coconut

mzphee, I will take the middle road here. I initially pour my candles without wicks, poke a hole in the wax, and stick a cut wick in it to test. If that test goes well, I pour a candle with a fixed wick and test. When I first started out, I didn't have a good feel for the wax or wicks, so I used the method to pull a wick, heat gun the top, and test again. I don't do that anymore because I don't need to and I never found the tests to be very satisfactory. The reason I don't need to is that I have narrowed down my wicks to a couple of types and a few sizes. Save yourself a little aggravation. Get samples of the wicks most recommended for your wax. Pour 3 or 6 jars (8 oz wax plus .5 oz of fo will do 3 four ounce jelly jars). Take the size of wick most recommended and also one larger and one smaller. Test the three jars side by side. You will learn a lot and narrow down what works for you. Be patient. It took me five years to get the right combo for certain scents. Also try an easy to wick scent. Peak's Mango and Papaya, Jasmine, Spiced Cranberry and Watermelon were the easiest for me. Most important, take extensive notes of each test because after you test thousands of candles you won't remember the results. Good luck to you!

Flame is flame, and the temperature of the flame will be hot regardless of the wick material. My understanding is that if a wick burns "hotter", you get a bigger melt pool for the same size wick. You experts out there, please correct me. Thanks.

Go to the local thrift stores and buy a used toaster oven?

It depends on how long you use them. Think hours instead of days. Most of my one ounce melts last about two days if I heat them all day, so that is 16-20 hours. If I melt for an evening at 3 hours each time, they last about a week. The scent is strongest at first and gradually tapers off. I use an electric warmer.

At my local hair salon, there was a basket of soaps on the counter. The soaps were very small, heart shaped and scented. Very pretty. My guess is each soap was one ounce or less. Price was $5.00 for five little soaps. Is that about average? TIA.

You're lucky to have her as a friend!

Do a search for FOHO and you will see I am not alone....

I think a lot of people do, and they may or may be aware of the laws, and may or may not comply... Not judging, just saying. I was only vaguely aware of the rules until I researched it for this thread...

It's called Golden Honey/Vanilla. Sorry, I was too lazy yesterday to dig it out and look it up. http://www.peakcandle.com/products/Golden-HoneyVanilla-Concentrated-Liquid-Dye__D1008.aspx

Peak's has a nice liquid dye in Gold.

Of the scents you listed, I would say CS Mistletoe. I like Home for the Holidays but it isn't real popular. My personal favorite is Peak's Spruce Christmas Tree.

I started out making different shapes, but customers didn't seem to care and it made packaging and storage more difficult. Now I make one shape and size. I wouldn't say there is a standard weight or size, per se, but 1 ounce, more or less, is pretty common.

Yes, unless you have a lawyer who can pick through this stuff, it is safest to rename the scents and use the tagline.

Most suppliers have sample sales a couple of times a year and you can get samples for 99 cents. Candlescience does this. Peak's has a sampler package. As for limiting the number of FOs, are you guys crazy? I must have well over a hundred! I want them all, all I say! FOHO!!!

I bought a large deep Revere ware pot at a thrift store. I don't use a pour pot (I'm too cheap). I use clean coffee cans. I use a silicone ladle like Stella for the larger can and I have a handle gripper for the small cans. I put my cans on a rack in the water. You can get them here: http://www.culinarycookware.com/round-cooling-rack-with-feet.html. Try to size the rack to closely fit the pot so the can is always suspended and can't slide off.

Yes, you're right. I wouldn't say I use a "set it and forget it" method. I don't put my wax on and go to the store or go watch a movie, but I don't sit and stare into the pot either. I make my candles outside in my lanai. I put my double boiler on the burner at the temp setting that I know from experience will heat the water enough to melt my wax and hold it at the desired temp for a long time. I go back in the house and prep my jars, come back out and check on the wax, go back in and get my FO and recipes, come back out and check on the wax... Our lanai is in constant use so I am in and out all the time checking on the melting wax. So far in over five years, the only accidents I have had take place when I am pouring and spill the wax. Not sure what approach I would take if I was using a Presto pot, but I am comfortable with the method I use with the double boiler.

You're right, any device can malfunction. My point was that the burner has a higher degree of fluctuation and it is risky to put a pot of wax directly on a burner.

The reason you should use a double boiler is because boiling water has a max temp of 212 F which is below the flash point of most wax. When you put a pot right on a burner, it can get much hotter possibly flash over. I don't have the patience to sit and watch wax melt.... so I use the double boiler. A Presto is thermostatically controlled which is why you can melt wax in it. A burner has a thermostat too but it is not insulated and the heat is not dispersed the same as a Presto.

I always assume the person will power burn the candle, whether it is intentional or not. Anyone can forget about a burning candle.

Love Monty Python! I guess I'm smart enough, but very forgetful... Male Peasant: She's bloody dying and all you bring us is lupins. All we've eaten mate for the last four bleeding weeks is lupin soup, roast lupin, steamed lupin, braised lupin in lupin sauce, lupin in the basket with sauted lupins, lupin meringue pie, lupin sorbet... we sit on lupins, we sleep in lupins, we feed the cat on lupins, we burn lupins, we even wear the bloody things! Moore: Stand and deliver again! Your money, your jewellery, your ... hang on. (he takes out a list) Your clothes, your snuff, your ornaments, your glasswear, your pussy cats... You know what comes next....

And what does this mean? "alkali salts of fatty acids". I don't know much about soap.

OK, here is the FDA's word on soap vs. cosmetics, and this applies to Florida: http://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/guidancecomplianceregulatoryinformation/ucm074201.htm Excerpt: And what if it's "soap"? Soap is a category that needs special explanation. That's because the regulatory definition of "soap" is different from the way in which people commonly use the word. Products that meet the definition of "soap" are exempt from the provisions of the FD&C Act because -- even though Section 201(i)(1) of the act includes "articles...for cleansing" in the definition of a cosmetic -- Section 201(i)(2) excludes soap from the definition of a cosmetic. How FDA defines "soap" Not every product marketed as soap meets FDA's definition of the term. FDA interprets the term "soap" to apply only when -- <LI id=rrli28>The bulk of the nonvolatile matter in the product consists of an alkali salt of fatty acids and the product's detergent properties are due to the alkali-fatty acid compounds, and The product is labeled, sold, and represented solely as soap [21 CFR 701.20]. If a cleanser does not meet all of these criteria... If a product intended to cleanse the human body does not meet all the criteria for soap, as listed above, it is either a cosmetic or a drug. For example: If a product -- <LI id=rrli30>consists of detergents or <LI id=rrli31>primarily of alkali salts of fatty acids and is intended not only for cleansing but also for other cosmetic uses, such as beautifying or moisturizing, it is regulated as a cosmetic. If a product -- <LI id=rrli33>consists of detergents or <LI id=rrli34>primarily of alkali salts of fatty acids and is intended not only for cleansing but also to cure, treat, or prevent disease or to affect the structure or any function of the human body, it is regulated as a drug. If a product -- <LI id=rrli36>is intended solely for cleansing the human body and <LI id=rrli37>has the characteristics consumers generally associate with soap, does not consist primarily of alkali salts of fatty acids, it may be identified in labeling as soap, but it is regulated as a cosmetic.

I've heard Florida is the most restrictive state for Bath & Body. If the product is considered a cosmetic, it needs a special permit: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?mode=View%20Statutes&SubMenu=1&App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=499.01&URL=CH0499/Sec01.HTM Excerpt: ® Cosmetic manufacturer permit.--A cosmetic manufacturer permit is required for any person that manufactures or repackages cosmetics in this state. A person that only labels or changes the labeling of a cosmetic but does not open the container sealed by the manufacturer of the product is exempt from obtaining a permit under this paragraph. And the permit requirements include a separate manufacturing facility: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?mode=View%20Statutes&SubMenu=1&App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=499.012&URL=CH0499/Sec012.HTM Excerpt: ( An establishment that is a place of residence may not receive a permit and may not operate under this part. I think you can make soap if the only claim you make is that it cleanses.

WSP does that and it is pretty unpopular... Not sure if I would do that or not.

OK, I found the thread: http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?13232-What-are-your-oops-moments&highlight=spigot+open and this one: http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?1577-don-t-do-this&highlight=spigot+open. This would happen to me for sure. :rolleyes2