VerticallyEnhanced

I use the heck outta mine. I have the Wagner one that is two speeds. I have no idea of the name/model, but I got mine at Home Depot. They also sell them at Wal Mart. When I replaced my last one (just used the first one into the ground) I accidentally grabbed the one speed. I quickly took it back. There are just some times I need the extra oomph of that heavier speed/wattage. I use it for: smoothing out tops, cleaning up drips, cleaning out pots, cleaning drops of wax everywhere in my shop (counter, floor, phone, calculator, scale, wall, ceiling ), shrinkwrapping, heating up pots if I am not quite ready to pour and my wax is setting up, and it makes a GREAT hair dryer! I never found a hair dryer that could dry my thick hair in under two minutes. It smells a little funny, but gets the job done.

I second Snowtops. I just got through testing it and it has replaced my current lavender.

A lot of mine are similar, but don't think I saw these two: I put my scale in large zip locks so that the scale stays clean. Also collect smallish jars (large baby food and small pickle jars or olive jars) and my husband screwed the lids to the underside of a shelf that is up above the part of my work table where I put my dye in the wax. I use them to hold my chips and even some of my liquid dyes. It keeps the dye bottles upright and off of the counter. I also have a pretty big one with UV powder. It is very handy and right in reach. It does not get totally lost on my work counter like things have a tendency to do.

I will see your OC and raise you the anal award my testers hve lovingly given me. This is just but a small exerpt from my test sheet: At the risk of sounding bossy, I ask you to follow the directions to the letter. Failing to do so will give me inaccurate results. I am not only trying to find out if this candle will cut the smell factor but also trying to see if the wicks will work and if I need to use bigger or smaller wick. I can only determine this from the results of your burns if they are done so according to the guidelines. Thanks so much for your time and willingness to help me test! I appreciate your help so much and it allows me to offer the best candles out there. BASIC INSTRUCTIONS You will burn this candle five separate times. Each time you burn the candle, it has to burn for at LEAST four hours and no longer than five hours. The only time that you can burn it for under four hours is if the melt pool gets too deep. (The melt pool is the pool of liquid wax). If the candle’s melt pool is more than 3/4 of an inch deep in under four hours, extinguish it and let me know. Also, please let the candle completely re-solidify between burns. Please record your burn times in the space provided. This is probably the most important part of the test burn. If something comes up and you are not able to burn it for the full four hours, please make note. I also need for you to record the depth of the melt pool at the end of your burn. Please use a ruler and do not estimate. Only trim the wicks if you think they need it. If they seem exceptionally long or have a mushroom on the tip (build up of wick that looks just like a mushroom cap) then trim it. When you trim it, please use scissors instead of pinching it off with your finger. The latter can cause the wick to be too short and burn incorrectly. You want your wick to be around 1/4 of an inch long. Please burn the candles in an area that is free from a draft (ceiling fan, ceiling air vent, etc.). If you feel the candle is not smelling strong enough and it is in a large and/or open room, please try it in a smaller room and make note in the appropriate area on the test sheet. See, I told you I was bossy. At the end of five burns, please call me so I can pick up the candle. I need to be able to see the candle and get your test sheet.

Good for you!!! I have been looking for one around here to try it out, but have not seen any. Just more excuses to go out and shop, huh?

Yeah, unfortunately using cool effects like shadows, beveling, etc., only works with a high quality laser printer or professional labels. I think it still looks great!

I hate to hear about the air pocket. Could you tell us what wax you were using that gave you such a good cold throw? thanks!

You nailed it!

Do you have Photoshop? You can jazz up a "plain" label with layer effects on the text (bevel, drop shadow, etc). I love the simple elegant look too, and I use layer effects on the text on my labels to give it a little "pop." If you are printing on a white label, you can also add a very light gradient effect. Just a tad of color will add so much.

I just snorted water up my nose on that one! I keep forgetting my cardinal rule: Do not drink and read message boards at the same time. I probably am not much help because I have used Ezsoy for the past four years and I am getting ready to dive into GF's 444 wax and test it for a possible wax change. I am just fed up with the inconsistency with the Ezsoy (and it is not just Ezsoy from what I understand since several companies use the same wax and put their name on it) and testing each lot (at the company's suggestion), so I am looking for something that will allow me to keep hair on my head.

Geek took the words out of my mouth before I could even type them. I just remember hearing so many differing opinions on the cold throw. I would love to hear comparisons between what wax they are used to vs. the 444. I am getting ready to test it. I am fed up with my soy being so dang persnickety, but one thing I will say about my soy is that the cold throw is amazing.

They are from fairway glass.

I realize you were not asking about these, buuuuutttttt...... I use www.overnightprints.com I have shots of my candle line that I jazzed up in Photoshop, adding text to them and uploaded the finished product. They are on thick stock and in my humble opinion, look very professional. The great thing about the service is that you can put stuff on the back of the card as well. So on the front of my card, I have a picture of my product, company name, contact info and a few blurbs about my candles. On the back I have a mini ad explaining more about the business. I just ordered 2000 two sided cards with the glossy uv coating on the picture side for $89. When I think how much it would have cost for me to buy that many business cards, pay for the ink to print them out, not to mention my time, I think I came out ahead. That and the fact that they do look as though I had the professionally done.

That is a pretty big hang up. I am thinking out loud about everything I went through when I ended up having issues with my wax. Have you recently changed suppliers for wicks? I have found that not all suppliers are created equal even when you are dealing with standard type wicks (CD, HTP, etc.). If you have not changed suppliers, have you recently ordered a new batch of wicks? I know someone who used the same supplier for wicks and one time they sent her the wrong size by mistake. She filled a huge fundraiser order with the wrongs wicks. It was horrible for her! (Even more so because of the way the wick supplier handled the situation). Is there any way you may have put the wrong wicks in the candles? I say this because I have bins of wicks on my work top. They are all labeled, but it would be so easy for me to reach in and grab the wrong wick. I just find it odd that your one candle burned perfectly while the others did not. Same wax? Same oil? Poured at the same time from the same pot? If you say yes to all of those, it makes me think that candle has the right wick and the others don't???? Maybe if you were finishing up a bag of wicks and that GOOD candle might have been the last wick out of one bag and you broke into a new bag of wicks for the others? I am really just grasping at straws for you, can you tell? What I would do is buy another pack of whatever wick you have in those candles. Then yank those wicks in the candles which did not burn properly, replace with the new wicks, hit it with a heat gun and re burn. If they still do it, that would eliminate the wick. That leaves oil and wax. I have had a supplier change oil on me. I don't use this supplier anymore simply for that reason. The oil looked and smelled different when I got it in. Out of curiostiy I poured a test candle and it burned SO much differently. When I called and asked the about it, they informed me they changed suppliers. Uh, thanks. Again, I am just throwing out everything I went through when I had issues, hoping something will make you go "ah ha!" I know how frustrating this is.

Michael, the tumblers I use these on are (from outside edge to outside edge) just under 3.25 inches. They will also work on ones that are just a bit smaller in diameter. When I say a bit smaller, I would say nothing less than 2.75. These lids have gripper type things on them. I wish there was a better way to explain it, but they have three or four indentions around the inside of the lid that will pop onto the tumbler and hold it snugly. That way it will allow for a bit of room in sizes. If I had to list one downfall, it is that they are pretty flimsy and bend easily. I had one shipment where the box was dented on one end and there was a lot of damaged lids.

I agree. I use CD wicks and have always used the same supplier. I needed some quick, so I chose a closer supplier. Their CD 12 burned more like a CD 11. I know there is not such thing as a CD 11, but it was not quiet a 10 and sure not a 12. I learned my lesson.

I know I am coming into this late, but I am new and just now seeing the thread. :smiley2: There are some great ideas! Some things that I did not see mentioned (forgive me if I overlooked them): Dolly. It is a MUST for me. Even if I can park near my booth, I usually take close to 80 cases of candles, two tents, five tables, etc., so I have to have it! Duster. I keep a feather duster in my show box for those outside shows that are dusty. I have a lot of black stuff in my booth and dust shows up like crazy. Painter's drop cloth plastic. The stuff that is very thin plastic, almost like grocery bag consistency. I always keep some in my booth for rain emergencies because there is always that one little spot on the tent that will drip. It is lightweight and can cover the tables quickly if need be. Also, when I do a two day outdoor show and close my tent up over night, I cover all my products with it. I have two Ezups which I set up next to each other and if it is exceptionally dewy, sometimes it will collect between the tents and fall on my tables. Register counter. I used to use a table for check outs and just put my cash box on top, but then my husband made me a check out counter. It is tall, three sided and was easy for him to make. He is actually making me another one b/c this one got a bit beat up this past year. He just made it out of plywood and then used molding (baseboard type and crown molding) to finish it off. He painted the whole thing white and I put my logo on the front of it. It was easy, cheap, and really spruced up the booth. On the inside of the whole thing are shelves. Before, I had my purse under the table, my drink on the table, my signs on the table, my sunglasses on the table. It was crowded and unfinished looking. It drove me crazy. Now all of that extra stuff is out of view behind the counter. Email list. I place a sheet on my counter for people to sign up with their email. That way when I am back in the area, I send them an email with a 10% off coupon. It has brought me so much return business. Did someone say baby wipes? Good for sticky fingers that seem to be attracted to candles. Also, I use them to clean my hands every once in a while between potty breaks.

I use 100% soy and have issues with different burn qualities between lots. The wax supplier even told me I should test each time I receive a new lot. Gee, that would have been a nice thing to read on the wax information area on the website, don't you think? (Reason 13,948 I am now moving from a 100% soy wax to a blend) I had the same thing happen last year: I had been using the same wax/wick/oil combination for years and all of a sudden candles started drowning out and not burning correctly.

this may sound funny, but an overcast day is even better for outdoor pics. if you do take them on a sunny day, find shade.

I was in my kitchen and had these on the stove so thought I would just grab a picture for you. These are on the 11oz Fairway tumblers and they also fit the 14oz tublers. I think the are about 3in in width.

I actually made a background out of a piece of light plywood which I covered with material. I take all my pictures on our back porch. It is great lighting and I get much better pictures than I ever did inside. I prop the background up against the wall on a table which I have covered with a black sheet. This plus using a photo shop editor makes for some snazzy shots.

I don't think they would mind me posting their info/name/number. I will just cut and paste from an email I received from her when I inquired about the lids. It is an Anchor Hocking product, but you can get it through this company. They sent me samples ahead of time and then I ordered. For me they fit the Fairway 11 and 14oz tumblers. email from them: Thank you for your inquiry on plastic lids. I believe you are asking about the Anchor product, Z7838. This is a special order item from Anchor for us as we do not stock Anchor products. They are packaged 144 per case and the price is listed below: 0.13 0.11 0.10 0.10 Pricing is based on 1-9 cases, 10-49 cases, 50-249 cases and 250 + cases. Please let me know if I can answer any other questions for you. Regards, Gerri Bernard Marck & Associates, Inc. 419.720.0216 - direct line 419.478.6440 - fax gerri@marckassoc.com www.marckassoc.com