Twoscentsworth

Vanilla can be tricky....it's a heavy oil and you may have wicking and discoloring issues so I wouldn't start with that....I would save it for later once you are familiar with what wicks and wax you want to use and have done a bit of wick testing...will just make it easier for you once you have tested a bit. BUT the tarts are a whole different ball game LOL and you most certainly could use it in them....if you have a Dollar Tree near you you can usually find the melters there and the tealights. Just add your wonderful melts and it is a great gift...as FirstLady says, they sell quickly and are easy to do.

It would be very surprising if you were able to get this right before Christmas......some struggle for many months before getting it right. It's amazing how many think all they have to do is melt wax, add FO and color, wick it and forget it LOL, you now know why experienced chandlers tell "newbies" to test, test, test and re-test. You also need to burn your tester all the way down, test each scent and color combination. BUT you said your tart smelled great so might I suggest you add a tealite melter and melts to your basket instead of candles? This will save you a lot of time, money and aggravation....

Agree with AJ AND I have found that taking 15 to 20 scents is better than taking 100. People here don't seem to be able to choose from that large of an assortment and having a limited amount of scents in different categories works really well. Also, at a craft show you don't want someone spending 30 minutes trying to decide on a scent:) Here I do a larger amount of food scents because that is what sells the best....I know it is different in other places.

Think I understand your reason for posting and you have my sympathy for finding yourself in a difficult situation. Unfortunately it seems that a lot of people have no integrity, no ethics and no moral fiber. A lot of people have a mentality that however they get anything as long as they get it is fine and that anyone they can take advantage of is a "chump" and deserves it. Most people want everything handed to them on a silver tray (examples here : how do I make a good candle? do I really have to test? what wax, container, fo, wick do I use? gee, should we come pour it for you too?) THEN if something happens in business it is NEVER the business' fault, it's yours or someone elses. No one stands up and accepts responsibility any more...it is never "the buck stops here" its "let me pass this buck around until it isn't worth a cent". The days of a mans (or womans) word being his bond seems to be over....at least for the majority of people. We have seen that on this board before too. I find it extremely prevalent in the younger generation...is it because so many mothers had to work and couldn't raise them? because so many fathers took off and weren't around? Is it because we took God and the commandments out of the classroom? because we sat them in front of TV sets and let them learn from there? IMO it's a combination of all of the above. Now if you are one of the "younger generation" and do have integrity etc don't get all bent out of shape....I was generalizing and know that some of you are honest etc. that is only my Two Scents Worth, and probably about what it's worth

Congratulations! IMHO you have done everything just right It looks great. What are you going to call your shop?

If you have some wooden skewers just wait until the wax has set up firm but not hard and then stick a skewer into the middle. If they are shallow enough you can also use a toothpick. If you cant use either of those and have an ice pick or something metal and long and skinny (wire etc.) you can heat the end of it up and then touch it to the center of the candle, this is slow going and you have to do it easy and 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch or you will split the candle.....but it can be done

Both times I filed online. The second time they had lowered the cost and I am guessing they have become more efficient

What gel are you using? Penreco and what density. I think the fo should still be good, I have some older than that that still works. BUT I did buy some gel from someone else...a legitamate place that makes gel just a bit differently from Penreco brand....and it does not throw scent like Penreco. SIGH.... Other than that, maybe try wicking up... also, you can add more fo to the gel than you think, 1 oz per lb if it's MP more if it's HP. HTH

You need to use pillar soy or add something to the reg.soy to harden it up a bit. Then put in a bowl (I use stainless steel, got in BigLots very cheep) let cool past slushy to starting to firm up and then pick up scoop of it and mold, add some more wax until you get the size you want. If you're going to wick them use a skewer to poke hole through for your wick.

Good for you for asking I think it's important to know everything you can about your trade. Very briefly....... Petroleum waxes are refined from gas/oil and there are 3 types; paraffin, microcrystallines and petrolatum. Paraffin is refined from crude oil, can have different amounts of oil in it and differerent melting points,different grades...lower melt point used in container, higher in pillars. Microcrystallines are usually used as additives, petrolatum is a blend of micro and oil and is used in containers. Beeswax, well it comes from bees Then there are the vegetable/plant waxes like soy, bayberry and palm and then Synthetic waxes like gel which are man made. That's the nutshell, of course the above can be expanded on and you can do more research if you are so inclined. HTH

Yes, contact your card company....OR call the bank if this is the card attached to your bank account and tell them you have lost your card, you need a new one. That way e-fax will not have the new card number and won't be able to charge you any more. Also, I don't advise anyone to give any one or any company acess to their bank accounts.....if this is the only way you can do business because you can't have/don't have credit cards, then create a bank account for those purposes only, then no one can get to your personal finances. I learned this the hard way too.

That's the ticket.... or you can adhere the sheets to the table top with good old Duct/Duck tape and then put a topper over that. No need to spend a lot.

Ah, just get a couple of twin size flat sheets....they sometimes have a good sale on them...I got several red ones for $4.00 each. Then just adjust it on your table so the front is covered....You are going to sell so much stuff you will need easy acess to under your table LOL You can also just buy several yards of the $1.00 per yard fabric too....

Hobby Lobby, maybe Michaels or anywhere that sells Candle Magic kits....... look for the packages of granulated wax, they come in colors pink, red, blue, green ...our Wally used to sell them but stopped, one near you may still carry them. If you cant find those you can grate your own, just color and harden wax then grate. HTH

I applied for my Trademark in September of 2004, it was put in the system November 30,2004. Made it to publication for opposition October 2005 and was finally registered August 8, 2006. So, it took almost two years. It could take more or less time, it all depends. You will need to wait 4 to 6 months before you will see/hear anything, this isn't something that happens quickly unfortunately and I have heard it is taking longer now because more people are applying. HTH

You say no new wicks, but is it a new batch of wicks? Try using different wicks and see what happens.....some of us got some wicks a while ago that fizzled out.......if that doesn't help then I hope someone else will have a suggestion for you. I have a whole case of CBL-141 that does not/will not throw, so I feel your pain sigh.

If you are new to candlemaking I advise you to wait until next season....the same people tend to go to craft shows and if they get a candle from you that is not satisfactory believe me EVERYONE will know it and they will not buy from you again, also if you do the show again next year when they pass by your spot they will tell EVERYONE they can NOT to buy your candles because they aren't any good. There are so many candlemakers out there now that you HAVE to have a GREAT product in order to compete. If you still have testing to do and you are even having to ask others what you should do, then you ARE NOT ready to sell...JMHO.

You are correct...that is a lot of candles to sell just to make the rent...then you have utilities to pay also. Can you and are you willing to pay the costs for a year or more if you don't sell enough product? I too believe in going after your dreams but this is a dream that could leave you broke and deep in debt. Can not tell you how many people have opened up shops just to have to close them down in a few months time because they did not have the working capital they needed. It takes time for people to find you and the summer months can be very, very dry ones. I love having my shop BUT I do not pay rent. We bought our building and my DH pays for it (he has half of the cottage). I was at the mall before and even there were days when no one came into the store. I payed 1/2 of what you will be paying and did make a profit but I also sold other things. If I had had to pay the full rent would not have made any money for some time. Be realistic and figure out exactly how many candles you will have to sell a day to pay the rent etc. AND to make money to reorder supplies. Also, if you can get those other shop owners to talk to you you might find out some interesting things about traffic patterns etc. Wishing you the best ....

depends on what wax she is using. Lots of people add Crisco but it could cause smoking....another one of those things you have to test, test and test some more.

I can turn my computer ON and OFF and find my way to message boards. Other than that I am a complete computer gumby....BUT the very nice people at DIY do get back to you very quickly if you have a question and I have had to ask them some very very basic questions. If they are laughing at me it's behind my back because their responses are very nice and easy for me to understand. If I can do this anyone can and I highly recommend Shelly and the DIY website set up.

IMHO plastic and gel are a big no-no I don't care if they (the seller) tells you they are safe or not....they aren't....if you can't find glass tealite holders try using the smaller votive holders...will give you a longer burn also and displace more of the gel in the inside container which is a good thing. You can use the shorter neck tabs when double glassing and I also suggest trying the zinc wicks...they will not slump as badly as some of the others will (after a while, the gel works its way into the wick and softens it and it will start to slump in the wax, since zincs have a metal core they tend to stand up better)....again, this is just MHO and years of working with the stuff. ....and the very first thing I thought of when I read your post was "wait until the gel boogers hit"

Here is where I definately differ in opinion....too many scents means too many choices and many people will not be able to decide and will not buy anything. For holiday shows offer holiday scents (cinnamon, sugar cookie, etc.) but I limit mine to no more than 20 and usually I take less. Decorate those jars, that is what really sells them as gifts. You need to make your candle stand out, not just a plain jar ... every one has a plain jar. KWIM? the last show I did I made over 3k so it works for me. (3k profit not gross)

While I know some people have had good results I felt like I wasted my money. None of the fo's performed well.

They still make them, look in the lower end stores like Dollar General etc. or look for "weather proof" (often used for cemetary flowers) they do melt easily though

All of what Robin said and .... if you make 100 candles but only sell 15 of them you are going to lose money....and sometimes things just don't sell. When I first started almost everyone said you HAVE to have a vanilla FO. Ummmhmmm, I couldn't sell (and still can't) vanilla to save my bottom. So that was $$$ right down the drain. I also have hundreds of testers in boxes that I haven't had time to clean out the jars SIGH and I am getting ready to toss them because looking at them reminds me of all the $$$$ spent It also depends if this is a hobby for you or a business. Many more costs associated with a business as Robin stated. Many people go under because they just don't/can't sell enough to stay afloat.