Bernadette

They are beautiful and unique, but look like they could be a bear to transport/ship without the flower chipping/marking/breaking. Are you having special boxes made?

Amazing...from time to time I search around the net just to see what's going on with gels these days. So today I find a new site that is stating that gel candles with glass embeds are unsafe and the candle most likely will explode! Theirs of course are safe, because they only use wax embeds which keeps the candle burning at less hot temps. Then I go on Etsy and there are people on there selling candles again with silk flowers and dehydrated fruit. And these are not forever candles. They are wicked. Another seller says for safety, the wick does not go all the way to the bottom! The ones with silk flowers have the wick going right thru the center of the flower. And they want $25-30 a piece. What have we said about people trying to make a quick buck without going thru the expensive and work of testing?

You are wrong there. There's no basic listing fees, but there are fees for certain auction/fixed price listing upgrades, there are final value fees, and since you're required to offer paypal as a payment option, if the customer pays with paypal, there are fees on the selling price + shipping - in other words the total amount they pay you.:tiptoe:

This always seems to happen quite frequently when times are tough. People still think it's a quick and dirty way to make lots of money. How hard can it be...just melt wax, pour and stick in a wick, right? LOL:tiptoe:

Please don't take this wrong, but I know you're anxious to get into making the items, but you really should do some searching thru the threads. There's lots of info on the questions you're asking, and there's even a tutorial on these forever candles. HTH :tiptoe:

If you're talking about a wickless gel candle with embeds that you heat up, say on a warmer, there is a chance that when the gel liquifies again, the embeds will move. If a seascape, the fish will sink to the bottom.

I just saw a Sharon Osborne interview on GMA where she was telling Lara Spencer that Howard Stern sent her and Ozzie an oil candle for Christmas. They lit it up in their bedroom, had a romantic evening by candlelight(no fragrance, mind you) and went to bed. In the wee small hours they heard a noise, woke up, and see the glass had broken and oil with the flames were all over the floor and table. Obviously, they had left it burning... Ozzie opened the french doors to the outside(wrong) and Sharon ran into the bathroom and got water, which she threw on the flames(wrong again). Well, the flames exploded into a huge fire! Ozzie had just had surgery and had a cast on his arm, so he started beating the flames with his cast, and his cast caught fire! Sharon said his hair is now above his ears because he burned that much off! Her advice was to never leave ANY candle burn that long. Just goes to show that even the rich and famous can be crazy when it comes to candle safety.:tiptoe:

Try a pinch(a pinch just like when you're cooking) of Vybar, stir well, pour slowly when the wax has cooled down some.:tiptoe:

I must be getting old. I had heard this mentioned, but never thought much of it until a couple of days ago when I saw it pop up on my hidden counters on my website. So far I've found 2 of my candles "pinned" and repinned there - one over a year ago:shocked2:! I find it difficult to navigate, but figure I must be doing something wrong. Can anyone shed some light of Pininterest in general. TIA:tiptoe:

I responded with this because you asked about churches. Our church bulletin has written above all the advertisers, "Please support our advertisers". Since you'll be talking to the pastors, you may want to see if they will be having any silent auctions or raffles. It's free advertising for you, and a tax write off. I've gotten lots of local customers this way too.:tiptoe:

Many churches still have weekly bulletins that are available after weekly services. They are the listing of the coming weeks services and events, and the back is usually ads that local businesses post, which helps defray the cost of the printing. We have advertised in our church bulletin at a monthly cost of $25.00. Got quite a bit of business from it. You may want to check into it.:tiptoe:

I've been researching alittle...it's called ArtMinds molding wax, distributed by Michaels. Supposedly, they're in Irving, TX. I'm calling Yaley tomorrow and seeing if I can find out anything. I'll never buy any of this new molding wax again, I'll tell you that much....:tiptoe:

Whenever I've needed to do a quick test on a design feature, I've always tested using the Yaley wax at Michaels. Was running short, so went to Michaels to get s ome more. They don't sell it anymore! They now carry some wax that isn't wrapped and has instructions on it in French as well as English. Doesn't say what kind of wax it is, but supposedly is for pillars. I bought a slab to try. I hate it! It is so brittle plus it mottles like crazy no matter what you do to it. And it's more expensive than the the Yaley wax was. Wonder why they switched. Now no one carries Yaley locally.:tiptoe:

I don't use the same wax as you, but I find I have to pour at least 35 degrees lower to get mine to mottle well. You might want to give it a try:tiptoe:

BTA, I'm not sure if this answers your question or not, but soy massage candle base is not pure soy wax. It has lots of other "body" type stuff(lol) in it. Most instructions for using the base say you cannot heat it above 150 degrees or you could ruin it. Most massage candles I've seen have been in tins. Oh...and a properly designed massage candle is only supposed to be lit for 15-20 minutes.

Forgot to put ton of people want to make soy massage candles, and want to buy them. Sorry:embarasse

First, let me say I do not now, nor never have made soy candles. I do know there a ton a people that want to make them, and want to buy them - although they're usually quite expensive(no wonder...when 5 lbs. of base costs over $6.00/lb.). I know of one place that sells the base for making soy massage candles, and they do NOT have the base under candle making supplies. It's under bath and body supplies. That said, the schelp candle makers that doesn't want to spent the big bucks for soy massage candle base, but want to command the big sales price(I've seen them selling for as high as $75.00/candle - 8 oz.) are selling regular soy candles as massage candles out of greed or ignorance or both. Customers are misinformed or ignorant or both. :tiptoe:

They are beautiful, Sabrina, like all your candles, and the color is great. Don't be so hard on yourself.

I would be very careful with this. I am a 15 year old homebased business that does internet sales only. Over the years, I have done special orders for many companies, national sports events functions, high end restaurants, yacht & country clubs, universities, etc....you get the idea...and not one of them EVER approached me via an email for first contact. They always called for the initial contact. Then, if needed, they would send templates, logos and such via an email. The buyer for the organization would give me a credit card with their name AND the company's name on it, if we reached an agreement and decided to proceed. The billing and shipping address attached to the card were the business address. Or they sent me a certified bank check from a nationally known bank. But that's if this turns out to be legitimate. Can you check the source isp of the email thru your email provider? I got a large order inquiry just the other day, supposedly from a well known Austrian company, and when I check the isp thru the email, and checked my hidden counters on my website, the person who sent it was in Georgia, USA! This is one of the latest scams...posing as a well known company. Not trying to dampen the excitment; just be cautious.:tiptoe:

Yeah...I tried to go to Hobby Lobby on Sunday too, but they are closed on Sunday . I noticed Michaels no longer carries Yaley wax, either. It is some slab stuff that is already mottled and isn't even wrapped! It's just raw wax slabs.

Yes, I went to 3 different ones today and all they had was the Libby squares and the new, wide lipped Anchor Hocking tealight holders.

I went to Michaels yesterday to pick up some glass tealight holders, and lo and behold, they're not carrying them anymore! In fact, 3/4 of the candle glass they used to have, they're not carrying anymore. Couldn't find any oyster cup votive glass anywhere in town either. This is really going to start getting expensive if I have to have this stuff shipped from now on.:tiptoe:

I presume you're talking about liquid dyes...start with one drop of mineral oil and shake/stir. You may have to add another. HTH

I got the same thing from someone in England. I only ship international flat rate and she thought the rates were too high. Tell the post office, not me. :undecided

When I looked at the pic quickly, they reminded me of beautiful ribbon I've seen with a black background and bright, beautiful, full flowers running down the middle. Very, very pretty.