jbradshaw

I love the suggestions!! I have the full Adobe Suite so I'm familiar with layers but was trying to avoid printing in color and just doing a foil - however I really like how your mockup turned out so I think I'll explore that concept a bit more. Thanks for all the feedback! This forum has been so helpful in all regards.

Is anyone using the presto with a spout built in? Or just ladeling?

Those look great! Is that a square mason in the middle?

@justajesuschick Yeah people were saying 'oh it's so cute' which was scary to me. Sorry to have derailed this thread!

She dipped an ice cream cone in wax, then scooped some scented and colored wax into it (like a scoop of ice cream) and somehow had a wick in there as well. Said she saw it on youtube....at least there were other group members telling her to be careful burning it.

I think they look great! The only thing I would suggest is to remove the 'www' from the URL - I've seen this recently on packaging for other brands and I like how clean it looks. But that's just a personal preference. Hang tags is such a fantastic idea - no worrying about getting the label straight!

I just googled this! Now I'm scared of double boiling - might be time to invest in a presto.

I just joined a FB group - don't know why I hadn't thought of it before, and yeah...lots of dangerous stuff going on in there and I can tell that just as a newbie from reading the amazing advice on this forum. Saw someone who tried to make an ice cream cone into a container?!

So far I've only been making candles, have never tried soaps. I've been hunting around past threads for oils that people have had success with in candles so I'm going to try a few of those. I think even though the oils per ounce are more expensive, if I could pick them up in person it would be cheaper than shipping, especially from some of the east coast suppliers. Thanks for all your advice

I didn't realize Candle Science was in NV - I'll have to check it out. I haven't gotten anything from MMS yet, they are a couple hours away so if I found oils I loved it would be worth the drive (it's a beautiful one, as well). Any oils you love from them? I was going to do a search on the forum to see what people like.

Thanks! For some reason when I put in the search term 'suppliers by state' I didn't see that post - super helpful to have. Only wish there were more suppliers close to me in UT

I'd never seen it before, but looks like a lot of good stuff in there! I did notice that both the links for suppliers by state are expired - do you know if there is a new list somewhere?

Looking for honest opinions on my first draft of a label for candles. I'm not selling, but I hope to one day in the future and thinking about it takes my mind off my current day job. I'm going for something simple - these will be on clear jars with gold lids. I don't color my candles (yet, but I don't anticipate starting). I'm hoping to do the little honeycomb in gold foil. All the other info needed will be on the warning label (debating putting those on the bottom or on the reverse side of the jar - I just don't want to get involved in wrap around labels. My main concern is that it's a little boring and/or similar to other labels I've seen. Is the honeycomb too literal?? Your feedback is appreciated

The labels look so good! And I love 'Tickle Me Peach' - that's a cute way to make it Valentine's themed.

I can't speak to the Florida aspect but as a fellow newbie (ish - I've been doing this about 5 months) I've had a lot of success with 464. I'm in Utah, which is quite dry though so maybe it reacts differently in more humid weather.

This is really helpful feedback - does anyone use the model with the built in thermometer? Or are you just going with the basic model and using your own thermometers?

I was just talking to my husband about this the other day. Without mentioning names, there is a candle vendor I follow on Instagram that is very much piggybacking off establish branding and even locations. They have a huge following that I would assume would garner attention from the brand, but they continue to operate. Even if they are just skirting copyright infringement, it still seems dishonest, and it's also just a little unoriginal. Wouldn't you want to carve your own way instead of piggybacking off someone else's hard work? It did get me thinking about candle names - can the name of scents be copyrighted?

Third burn - 4 hours, still not at the bottom of the tin. Still going to get several wick sizes for my next burn. I wish I had more time to devote to this - I haven't poured anything since these candles

Got a bit busy at work and didn't get a chance to respond... Trappeur, yes that was the recommendation from CS for the tin and wax as it was all part of their soy candle making kit. I did a second burn of 2 hours (had to leave the house unexpectedly) and did not yet see the bottom of the tin, I would imagine I will next time I burn it. I really appreciate all the feedback - I think I will be trying a smaller wick on these containers, with this wax to see how it goes. And definitely for future batches where I'm trying a new container I'll also try a variety of wick sizes.

Thanks, Tall Tayle and Trappeur. I've recently started this hobby and now that I'm enjoying it I'll order additional wick sizes and perhaps containers and start doing more thorough test burns with varying wick sizes. I'll also see how this does on a second burn tonight in terms of heat of the tin and whether I can see the bottom or not. I'm surprised the CandleScience kit includes wicks that are too large for the containers they include! The good news is - it has a great hot throw

Thanks for the feedback! I didn't realize I should expect the top to look that way - my other candles hadn't had that happen to such a degree so I'm relieved it's normal. I feel like I've also seen inconsistent advice on a full melt pool on first burn. I had seen the 'memory burn' advice Moonstar mentioned, but then also read that if a candle reaches full melt pool on first burn it needs a small wick.

I poured my third batch of candles a couple weeks ago and this is the first organized test burn I've done on homemade candles. I'm hoping someone more experienced can confirm what I think happened. Wax: 464 Wick: ECO 12 FO: Peak's Fireside at 6% Cure time: 16 days Container: 8oz tin, 2" high 3 1/8" diameter Photos (top to bottom): 15 minutes in, 1 hr, 2 hr, 3 hr, 4 hr (just before I extinguished), next morning Here's my thoughts, based on my notes and photos: 1. It seems like the candle is over-wicked. The flame seemed large to me, there were occasional wisps of smoke, and there was pretty much a full melt pool by 4 hours. But I'm not sure if it really has to be completely to the edges to count as 'full' 2. I think my wick must have been leaning or off center. 3. I think I didn't trim the wick enough (I eyeballed 1/4" instead of measuring, oops) and that's why I got a bit of curling. 4. No idea about the next morning why it looks pitted - could that be wet spots? The materials I used were mostly from the Candlescience kit, so I'm surprised it would be over wicked but that seems to be the case. Thanks!

Thanks! It's helpful to know which companies others have used and trust.

I've been reading through this forum, as well as trying to research on my own online and I'm curious about how to find safe containers and understand what makes them safe. Full disclosure: I have not purchased and read the standards from ASTM. I know I should, but I'm just dipping my toes into candle-making and haven't gotten around to it. When ordering containers that are advertised as being made for candles, for example from Fillmore containers or another such supplier, can I trust that they have tested these containers and deemed them safe to use? Or should I be trying to ascertain their safety on my own? Do you ever deviate from candle suppliers in finding containers? It seems like jars intended for canning are also safe for candles, but I'm not sure if that's a rule or not.

Thanks for the feedback! To provide more info: I've been making candles for 2.5 months, but I work full time and have a young baby so the sessions have been weeks apart. I used the Soy Candle Kit from Candle Science so it's 464 wax, 8 oz tins, ECO 6" wicks, and I've only used their fragrance oils as well, doing 1oz per pound (I did mix two of the fragrance oils together to try it out for one batch and was happy with the results). My MIL used to make candles, and was really excited about me trying them, so she bought me some new FOs and supplies for my birthday but I haven't tried them yet. I wish I had taken photos, but didn't think to! I'd like to be more formal in my testing so I'll add photos to my notes. I only did 4 hour burn tests, next time I'll add in other tests as well. I did overfill one of the batches so I had a little bit of shrinkage away from the sides of the container, but overall I was really happy with the cold and hot throws, as well as the appearance. I've only used the tins so I was just looking at the appearance from the top. I think you are both right, if I'm not feeling ready in my gut I need to trust that. No reason to stress myself out before the holidays!! I appreciate your opinions, this forum has been an amazing resource and I'm so excited to get further into this hobby and see if I end up with a product I'd be proud to sell