erinmfritz

I've tested various waxes and am back to GB 444. What is the difference between the 444 & 464? (I haven't tested the 464 but that is possibly next) With the 444 does anyone use additives? If so, what % do you recommend? I have been having problems with alot of frosting on the side of the jars(which has been a little less since going back to the 444). I am currently testing with no additives. Frosting is a little less but wet spots are bad. I pour at around 140 deg. Any suggestions would be great. I have tried BW and ST for additives. Thanks.

ilona, How in the world do you "all but knocked out my frosting issues"?????? I have tried different additives, different waxes, different jars, different everything and can't knock out frosting.

Where did you find that chart? I have been testing the same wicks by just guessing. My findings are that the 126's don't burn as hot as the 1212 or 1312's. I go between the 126 & 1212 and have good luck.

That looks great. Are the electric candles hard to do? That's my next venture after I get the wicked ones down to a science.

wow, that's great. I can't wait to try pillars, I hope I can get them to look that cool. I would definatly buy that.

Be careful, making candles is very addictive..........

I purchased a kit from http://justbynature.com/ It had everything in it to get your feet wet. I did get a glass thermometer (didn't like the one in the kit) and a digital scale to weigh everything. I didn't like the jelly jars but that is personal preferance. Since then, I have tried 2 other soy waxes trying to find a local supplier. The FO's were great, again I am trying more local suppliers for these to save shipping but have had no problems yet. From my short experience at this, I have found that soy is frustrating but stick with it I think it takes patience and consistance to work through the problems. Good luck and keep reading this board, you'll find some great advice and also find that even the "experts" still have problems. (at least that's what keeps me going, that it is not as easy as it sounds to pour a candle and get it right the first time)

Wow! So how do you explain to people what to look for without sounding rude and putting down other candle makers? I want to be as professional as possible and don't like to dog the competition if you know what I mean.

Yesterday I helped my mother in law with a craft show and we were set up right beside someone who makes candles and soap. I brought a few of my wax dipped snowmen and took one out of the bags. Everyone that walked in the room smelled my snowman (cinnamon sticks) and went straight for her table. Her candles were absolutly awful. She put wax and a wick in any container she could find, one was a flower vase with a narrow neck, another was a small glass basket with the wick right under the handle, and the 3 wicks she tried to make were definatly a fire hazard in the tins with 2 of the wicks 1/2" from the sides and the other floating somewhere toward the middle. (and she said she had been making candles for a year) Is this common to see at craft shows? Am I turning into a "candle snob"? I am just figuring out the right combinations for the candles I am making and would never consider putting them into a craft show yet but mine are much better looking and smelling than hers were. Sorry for the rant, I just was blown away with what I saw yesterday and can't stop thinking about it! Has anyone had similar experiences?

I am curious about the testing process. I know that you need to test each container and each FO and wick combo but I was wondering exactly how everyone tests their candles. I can't find a good written guide for this subject. Please help, I respect all of you pro's and want to make high quality soy candles to start a business someday. I know from all of my reading on this board that testing is a never-ending process and can be very frustrating. I am just looking for some good advice. Thanks in advance for your help.

So has anyone been successful? I guess my next search will be the jar, huh?

Is my container too small to double wick? How far apart should the wicks be spaced for proper burning?

Thank all of you for your helpful information. This candlemaking is addictive but very frustrating at the same time, or is it just me?

Does re-melting make the scent throw less or burn out some of the FO? What about wickless candles? If they melt all the way every time, how long does the scent last>

Baby powder fresh!!! I just dipped a bunny for a friend to give as a baby shower gift and I can't get the smell out of my house!!! I'll just keep spraying Oust, hopefully it will work soon! Yuck!

I have been at this for a couple weeks now and am getting frustrated. I am using a 10 oz status jar with 2 3/4" opening, MC soy wax, but am having trouble with the wick. They recommended 62-52-18c when I ordered the wax. This wick is ok for the melt pool but it mushrooms alot and poor scent thorw (which I don't know if it has anything to do with the wick or not enough FO). I just ordered some HTP1312 wicks. Do you think that wick will help? Looking at all of these # & letters for wicks is very confusing. I wish there was an easy to read wick chart that evaluated different mfg. wicks to give us newbies a clue. I am still having fun with it though. One more thing...I have a candle that frosted in the jar and also has the wrong wick. Can I remelt that wax and repour into another jar and keep the integrity of the FO and color. It is a Grandma's Kitchen scent with Burgundy/ wine color. Would make a great gift for my mom. Thanks again for your help.

I am in the same boat. I am trying to fill out the forms to get a tax id and need a company name and can't come up with one I love. It's not as easy as people think to start a business, is it?

All of the information you all have given me has been so helpful. Thanks again. So far so good on my candles, I just got my new shipment from mc and it's killing me to wait til tomorrow when my jars are here to make more candles. I took one of my dipped bunnies and a candle last night to show some friends and they were a big hit. I hope I can continue to be so enthusiastic about this, I love this board, I've gotten some great ideas and advice. Thanks again.

Thanks for suggesting mcsoywax.com. I went to their site and they are in Indiana just a couple hours away from me. I just placed an order with them, wish me luck.

Thank you all for the input. You have given me some ideas of where to start. I'm glad I found this wealth of experience and information to help me.

I just started making soy candles a couple weeks ago and I am hooked. I bought my kit from Just by Nature which included GW444 wax and RRD40 wicks. I would like some advice on your preferences of the best soy wax (for containers) and wicks(which will not mushroom so much). I will to stick with the soy wax container candles, but I am overwhelmed with my searches for ingredients, I odviously would like to find the best prices too. I don't like the look of the jelly jars so I am also looking for a good place for jars. And then there is the scents. I hope you can all help me get off to a good start in this craft (and hopefully profession) I would also like to know if anyone has advice on dipping animals and where to get them. I'm sure I will think of more questions to pick your brains in the future. Thank you in advance for all of your help.