Mountain_Annie

Thanks much. Looks like a good site for supplies. What info exactly do you ladies (and gents) have put on your metal plate that screws onto the sliders? I know that folks with a merchant acct will have their merchant # on their plate as well as their name and address. If using say...propay..would I need any sort of number on the plate itself? Also, Do you have them make the plate with your entire address or just name, city, state? Mt Annie ==============

Where do you get the cc slips for the craft show sliders?

You're right mizbizzy. I was speaking more "in general" but yes the outcome will always vary depending on many different factors. Too much FO is much worse than not enough. Mt Annie

Not sure about that...but if someone was evil enough to do such a thing...in most cases...they would not even need a CV#....so I do not think that makes too much difference. I know that VERY few ppl ask for that number when I use my own credit cards....even online. Discover cards are mainly the ones that have to collect that #. Visa/Mc hardly ever do. Not sure about American Express.

Once you have your knucklebuster for CCs...where do you get your CC slips?

GREAT info ladies! So you can use Propay in the place of (and in the same way as) a service like Paypals Virtual Terminal...which is WAY too expensive? Mt Annie =================

Thanks much. Just thought that I'd try to find some info. I keep seeing the name here and there but no one seems to know very much about them. Mt Annie

I'm pretty certain that everyone's answer will be different...depending on their own personal favs. and/or...their personal best sellers. It would also depend a lot on what application that they're actually using the fo in. Such as candles, bath/body etc.. so it would be quite difficult...if not impossible... to pick "THE BEST" fos from such a list. In addition...my own "5 favs" may change drastically from month to month as I try newer / better ones...or see that the ones that I personally LOVE do not sell as well as I'd hoped. Mt Annie

Who is HCM?

>>>I'm just going by the reaction in the tin candle containers... What happens in the tin candle containers? You have me very curious. Mt Annie =================

The metal stovetop coffee pots work great actually. They have the spout just like a regular pouring pot. I've used them in the past. They're the exact same thing as the pouring pots that go for $14.00-$16.00 each and a LOT cheaper when picked up second-hand...although with the older ones...the spout section CAN be a bit toughter to clean depending on how it's made. My Annie =======

Perhaps you could use the percolater...and just use an old fashioned thermometer to check the temp...as lots and lots of ppl still do when using the double boiler melting method....but not sure how you would regulate the temp or keep it there for any length of time once it got hot enough. Are there heating elements "inside" the percolator? I know that a lot of the pro melters have heating elements but not sure if it's the exact same thing. It seems that it *would be though. JM 2cents. Mt Annie

Bumping up post. Does anyone use FSS at all ? Mt Annie

Thanks ladies. Sharon, I eagerly await your reply. Mt Annie

Which is the better/stronger/truer caramel? BERTS regular Caramel Vs her CARAMEL CORN? Is the corn a caramel popcorn type scent? Thanks!

Hi, I haven't yet tried anything from Florida Soy Solutions. (FSS) Were they previously known by another name? Could some of you comment on who they are, their products (wax etc) and add any MUST TRY FO reviews? Thanks much! Mt Annie

Very well said...and that fact is finally becoming apparent to the consumers. Bad for business IMHO. Mt Annie

Yet another novel on "the monster"..... From my own experience and research...and from talking to many, MANY candlemakers through the years....here are the REAL FACTS on paraffin & soy. Just so all of you newbies will know. In general, paraffin does have the best scent throw over soy. However, the WRONG part of your quote is that soy does not produce smoke/soot and paraffin does. Smoke is a by-product of (or the result of) burning. If your wicked soy candle doesn't smoke or soot...then you haven't lit it yet. Where there's fire...there's smoke/soot. A lot of pro-soy sites out there will use the (un-educated and false) claim that paraffin smokes/soots...vs soy doesn't. That's baloney. I've used both soy and paraffin and BOTH will produce smoke & black soot if you add too much FO, use the wrong wick or fail to TRIM the wick...etc. Soy smokes also and at times I've had it smoke much worse than my paraffin. The bottom line is this: Anything that burns *can & *will smoke and cause soot. Period! See the ONLY exception below --- and no that exception is *not soy. There *IS only ONE exception to my knowledge! The only COMPLETELY soot free flame is a natural gas flame. This flame is completely blue and has what is called "a complete combustion". Any fire/flame that does NOT go through complete combustion produces smoke and soot. Soy can produce black soot as well as the harder-to-detect "white soot". The smoke and soot from a lot of soy candles is a whiter, finer soot (but still soot folks!) which is not as easy to see as the black soot but that doesn't mean it isn't there. It's there! That's one of the laws of physics so don't be fooled. You can't very well claim "Oh but MY soot is WHITE so that doesn't even count". Uhmmm..it's still soot. So...to re-cap, with soy you can get the black AND/OR white soot! The white soot may be "less noticeable" or even a "prettier soot" than the black colored soot... but it still has the same nasty properties. Oh...and regarding the "deadly" paraffin...(as previously stated in the novel above mine) we're talking about the exact same FOOD GRADE paraffin that covers most of your fruits, vegetables and a lot of chocolates, etc, and is approved SAFE to EAT by the FDA. The fruits and veges are covered with a thin layer of paraffin wax (yes, that awful stuff! -- --) to make them shiny and more appealing to the consumer. So each time you eat an apple....unless you grow your own and pick them straight from the tree...you're most likely ingesting the "ALL-FATAL, KILLER PARAFFIN". And the Dr tells you to eat an apple a day! Shame on him! PLEASE do the research folks. Paraffin AND soy release chemicals and BOTH will smoke & soot to some extent but I have NEVER, EVER had (quote) "a black soot cover everything in my house" from *either* wax. (Which IS btw what is falsely stated on MANY/MOST soy / "anti-paraffin" websites) What little soot I've saw (from soy AND paraffin) was coming out of the wick & flame and then it disappeared into thin air. It was NOT on my countertops nor was it on my cabinets or walls when I wiped them down during the normal clean-up process after candlemaking. White paper towels would have certainly shown any BLACK soot. Of course there *could have been a lot of WHITE soot from the SOY not noticed on my white paper towel. Perhaps I should try using black paper towels on my next soy clean-up... just to see what I find. <wink> HTH. Mt Annie =====================

============ From my own experience and in-depth research...and from talking to many, MANY candlemakers through the years....this is right AND wrong. In general, paraffin does have the best scent throw over soy. However, the WRONG part of your quote is that soy does not produce smoke/soot and paraffin does. Smoke is a by-product of (or the result of) burning. If your wicked soy candle doesn't smoke or soot...then you haven't lit it yet. Where there's fire...there's smoke/soot. A lot of pro-soy sites out there will use the (un-educated and false) claim that paraffin smokes/soots...vs soy doesn't. That's baloney. I've used both soy and paraffin and BOTH will produce smoke & black soot if you add too much FO, use the wrong wick or fail to TRIM the wick...etc. Soy smokes also and at times I've had it smoke much worse than my paraffin. The bottom line is this: Anything that burns *can & *will smoke and cause soot. Period! See the ONLY exception below --- and no that exception is *not soy. There *IS only ONE exception to my knowledge! The only COMPLETELY soot free flame is a natural gas flame. This flame is completely blue and has what is called "a complete combustion". Any fire/flame that does NOT go through complete combustion produces smoke and soot. Soy can produce black soot as well as the harder-to-detect "white soot". The smoke and soot from a lot of soy candles is a whiter, finer soot (but still soot folks!) which is not as easy to see as the black soot but that doesn't mean it isn't there. It's there! That's one of the laws of physics so don't be fooled. You can't very well claim "Oh but MY soot is WHITE so that doesn't even count". Uhmmm..it's still soot. So...to re-cap, with soy you can get the black AND/OR white soot! The white soot may be "less noticeable" or even a "prettier soot" than the black colored soot... but it still has the same nasty properties. Oh...and ragarding the "deadly" paraffin...we're talking about the exact same paraffin that covers most of your fruits, vegetables and a lot of chocolates, etc, and is approved SAFE to EAT by the FDA. The fruits and veges are covered with a thin layer of paraffin wax (yes, that awful stuff! -- --) to make them shiny and more appealing to the consumer. So each time you eat an apple....unless you grow your own and pick them straight from the tree...you're most likely ingesting the "ALL-FATAL, KILLER PARAFFIN". And the Dr tells you to eat an apple a day! Shame on him! PLEASE do the research folks. Paraffin AND soy release chemicals and BOTH will smoke & soot to some extent but I have NEVER, EVER had (quote) "a black soot cover everything in my house" from *either* wax. (Which IS btw what is falsely stated on MANY/MOST soy / "anti-paraffin" websites) What little soot I've saw (from soy AND paraffin) was coming out of the wick & flame and then it disappeared into thin air. It was NOT on my countertops nor was it on my cabinets or walls when I wiped them down during the normal clean-up process after candlemaking. White paper towels would have certainly shown any BLACK soot. Of course there *could have been a lot of WHITE soot from the SOY not noticed on my white paper towel. <wink> HTH. Mt Annie ================================

Candlemaker, Yes....of course you'd get a better throw with a wax that (#1) holds more FO... and (#2) to which more FO is added. Mt Annie

Emailed you. Actually, there ARE quite a few very GOOD sites out there that have exactly what you're looking for. Mt Annie Satin Ducky writes: >> I'm guessing you're looking for exactly which dyes and chips to mix to get different colors? The is no chart to cover this.

Thank you ladies!...and Scented....you were right! I changed my wording in the search and I DID find more on the topic. Mt Annie ------------------------

Since none of the pre-purchased bottles say to add water etc., I Think what MissMary was asking is if this is actually how you mix and bottle it for sale? A 50/50 ration of DPG and FO?.. Mt Annie ==============

Would anyone happen to have any of that DPG stuff to sample? Mt Annie