Trae

I make tealights with any good leftovers. If the wax is left over from melting down old candles, I wick a metal bucket with citronella wick (you can use large cans too), and keep pouring in the leftovers until the bucket is full, then use it outside in the summer.

I store my ornies in quart mason jars until I'm ready to package them.

Looks yummy and I love the jars!

I have never poured in layers. I just let the gel cool until I can put my finger into the gel without burning it and that's when I know it's time to put the embeds in. You can get rid of the lines with a heat gun. Just be careful you don't let the glass get too hot or the embeds will melt.

I have a simple way to do the fish in a bag. I cut small cubes of soap and place them in the bottom of the bag. I use lollipop bags from the craft store. Then I take a quilter's pin and poke it thru the bottom of the bag and thru the soap cube until the pin point sticks out of the top of the cube. Push the fishy onto the pin to hold it in place. When you pour the soap into the bag, the fish will stay in place and the cube will gradually melt. Just pull the pin out when the soap is firm enough. I put wire coat hangers on a hook and clothespin the bags to the hanger to cool. I can usually fit about 5 bags per hanger. If the soap starts to leak out of the pin hole in the bottom, just put the bottom of the bag in a bowl of ice water for a minute or two and it will stop. HTH!

I agree with Soapmom. I offered wedding favors for years but it got to the point that everyone wanted everything for dirt cheap. Especially if they bought in bulk. I'm noticing that people are going to craft stores where they sell 24 votives for $5 and just package them themselves. The only wedding item I offer now is an invitation pillar and even those sales are scattered. Good luck with whatever you decide!

One of these is much easier..... http://www.creativegemsmolds.com/store/view_product.php?product=T-L3S6AW7

The craft store glitter is larger than cosmetic glitter and will clog your wick. Cosmetic glitter is very fine. I'm not sure you can get it in craft stores but there is a ton of places online that sell it.

I had an issue with FedEx at Christmas time. I ordered a full drum set for my daughter and when it was delivered, the box looked as if it had been cut open with a knife and the drums were practically falling out of the box. I called FedEx and they basically told me they don't have to be careful with packages even if they are labeled "Fragile". As for the box being cut open, they had no answer for that. Luckily there was no damage or missing parts or I would have pursued it further. Hope you get somewhere with them.

One thing I noticed with the schools around here is they tend to go for the big name companies because they think if people are familiar with the company, they will buy. My kid's school does a Yankme fundraiser every year and they think they did great if they made $1500. A teacher told me that half the time the packets don't even make it home. My kids pitch theirs right in the trash only because I make candles. You might be better off targeting smaller groups, like cheerleaders, drama club, music boosters, etc. They are the ones who tend to hustle a little more because the schools don't give them any money. Good luck!

I think it depends on the look you are going for. If you are making seascapes or drink candles, bubbles are the way to go. I like a little less bubbles in my fruit candles because I like to see the detail on the fruit. To get less bubbles, I just put the candle in a sunny window for a few hours. HTH!

Crocheted this for a friend....

You can find the jewelry crimps at Michael's too.

I charge $5 for mine and no one blinks an eye. I use the large pop bags from the candymaking aisle at the craft store.

Beautiful color!

I use Sovereign Bank and got the free business checking. No minimum balance, free checks and it allows 300 free transactions per month. You also get online banking (which takes a little getting used to) and e-statements where you can see your monthly statement a few days before it's mailed out. Every other bank I went to wanted a $500 minimum. I tried having a separate account in just my name but when I would do fundraisers, I'd have on the form to make the check out to me and since people don't read, they would make it out to the business name. I've been pretty happy with this bank so far.

I haven't figured out the wicking for Palms yet either. I kinda put it aside for the last few months. I've tried LX and RRD's and no matter what size I use, I get a blowout or weak flame. No happy medium.

I live in PA and have my insurance through Benchmark. They offer up to 2 million.

I'm not saying you can't get a great scent throw from gels....you can. But in my experience, since the gel takes longer to melt than paraffin, you don't get the throw as fast. A lot of people want to be able to light a candle and smell it a short time after. I've never had a gel throw as strong as paraffin and I've tried tons of scents from tons of suppliers. Still, because of the uniqueness of the gels, I get a crapload of business from them. You'll find that there is a customer base for novelty-type candles who will buy gel, and then those who just want a straight-up great-throwing candle in a jar. I have both and that works for me!

About half of my business is gel candles but here's a few things I've noticed over the years: *gel doesn't throw scent as well as paraffin and scent is what most people go for. *Since gels are so decorative, a lot of people won't burn them and don't need to buy more. *Gel is more expensive and people are cheap!!

I'm definitely writing a letter to the principal. They were supposedly mailing that check out on Tuesday or Wednesday and I still haven't gotten it yet. This school is only 5 minutes away so it doesn't take that long to get here. It was 3 weeks ago yesterday that I gave them my inventory sheet so this is totally unacceptable. Guess it sucks to be me if I needed that money for Christmas.

This is the one that was only pushing only the dollar items......anywho, the day I went to break down my display and take inventory, I was informed that they lost my inventory sheet. I had a copy with me so I took inventory, gave it to them and went on my merry way. Usually they send me a check within a few days less the percentage I give them, along with the inventory sheet. Well, I've waited over 2 weeks now for the check. I called my friend who works at the school to see who to ask about it. She called me back today and tells me the lost the 2nd inventory sheet! WTF! I told her I didn't have one saying what was sold, only what total inventory there was (I actually know what was sold in my head but didn't have time before work today to print out another sheet and deduct everything). I told her what they owe me and she said too bad for them (the PTO), they're going to have to go with what I told them they owe me. Supposedly her MIL had items there too and hasn't been paid yet. I guess they were going to hold onto my money until I said something, not call to say sorry, we lost your sheet. Guess considering the ritzy area the school is in they figure I don't need the money for Christmas or anything. Unbelievable! I'm definitely not going back there next year.

The laptop I'm not sure about. If it's solely for business, you can write it off on your taxes. In PA, if you buy your supplies from the craft store, you can take your tax id # and they will give you a tax exempt card. If you buy from a big supplier, like C&S or Candlewic, they will most likely have you fill out a form Rev-1220, which they keep on record saying you are exempt. A word of advice...if you are a C&S customer, download the form online and mail it to them because they came after me with that form 2 yrs after I gave them my tax ID # saying if they didn't have the form within 10 days they would charge me sales tax on all of my past purchases. Also, if you do any wholesale accounts in PA, you'll have to have them fill out the same form. If you buy supplies out of state that doesn't go directly into the product for sale, like molds, wick pins, melters, etc, you have to pay use tax on it. Hope that helps some.

Your sales tax license enables you to be tax exempt on your purchases in PA. Just make sure the purchases you make that are exempt pertain to your business in case you get audited.

You can get Peeps molds here: http://www.flexiblemolds.com/easterspring.htm