Brenda (OH)

Thank you, thank you Lana !!!

Crap - I guess I put in the "TITLE" Print Master . . . it's been a long day . . . .I am working with Print Shop. Yup, I am blonde . .

I am using Print Shop 20, not Print Master . . .Silly me had bought Print Master and gave it away a few years back. I'll see if I can draw a circle in Print Shop . . .Thx

Can anyone help me with making a round border in Print Shop? Is it even possible ??? I know how to make a normal square border but can't seem to find how to make a round one for the 2 1/2" round labels

Great to hear !! I was looking to order samples of the Daffadil along with the Tuberose & Jasmine. Glad to hear that those worked well for you in your wax =) Also I am wanting to try the Peony, Japanese Cherry Blossom and the VS Heavenly. I have a couple new lids I want to try for my new label design launching the beginning of the year so I when I call in my order for those I will pick up some of their oils. Plus they offer a sample of C-3 wax just for shipping costs. I've never worked with it before so I am going to give it a whirl . . . Making my list and checking it twice

I did a search and didn't find any posts on the fragrance oils that Fillemore Container sells . . for anyone who has tested them do you have any reviews? Their site states they test in soy, I am presuming C-3 since that is the only wax they offer. I get jars from them and was wondering about the quality of their oils, I am looking at some new florals for spring.

I have been wick testing and in my parasoy a CD14 burns a bit hotter than the HTP104. From my results it is more comparable to the HTP 105.

As for the designer scents, the Love Spell is a good dupe. I just got in the Dream Angels Heavenly and Hawaiian Tropic. Both of these OOB smell like they are good dupes too. I haven't had a chance to get them into wax or any B&B applications but plan to soon. Others not mentioned that I also use are: Pomegranate Christmas Pear Apple Dumpling Herbal

I'll give my opinion from personal experience also. I have switched to Graceful Hosting within the past 2 weeks. So far working with Adam has been all positive. His cart is very user friendly, and he went above and beyond for me to get my site switched over. My old site was all HTML coding, with separate FTP and shopping cart programs. It was time consuming to maintain and didn't have all the reports and options I have now. I researched and compared other DIY carts to Graceful Hosting and opted to go with Adam. My goals for 2009 is to redesign my website look along with all my product labels. I wasn't ready to impulsively purchase a template just to make the switch so he took my old backgrounds, buttons and graphics and transfered them. That in itself is customer service worth praise.

Update on these warmers . . .I absolutely LOVE them! I was deceived by the picture on Levine's website, I didn't expect them to be as large as they were. Yes the size dimensions are listed but I must have not paid close enough attention, I ordered based on the style. I ended up getting the 40 watt bulbs and they are melting my tarts in a short period of time. They are not too hot with an average tart life of 2-3 days.

No color did not help.

You will not be disappointed with choosing Graceful Hosting, Adam just finished switching my site over. He does awesome work and is very helpful !!

That is encouraging news !!! Glad to know it was an isolated problem and the new batch of wicks is burning fine.

OK this is where I am at and what is going on as of today. . .I am testing HTP's and CD's with my wax and they are performing well. So I am on a roll and feel confident I can begin to pour up orders switching from the zinc wicks that are white ashing. The last lot of wax I bought (12 cases) was all the same batch number BUT the wax is varying within the batch. I opened a new case and it has a different texture than the previous 2 - 3 cases. The new case appears to have more soy and the slabs will separate easily. The previous 2-3 cases was sticky and require work to separate each slab. Not sure how that can happen within a batch but all cartons were identified with the same number. Then I seen Bugtussle's post about her bad zincs . . . Not sure if my problem was a two-fold, compounded problem (or a bad moon rising ) All I know is that it halted my production and I got my fingers crossed I don't got too many candles out to customers :tiptoe: I am sticking with the HTP's and CD's to get thru the wax I got on hand.

Oh MERCY ~ I hope your few candles that white ashed is an isolated issue. I cringe at the thought . . . If zinc wicks are bad makes me wonder who the original manufacturer would be and how many suppliers have them stocked. I don't get my wicks from BC but that is not to say that my suppliers don't purchase from the same source. I have used unmentionable choice words toward my zincs the past couple of weeks. Words not to be repeated . . . :lipsrseal

Was it the Sticky: Soy and Soy Blend Recommendations in the Veggie section? This one: http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15182

How about . . . Curse Confections Comfort the Curse Curse Cravings

My supplier is continuing to try to contact their supplier/manufacturer while I continue testing different wick series. Nothing has been established as to what they are going to do. There is only one other place that I know that carries the same wax, I plan on contacting them for batch numbers if the different series of wicks fail testing.

Another update . .I agree it is a bad batch of wax but I am still doing everthing thing possible to make it work. I have been working with my supplier and they have contacted their supplier and have not gotten any reply. The batch numbers my supplier has in their inventory is the same batch number I am trying to make work. So I can't grab new batch numbers to test against. Zincs - all sizes are not burning in this batch of wax. I tried reverse pshychology using smaller wicks as well as upping to the max size available. All seem to clog and white ash. Most times is becomes evident around 1 1/2 - 2 hours into the burn on the 9 oz straight side jars. Right before the FMP has been reached is when the flame begins to get piddly and struggles. White ash begins, and what is really weird a small shroom will appear below the white ash and the shroom looks up side down (??). Reducing from 8% FO to 6% didn't resolve anything. Mr UPS didnt get my CD wicks to me before the weekend but the few I have a CD 12 seems to be working in the 9 oz straight side jars with light FO oils. I made a trip to one my suppliers 2 hours away and grabbed some HTP wicks that I have been testing as I wait for the CD's to get here. So far with this batch the HTP 104 is looking promising but I'm getting some black on the tops of the jars. I'll deal with that through this batch if I can get it to burn. I haven't been able to pour any orders in about a week since my confidence isn't there and with the busy season would spell disaster. So the orders are stacking up as I continue to test. Thanks to everyone for all the input - I am still open to suggestions. I will post the verdict . .

Just a quick update . . backing off to 6% FO did not help the white ash wicks or piddly flame or what appears to be wick clogging All sizes in the zinc series are doing this. I have a few CD's that I am playing with but not many sizes until my UPS man blesses me with his presence. LOL

Ah . gotcha . .sorry for the confusion on my end. I haven't tested TCS was going to recommend CS to you.

Are you saying that you got Hansel and Gretel's House from TCS and it is lighter than normal?

I haven't used your wax type but have had water in slabs of container wax before. It is a pain to work with. What I have noticed is if there is water in the wax once it is melted to temp it seems to make spuddering or popping sounds. Normally the water will gather together or pool so to speak. Could moisture have gathered in the bottom of the wax cartons? I would suspect it happened before it got to you . . Sorry if I wasnt much help, maybe someone using that kind of wax has a bit more insight.

I agree with Southern.scents. . . Levines does sell the replacement bowls but the bummer part is that they have the $100.00 minimum.

Thanks to all that have replied. I have the lit new testers with less FO, reduced from 8% to 6%. I am hoping this resolves the problem. Bug - I do have the batch number for the wax. I am working with the supplier and will see about getting a slab from a new batch if reducing the FO load doesn't help. JonB - Like others that have posted, I have always used zinc in my parasoy waxes. Being a cooler wick they have always performed well. I have used this brand of wax for about 2 years with no burning issues. CD's and cottons were always a bit to hot and would produce black on the jars in previous batches. I may need to resort to a change to use up this batch. Ah-soy - I am in agreement with the impurities that may be causing the wicking issue. Just the appearance and the "feel" of this batch of wax it seems a bit oily than normal. Henceforth causing a clogging wick issue with too much FO. Got my fingers crossed on reducing the FO load. Jeana - I believe this situation has given me the push I need to test wicks other than zincs. I like the rigidity of them and the fact that I can get a nice clean burn the majority of the time in the parasoy. I do have the CD itch, so to speak. SpaceGirl - with the majority of the white ashed wicks FMP's have developed and they burn relatively clean some leaving a bit of slimy wax on the sides of the jar. Except the blue candles. Those I am retesting with less color and FO, if that doesn't work then a no color test will be done. I will post my new tester results . . . .