FarmerJill

Oh my, what I'd love to find is that lid! I use both galvanized and white-washed but this one is much cooler than any of the rust versions I've seen.

Some fragrances are very strong right off the bat but as a matter of course I put them all away for at least a week to cure. Are you currently using a soy that doesn't require curing?

I've been testing Accu-soy10 for the last ten months and have sort of felt alone in the wilderness because nobody else ever talks about it. Unfortunately, this is the first soy wax I've used so I really have nothing to which to compare it, other than noting what everybody else says about their wax. That said, I really like it - easy to work with, smooth tops, creamy, good cold and hot throw. Frosting hasn't been much of an issue, either, except for a few little splotches here and there. That is, until I tried for a Christmas red recently but I'll be doing some experimenting with that this week. One thing I have noticed compared to most conversations here is that I've been able to wick down a little bit. Now I'm not sure if that's really because of the wax or if it's because I don't mind a little hang-up in order to keep the container from overheating. I use masons, btw, so hang-up is a given but when I first started I was using htp 105s. Now I've settled into mostly 51c or sometimes cd-10. Anyway, that's my experience. I'm tickled to hear about somebody else using this, so keep us posted! Connie

FHG, I'm not AAngel but I can give an opinion (what's new, my family would say ) I initially rejected Grandma's Swinging Eggnog because it just didn't do much for me. Then it was sent to my sister's house in a batch of testers. Oh my! Her three boys -- all pre-teen -- thought that was the best of anything I'd ever sent them, to the point that they were dipping fingers and playing in the wax. IMO the rum scent is fairly strong, although I didn't want the boys to make THAT connection, and maybe that was giving it a negative connotation to me (yeah, there's a story there but it's not pretty and rather pointless all these decades later ) Anyway, their response was enough to make me reconsider. Plus, the name is one of those that attracts people, although I've renamed it slightly, and the reaction is always a smile and "Yum!". In my pot this weekend? Christmas Eve, Cranberry Marmalade and Precious Gifts are all going into mason jars today. And repackaging potpourri/fixins.

Pouring wickless tins with Christmas fragrances. Finalizing some labels. Setting out some gorgeous new soaps in the shop (yum!). Oh, and I've learned that I can shut off the furnace if I keep enough test candles lit. Good luck with the weather, Robin. The rain hit here with a vengeance last night and I'm so-o-o-o glad!

Bella Luna, I do exactly what you're suggesting quite often. I like pouring just a clamshell's worth to start out because I want to know how an FO smells in wax before I bother advancing it any further in testing. Plus, it gives me a good idea of a specific FO's curing needs and I know right off the bat about cold throw. The clamshell gets passed around to three testers and if it scores high enough then I think about wicking it. If it's a pain to wick it might still be used for tarts or in my wickless tins so it's not like the effort was wasted. I know a lot of people don't do it this way but when I started out it seemed the most logical way of efficiently wading through the ocean of fragrances out there. A big plus is that not all the tester wax gets used up so I now have a "library" of clamshell samples I can refer back to when recommendations for fragrances come up. And they're great to have on hand when thinking about mixing fragrances. I just plop a little of this and a little of that into a tart melter.

Pouring Chestnuts & Brown Sugar into masons and wickless tins. The house is going to smell so, so good. Had a request from my twelve year-old nephew for Grandma's Swinging Eggnog. I sent some testers over to my sister's house and he just went nuts over that scent. Guess I've got to add that to the holiday line-up now even though I hadn't planned on it.

I really like Beneath The Stars from WSP. Not a stereotype holiday scent at all.

I think I've done it this way before by also adding just a touch of black or brown. Peak's carries a liquid burgundy/mauve dye that's rather pretty.

Potato salad is in my pot this weekend. We're putting on a big surprise party for my sister who not only turned fifty this week but also just completed her master's degree!

I'm playing with wax this weekend but no fragrances, just dyes. Yesterday I started blending colors and pouring samples into clamshells for future reference. It felt like drudgery at first but once I got going now I can't seem to stop. :smiley2:

Very lovely display. And you know, Robin, it just looks so...so....typical Oregon! :grin2:

Heather or clover

So right you are! We used to offer a small discount to people who returned containers (this wasn't with candles, but with other products we sold) and it was nothing but a PITA that created hard feelings. People would drag in all kinds of junky containers I couldn't use and then pout when they didn't get their 25 cent credit. After filling up my garbage can a few times we put a stop to the practice. AAngel, recycling is a wonderful thing but I can't bring myself to re-use a glass container if it's going to a customer. Yes, jars are reused constantly in canning - the purpose for which they're manufactured - and yet they still sometimes break even though exposed to heat for a short time. Used as a candle, however, that glass is exposed to high heat units for several sustained periods of time. I use masons, too, and worry enough about having a new jar break, much less one which has already been stressed repeatedly. But then...I'm a worrier.

I'm glad they recovered your merchandise but, geez, I think they need a little more security at the front door. People are just absolutely unbelievable!

Ditto this. Plus, keeping an inventory allows me to take better charge of my daily schedule, as opposed to having the customer in charge.

I love my UPS man - he should be delivering some winter/holiday fragrances in the next few days. But I'll have to resist the urge to start testing since I'm also supposed to be getting ready for a garage sale (meaning I'll have more shelf space to store candle supplies )

Pumpkin Crunch Cake is setting up right now. Don't know why I'm so hungry for some dessert......

Apple Splash

Walking in a Relay For Life at the 2 a.m. Saturday morning time slot, then attending closing ceremonies at noon, all of which means I'll be dead-tired later on. Want to get a few new fragrances poured on Sunday, though, so I can test burn while my sisters and I are at the beach next week

Uh oh, Lynn, I guess I'll have to quit bragging about the weed crop or the durn helicopters will be visiting for sure. Thanks for the laugh. Now I gotta go water that funny-looking "fern" in my garden and order me some patchouli. :grin2: Hope hubby's feeling better.

Thanks for the help, all. Just in the nick of time before I pulled out the last of my hair!

Does anybody know where I can find Winter Blast? Or is this fragrance just a figment of my imagination? I was sure I ran across it on a supplier's site a few months ago but now that I want it, wouldn't you know, I can't find it to save my life. Any help would be much appreciated.

Eew, to us farmers that wort is just another lousy weed! I was once told to become an herbalist so that I could learn to embrace all those weeds out in the strawberry field. Hasn't happened yet although you'd think so by all the crap growing in my flower beds. This weekend is for pouring two fragrances, finishing up the testing on a few others, and transfering notes from a million pieces of loose paper to the computer. Only supposed to be in the 80's up here in the valley, Robin. Come on up for a visit if you need to cool off. I've got shade, lemonade and some weeds...err, I mean herbs in the garden you can pick;)

Oh, I'm with hubby! I like Wild Oaks much better than any of the other offerings. But that's just me because I'm not much of an "essentials" or "serenity" spa-type gal and yet obviously you are. That said, I can easily see K.D. Essentials on a label or website. Just trust your instincts (and research like Prairieannie said) and then when you decide, really commit mentally to it without any second-guessing or worrying what anybody else thinks. Too many opinions can spoil the soup. Naming a business is kind of like naming your kids -you agonize over the decision when they're born but it doesn't take but a blink of the eye to realize you can't imagine them named anything else. Good luck!