Jami

I just saw this thread. I used quite a few of Bert's oils this summer and not one of them disappointed me.

She answered the questions I had, shipped FAST and was great to work with. I was leary of buying FO's on ebay but had to try them. I subscribed to her ebay newsletter and trying to pick out a few of my fall scents.

Welcome aboard Bert

Thanks for all the compliments guys! LaVida gave me a REALLY good idea to use something different to wrap the baskets up, instead of using cellophane. I can't wait to wrap these babies up!

I am starting to get my holiday gift sets together. Other than shrink wrap, cellophane or stretch wrap, what is good to "seal" the baskets? Shrink wrap drives me nuts trying to get just the right size cut for each basket. I have tried the shrink wrap basket bags but struggled getting a size that fit without too much left over or not having enough.

I absolutely LOVE the look of yours and it convinced me to go ahead and place an order at Nashville wraps. I only live 20 - 25 miles from them. I should see if I can go look at different things to decide what I want.

What type of wicks are you using? How long are you burning the candle? What is your melt pool? Are you trimming the wick to 1/4 inch prior to burning?

Pre-tabbed wicks are primed with a higher melt point wax so when a candle is poured it doesn't melt the wax off the wick and the wick can stand up better while the candle sets up. This isn't always the case though. I use a wick centering tool and clothespin to hold mine tight while it is setting up. Wicks like CD's, tend to curl a little. Are you referring to the curl or does it literally not stand up in the wax?

The melt pool should be around 1/4 inch. With such a small melt pool, there really isn't room for the wick to "fall over".

For palm, I also use high temp glue sticks. BUT, I try to put my wicks in at least a couple hours ahead of time. I know the glue sets up quicker than that. I just prefer to give it the extra "set" time.

To center the wick, I use wick centering tools. I pull the wick up tight and use a clothespin to hold it secure. You can also use a binder clip. I get mine at Hobby Lobby. Here is a link for them:

http://tinyurl.com/3aktq6

Has anyone tried using caprol micro express (CME) to make linen spray? I ordered some to try but was wondering if anyone else has tried it and how it worked. One gallon of the CME is supposed to make 10 gallons of spray.

The flea markets in my area sell the 16 oz mason jar candles for $5 - $7. I know a few of them use quality oils because they were willing to talk to me about it and named off some of the suppliers like NG, bittercreek etc. They are using soy as well. Soy is more inexpensive than parasoy or paraffin.

What they can sell for, all comes down to what they are willing to settle for with mark up. One guy told me he was willing to sell 100 candles a weekend for $5 than 30 candles a weekend for $8 because it means he was reaching more people to get his company out there. He felt the reorders made up for it. I see it as creating alot of work for very little profit. Everyone has different priorities I suppose. I factor in the time, utilities etc to make mine. I would like to think that some of the mark up goes towards recouping the time and supplies for testing. It might take me 20 years to do that though

When I get a new batch of wax, it has a softer, more oily feel to it. By the time I got to the wax that I had left open, it felt more "brittle". It was no longer soft and had no slight oil feel to it.

That is the only way I know to explain it when I say "drying out". I have also seen a slab of 70/30 that when wrapped was a soft pretty slab of wax. Leaving the end not sealed well caused it to have some cracking. Ever seen a slab of cheese that wasn't sealed well and it started cracking and getting hard? That is the similar look to the end of my slab of wax.

I may not be using the correct term but SOMETHING happens to my plain ole wax not stored properly. Whether it is caused by temp changes, humidity, air hitting the wax or the planets just being out of line, I don't know. I am not a chemist to understand the changes that can occur.

What I have learned is to keep all my wax in sealed bags in a sealed plastic tub. I may be the only one this has ever happened to and it won't surprise me. I just try to eliminate what could be the issue and see if it happens again when I get to the same point in the wax.

I think this way because it's a blend that I myself have tried. I've tried 50/50 as well, and also a 70/30 of 4627/444. Even the high paraffin % mixture acted and looked funky. It seems that you've had a similar experience before too: http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53004

I'm convinced 4627 isn't blend able, but I'm glad it's working for you .

The bottom of the bag of soy was the only problem I had, not the first 30 lbs. I didn't keep it air tight and that is where my problem came in. I got a new case of the 444 and started making candles. No cracking and no problems. I am keeping my wax in an air tight tub now so I should eliminate the problem I had with the bottom of my batch of soy.

There actually have been several who use the 4627 as a blend with their soy.

Jami,

If you are blending this with soy, are you adding anything else to it?

I noticed that the 4627 says it is a blended paraffin, does that mean if you use it alone you don't have to add anything to it? I've had my eye on this, thinking about blending it for those fo's that I love but just won't throw in soy.

TIA!!

The 444 is the 415 soy with a 2% universal additive. Because of that, I don't add anything else with the 4627. I started out playing with adding paraffin to my soy because of similar issues. I haven't had a scent that doesn't throw now. The softer FO's need to sit for 3 days or so. That sure beats letting them sit a week to 10 days HOPING they will throw.

I have also used 415 with the 4627. The 444/4627 combination just gave me a stronger throw so I stuck with it. The biggest reason I blend my own is because I haven't been totally satisfied with the 70/30 that I bought from a couple suppliers.

What works for me may not work for others and what works for others didn't work for me. Have to love the joys of candle making lol.

I am not sure why you would think the 444/4627 would crack and pull away from the jar. They are both container waxes and I found the combination of the two was a perfect combination for me to wick and get great scent throw.

The 444 by itself gave me nightmares wicking but mixing in the 4627 fixed it. I get beautiful creamy candles and not one bit of cracking or pulling away from the jars.

I agree, sounds like a CD wick. I wish I could tell a difference in the size of wicks, not just identify the type lol

I have a few wicks that I would get out and lay aside then not use them. By the time I would get around to making more candles, I would have no idea wha they are. I bet I have 20 like that lol

There isn't a slab version of the 4627. One of the slab versions is the 4630. I personally didn't like it as well as the 4627.

I use latex gloves a knife or an ice cream scoop at times to get mine out of the bag. It is a little messy but oh so worth it.

It is 100% paraffin but as little as 10% added to soy eliminated the frosting when I started playing with it. I have gone up to a 70/30 or 50/50 blend depending on the jar and how hard of a time I am having wicking it.

I won't use anything else but this blend for my candles now that I have used it for a while!!!

I tried the foil cups way back when with the drawstring bags from KY Candle. MY personal experience is they are too easy to get dinged up and knocked around without a type of protective package. The foil comes off too easily and will also get mashed up. What can start out as a pretty presentation can go downhill quick.

I switched to the clamshells and souffle cups. I don't think I will ever use anything else. The harder packaging prevents all the ding ups.

I thought the same thing when I bought 444 after the 415. WRONG lol You will have to wick up 1 to 2 sizes.

SOMETHING impacted the wick and it was a PITA trying to get wicked. I won't even use the 444 by itself now. I use it in my own parasoy blend and that alleviates the problems I had with wicking.

On a good note, the scent throw is awesome with the 444!

I think I tried about every combination when I wanted to go with a parasoy blend and the 4627 has been AWESOME for my blend.

I won't use any other paraffin with my soy now. It has made wicking ALOT easier than straight soy too. The scent throw is definitely WONDERFUL!

I slowly pour around 165-170 and have never had a wavy top with the KY tart wax (clamshells and tart cups). The ONLY time I ever had a dip in mine is when I had my air blowing full blast in my workshop. It was decided they cooled too fast so I cut the air back some and haven't had a problem since.

Is there a fan/celing fan blowing on top of the tarts as they are cooling? That is the only thing I can think of that may be causing the wavy problem.

I generall use candelina jars but since I am in TN, there are those who prefer the mason jar look. Candle Science as the most reasonable shipping and price for me. I found there was only a $2 shipping difference in ordering 8 cases vs. 5 BUT it jumped $10 on shipping to go to 9 cases. Playing with the shipping calculator can give you an idea of the best quantity to order for your $.

The 8 oz platinum jars at walmart are too squatty for a good candle but they make great wickless candles. I have used the 16 oz platinums and keep a supply of those for the clients I have who prefer a 16 oz candle.

Is there an 8 oz square mason that has smooth sides? I really hate using mason jars just because of the lettering in the glass. I think the smooth sides provides a sleeker, classier look to a candle.

I have used the linen base from JS. The 32 oz bottle can make up to 2 gallons of base by adding water since it is a concentrate. It takes very little. I mixed some today using .60 oz of base for an 8 oz bottle.

ANY FO can cloud ANY base if you use too much. Vanilla FO's can also cloud a base regardless of how much or how little you use.

It is all a matter of playing with the mix to find the "happy medium". Another inexpensive recipe for a linen spray is to use witch hazel, water, poly 20 (others prefer poly 80) and your fo. The poly will bind the oil with the water base.

Because linen base isn't being used for the body (with the not body safe disclaimer), listing ingredients on the label isn't required. I have bought linen spray (to see how mine compares to theirs) from big companies that didn't list ingredients.

I have a couple friends who make and sell them. They charge $4 for them.

I checked and no alcohol. I also found a website for candy flavor oils that state alcohol free. I will play a little and see how it works. If it does work then at least I can have a good variety of flavors

Thanks for letting me know about the alcohol!

I don't think I have seen any creamy body base. Every one that I have checked out have been clear. The closest I have come to making one look creamy is to use the JS Shower Gel base and add the pearlized foam booster from WSP.

When I used that wax, I switched from the LX and CD's to the ECO because I got better hot throw with the eco's lol

I now make my own parasoy blend and still using the Eco's because I really like the throw I get with them. I don't have sooting or smoking issues at all.

Ohhhhhhhh I didn't even think about that. I have one right here in town!! I will check them tomorrow after I go to my dr. appt.

Thanks for letting me know!

I have a dr. appt tomorrow and going to swing by Big Lots just to see if they have these because they are SO CUTE! Are you double wicking them? What is the diameter of these jars?

Thanks for letting us know about them!!!

I also get tart wax from KY. I can get my wax in a couple days since they are in Mt. Vernon.

A candy thermometer works fine but I prefer a digital. Check out the presto pots at walmart. They are $22 and all I will use to melt my wax. I don't know how I ever survived without it lol.