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Thanks guys! I placed an order with C&S so I got a sample of their leather to try. I am not a big fan of it OOB but am going to try it in wax too. Will probably still place an order with TCS but I have a bunch of other samples to work thru already I want to make a dent in them first.

He lives about 30 miles north of Fort Worth. I just ordered wax from C&S and added a 1oz of their leather to try. I will probably end up getting some samples from TCS...I really like the sound of a lot of them. In my cart right now I have cowboys on the beach, cowboy sunset, dusty mexican morning, leather, leather and lace, sassy, sun washed denim and wild woods fantasy. What is cowboys wild country like? Ooo...I just looked up thoroughbred. Might have to add that one too.

I just started testing CSNs for the first time...guess I'll focus on other options.

Happy Monday everyone! My brother in law (who lives in Texas) has requested that I try some leather scents for my candles. My searches here found that Lonestar and Texas Candle Supply have great options. I really liked the sound of some of the ones through TSC so I added about a dozen 1oz samples to my cart but shipping was more expensive than the actual products. I live in Pennsylvania. I will probably bite the bullet and place the order since it's for family but I wanted to see if anyone else had suggestions on good leather scents.

I just started my testing of this wax. Followed the recommended temps of heating to 180 and pouring at 140. When they first cooled the tops had a lot of frosting and cracking but after I used the heat gun they looked quite nice with only minimal frosting. I was so excited to start testing wicks that I forgot to take pictures. I didn't add FO to this batch because I wanted to see how the wax performed alone first. I think I overwicked slightly because with my previous coconut wax I added beeswax to harden it but I am trying it without this time.

I bought some of their nova jars to try (no lids since they were out of stock). I'm doing wick tests now but the quality of the jars seems much nicer than the ones I was previously using.

I ordered 10 pounds to experiment with but life got busy and I haven't had the chance yet. I'm hoping to in the next few weeks. I'll let you know how it goes.

I have been looking for some new "higher end" candle containers to try and I really like the looks of the ones by Dream Vessels. The past few months most of their containers have either been out of stock or pre-order only. Is this common for them or is it because of all the COVID related shipping delays? Any other suggestions as to where I could find some containers similar to theirs?

oops...forgot to include this https://www.candlesandsupplies.net/Coconut-Brew-Container-Candle-Wax-per-10-11-lb.-slab?sc=7&category=333096

I got an email earlier this week about a new "Coconut Brew Container Candle Wax" from Candles & Supply. Has anyone checked this out yet or know what it might be? I am still very new to candle making but so far have been messing around the Calwax CCN1 from Swans. I don't believe they are the same thing as I was told the CCN1 is not vegan and the C&S one says that it is vegan.

I'm late to the party but I can't wait to try this! One question though...do you need to secure the new wicks that you are putting in or is the hardened wax enough to hold it there?

Good morning all. In an effort to keep costs lower and not have candle jars take over my entire house (more than they already have), I want to try to reuse my candle containers for testing. In your experience what is the most effective way of doing this? Some of my jars have only minimal wax left in them while others (wick fails) have quite a lot left inside. As always, thank you thank you for all of your help.

I wish I could go back and tell my younger self to pay more attention in math and chemistry classes!! Who would have thought that I would actually want to use that kinda stuff someday? HA! My husband is a spreadsheet pro which will definitely come in handy once I figure out what I like. I have converted some of the whipped body butter WSP recipes and some from another site into percentages. One thing that I noticed is that WSP had a much smaller percentage of liquid oils to butters (usually around 4-6% oil and 85-90% butter) whereas the other site was more along the lines of 30-35% liquid oil and 55-65% butter. I plan on trying both, and probably everywhere in between, to see what I like best but what would be the pros/cons of the higher or lower percentages of each?

Thanks! That kind of formula breakdown is exactly what I was looking for to help "get to know" the ratios and ingredients. I should have said emulsified instead of whipped in regards to the sugar scrub...still learning the language. The more I read the more curious I am.

I know that in my reading and re-reading of posts I have seen this but I can't seem to locate it when I am actually looking for it. (isn't that always how it happens?) Does anyone have a good basic whipped body butter and/or whipped sugar scrub recipe that can be easily modified with different oils, fragrance, etc? I want to try making my own but I'm not sure where to start...maybe it will distract me some while I wait for my candles to cure! Personally I am not a huge fan of the greasiness of shea butter so I was thinking that I would start my experimenting with mango butter. Any suggestions on good liquid oils to start the learning process?

I left most of the Facebook groups too for the same reason. I kept reading bad information and seeing pictures of candles that looked unsafe. There is so much good information here about so many different topics. I read posts on this forum daily for months before I felt even remotely prepared to try making my own candle. I know that I am nowhere near ready to sell (or even give away) a candle but I do know that I want to keep learning from the best. Everyone has been very helpful, kind and encouraging so far which I appreciate immensely.

I am new and working with a coconut wax / beeswax blend. I haven't noticed any cavities yet but I'm still pretty early on in the process. What should I look out for to be "warned" if a candle may have a hidden cavity after being poured?

I did about 9% beeswax to start but i felt I needed to harden the candle up as it got really soft in a box in my car on a mildly hot day. Which worried me about shipping in the future. The adhesion for those wasn't perfect but it was still solid in the jar. I'm not sure about wet spots as the jar is matte. So far the adhesion for the 20% beeswax batch seems a little better around the top of the candle (maybe because I poured them hotter and cooled on a rack??). I am really trying to take my time with this and learn everything that I can to make a good product that I am proud of. I am a bit of a perfectionist so I'm also trying to keep that in check. This forum has been soo helpful. I appreciate every bit of advise, suggestion and word of encouragement.😊

I let the first batch (which included the one in the picture) cure for a week. Planning on doing that for the second batch as well. Would you recommend longer than that for a coconut wax/beeswax blend?

Thanks everyone! I have burnt that candle 4 times now for 3-5 hours each time. I'll attach a pic but it's staying pretty steady all the way down. Flame has looked alright and the outside of the jar has been cool enough that I can comfortably move it while burning. I poured a few new testers yesterday with slightly larger wicks. I did change the wax ratio some as when I put one of the candles from that batch in a box in my car (about 80 degrees outside) it got very very soft after a few hours. Not melted but I could easily push my finger through it. Worried me about shipping things in the future. I increased the beeswax to 20% to see if that helps. When I ordered some FO to try I threw in a sample pack of premier and htp wicks to have around. I didn't see csn at flaming candle but will look elsewhere.

Thank you! I bought the five for five from Aztec and a sample pack from the flaming candle to start. I had to limit myself to that. The crazy thing is that the locations closer to me have been more expensive for shipping than ones many states away. I am pretty close to Ohio too so will check there.

Thank you everyone. I am having a lot of fun picking things out to try...maybe too much fun haha.

Thanks! I will check them out.

Thanks! I will give that a try.

I realize that this is probably a loaded question but...if you were to recommended to someone starting out making candles one place to get a handful of fragrance oils from where would it be? I want to try a bunch of different scents but don't want to be ordering from multiple places to start. I am located in Pennsylvania if that factors into the decision. Also...any particular scents that you think would be good to start with? I am open to pretty much anything. Thank you in advance 😊