LauraInNY

How much hostess credit do you give and how much free stuff do you give out?

I know a candle home party plan that gives 25% hostess credit (sometimes ups it to 30%) and then whatever specials you offer and freebies are subtracted. Also cost to mail invitations, etc.

I know she used it straight out of the bottle. Do you think if I made a body spray out of it with cyclo it would be okay?

Good question, I was wondering this myself. I know if you shake them up the scent kinda refreshes, but as far as shelf life, when do you chuck'em and start fresh - I don't know either.

Different suppliers carry different sample packs. Say you were looking for LX wicks. With Peaks you get 65 wicks, 5 of each of 13 sizes they carry for $7. Bittercreek has 5 of each of 14 different sizes only a couple of dollars more. Candles & Supplies 35 wicks (only 7 different sizes) for the same price as Peaks.

If you bought a minimum of 3 sizes of 100 for $7.00 each, you are spending way more than a sample pack. What if you find LX's just aren't going to work they soot way too much and have to try HTPs or CDs or RRDs. You can end up with hundreds of wicks laying around (or have to put in the classifieds) and spending way more money.

I'd personally rather buy more FO's. Then again, I know that what works for me, doesn't necessarily work for anyone else. As long as you're happy with what you do, go for it. HTH santa big

You usually only get about 5 of each size in a sample pack. That's not too many to have lying around. I usually get a couple of sample packs and they don't really last that long. It's better than buying a hundred of a couple sizes and then finding that type of wick isn't going to work for you. HTH

I have a friend that purchased patchouli essential oil to use as a perfume and it is apparently not B&B safe as it makes her break out in a rash. She wants to know if I can make her candles out of this. It would be a container candle using J50 wax in a 16oz mason jar.

I have just a couple of questions as I have never used essential oils.

How long would the oil's scent last in a candle? How long does the eo last in the bottle? What amount of oil would I use per pound of wax? What size wick would I start with? (I have sample packs of LX, RRD, HTP, CD and lots of zinc wicks in many sizes)

TIA for any help...:undecided

I too feel your pain. I did my first show yesterday and it was a bomb. It was supposed to be so good, but everyone there said that they didn't make much money. I got 3xs my fee, but I only sold 4 candles. The rest was all other stuff that I brought. Oh well, better luck next time.

Just curious as to what the documentation of proof would consist of? And does everyone have this?

I like the chunks. Cool colors - I like them together. They all look good.

To answer the question about the trademarked "tart". You are correct, you cannot legally call them tarts. And yes, Yankmee does search for people that do use the word "tart". Ask our eugenia...LOL

http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4488&highlight=tart+trademark

HTH

Solas has an awesome iced gingerbread. I just got some and it smells good enough to eat. No burnt smell at all. An exact dupe.

I purchased Print Shop and haven't used it yet. I have been using word and it's been getting the job done. Is it easier in PS? I was thinking about returning it, but I should probably try it out, huh? Can I do oval labels in PS? I just got some through the co-op and now I have to figure out how to make the labels.

Hi ladies -

Some of you know I sell items in a vendors booth at a local country gift shop. I recently added candles and other home fragrance items I have been working on to my booth. One of which is mini cinnamon buns and gingerbread men bowl fillers that are scented and dipped in wax. Well when I priced them, I wasn't sure how well they would go over and priced them at a reasonable rate (2.99/dzn & 5.49/2 dzn) and they are selling like hotcakes. Well, I was approached today by one of the managers of the store (who also has the same sort of booth deal at another local country gift shop about 15 mins away). She wants to know if I would be interested in wholesaleing these to her to sell there. Well, my first inner reaction was ABSOLUTELY. Now I told here I would consider it and try to work something up for her and let her know.

Here's the thing---

1. She knows what I'm selling them for (and has told me I should raise my prices).

2. I only doubled them to sell to start cuz I wasn't sure how they would go over.

3. She wants a dzn pkgs of mini buns and a dzn pkgs of gingers (6 of each size). She also asked if I can do other items.

4. I'm torn cuz what I'm selling them for at the store is what I would sell to a wholesale client somewhere else. I could do 1.99/dzn and 3.49/2dzn. I'm not sure that she could get 3x what she's buying for though. Is that not my problem?

5. (This may be a dumb question, but...) I would still use my own packaging as all she is doing is selling my product and not reselling under her own packaging - correct? That would be something else entirely?

So I'd really like your opinions - do you think it is worth it for me to do?

I use J50 wax, 8oz jj's and 44z wicks. I have had good luck with this and would recommend it. I have not used J223 only because I get the J50 locally and don't have to pay for shipping. If you have to wick up for heavier fo's the 51z will most likely do the trick. As far as FO goes, 1 oz to 1-1/4 oz usually is more than enough...HTH :highfive:

Cranberry Spice from JS. Can't stomach the stuff when I pour candles, but I can't keep it on the shelf. I have to open all the windows and leave for a few hours.

Weighing your FO is more accurate because some are heavier than others. ie vanillas tend to be much heavier and you would use less of a fluid measurement to get your ounce in weight. The molecules in the wax can only hold so much FO. When it reaches its maximum capacity, the rest of the FO just settles on the bottom of the pot. I hope this makes sense the way I explained it. This is what I was told by someone at Candles & Supplies.

let us know how the testing turns out. Since everyone that responded so far has not had great results, I decided not to pour this right now. I am going to work on stuff that I know works for me. Only cuz there is so much to do and so little time... Thanks for your help.

I use J50 too and love it. I use 1oz FO and 44z's with my 8 oz jj, unless I am using a really heavy FO like vanilla's and then I use a 51z.

Sorry to hear the show was slow. I would definitely do the big show over thanksgiving. I did one that weekend last year and did really well. It was a little "rinky dink" show in a small town for $25 (for the weekend) and nobody else did well, but my partner and I did over $400. I wasn't making candles at the time, but we did that much with just crafts. With that many people coming through the big show you should do really well. People have lots of money that weekend and are ready to buy.

Here is the link to the site: http://www.solascandle.com/ They were on sale last week for 1.99 an ounce. It must be over though. You can get a sample pack 5 for 9.99. An ounce should be more than good for a pound or so of wax though cuz they are really strong oils.

Okay I went to pick up my order at Chris's yesterday. He had a few scents out for me to sniff and I ended up buying 5 more just cuz they were so dead on and strong I couldn't pass em up.

Lavender Cucumber & Sage - Very nice, strong refreshing smelling

Hot Chocolate - dead on scent. A very rich hot chocolate. I had a sample of JS Hot cocoa at home and took a sniffie. Solas wins hands down.

Iced Gingerbread - Yum wasn't going to get any food scents but...

Clean Cotton - Like you just took towels outa the dryer

Apple - a nice crisp apple, no spice very strong

Juniper - I smelled this last time and didn't get any due to limited budget, but I just got some this time. Really fresh and strong.

Autumn Leaves - Really earthy with a touch of patchouli

Kojiki- Nice- hard to describe, has an earthy base with bamboo notes

Lavender Harvest - Lavender floral blend, really nice for those who don't like a real strong lavender. Have to cut back on this cuz it's really strong.

Others I sniffed, but didn't have the funds to purchase and are on my wish list:

Peach - awesome (just like you picked it off the tree and took a bite)

Black Currant - nice, sweet and strong

Romantic Bloom - Very soft rose - nice and strong

Sandalwood Rose - nice more clean smelling would be really nice in soap or lotion

Has anyone tried this? It seems light oob and haven't had a chance to get it into wax yet. Plan to try it this weekend, but was wondering what results others have had.

I am using J50 container wax and Lavender Harvest is really strong at 1oz/lb. Bayberry, brooklyn biscotti, candy corn, patchouli gold are all really strong.

What wax are you using? I use J50 and find any of the vanilla scents from JS have to cure for about 2 days before I can smell them. ( I don't know if it really has to cure or if it's candle nose.) I only seems to be with the vanilla's though. I also have to heat the wax to a higher temp. HTH

Solas Candle Co has a really nice pumpkin pie.