these recommendations. 

I pour the excess into a paper cup lined with aluminum foil and then toss it and clean out the pour pot - but I don't have a separate pour pot per scent. 

Somehow (I have no idea how) I ordered a pound of Rosemary Pepper from Aztec. I seriously must have been out of it when I placed that order! I like the oil, but have never used it before and I'm wondering if anyone has blending suggestions since I have SO MUCH of this oil. I typically order between 1-4oz as I'm a hobbyist. 

Help?

Just throwing this out there - another option is an inversion mask. I live in Utah (Salt Lake, specifically) and we get really bad air during the winter because the pollution gets trapped in the valley. 

My husband worked in a pharmaceutical lab for years and wore a respirator for the majority of those years - please remember that it can take your body time to adjust to how much harder it is to breathe through a respirator. Your lungs are working harder and you may feel short of breath until you adjust. 

4 minutes ago, Jcandleattic said:

No, I just very rarely make the same scent twice. Most all of my loaves of soap and candles are made with scent mixes that I create, and I don't sell wholesale, so this works for me. I have a ton of repeat business too, so I don't worry about it. 

Oh wow - that's amazing! I'm a hobbyist and just started making candles last August so I'm not attached to any scents at this point, but I did wonder how one would deal with a scent being discontinued. Thanks for the insight

6 hours ago, Jcandleattic said:

This right here is a prime example of why I never have any "MUST HAVE" fragrances from one supplier, no matter how reputable, big, or long that company has been in business. It's just not worth the struggle to find another one if they go out of business, stop carrying that scent, or stop carrying fragrances all together. 

That makes a lot of sense - but how does this work? Do you just make sure you can find scents that are comparable enough? Or do you just abandon the scent if it is no longer available? 

I'm so glad someone brought this thread back up - I just made a huge list of oils to try from WSP next time I order! 

The lemon seed + Parsley sounds amazing - I wonder how it would blend with their Farmers Market Bibb Lettuce (just poured some and it's curing but the CT is AMAZING). I'll need to try this out  

1 hour ago, Moonstar said:

I would think VERY little would be needed of the crackling firewood to add to the VBN. Are you using WSP for the VBN ? that one is awesome and the scent lingers

Cant wait to hear your results. Please post your wax + wick when you nail it ! - unless you did + I missed it lol ! 

I'm using Just Scents for the VBN - it's quite strong and I used a 2:1 ratio of Crackling Firewood to VBN and am still missing much of the CF. I'm using 464 and an ECO 12 (which is too large). 

On 3/3/2017 at 2:54 PM, Moonstar said:

I too like the Vanilla Bean Marshmallow from JS. OOB i thought it was just ok but it has a really nice scent after a cure. Another marshmallow Id like to try is the 

Marshmallow Fluff from Day Star, many on here have posted its pretty good. Ive never ordered anything from Day Star so one of these days I'll just go for it lol ! 

I do the the toasted marshmallow from RE but to me I just get a rich vanilla no "toasted" did not like the bonfire bliss though  didn't remind me of a bonfire 

in the least, but again, I know many love that one, its just not for me. How to your blends turn out, were you pleased ? 

I've never ordered from Day Star, either. I haven't heard of many other FOs to try from there, once I get a good list of ones to try I'll do an order from them. 

So far the blend of VBN and Crackling Firewood is nice - I'm definitely getting both scents, but next time I would change the ratio to be heavier on the Crackling firewood. I'm really looking for a firewood scent with a hint of marshmallow, and right now the blend is reversed. However, it's way overwicked - and the throw is just OK with that wick so I don't know how it would be to wick down  Super challenging. I haven't burned the Toasted Marshmallow blend yet, but it's so overpowering in the CT I don't have high hopes. 

So - I ordered several thermometers, and I have a griddle I'm going to try having multiple readings and also warming the pots. Hopefully tonight.

This feedback has been so enormously helpful. 

Also wanted to add - I have never had a problem with frosting, air bubbles, or cave ins and on this batch that I originally referenced it has been pretty bad as I test burn. So I think the wax was definitely cooling too quickly. 

I found that if I rushed pouring at all, I got some uneven tops. I pour at 135 (but I'm going to try at 150) - and when I take my time with the pour it's super smooth. 

Agreeing that Peak's and CS's Firesides smell the same to me. My husband loves Peak's Fireside - to me it smells a bit cologne-y and not like firewood but he burns it alllllll the time. 

On 2/23/2017 at 4:31 AM, Trappeur said:

Well, this is really good to know as I have never been able to wick WSP  Crackling firewood.  I am going to try some in this scent.  Thanks for posting this Tall Tayle.

 

Trappeur

I have some WSP crackling firewood I'm going to test with an ECO as well - it's cured 10 days as of today so maybe tonight is the night! 

I had similar issues as mentioned above with ECO wicks - burning quite hot, but ending up with a lot of hangup on the sides even when they were completely burned down. I am now testing with CD wicks and getting better results - but I will be trying the ECO in WSP CF

13 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Part of the shortcoming of tins is you can't see the flame. Those deep cans might also get really hot as they reach the midpoint.

 

i use the deep tins from specialty container.

Those were my two concerns. I was thinking of seeing if my husband could drill or punch some holes in a row near the top of the can to let the light through. But I'm not sure how to handle the temperature - just need to test it out, I suppose. They are 2 7/8" high, so less than an inch taller than most of the 8oz candle tins I've seen. 

16 hours ago, Moonstar said:

I too love these & wanted to try 

them myself. If I find the old link

ill repost of where I've seen them

may I ask where these are from ?

You might need to supply the paint can opener ???

super cute idea ?

The photo above is from Uline but I've been able to find the 1/2 pint and 1/4 pint cans on a few different websites. I was worried about the lid as well, not sure how hard it would be to get it open. I just love the look of them, and it's something sort of different which I like as well. 

You'll have to report back how it goes!

I've used 8oz tins from CS before, and really liked it - I've always been a glass girl but lately I'm thinking about venturing into more tin containers. 

Has anyone used other tins that they love? And if so, who are your suppliers?

Would I be crazy to try to wick a mini paint can (1/2pint size - pic below )? They are made of tin plated steel, which is the same material as all of the other candle tins I've seen. I know it's possible, as I've seen some candles made this way on etsy and just loved the look, but as we all know people often make crazy decisions when it comes to candle containers. 

What if you did a stencil and used etching cream? I think that would look really nice, I'm envisioning an etched design all around the glass with a logo label so your logo still stands our. 

2 hours ago, Flicker said:

That seems like a pretty big drop for just adding to the pots. I work in a basement and that doesn't happen. One of two things I am guessing...
A. You are putting a very small amount, 1/2 lb or less in the pot
B. Your temp is dropping a lot when adding your fo
C. Your dial is at 185...but if you actually took the wax temp it is far less.

All good thoughts - thank you for the feedback

A. I was melting 2 lbs, and I actually didn't end up using all of it, there was likely about 1/2 lb left in the pot when I stopped.

B. I think that must be what's happening? 

C. I had the dial at 200, the candy thermometer I used was reading 185 in the wax. I did buy an instant read thermometer to see if there is any difference in the temperature read outs. 

I'm also in a basement (yay for basement crafts!) - I agree it seemed like a huge drop. But using metal pour pots and a metal ladle...I just don't see what else was happening. I have a griddle I can use to warm the pots and see if that helps with the temperature. I'm also going to make sure I have as much prepped as possible before I start pouring so I'm not trying to weigh FOs, or do anything else while I'm pouring. 

10 hours ago, Daisymay66 said:

Thanks so much for your post. I'd love for you to review if you do put them in wax and your thoughts after burning. Love the name Wood Sage & Sea Salt. I'll have to look at that one. I have heard before that her Chestnuts & brown sugar was pretty good. 

Will do! I'm dying to burn the marshmallow blends I poured...I'm so impatient. I'll definitely be pouring the wood sage and sea salt - I wish I'd bought more than a sample now that I know how nice it is. 

The Chestnuts and Brown Sugar people on this forum raved about - so I bought 4 oz. It smells nice, just not what I personally burn for myself. 

I used to do a ton of tradeshows (in the book industry) and fitted tablecloths make a HUGE difference in set up and how the display looks throughout the length of the show. We always paid extra for them  - worth it!

I didn't heat the pots, I was just using them room temperature - which seems really dumb now! This is all really helpful. 

My presto pot has a spout, but I was too scared to use it - I might just need to get brave as I'm sure that will help with the temperature as well. I love the idea of getting pyrex measuring cups to use, but I already have a few metal pots and a cheap griddle. 

I also think I need more thermometers - any recommendations? I've just been using a candy thermometer but sometimes have trouble with the clip slipping.