soygirl

I believe there is a difference between "soy based" and "soy compatible" fragrance oils. I think that soy compatible means - tested in soy and has good throw. Here is what Northstar says about their soy based FOs: "This is our own line of Soy based fragrance oils that are made with the highest quality fragrance compounds in a soy oil base. Most fragrance oils that are used for candle making even for soap making have solvents, mineral oil or dipropylene glycol in them. When common fragrance oils are mixed with natural waxes they can cause all kinds of problems. Our Soy based fragrance oils mix very well in natural waxes. You can also use these oils in paraffin waxes too. Some of our Soy based fragrance oils may contain a little bit of a solvent in them. There are fragrance compounds that will crystallize without them. Our goal is to offer fragrance oils with little or no additives. We use these same fragrances in our line of candles. Also we work very closely with our perfumers to obtain the best fragrances." I personally have found that soybean oil based fragrances incorporate really well in my soy wax candles - less sweating, less frosting. As far as scent throw goes, I still find some are weak and some are strong.

I don't know how bad your candles are tunnelling, so I'm just going to throw this out there. It might not be of any help, but maybe it will. How cold was the room where you test burned? I originally did my wick tests in the summer, when my house was around 75 - 80 deg. That was a mistake, because I found in the winter that the same candles had hang up on the sides when burned in a colder room. The room temp can make a difference. Aim for a good burn at around 68 - 70 degrees ambient temp. If it burns well then, don't worry about it. You can't control the temp of your customers' houses.

Here's another thread where business names were discussed. You may get some more ideas from this. http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2279

Ditto. I also need to keep my full-time job, because I carry the benefits for both me and my husband, who is a substitute teacher and weekend musician. Right now I am turning down wholesale and other opportunities, because I just don't have the time to fill so many orders. Plus, all of my phone calls have to be made outside of my regular work hours. This prevents me from offering my customers the best possible service, since I can't return phone calls right away, which bothers me. Also, I still am not generating enough profit to be able to buy supplies in the bulk quantities that will allow me to make a higher profit on my products. And finally, although he is basically supportive of my endeavors, my husband gets irritated when I spend too much time working on my business, like at tax time, or when I am preparing for a craft fair. I have to constantly maintain that delicate balance, so that my marriage doesn't suffer.

She means state use tax - if your state has a sales and use tax. In Wisconsin, I'd say no. You bought the supplies for the purpose of manufacturing a product that you are going to resell. You didn't use it in a specific product that you resold, but it was consumed during the testing stage - so it falls under the "Exemption for Ingredients, Component Parts and Consumable Items". At least that is my interpretation of the Sales and Use tax guidelines for Wisconsin.

The beads are FO seepage, I believe. It might also have something to do with the color. Your additives are not blending well enough with the wax. You aren't using too much FO or color, so that's not the problem. Try heating your wax about 10 degrees hotter, adding your color at at least 180 deg F, and your fragrance at 170. Stir everything REALLY well. Then, give another slow stir (without making bubbles) right before you pour the candle. Cucumber Melon is a pretty heavy FO. In my experience, additives - especially FO - will try to sink to the bottom of your pour pot, and then end up more concentrated at the top of your candle. You have to do everything you can to counteract gravity, you know:cheesy2:

As far as that white layer goes: When I first started testing different soy waxes I found that some of them did that a lot, and some didn't much at all. Some would form a white "chalky" line at the base of the melt pool when it rehardens after a burn. I found that with some soys you can add the Universal Additive (sometimes called Panalite) at 1 - 3 tsp/lb, and it will eliminate that problem (like with ADM soy). With others, the UA made no difference (like NG soy). As for the initially posted issues: I personally haven't tested CB Soy, but you could try pouring a little cooler - that might eliminate your sink hole. I haven't worked with paraffin in over five years, so I can't answer that color question too well. All I can suggest is to chop your color chips really fine with a knife or razor blade, and stir them in really well, before adding your fragrance oil. It may take a bit of testing before you find a soybean wax that you are happy with. Good luck! -Margie

I also have a scale from Old Will. It works very well. I tried to get one that would work for both weighing wax, FO, etc, AND packages for shipping, so I got a 30 lb. capacity scale. Now, I will probably end up getting another scale that is more precise (.01 oz/.1 gram), because the one I have isn't too useful for lotions and soaps, where you want to be able to weight small amounts of fragrance and additives. One thing I like about the scale I bought is that you can detach the read-out when you are weighing a really big box. But you won't use that if you are only planning on weighing small items.

How about "fish in a bag" soaps, or crayon soaps? I've seen pictures of both in the gallery. They would be great for kids that age, and I don't think they would confuse either one with candy.

I think your English is excellent. I understood what you meant on your first post, so you shouldn't worry about it one bit. I'm in awe of your ability to speak another language. I've struggled to learn a second language for years, and it's really difficult for me, so I think you are doing great. Thanks for your info on the Yankee pillars too.

I found a fish on a glass base - it is actually attached to the top of a piece of glass "seaweed". The whole thing is one glass embed. So, it's not really swimming, but it looks like it is. There are so many cool glass embeds available out there. I'll clue you all in on my two favorite distributors: http://www.gelembeds.com/ http://www.silkytyme.com/embeds.html I recommend them both for service, price and selection. Thanks so much for all the awesome compliments from everyone. You made my day:D

LOL. I got the one from Bobbie before too. I have a scripted reply to any email requesting samples: While we do occasionally have promotional sample give-aways, it is cost-prohibitive to ship free samples to everyone who makes a request. We recommend that you subscribe to our e-mail Newsletter. One lucky member will win a free 6 oz. soy tin candle every month. The thing I don't understand, is why people subscribe to my e-mail Newsletter with a bogus e-mail. How are they going to win a free candle, if I can't contact them that they've won?

Well, I'm the complete oddball. I actually use a CDN-18 in my 6 oz. tins. A CDN-16 just wouldn't quite do it - there was still wax left on the sides. I really don't feel it is unsafe, as long as it is burned on a heat-resistant surface. I've power-burned mine in tests, burned them completely to the bottom, and any other careless thing I could think of my customers doing. Tins can get hot, glass can get hot. If you want the wax to completely melt off the sides, they will get hot. I've touched the sides, and they were hot, but not enough to cause a burn, so that doesn't seem like a safety issue to me. In my experience, most consumers tend to under-burn the tin candles - 1 to 2 hours at a time on average. I wanted to wick mine to compensate for that tendency. One other note, and maybe I'm just crazy, but it seems that when you use CDN - natural wax treated wicks, as opposed to just CD's, you have to go up one more wick size to get the same melt pool.

Wednesday night I tried the basic balm/lotion bar recipe: .5 oz soy wax .5 oz shea butter (refined) .5 oz coconut oil (I used virgin) plus partial contents of vit E capsule It came out EXACTLY like the lip balm base I bought. Well, that was simple. I guess I was trying to make it too complicated. Anyway, now I'm going to improve on that recipe. Danielle was nice enough to send me some cocoa butter. It's super hard. Even harder than mango butter. So, instead of upping the soy wax, I'm going to add some cocoa butter to the recipe, and maybe add a bit of jojoba oil for more moisture.

I found this on a Google search: http://www.fromnaturewithlove.com/soap/DeadSea.asp

That is an awesome idea! I'm stealing it too. Thanks so much for sharing. I bet they would look really cute covered in fabric too...

Here are a couple of pictures of a basket I made for a friend who was having a baby. Notice the very simple raffia bow. I'll try to post two pictures, but I've never done it before, so forgive me if it doesn't work.

It looks like something from an old horror flick..."The Creature From the Bottom of the Candle", or something like that:D

Ok, here's my site: www.thumbwickcandles.com

I live in Neenah, which is south of Green Bay - the other side of the state. Yep, it can get pretty cold with the wind chill added in. We've had lows around zero without the wind chill lately, but it's starting to warm up again. I can remember some - 60 degree weather. You step outside, take a breath in, and your nose hairs freeze togethersanta chee . Ah, that's living!

One thing I remember being mentioned in the course was to take a bamboo skewer and tape it to the back of a large "tippy" item, point side down. Cut it shorter, if you have to. Then you can spear the pointy end of the skewer through the shreds and into the crumpled paper. It works really well to hold the item in place. HTH. -Margie

I think it's okay to cover a portion of the label. Sometimes you just can't help it. I put a tag on the outside of the basket that lists the contents and fragrances. I think candles and B&B are fine together. I've heard that you shouldn't mix scented candles and food though. Check out this free E-course "How to Make Beautiful Gift Baskets" at: http://www.giftbasketwholesalesupply.com/. It gives some really great tips, like how to make things stand up in a basket, what kind of things make good filler items, etc., and explains things very clearly. You get 8 emails, one per day, and then an email newsletter. I've also started getting a free subscription to "Gift Basket Review" in the mail, which is a nice magazine with great gift basket ideas. I didn't ask for it - it just started coming. I like it so much, I might actually pay to renew it when it stops coming. Oh, I still can't make a bow to save my life either. I wrap my baskets in cello, and either do a simple bow with several strands of colored raffia - which gives it a "homespun" look, or I buy them pre-made.

Wow, it sounds awesome. I'll have to try it someday, but for now I have to stop buying new butters for testing. My R&D budget for this year needs to be capped, no matter how much it makes me cry. I'm trying cocoa butter next, instead of the mango butter. I'll see what that does to the firmness. I'm actually trying to acheive two separate goals: 1. To replicate the balm recipe from my supplier as closely as possible by using only Coconut Oil, Hydrogenated soybean oil, shea butter and Vit E. 2. To create the world's best winter lip balm recipe, using soy wax instead of beeswax, and whatever else it takes. These cold dry Wisconsin winters are a perfect testing ground. I really like my suppliers balm base, but I think I can do better:cheesy2:

I think complimentary scents would be better. Scents that are sometimes found in wine growing areas might be good. Like: Currant or some other kind of berry, apples & oak, maybe a woodsy or mountain scent, wildflowers, or I like that wine and roses suggestion. I'm not sure about the cheese though...

How do you know if an oil is considered solid at room temp, or brittle at room temp? What is Mango butter?