StephD

Actually the online will probably be more for friends of mine where I used to live. I do not live close enough to deliver or meet them halfway. So far, I've retested and poured 2 scents. I'm going to do about 4 more hopefully this next week. It's really hard right now as I don't have a lot of time. lol Congrats on selling so well! I'm really excited to be back into it!

I previously used a mix of the Ecosoya advance and pillar blend for wickless jars and melts, and for the most part had very good HT. I started back into the candles these past few months and am still having good HT. I've only tested a few FOs so far. The only one I didn't get a good HT with was Hollister, but after researching, I've found that there apparently isn't a Hollister FO that has a good HT. Good luck and keep on testing!

Thank you all so much! It's so nice to be around people who understand. I'm not worried about her taking away customers. I actually have a good combination of wax that almost any FO throws in, except Hollister. Oh boy would I love to get a hold of some good Hollister FO. LOL My mom is actually wanting that one, along with the two 15-year-old girls in the house. I'm going to get back in it full force. I took it up because I love candles and making them was something I never thought I could do. I actually spent months testing wax to find a good combination. On a side note, I have a few friends who refuse to buy from her because of her doing that. lol I know she's just trying to make some money, but there are other things out there to sell as well that I'm not making/selling. lol The main reason behind getting back in is because I really miss a good scented candle, but I also need to bring in some extra money. I loved how much the house smelled when I would make them. It was so worth it. I think I gained about 30 pounds, too. lol Thanks again! I knew I could count on ya all to make my day better!

So, long story short, I used to make wickless soy candles and melts, started a business and loved it! I ended up moving a few years ago and did not continue the business when I moved, but decided last fall that I wanted to get back into it. So, I tell everybody, they all loved my candles before, so I was excited. Late fall, I find out from my brother that his wife was thinking about selling candles. I was a little mad, reminded him that I've ordered wax and fragrance oils, and that I'm getting back into that. Well, guess what???? She started selling Scentsy in December and after I made my Etsy website, he bought her a Scentsy one. Nobody in my family understands, which is why I posted here. I needed to vent to fellow chandlers who would understand. Thank you for lending an ear! On a side note, I've been testing my wax, am ordering 2-3 new fragrance oils tomorrow and will hopefully have some up on Etsy soon. We are extremely busy with work and sports, so I have not had a lot of time to get this done. I do have a few questions on the business aspect if someone can help. I set up a site on Etsy. What do I need to do as far as the candle labels? Do I put my Etsy shop and if so, then do I need to register my business? Last time I made the candles, I just registered as a business. I would prefer to keep it simple if at all possible. Thank you again!

I did have this happen. Well, a friend of mine did and we came to the conclusion is was the expansion of the wax. It was Dreamsicle in an 8-oz mason jar that she had on a $5 warmer from Wal-mart. It was a tester I made. Anyway, she had it on for a few hours and shut it off when she went to leave. She was gone for about an hour and turned it back on when she returned home. The wax was about 3/4 cooled from the first warming. Anyway, long story short, it exploded. Literally, the bottom exploded off. Needless to say, no more palm wax in mason jars!

Thanks to all for replying. I know she didn't put it in the fridge. I'm gonna test some this week with extreme measures to see if I can make one break. I've thoroughly inspected all the jars and I see no visible defects, not that there aren't any there I can't see. She has come to the conclusion it was just a freak accident, but I want to make sure this isn't going to happen again. Thanks again for all your help! Stephanie

Okay. I bought these from BCS and was gonna place my next order with Riekes (sp?). I just thought it was odd that I have some here that I've warmed for the last 2 or 3 months and have not had one break on a warmer yet. I will find out what kind of warmer she has. I really love these jars but I can't have them breaking on me! Stephanie

It was an 8oz square mason jar. I have used a couple on my warmer. I don't know the wattage off hand, but it's the one at walmart that's around $5, kind of like a hot plate. It's weird, I know. I have used so many on there and have not had that happen. I'm gonna spend the week burning more to see if I can recreate it or at least figure out why it did it. If it was a defect with the jar, I'm sure she's pitched it now and we probably wouldn't be able to tell since it broke. Stephanie

No kidding. Thank God I don't sell these! lol I'm working on it. I got my Illinois Business Tax ID and am going Friday to register with the county and run the ad. Next week is the insurance. Next month, my b/f will have me a website up and only for things I have tested and not had problems with. I may have to try some marathon "warms" with my jars on the warmer and see if I can create a situation where the jar cracks. Also, I'm gonna inspect my jars once again to see if there's anything there that I didn't notice before. Darn things! lol Stephanie

Oh, I know. It just doesn't make any sense. You think if it was a jar defect, it would have broke within the first few burns, not 30 burns later. I'm kind of wondering if maybe some wax got spilled on the warmer. I don't know. I couldn't tell you how many I've put on my warmers without a problem, including the palm container wax. I may send her another jar and have her put it on the warmer, somewhere where if it does break it won't spill all over and see if maybe it's the warmer, since she just got it last week. Stephanie

I gave my friend a wickless jar candle made with the palm container wax from Nuscents with dreamsicle FO and orange coloring. She called tonight to say she heard and pop. When she finally figured out what it was, she said the bottom popped off the mason jar! She said the warmer she used was fairly new, she just bought it last week. I thought maybe it was the wax, but she said she has burned it off and on about 30 times. So, I don't know what caused this. If it was a defect in the jar, don't you think it would have popped sooner? I don't know. I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience. Also, she said she had just turned the warmer on and it hadn't even been on for 5 minutes. Stephanie

Hibiscus, I'm bookmarking those! lol I hadn't purchased anything from Fire Mountain yet but had found them online after buying beads and stuff at walmart and local craft stores. I figured there had to be a better place online where I could get more and not pay a fortune. I will definitely check those sites out. Me and my daughter just play around with them. We don't make anything with beads to sell. She just likes me to make her and her friends jewelry. Stephanie

I use the palm container wax from nuscents and it crystallizes nicely in the jars. I don't have a pic of the wax in the jar but here are some of the heart melts I've made with it. It crystallizes just the same. Stephanie Sorry the pics aren't the greatest quality. I took these a while back with my daughter's cell phone. I think they're sugar cookie, strawberry, and black cherry or cherry berry.

http://www.firemountaingems.com/ I'm sure there are a lot out there, but this is one I found and get catalogs from quite often. They have a nice selection and the prices seem reasonable to me. Stephanie

Okay, well I decided to take a break for tonight from testing my KY perfect blend and decided to play around with some palm container wax candles I made a while ago. Well, I had tested them a while back and the wax just tunneled around the wick. Regardless, I got no hot throw whatsoever. Well, tonight, just for kicks, I put a 60c in it and I can smell it! I'm gonna have to make some more and test because I thought this wick would actually be too big. Thing is, this wax is harder than a brick and it's container wax. Well, it's palm container wax. Anyway, I still got testing to do but just wanted to share that I finally (after how many months? lol) got a hot throw! lol Stephanie

Thanks. I do have some other wicks to test before I order more. I have some CDs and a bigger size cotton wick. I guess I'll order some more Friday and see how it goes. It burns really pretty, just no scent throw! lol Stephanie

I have come to the conclusion that I am wick impaired. I don't know what the deal is, but it doesn't matter what wax, FO, or wick, I get no hot throw whatsoever. I currently have KY Perfect Blend in an 8oz square mason jar with a 51-32-18z wick scented with dreamsicle. Anyway, it's been a couple of hours and I have a full meltpool, of course I filled it up to where the bottom of the rings where the lid screws on. Anyway, I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I do have 44z wicks and some 60 that I think are cotton. Should I try a different wick? Stephanie

Hopefully someone else can answer but I did want to say that the ones me and my daughter made last night have white spots, kind of like some of my candles! lol Anyway, mine spots aren't mold because we just made them. Maybe someone else will chime in because I would like to know what the white spots are from as well. Stephanie

I have made jewelry for my daughter and used stretch cord, although it wasn't clear and other types of cord. Anyway, don't laugh, I used nail glue. The reason I did this was because I used to wear fake nails and could not get them off for anything at all. I think it's worse than super glue! lol Anyway, I was making her a bracelet, it's gorgeous, and I couldn't find my other glue but had nail glue by me because I had done my nails earlier that night and that's what I've used since. The bracelet I first used it on is regular clear cord and it's red white and blue in rows. I'll have to take a pic sometime and post it. It was a pain in the butt but she has had compliments like crazy on it. Stephanie

Oh, I so wanted her to order the Rootbeer! I'm definitely placing another order next month and now a friend of mine wants me to make body mist/sprays. Geesh. It's neverending! lol Stephanie

cure time, huh? lol Well, this stuff is definitely way too addicting and I am having just way too much fun and of course my kitchen is always a huge mess from the candles, now I have lip balm on the table where I spilled! lol Oh, well. Thanks. I'm sure I'll put more on tomorrow. I just wish she would have picked the mega melon to make first. lol Stephanie

Sorry for so many questions. Well me and my daughter made blueberry blitz tonight with the flavor oil from BCN and their lip balm/lotion bar base. I didn't order colors, oops, so all we had were the colors that came in the first kit I got her. So, the blueberry blitz is green. Oh, well, it's just for us. Okay, first off, I only used the flavor oil and the base. Is there something else to add to it? I thought it would taste a bit different. Doesn't matter really, I just don't like blueberry anyway! lol Also, I'm having a bit too much fun making these. So, is there testing involved when making these prior to selling? I wasn't planning on selling, but they are way too much fun and right now I have way too many pots/tubes of blueberry blitz lip balm for just me and her. Of course, these she can give away to her friends. I'm not gonna be selling for a while. Same goes for the lotion bars. That's my next venture. I took a little bit of base out of the container and rubbed it on my arm. I kinda like it! Anyway, sorry for being such a PITA. I get addicted easily I guess! lol Thanks Stephanie

I will. I gotta order some containers. I have FO (fragrance oils) out the ying yang for them and then I just ordered some more! lol Stephanie

Well, I just ordered her the kit to try it out, but I think I might just swap some of that base and try it in a lotion bar! lol She won't care. She's all excited, wanting to know how soon it's gonna be here. I told her, it's not gonna ship out until Tuesday at the absolute earliest! lol Anyway, thanks for the replies. She's extremely excited. This is not stuff to sell, just something else for us to do together and she's gonna give out what she makes to her friends as freebies! Stephanie

Yeah, I don't know about these studies these days. It seems one day something's good for you and then the next day it's not. I guess I'll just keep reading the updates on that and see where it goes. Stephanie