SonShine

Hello everyone, It's been a long time since I posted on these forums....Multiple Sclerosis had gotten the best of me there for a while, but now that I'm feeling better I thought I'd play with some wax. I'd like to make some melts, with a 70/30 combo and play around with the FO percentages, however, I have a new computer and I don't have the Enchanted Forest spread sheet saved on this one. Does my other computer with that spread sheet on it, work? Ughhh...nope! Does anyone have that handy by any chance? If so, would you care to share it with me? I'd be soooo very appreciative!!! :grin2: Let me know...my email addy is s.shay28@gmail.com . Thanks a bunch! Sonya

lol....I feel your pain! I received the Brown Sugar and Fig last year with my first Peak order. Oh my....this is definately one of my most favorite scents. Never tried the Gingerbread.....ut oh....I'm putting in an order right now. Should I order it too? lol Suzy

Thanks GDawg for that heads up on the warmers! Suzy

Thanks for the picture Jakalex! I wondered what the feet looked like! hehe Now....where does one find the candle warmers at a decent price? Any suggestions? Thanks, Suzy

Stella, I must admit that I always read your posts with great interest. You have alot of knowledge and I always like to see your 'take' on things. I think I'll go back to the drawing board and do as you suggest. I haven't been 'methodical' in any of this. If one candle doesn't work....I tend to get bored to fast and move on to tarts or some other size jar. The key here, from what I'm getting from your post, is to be methodical, take great notes, do the same proceedures always, and test, test, test always in the same way, again taking more notes. Yup...tedious, but worth it in the long run. Thanks so much for the words of wisdom. BTW....do you have any scent recommendations that you have had a great scent throw from...maybe one scent that I could start with that you have success with? I have tons here....and for some reason, it's always hit or miss for me. If I had an idea of a good scent that I could start with as a base, then maybe that would help?? Thanks again, Suzy

Gran... I didn't know it was a do-able thing to add Palm to Soy? lol Knowing me, I probably missed a post or two on the subject?? I made a Pink Sugar, 3" , 8oz tumbler, with 1oz FO. I let it cure a week and when I lit it, I could actually smell it really well, with a nice melt pool! lol Before this one, I had always gone up to 10% FO...so, is it the less is more aspect here? I dunno. lol I used a CDN 18 wick..no soot, no mushroom. Heck I'm starting to think it's a hit or miss thing! lol Suzy

I too am frustrated. I've even given up a bit lately and don't mess with my candles like I used to. I tell ya....the days of staying up till 3am making test candles has certainly gone away. I'm just tired and grumpy from it, maybe? lol There are so many wonderful people here, so it keeps me going. All I can say is hang in there...I'm with all of you, in the same boat. Maybe we could help share with each other? I think I have more different types of wax than I'd care to admit...and FO's? Thats another story! If my husband knew....oh man. I'd be in serious trouble! Suzy

Ya know...that's a great idea....borrow her tester and test my tarts with it to see what happens. I made some palm tarts last night and they are soooo pretty. I may just change, I'm just not sure yet. I'm burning one now, and it smells great, but the cold throw wasn't exactly what I'm looking for. Hmmm But again, thanks for the suggestion. I think I'll ask her for her burner, and make a temporary exchange! Suzy

Suzanne....what type of palm wax do you use? I guess I'm confused on the palm stuff....got some from candle science but I don't think that's what your talking about, right? Thanks...

Thanks so much for the feedback. I feel like yes, maybe I do want a finicky tester. I've used a variety of FO's and small flower type tarts (I'm trying to remember where I purchased these from...they are like nine on a tray... from Bittercreek maybe??) But it seems no matter what...she's not happy with them. lol I've weighed them...they are two @ .50 ounces. I tell her to use two because her and I used to cut a yankme in half to get extra time out of it. =) I weighed the yankme I have on hand...it's @ 1.00oz. ( you all probably already know that....lol) Sooooo....guess I'll have to do a comparison myself...use four of my little tarts to one yankme and go from there. As usual...more testing....LOL. But anyhow...I am thankful for the responses. I suppose since life has been stressful for me lately, I'm just using my tester as my venting point. Oh well... Any other suggestions would be wonderful. I'm getting ready right now to make another batch. Thanks again, all.

I thought I had tarts down pretty well...making them with a para/soy blend. I use about 6-9% FO depending on the strength of the FO. Well, my neighbor says they don't last more than a day, and NEVER two days. (lol...her words) My tarts are small ones...I tell her to put a couple in her burner at a time. It's so frustrating to me that she tells me my tarts aren't 'yank**' quality...ughhh, well duh, I know they aren't even close yet! But, she's getting free tarts and then telling me how bad they suck because they don't last as long as Yank**! (lol) Heck, I thought they were pretty good! Soooo...question of the day....how do I get them to last longer? Would putting some type of hardener/additive in them make them last a bit longer? Thanks for any help you can give me....oh, and before anyone says anything....I've already found myself some new testers! ~~hugs~~ Suzy

I've had some luck with the superior 870, I think it was. I'll have to double check my notes, but this was on the 4" square jar from wally world. I might have an extra or two if anyone wants to try one, again, I'll have to check. (geez, not alot of help here, eh?) Other than that, I haven't even come close to the apothecary yet! But this thread did make me laugh, and almost wet myself as well! Dayum 40's!! hugs, Suzy

Jami, You're so funny...that which doesn't kill us WILL make us stronger! lol I'm still tryin' to accept this saying. Lemme tell ya, it hasn't been easy! ~~hugs~~ Suzy Thanks for the % tips...I'm going to cut back today!

Munch, I'm with you...I'll be so happy when I get one candle to test right! I'll be doing a dance then, for sure! Good post and great answers! Suzy

Hopefully one of these day's I'll learn to blend my own...with this MS brain of mine, however, this is a scary thought! Today I almost put my mascara on my lips for lip liner! oh.my.gosh. Sometimes I wonder if I should even attempt this whole candle thing! But anyway, enough about my deficiencies, thanks so much for the help and guidance everyone! Suzy

Jami....you have no idea how badly they need a 'duh' smiley because I've had more of my share of those on this board than I care to admit too! lol I'll definately let ya know how things go. I will be playing this week and I did order some GL 70/30. I can't wait! ~~hugs~~ Suzy

Thanks for the recommendation Isbennis! =) By the way, I love your labels and company name! I saw that post you made several months ago and fell in love instantly! Ya know, Greenleaf is one company I have never tried! Wierd, huh? Do you have any FO recommendations from them that you woudn't mind sharing? I figure hey, while I'm ordering wax I might as well try some fo's, right? lol Thanks again, Suzy

Thanks so much for your help Jami! I was thinking about trying the same parafin that you are experimenting with! I was hoping to find some TODAY ( ) so that I could play this weekend, but the companies I tried here in Illinois need 24 hours prior to pickup. My hubby and son are going to a 'male bonding' camp thing, so I'll have the whole house to myself for the entire weekend! No interuptions...yay! I'm just wondering because oh my gosh, my tops after the burn are crater-ish, if that's even a word! Most times I can get a great, smooth top after the pour and setup, but boy, after the burn, it's just downright fugly! I went through my supplies on hand, and found some J50. I don't know if that would work, but my curiosity has me, so I just might try it until I can get some 4786. Again, thank you so much! (BTW...burning an HTP wick that you recommended from a previous post...seems to be going well so far!) Suzy

Hi everyone, Please forgive me if this sounds silly, but I was wondering, when folks talk about their 'own unique' blends, what type of blends are they talking about? Does this mean something like mixing a pure soy and pure parafin to get a blend? I guess I'm looking for suggested blends or types of parafin to start at?? My 415 is doing well, but the tops are very inconsistent, no matter what temp I pour at. I was thinking of adding some parafin to it but was wondering if someone could recommend where to begin? I guess you could say I'm just so confused! Thanks so much for any help you all could give me, Suzy

Forgot to thank you for the HTP 126 Tip....I'm making some of those up today! Suzy

Oh how I can relate! lol And how much money have we spent thus far? (If my hubby knew the exact amount, oh man....lol) I think I'll try those crystals. Thanks for the tip on that! (Yea, more money spent!! ) Thanks again, Suzy

Hi Jami, I tested with 100% 415. FO's were a variety, MC, ICS, Candle Cocoon....Lemon was from Backwoods. It was strong! I used 1 1/2 ounce pp in all and I suppose I should have tested them alone but I just had surgery and wanted to test as many as possible without screwing up my notes, thanks to vicoden. ICS Country Berry HC was strong as well. I have a large rectangle table and spaced them all out as far as possible. Table seats 8. Used no coloring. I'm just not getting any good colors with soy yet. Suggestions? I'm using the tumbler, 8oz size jars that are about 3" inches wide. I think I got them from Fillmore, but l'd have to check to be sure. I also purchased some 12 ounce tumblers as well. HTH Suzy PS....I made sure to stay on top of note-taking this time! lol

PS...wasn't checking for HT, just for MP and wick results. I can tell you that the Lemon FO I tested, even though it didn't catch up, it sure did smell good today as I tested it by itself in pure soy. Suzy

I put at least 8, 3" round tumblers on my kitchen table last night...all with different wicks to compare them all at once. My daughter said it looked pretty funny with all those candles burning. However, my results were as follows: ECO 10 worked very well...but glass was way too hot to touch at 3 hour mark. Also, this wick did not work in Lemon FO...left major hang up, similar to the pictures you posted. After power burning it today yet again, it still didn't catch up. 62C-Definately too small. Need to wick up. CDN 16-almost full melt pool at one hour mark and way too hot to touch. HTP 104-small MP at one hour, not even full at 3 hour mark. Will try 105 next. 765 from Wick It-my favorite so far out of all wicks tried. At 3 hours had full MP, about 1/4-1/2 inch and was not too hot to touch glass! Very clean burning as well. Now, mind you, I am a total Newbie here, but I'm finally starting to get somewhere...at least I think so!! lol HTH, Suzy

Oh. My. Gosh. Each time I post, I embarrass myself!!!!! Thanks so much for the heads up on this. My FO load has gotta be the problem!!! Thanks so much Jakalex pointing that out. I'm so thankful you did! I'm off to pour some more!! ~~hugs~~ suzy