bdank

I just bought a pound of Sage and Citrus from Candlewic today for $12.14. I tested a sample of this in CBL-141 and J223 and it is an exact yankme dupe that throws well both hot and cold. I can't believe they have the pound selling so cheap. I don't know if this is the regular price or a sale, but I thought it was a good deal.

Walmart has these jars, as does this place: http://www.earlyamericancandlesupplies.com/libbeyglass.asp

Is there a website out there that has companies fragrances listed on how well they smell along with the prices that isn't biased one way or another? I think that would be so awesome!!

Try this website http://www.scentforum.com/supplier-reviews.php

You could print your own. This place offers blank circular labels http://www.worldlabel.com/Pages/pagelabelsvisualcircular.htm I don't see any as big as you need, but they do say that they offer other sizes not shown on their website, so you could always ask them.

There are people who put their molds and stuff upside down on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels into an 200 degree oven and wait for all the wax to drip off. Since I work in my basement with no oven, I use my heat gun to melt the wax and then wipe out with paper towels.

How about a big label with burning instructions/warnings on it?

I never had a problem with sitting them directly on the counter.

Those white spots sound like it might be mottling. What kind of candles are you talking about storing? Containers?

Thanks for the replies. I've just gotten back into candle making after two years of not doing it. I forgot so much, but do remember how much I love it! I've been experimenting with votives and tarts. I want to get those perfected before I move on to containers.

My test votive has been burning since 9:35AM, about 7 hours so far. It finally did liquefy after about three hours of burning. Does this sound about right? I made some more votives today with FO and will test those for throw after they cure for a few days. I do realise that I might need to change the wick according to the FO. I plan on buying many types of wicks to test.

I want to add that I poured Peaks cranberry citrus about 20 minutes ago. It was a free sample that they sent me, and oh boy is it strong. I can't wait to see how the hot and cold throws are on it.

Hi everyone,

I'm currently test burning an unscented votive that I made in a standard metal votive mold using 75% CBL-141 and 25% J223. I wicked it with a 34-40-20 zinc core wick. It's been burning for an hour and a half and it is just now starting to get a full melt pool but nothing is spilling over the sides. It seems to be burning more like a pillar. I eventually want to add FO to my votives, so I was wondering, how soon does a good votive liquefy?

Thanks,

Bonnie

I did a search on this forum earlier today and there's tons of information on where to get labels and software to make them.

Ohh exciting! Thanks candleman. I'm not so sure about this supplier though, has anyone ever ordered from them? Their website looks kind of amateurish. I hate giving out my credit card number to just anyone.

I think I found some. Do the bell votive inserts at this place look like the right thing?

http://www.glassware4gellin.com/votives.html

Thanks ladysj. I'll check Michael's.

Okay, I found several suppliers who offer the cylinder vases but I can't find the votive cups that go inside them. Has anyone seen those anywhere? I'd like to make some of these centerpieces for Christmas gifts and I don't want to pay what Yankee is charging for the glassware.

I love these votive cups. Does anyone know where I can get these without buying the Yankee set. The potpourri can be found at Walmart and I can make my own votives. It's the glassware I'm interested in!

http://www.yankeecandle.com/cgi-bin/ycbvp/product_detail.jsp?oid=897896

I've been inspecting Yankee candles myself, and I notice that the wax in their tarts is sort of crumbly and grainy. I wonder if it's paraffin because it sort of has the texture of palm wax. Maybe they mix palm and paraffin. I never burned one of their candles before until last night. I bought a cinnamon tart, and boy did that sucker throw.

Where are you shopping? I've bought tons of things from here at Peak, Candlewic, Bitter Creek, Natures Garden, and Just Scents and they never ask me for a tax ID. All you need is lots of $$$.$$. Also, check ebay and the classifieds for discount start-up equipment like molds and wax melters. There are probably as many people quiting the candle biz as there are starting up.

This might help get you started. http://www.candlewic.com/chandler/pillars.asp, but of course it's only a guideline and you'll have to test to see what works for you. Welcome back to candle making, I'm just jumping back in myself, it's only been two years for me, but I've forgotten so much I can't imagine what it's like for you. I'm mad at myself for not keeping notes, now I have to do all that testing (and spend all that money!) all over again. :undecided

Bonnie

I just bought one from this person http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZcoppercreekinc

on ebay.

I can't comment on performance because I haven't used it yet, but it looks like it's put together well, and they delivered it to me very fast. They even gave me some instructions for usage. The person selling these is a candle maker herself, so she probably knows what works best as far as melting pots go. What I liked about hers is the spigot isn't all the way to the bottom, so if there's foreign objects in your wax they won't go into the pour pot. Also, they've applied some sort of sealant around the spigot that I don't see on other melting pots. I'm hoping this will ensure that there won't be any leakage.

I hope this helps,

Bonnie

Thanks txgirl,

I guess it would be best to start with 1oz to 1 pound and work up from there if it is too weak, huh? Do you know what size apothecary jar will hold 1 pound of wax? I wish I would have kept notes when I did all this before. :undecided

Bonnie

Hi folks,

I'm just getting back into candle making after a two year break. We moved to Okinawa Japan and I couldn't get supplies over there. So, I sold all my stuff before we went over there and now that I'm back in the States I have to start all over! It's been so long since I've made any candles I forgot everything I learned! I recently put in an order for some J223 and tons of FO samples from Just Scent. I never ordered from them before but the samples I got smell great and I can't wait to get them in some wax! I'm going to start off with some container candles to get the feel for things again, but I can't remember: when testing the 1 ounce fragrance oil samples how much wax should I use to keep it at the 10% ratio. I know it's 1.6 oz FO per pound of wax, but what if you only have 1 ounce of the oil (as most samples are.) I guess the only solution is to use less than a pound of wax to keep the 10% fragrance load, but I'm bad at math and have no idea how much wax that would be. So, in short, I guess what I'm asking here is how do you test those 1oz samples? Also, I can't remember, does wax weigh the same once it is melted? I would assume some might evaporate. Do you guys weigh your wax in liquid form before adding FO?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Bonnie