LauraInNY

The Michaels stores near us just discontinued carrying the packages of them. I picked up a couple as I got them on clearance for about $2.

I agree with MAngel. If you are selling to an upscale area by all means go for the $14 range. People pay that for the P-lite candles and they are just plain pillars w/out much scent. Your candles are gorgeous and you should get more for such a difficult candle to make. If they will pay $100 for a pair of blue jeans they can put out for your candles. Trish is proof peeps will pay bucks for candles especially pretty ones...you go girls!

These are very nice, E. I love this look and you make it look so easy. Another thing to add to my list of things to try...:rolleyes2

Diane - Thank you so much for such detailed instructions. I have spent this past week trying so many different combinations of what to heat my wax to and what to add scent at my mind is whirling. I have tried using both Astorlite J50 and Just Scent 123 waxes. (Reason for the JS123 is that I emailed Becky with questions about what I might try to get this scent to work and she called me the next day and sent me another pound of FO and a slab of this wax at no charge to try - WHAT GREAT SERVICE!!!) I thought I would share my results. Heated to 200, added color, UV and FO at 200 stirred for about 2 minutes and poured at 160. Heated to 200, added color, UV, cooled to 165 and added FO stirred for about 2 minutes and poured at 155. Heated to 200, added color, UV, cooled to 145 and added FO stirred for about 2 minutes and poured. Heated to 170, added color, UV and FO stirred for 2 minutes, cooled to 160 and poured. (With JS 123, color did not mix and settled at the bottom. I may reheat this and repour or I may just toss.)I did this for both waxes and it seems no matter what temp I add the FO at, as long as I have heated the wax to 200 I get a hot throw using the pumpkin spice and the cinnamon roll fragrance. Both scents are heavier as have lots of cinnamon and had to wick up. I now have many jars of this scent to test. So far I have great hot throw in all but #4. I will test till they get to the bottom. I was at Candles and Supplies in PA on Thursday and Crystal was very helpful. She also said that J50 needs to be heated to 200. This has been a great learning experience. I was determined to conquer this fragrance. Thanks so much to all who offered their help. Hopefully if any other newbies see this it will help them too.

There are a couple of different potpourri fixatives. Cellulose fiber and orris root are two. At SF Herb the cellulose fiber is about $2 a pound and orris root is about $10 a pound. I have used the orris root and found it to be a good fixative. Have not used the cellulose fiber though, maybe someone else can chime in. I have also used aroma beads as an air freshener. It can be used as a dry potpourri. The beads absorb the FO and color and give scent for quite a while. They cost about $3-4 a pound. HTH

Thanks for all your input. I agree that $15 is not a lot of money for advertising if my business is being specifically mentioned in an ad; however, I also think that my rent, 7% commission and donating my time up to 16 hours a month is plenty of contribution for my space. We also have the opportunity to donate a "gift of the month" with our business mentioned in the newsletter and on their website. My sales have covered my rent, but haven't been much more than that. I have only been there since March and I know this is typically the slowest time of the year. I am spending lots of money to purchase supplies for increasing the amount of items that I carry in my space and advertising is one thing I thought was covered. I will have to check my contract to see if this is mentioned. She has advertised in the past in this magazine as well as other newspapers at no additional cost to the vendors. She has specifically mentioned my business in the past in articles, however I don't believe she intends on listing each vendor in this ad. I will talk to her tomorrow and see what she says.

I have rental space in a country gift store near me. I do painted wood crafts in addition to some sewing and other odds and ends. I am hopeful to start adding candles when the time is right. We pay rent monthly and give a straight commission (4%), plus extra (3%) for checks or ccards . We also have to work one day/month, however from september through december we have to work two days/month. Every week we get a check for the amount of sales, minus the commission. Pretty standard I think. Well with last weeks check, the owner enclosed a letter that states she wants to take out a full page ad in a local magazine that advertises craft shows and businesses in the region. This is all well and good, however she states that she wants each vendor to pay $15 asap to help offset the cost of the advertisement. I'm not sure if the magazine comes out quarterly or semi-annually, so I'm thinking this will be charged for each time it is printed. What do you all think? Is this my responsibility? We have never had to pay for advertising in the past and I know it's not a lot of money, but it seems like my commission should be going towards that. I know that if I had to advertise on my own it would cost a whole lot more. Should I just put up and shut up?

Hi Holly, thanks for responding. I used 1.5 oz of FO to 1 lb 4 oz of wax. I think that comes out to about 7%. I could try using more FO. I should be able to get at least 9% out of the J50 wax. Any ideas about temp. I am using the double boiler method and I wonder if I heat to 180, mix in FO, remove from heat and as it is cooling add the color (I use liquid dye) so I can pour sooner. Can I pour hotter, does it make a difference? Should I not put jars in a warm oven? I'm really bumming cuz this is one of my fave scents (as a consumer).

Hi guys, I am doing some testing for jar candles that I made about 2 weeks ago. They are 8 oz jelly jars w/J50 wax and JS pumpkin pie spice FO. When making these candles I had great scent. However, now when I am testing them I have no hot throw and very little cold throw. I heated wax to 170, added FO. Had trouble with it binding so heated to about 180 - 185 and the FO mixed in. I added color, stirred and cooled to 160 and poured into heated jars. (The process of increasing heat until starting to cool took about 5 minutes.) I used 44z, 51z, CD-6 & CD-8 wicks. Put in oven that was turned off but still warm (170 degrees) and let cool slowly. I am also testing another scent candle that I poured the same day and get great cold and hot throw. I can smell other scents and even when the kids walk in they say they can't smell those particular candles. I have tried in different sized rooms including a small bathroom and no scent whatsoever. I want to try again with this scent (cuz I love it), but not sure which variables to change first. Any help is appreciated. :undecided TIA

I went looking yesterday and there are inconsistencies in this in a lot of packaging. I don't think it has to be on top with your logo. You can keep it clean and nice looking. Home Interiors didn't have it listed on their packaging on the front. You could probably put it on your caution label if you wanted to. I saw some of that too.

Could be considered a seasonal item and clearance for spring/summer starts now to make room for winter stuff.

Thanks MaryAnn. I followed the BCN recipe. I only baked them for about 4 minutes. I think the recipe says 5-10 mins. They are very scented. With this heat the car smells yummy all the time. My dad has the apple one and it is scented with JS warm apple pie. He said he loves it. Was shocked as guys usually never say anything.

Here are some pics of the aroma ornies I have been working on. What'cha think?

I also read on another board that in addition to stickums they are using silicone II from GE. You can get it at wally word, home depot, etc.

OMGosh, I was just going to ask the same question only for straight J50 in 8oz Jellies. That's too funny. EDIT - 2:19pm, Sunday Okay so after doing some searches here I find that curing is very controversial and mostly a matter of personal preference. The longer a candle sits the better the scent throw. Generally I found these results for the two types of wax questioned. 1. Soy needs to cure for at least a week and at the most 3 weeks. 2. J50 a couple of days, if at all. Any additional comments welcome...

Looks good. It says "hey, sagebrush junction has moisturizing body lotion";)

I like this one much better. If you want the logo to be on the bottom, I would make it a little bit larger and the product name a little bit smaller. When you look at the label, you see the product 1st and not the logo. I like it a lot better though, you are on the right track. forgot to say - I like your choice of font for the product name. It is a nice contrast to your logo.

Those look great - very realistic. Great color and icing is awesome.

Thanks Vicky - I appreciate your searching through to find these. After looking at all these sites and looking at the smoothon site, I am inspired to make my own molds (we'll see if I make the time - HAHA). Hey candleman, do you know how much mix one of those sample pkgs of the mold mix will make (ie in cups, etc) Thanks for the help everyone - you are all great!

I have seen them in gift stores for 8.99 for a 4 oz bottle.

I've never used a silicone mold before. Is softer good or bad. Easier to rip?

I was just at Michael's craft store today and saw a heat gun for 19.99.

Just think of all the different containers in shapes and sizes. The possibilities are endless!! I think you'll do a great job. Please show pics when you get it set up. I love the mirror idea by the way.

You can add about a tbs more distilled water (but no more fo) and I think I read they only last about 3 weeks. You can also put it on a warmer and gives a stronger scent.

He does want them without fragrance. I would talk to the owner maybe he can assign someone to be candlewatcher? I know probably not realistic in a busy restaurant.