SatinDucky

I must be the ONLY person who can't get this ordered. Ok, I ordered it, but not correctly My file is wrong. Resolution is too low but every time I create it with a higher one, the logo is huge :rolleyes2 I believe it was debossing. http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69359&highlight=stamp

Normally I don't agree with most of these posts, but if ya want it honest... it really IS ugly....lol. You do have a nice color combination going though Looks kinda like you were going for rustic layers using wax that was too hot... Just wanted to add... a way to repair something like that (yup, I've had my share turn out the same way!) Drop that puppy back into the mold and give it a good zapping. Start at the top to give ya some melted wax to work with then go to the bottom and heat it up good... the bottom(top of finished candle) is where most of the air pockets will end up. Go back up to the top and keep it melted so that wax continues to run down the sides the back to the bottom and work your wax back up. Keep banging on the sides and zapping as long as you see air bubbles. It'll end up with an interesting look. Kinda like embedded layers of glass

Please let's skip the baking business! We don't want to scare off anymore new people :rolleyes2

Well, they're cut now. Obviously not a solid purple, they're kinda marbled soft pink and purple. Actually pretty colors, just not the blue I wanted.

Yup, as long as they get good and shiny, they'll stick. I can't tell ya an exact time since ovens vary so much. I actually cut back closer to 2 1/2 mins. Look at it this way... when ya pull it out, if it's doesn't stick completely you can put it back in for a few seconds then adjust your total time for the next batch. I only did a couple at a time while working on the timing, a larger one and smaller. FYI: don't touch them while they're still hot! I know it sounds like a duh, but ... In my testing, I would try to wiggle the beads a bit to see if they were stuck securely, using a long fingernail or spoon handle or whatever, not with skin...lol. Granted, it did give me an idea if they'd been heated enough, but it's really hard to get them unstuck from whatever you touch them with

Well, now it's a lovely shade of pale Lavender. I wonder what color it'll end up? LOL

Different people do them differently, so this is JMHO. I'd say you're baking them too long. Some people like to bake them until they're smooth on top. Even the BCN site shows them like that. NOT me. I've tested them quite a bit in the Alabama summer heat and the smoother they are, the faster they'll melt, curl and fall off the string. Not to mention the longer bake time burns off more of the FO. I only melt just enough to hold together. The shape doesn't change but they get a shine on them when they're melting. The bumps on the edges don't stick up much higher, if any, than the rest but they're kinda pointed looking and it's not appealing so I take a pair of scissors to the tips around the edge.

I don't think she's implying that the IS water in the candle. That was the whole point. In general lotion is thought of as a water & oil mix. Unless I'm off base, I think she's wondering why they're called lotion candles instead of butter candles or something along those lines. Possibly because when it melts it looks like a lotion? Then again so do butters. Then again, I'm still relatively old school and butters make me think of slick oily skin. I suspect it's name is used more as an attractor not a definition.

My try at salt bars. All was going terrific until I put the FO in. Oxygen. I swear I saw it starting to get right in my pot as soon as I poured it in. I gave it a quick stir to spread the scent some, quickly grabbed my spoon of beautiful deep SKY BLUE coloring, dropped it in and had to stab the soap with the spoon to mix it Keep in mind, I haven't even begun to add the salt yet Bound and determined to finish what I started and thanking heaven that my big plastic spoon is very heavy duty, I chopped and mixed and chopped and mixed, all the while watching my blue turn pink. Ok, so the color is mostly mixed... good enough. I grabbed the salt and dumped it in too. My arm was exhausted but I got it mixed in! Ok, mostly anyway...lol. My hands were burning from holding the pot while stirring. It was as hot as my pitcher gets right after pouring the lye in! Just HOW MANY things can go wrong at once? LOL. If I didn't know better, I'd swear I had a bowl full of potted meat. So I hald spooned, half shook chunks into the mold, beat it down with my heavy duty spoon and sprinkled some more salt on top. I tried to make a pattern on top but it was so blasted hard nothing showed...lol. I'm guessing super acceleration and overheating. Maybe soap, maybe not Maybe I'll go back to candles for a while

Well... maybe I'll get to it tomorrow. I ended up making perfume instead then went catfishin'. Now I'm cold and pooped...lol

Ok, I'm gonna toss my in here. My "shop" in the garage. No heat or A/C built in. Though I do have the insulation up about half way around now...lol Late Jan I can't do much out there, even with my big kerosene heater going. Ok, sometime I can do a little bit at a time in the warmest part of the day. It's usually 45 - 50 out there with the heater. Rustics work great but I can't do marbles. Remember I'm a pillar person here...lol. I dress warm and only stay out there about an hour at a time. Summer, it's early to mid August. Hot enough to choke a horse. I keep the windows open and the big door up with floor fans going. (My FO's get moved in the house to a cooler storage room by early June... geeez...it's almost time already!) Even with circulation my time is limited to an hour or so at a time. I usually play late at night so I wont have to worry about a heat stroke though. Now, marbles work great and without a bucket of ice water and/or trips to my fridge I couldn't get a rustic for the life of me. The good news is that even though I have to adjust my methods and amount of play time in the extreme temps, it doesn't change my formulas any. Then again, that's primarily do to my waxes and the types of candles I do

That is great to hear! The board and all the people here make this a great place to learn. You can never read too much! If you're not sure about something and can't find the answer, just ask! We don't spoon feed info here, but we're more than will to help anyone who really wants to learn and takes the initiative to do some research on their own. Many of us really enjoy helping out but we still learn new things here from others too. FYI: When asking for help, remember to give as much detail as possible. Type of wax, type/size of wick, size/type of jar or mold, which FO, pouring/cooling temp, how long you tested, the exact problem you have, what you've tried already to correct the problem and/or anything else that might help us to help you

I'm going to try to post calmly and objectively here, even though there are more ref flags going off in my head than I can count at once.... First are the serious safety factors... like a pocket of FO that didn't mix in turning it into a fireball, the wick shifting to the side making it shatter and sending glass fragments and hot wax flying in all directions, air pockets that turn the wick into a torch, etc, etc.... Now I'll pass on that and go on the assumption that you may get lucky enough to not cause any injury or damage.... if YOU'VE just started making them and haven't even learned what to test for, how can THEY know what to look for??? Many people here will let family and close friends test for them, but only after they've thoroughly tested them first and had repeated success for a while. Usually it to see if the successful burning continues under different conditions. What if your FO is a stubborn one and doesn't mix completely and seeps out of the wax? What if the top cools too fast and leaves hidden air pockets? What if the wick gives a good burn at the top but becomes huge towards the bottom? What if, what if.... HOW will YOU know how well they're burning or even if they're safe if you're not testing them???? Ok, there are so many variables that I can't even begin to go into much detail. Honestly, no offense is meant but this whole thread scares me to death I've had my say, given my opinion and will step back now. You will do whatever you choose. I can only hope that you will consider the safety and well being of your family and friends, not to mention unsuspecting strangers, AND the future success of your business then step back, do a LOT of researching and TESTING for yourself. Good luck

Gotcha... thanks

Ok, so I think I'm finally going to try this. I'll be using a slab type mold instead of my usual log one so now I need to figure volume. Am I correct in my thinking that since you use equal salt and oils, in figuring the batch size I'd cut it in half in soap calc? I mean.. the mold is 3 pounds, so in figuring lye in the calc, I'd use 1.5 lb of oils since the other 1.5 lbs to fill the mold will be salt. Or am I completely off base here? :embarasse

Lemme put my false teeth in so I can reply...

:lipsrseal :tiptoe:

Ditto for me. I also poke holes in each layer after I pour the hot wax on. Lots of holes actually

*DON'T SHOOT THE MESSENGER* This seems like a good time to mentions this. At the TN Social last weekend a supplier informed us that IGI just announced that ALL their waxes will be going up by .06 per pound on June 1st! He said they usually give them advance notice by a couple months. This time is was only two weeks Order any IGI waxes before then. :lipsrseal

Welcome to the board No offense meant, but if you're NEW to everything, you really shouldn't concern yourself with a selling price yet. Even if you stick to one size and type of candle, you've got probably at least 6 months of testing ahead of you. If you keep adding new fragrances, like most of us who are addicted, that'll turn into more like a year or two...lol. In asking about an 8 oz candles, I'm guessing it's a container candle. You'll need to figure out what it cost you to make it. What it costs someone else wont help you in any way, unless maybe showing you that your supplies are more expensive or cheaper. Someone who buys wax/jars by the pallet and FO by the gallon it going to have a MUCH lower cost then someone who buys wax by the slab and FO's in sample bottles. Anyone still buying by the slab and sample size really doesn't have a need for figuring selling cost anyway, because their experience level is going to be way to low to endanger the public by selling. Best advice: Read, read and read some more. Then (or during reading) test, test and test some more. Usually the reading leads to knowing WHAT you're testng for and why

I clear label would work.... assuming I had any or knew what kind to get that would work with my printer, if any...lol. Discs would probably be easier. Moving the hole is not possible. The sleeves are basically a shrink wrap tube, about 2" taller than the pillar and you split the difference between top and bottom. When you shrink it, it snugs the sides and curls over the top probably a lil over 1/2". I'm not looking at it right now so I can't tell you the exact size. It leaves about a 2" hole on the top and bottom both. I'm not too worried about sniffing, they can always smell the bottom

So that means you can use SLSa instead of cetyl alcohol? I thought I finally had everything to try this, but apparently missed that ingredient

I'm not that concerned with HOW they get it off. I'm concerned that with the sleeves leaving an open top if people ill try to burn the candle with the wrap still on Scented... "dotting any tops"? Is there a problem with heat that hasn't occurred to me? Ok, there probably is, but would you mind stating what problem you're referring to?

I did up some of my pillars in the shrink wrap sleeve. They've been sitting beside my bench. I kept looking at them trying to decide if I wanted to go through the trouble and expense of hunting down some of the clear disc dust covers. It just occurred to me that I'll have to add onto the warning label to remove the label before burning. (before they were wrapped with the cello twisted on top and tied and the label on the package bottom so they'd have no choice about removing it) Today it just popped into my head... would a customer be dumb enough to light the candle while it's still wrapped? BC (before candles) I had no idea how packaging worked. I can honestly see someone thinking why else would the top be open if you were supposed to remove it. Or even hoping to keep the outside neat and clean longer while still enjoying burning the candle. I've never heard of it happening, but it really makes me nervous now. I guess I will break down and find some covers for my own peace of mind.

That is very interesting! Do you use a special drill bit and what kind of wax do you use? I musta been doing something wrong. Not that THAT is anything unusual...lol