kandlekrazy

I like them!

A cookie rack will help on granite.  I use a towel under my cookie rack as an extra precaution. 

I tried something similar several yrs ago for a wedding favor.  I used a higher melt point wax that was colored, smeared on sides where I wanted it, cooled for a full day and then used my low mp soy with no dye at a slushy stage to fill the jars.  IDK that I'd ever do it again, lol.  It was a lot of work but I was pleased with the result.

I honestly am having a hard time seeing how many chandlers are using these bowls.  IDK IDK IDK what they are thinking aside from they do sell to the majority of the public.  Don't get me wrong, I have these bowls in my house, but not with a candle in them. 

Sometimes it's as simple as the wrong wick, get it right and voila hot throw is good.  Like everyone said it's a testing, testing and more testing process.  IMO I wouldn't add EO to FO it's just a waste of expensive EO.  You can do all EO and get great results with some wax but I have found that soy wax morphs in a short time with EO and it looks too ugly to sell.  Good luck with the testing!

The suppliers that cater to the perfume industry sell single note oils.  They may not all be safe in candles so you'll have to do some research.

Love my HP color CW1525 laser printer.  I've actually had 2 now.  I've saved the cost of the printer in ink in just a few months.  The ink jets are cheaper but the ink every month will eat up $$ quickly.   On any of the printers you should be able to adjust print quality, while using the best setting uses more ink it produces a bright crisp label. I typically replace my black cart twice a year and the color carts once every 12-18 months.  I do print everything that doesn't need color in grayscale to save that colored ink.

Rustic Essentuals was good, I haven't bought since all the changes in fo.  Also New Directions and Indigo Fragrance I liked.

I've found same with Patch  I've purchased some I wasn't crazy about and a year later loved.  It's prob the only EO that I have from 6 years ago that just keeps getting better.  I do keep mine in a fridge and never much bottle air space.

Great Halloween melt!!

As far as disposing, you'll have to check with your trash company.  Ours has an area at their site where we can take any kind of oils, perfumes, etc that should not be just trashed and never put down a drain.

sucks really and I've noticed slower mail over past 6-8 months. They have closed our post office as it was considered a sub-station (small town) and also 3 other sub-stations in neighboring towns.  I have to admit we had a lot of places to go prior, now we wait in horrible lines at 2 locations. 

I always went by smell and color both stand alone & in products.  Some oils seemed to keep forever while others turned after 6 months.  Some darkened so much they would affect my undyed wax.   If you can't tell, have others smell, some people can tell immediately if something is off.

Price increases seem to be across the board so customers should not be surprised at all.  In addition to candles, I am a reseller of vintage, antiques & jewelry and wow have prices gone up even at thrift stores. 

I could never find one smaller than a turkey fryer so that's the way I went.  you can put in just a few #'s but just be careful you don't burn your wax.  I hate teflon coatings on anything really.  Maybe someone will come up with a ceramic coated fryer which MIGHT be better.

Have you ever purchased or received an expensive candle?  I have received as gifts and I'll tell you that SOME of the most expensive burned horribly.  Don't feel like their $$$$ for R&D makes a huge difference.  Most are interested in the cold and hot throw.  Sometimes I think us small guys take way more time and effort to make a safe candle that still smells great.

Just curious if your original expensive container is reusable?  So many people will pay up & go for the niche of returning a container to get a break on the next candle.  With glass it's not a great idea as you run the risk of glass breaking on a customer after multiple uses.  I have purchased concrete container candles that were reusable as they were completely sealed inside.

Pretty normal if not trimming a wick.  I'd be concerned if it's putting off smoke or making the jar hot, otherwise personally I don't mind.  I also use C3 and cotton wicks but typically 6% unless a super strong scent.

Avery's free label software used to include thousands of images, not sure it still does.  I purchased Print Shop and there you not only get stock but thousands of free internet images from them.  Buying 1 at a time could get costly, but I guess it depends on how many scents you have.

Kind of a pain to use a microwave as they don't heat evenly and usually you need to heat at a lower power in short bursts, just not worth the time or risk.  Get yourself a fryer to start out, they are inexpensive and you can set the temp and also ladle the wax out.

I need to try this one.

When I started, I knew I wanted a soy wax.  I did test many but due to shipping charges decided on C3 which was available just an hour away from my home at the time.  I could go to the General Wax Outlet store or have it shipped for just $20.  I just worked and worked until I got what I was looking for in a candle.  Since then I have tested some of the soy blends but never was able to really devote the time needed to make a safe, nice candle.

On 6/9/2021 at 5:44 PM, Soy-N-Suds said:

What issues? This is a nice clean sharp peppermint FO.

I use peppermint EO in bath and body products. 

You are using FO in wax, correct?

Either it would smell off or it wouldn't burn properly.  After trying several things I gave up and mixed with Vanilla, Lavender or Chocolate and it performed great.

Very pretty! Bet it smells amazing.  I almost always had issues with peppermint unless I blended it.

I use cedar blocks or balls as well.  The blocks are nicer I think because I can easily lightly sand and the cedar smell is right back again.