Fern

I made a whole slew of tarts with a bunch of samples I ordered: Nantucket Briar Coconut Lime Verbena Flowering Dogwood Tranquil Sleep Yucca Butterfly Garden Hummingbird Rice Flower and Shea Sandlewood Ruby Red Grapefruit Jade Lovespell 4 Leaf Clover Liked them all but the Yucca, Love Spell (Don't shoot me...I know a lot of you just love this FO...but it reminds me sort of Plumeria and I hate Plumeria) and the Flowering Dogwood was a little on the weak side. FYI: If you are into the Burberry line of perfumes...Nantucket Briar is actually the same exact fragrance as Burberry Weekend...I really like this one and it's very strong.

PamW: That's a pretty good burn on that...but I bet you had to babysit it every step of the way...hugging it and trimming the wick every couple of hours. Most people won't do that, that's why I won't give anyone a 2" pillar unless I can get it to burn at least 6 hours without having to worry about it. I haven't been able to do it yet...everytime I think I've got it...something goes wrong about half way through the candle...either the flame drowns out or I get a blowout...Grrrrrr...it's very frustrating, that's why I only go back periodically and try something different. Once I get to the point of wanting to pull my hair out...I put them away for another day. Robin: How long can you burn yours without trimming the wicks?

Join the frustration of those who have tried to wick a 2" pillar. There have been a few on the board who have been successful, however, I've found it exceedingly difficult. Oh, I can get one to burn for up to 3, maybe 3.5 hours but not any longer than that before they have a blow-out. The only way that I can save the candles is if I don't burn them for more than 3 hours at a time. I've tried for about a year on and off using OK6228, 1343 and 4045...still haven't found a wick that holds up or isn't too big after all that time...and I have tried LX, CD, HTP and RRD wicks. I am so jealous of those that have been able to do it...I wonder if they can burn them for longer than a few hours and if they have tested them continuously to the end. Someone pipe up here because I can't remember who were the successful ones.

Margaritamama: You are not a "dufus". LOL There are blended "straight paraffins"...a blend of several different paraffin waxes...and then there are pre-blended waxes that won't mottle or do rustics.

Oh no!!! Did I hurt someone's feelings? OMG, I thought you guys were kidding! I've just never thought of those particular colors as Christmas colors. Now I feel terrible...I'm sorry if I offended anyone.

LOL...What's with all these crazy colors for a Christmas themed candle?! Purple, blue, Orange, etc...I don't get it! You folks are wacky!

I would have used either a dark red or green...or made a layered rustic of both red and green for that particular scent.

My thoughts are with you as well. Get out while the gettin' is good...you don't want to take any chances! Best of luck to all of you!

Oh, that is too bad that you cannot get wax in Italy. I guess it would also be rather difficult to find out what type of wax you are using if you recycle the ones from the supermarket. I don't know what else to tell you then since I have no idea what type of wax it is. Well, regardless of the difficulties you have encountered, you made a very lovely candle that burns very nicely...so enjoy the candle light while it's burning...and enjoy the aroma when it's not. You should still feel proud of yourself, you did a good job. :smiley2:

I poke relief holes at the very end. Be sure to poke those holes three quarters of the way through the candle and re-open them periodically until it has fully set up...this way the sides won't suck in.

First of all, your candle looks great. Good job! You asked why you weren't getting any hot throw. Could be the wax you are using. There are some waxes that give excellent cold throw but won't throw hot. Sometimes it takes getting a good full melt pool going before you smell anything. A lot of the veggie waxes are famous for giving off great cold throw...but throw very lightly or not at all when burning. What kind of wax are you using?

Ooooooh....those are beautious!!!

I don't think you want to use that wax for a container. What will happen is that it will pull away completely from the container. A softer container waxes is what you would want to use. You might want to try buying your wax from a reputable supplier online. You will save a whole lot of money because wax bought in craft stores are ridiculously over priced. I use J223 for my containers because it's got awesome hot and cold throw; however, there other container waxes that are very good as well. Do a little research for suppliers in your area and see for yourself. P.S. If you do buy a container wax, you don't need to add any additives as they are already in it.

Hi Lisa...Welcome to the board! I don't use J50 but I do use J223 which is very similar. In a round 3" diameter container, I use an LX-28 and it works beautiful...but then again, it also depends on the type of scent you're using. I imagine if I used a real heavy scent I'd have to wick up to a 30. Fern

Ok...here are few wick suggestions. First off, I don't use zinc wicks so I can't help you with sizes for that type of wick but I can suggest some others. LX-28 or 30...will probably end up having to use a 30. CD-16 or 18 or HTP 104 or 105...or RRD-50 or 55. I'm pretty sure one of those is going to work for you, hope you have some on hand or can get some fairly quickly. Good luck!

DiamondK is right. OK6228 is a pre-blended wax. It probably already has vybar in it. If you add more, you will bind up your scent completely and end up with an unscented candle. And the testing part...you really have to test the whole thing. You may have to rewick that sucker 2 or 3 times before you find the right one. I know, I know, it's a pain in the butt...but you surely don't want to sell a candle for $15.00 to a friend and then have it perform poorly....he won't ever buy another one.

What's the diameter of the jar?

Yes...I like the extra added half inch. It's a good thing because once you take into account a certain amount of shrinkage and then leveling...you tend to loose some of the height.

I personally can never buy just one mold. I usually buy three at a time of the same type so that I can have various size groupings. I just like how it looks.

Those are fanfreakin'tabulous!!!

I've never used the 1274 wax, but if it's a straight paraffin, it should perform close to the other paraffin waxes in a 3" mold. I would suggest with the RRDs that you start with a 47, then go up from there. With the LX's start with 26 or 28 and go up to a 30 if you have to. I haven't used the CD-s in quite awhile but start with a 16 or an 18 with those and go from there. There are many things to consider with wicking such as FO load, dye, etc. So you will just have to test them for each and every scent and dye combination that you use...because it makes a difference. Also, while testing, be sure to burn them all the way down because although they may look like they are burning great for the first half of the candle, things can quickly change from that point forward. Good luck!

Sounds like a good plan Pam. Good luck to you!

PamW: Yes, you would probably have to wick up a heavily dyed candle. I made some Blackberry candles using 4045 wax awhile back where I went real heavy on the dye to get a very dark purpley blue color. The FO itself was not heavy and an LX-28 was too small for this particular 3" candle. So you really have to play with these wicks. If you're going to get some to make pillars, I'd start at LX-24's and go up to the largest size they have...I think it's a 30. Don't even waste your money on anything smaller if you're going to use them in 3" or larger molds. When you find the right size for your candle, you probably won't want to use anything else....at least I don't.

HenryK: I'm surprised by your comments that the LX wicks bend. I use LX wicks for both my pillars and containers and have found that they bend slightly in the smaller size wicks that come prewaxed and pretabbed. For my pillars I buy the LX raw wicking and prime them myself using a high melt point wax. In my pillars I have always had to wick way up. My 3" molds require at the very least an LX-26, but usually an LX-28. I've used them in both 1343 and 4045 and they never curl...always burn straight as an arrow...that's why I always use them. I wonder if it's because I buy the raw wicking and prime them myself???

Yankee Candle charges $1.20 and they are less than 1 oz. You just might be selling your tarts too cheap. You've got to figure out how much it actually costs to make your tart...wax, dye, fo, packaging and then multiply that cost times 3 (for retail price)...then round it off. Remember you want a decent enough profit to cover your labor as well. I have no problem selling my tarts for $1.00 each. I have more trouble selling pillars and containers...but my tarts sell quite well. I offer a tart burner, 6 tarts and 12 tealights for $20.00 and have had many people who love to purchase them for gifts for their friends.