logcabinmomma

Yeah!!! Now if only the wicking will stay right when the weather gets colder! My house is very very warm in the summertime and very cool in the wintertime, so I can't test during the wrong seasons.

-Kristi

How long of a cure and which wax? Spiced cranberry has done great for me in c-3 and 464.

-Kristi

They have my favorite spiced cranberry. Tangerine Lemongrass is good too.

-Kristi

I use liquids... I got them a long time ago now from Nature's Garden... A little goes a LONG way and I'm nowhere near low on any of them.

To save money at the time, I only bought red, blue, yellow, brown and black, and honestly, I can make any color with just those. Use a toothpick dabbed down into the bottle to get less than a drop when making small changes to the color.

-Kristi

If you're using 464, that sounds about normal. It tends to get crystally looking tops after burning and it doesn't clean the sides.

-Kristi

Agreeing, they are great on the phone and obviously there is a glitch somewhere!

-Kristi

With regard to the burnt smell in Blackberry Marmalade- it loses that with curing, just like Pumpkin Souffle does. Strange. It's a strong burnt note OOB, weaker if burned before a cure, but after a cure it disappears and mellows into a fresh baked smell.

-Kristi

I have used all soy (c-3) to make chunk container candles. I used a jellyroll pan lined with foil, poured it, put it in the freezer, then took it out and flipped the foil out. No sticking and then I just cut/broke it with a knife. Worked great!

-Kristi

Goof off- it's a solvent that will dissolve the glue from the label backing. Peel off what you can, scrape off what you can, then use a paper towel with the solvent to scrub off the rest. Dry with a towel. No heat needed.

-Kristi

Well, I just don't test this time of year except for scent. This is the one time of year that my house is about 80 degrees and that really affects the meltpool with 464! My wintertime temp is about 70, so that's quite a difference. I typically test in the spring or fall when the house is about 75 degrees, so I'm partway between the two, and where most people who buy keep their homes year round.

That said, now is the time of year that I get the least hangup... that apoth was tested in the spring though.

-Kristi

I used PCC in C-3 with no problems. It does need a good week long cure time and you can NOT compare the throw to blueberry muffin. NG's blueberry muffin is way super strong... I'm not sure that I've met a pumpkin as strong as blueberry muffin... I have had great results with CS's Pumpkin souffle, but by then I had changed to 464, so I can't tell you how it does in C-3.

-Kristi

I use 464 and CDs, and a properly wicked candle will leave a film behind, and sometimes some thicker looking drips in places. Not a heavy hangup, but definitely not clean glass either. If I wicked to get the glass clean, it would be WAY too hot. This is only an issue with glass containers- with tins any film isn't visible.

Here is an example with a dark colored wax in a 16 oz apoth with a cd 22:

And a different angle:

-Kristi

IMO, I think it depends where you are selling it. If I saw a cheap label at a spa - then yeah, I'd think twice. If I saw one at the flea market, I wouldn't think so much about it, because I'd be more inclined to think they are a home based company without a lot of capital.

Yep. Here, kinda cheesy, canning jar and homemade labels are appealing and "homemade", whereas the "nice" jars with professional labels don't catch people's eyes. People assume that they are made by a bigger company. Even just using nice fonts on clear labels on nice jars, people are wowed that I could make that myself... like they've never seen a clear label and a laser printer before. It all depends on your audience. Check your market first- if it's a "crafty" market, you may do better with the handmade look. If it's high end, you'll make the money to cover the high end look.

-Kristi

honeysuckle and gardenia are very similar and often blended with jasmine...

-Kristi

Hmmm, Aloha? Or Pikaki (the name of the flower?)

-Kristi

Ok, so I got stuck on the endless loop on the customer service line so I called Ace Hardware (I'm sure TrueValue would be the same, Ace is just the closest to my house). I was told they carry them year round and I can order from them. Woo-Hoo! Guess I answered my own question. Hope this helps, Meridith.

LisaW

Yup, I went through this... two years ago now? Ace carries a good range of jars, stocked, all year and can order whatever quantities you want. Everyone else was flaky answering me if they could get me more out of season. I think I went EVERYWHERE trying to track them down.

-Kristi

Ace Hardware carries canning supplies year round.

-Kristi

I like HSH better- more layered and complex. RHC is just RHC... just like the candies.

-Kristi

I only buy from BCN once or twice a year- I love how their pretabbed wicks come, nice and straight, unlike some places. I bought during a sample sale one year and they "forgot" to apply the discount to half of the order and didn't want to refund it back to me. They insisted that they would just keep a credit on my account. I believe that was the first time I'd ordered from them and I wasn't going to accept that and insisted on a credit card refund. They REALLY didn't want to do that, but FINALLY did. It took way too much arm twisting on my part for comfort though. I mean, THEY were the ones overcharging and they didn't catch it, I did. I also get irked at the lack of option for choosing USPS priority through their shipping screen... if you haven't read through all the little details on the main page, you don't know that is an option. I wish it was listed as a shipping method....

-Kristi

Black Vanilla smells like an old fashioned lotion... an Estee Lauder from forever ago... My grandmother used to wear it and the second I opened the FO it took me back!

-Kristi

I don't add anything to my 464, but I thought I'd caution you that this wax IS harder in cooler weather. My summer/winter burns are very different. You really need to be able to test with the weather conditions you plan to be using/selling in.

-Kristi

Crazy thing is that if she would just tell me that, I'd work something out with her. It was a custom order and the likelihood of being able to resell (especially when she has been my ONLY order in MONTHS) is not very high. Instead, she's totally dodging me and when I offer to bring it by, she says no, that she'd rather just get it from me when she sees me... and then never sees me. I am very sympathetic, trust me. I just wish that she'd be honest about it. I've been VERY good about it, but my DH is getting tired of that dang bag being dragged around everywhere! Not to mention that he's my bookkeeper, so he's had the order in limbo since early April...

-Kristi

I buy my soy wax locally and we've had 2 price increases in in 6 weeks! Needless to say, I'm quiting the candles. Customers are upset but they don't understand until I pull out the recepts to Prove to them that I'm telling the truth. Wax prices for me locally have nearly doubled! from $ 40.00 a case to $ 73.00 in less than 6 months and wax is still climbing. Not only that but who going to make the choice to buy a candle when they havve to buy gas and food first?:embarasse

Fire

Yup, I'm out too. At this point, anyone buying from me shouldn't be in the first place. (I sell exclusively to people I know, and I KNOW they don't have money for extras right now).

-Kristi

My local economy has always been weak, and several local factories have restructured or closed leaving former customers without jobs. I will continue to fill orders and test/burn for personal use, but I can't even count on this for extra spending money anymore. I won't be doing the big open houses and shows/ parties this fall that I've done the previous years. With the costs of shipping and waxes and containers... I'd have to increase prices across the board, and people here have less to spend than they did last year. I'm just not comfortable this year with the risk of buying up things in advance of orders. In other words, show me the money... Of course, for me the timing was OK for this as the baby is due the middle of October... I was ready for a slowdown this year. But the only sale I've made the last several months now was to a woman I know who doesn't want me to deliver her order and I suspect is avoiding me because she can't afford her items anymore. :rolleyes2 She ordered before she had surgery and then had complications and is out alot more money than she had planned. I feel for her, but in the meantime, I'm dragging her stuff around every time I'm *supposed* to see her. I'm calling Saturday to let her know that I'm dropping her stuff of THAT DAY (I'll be down the street for something else).

-Kristi

I like Afternoon Tea or the Tea for Two suggestion.

-Kristi