SnowCow

i poke between layers. mostly to see how set up the layer is so i know when to pour again. others just poke when they have poured the last layer (poke all the way through).

i just raised mine a little, but it was more b/c i can't find my wax locally anymore and have to order from far away. that really sucks! i just make pillars, so can't comment on the jars....

congratulations on both! sounds like you made the best of it and had a great time!

i found my 4 ft tables at a travelling close-out thing. not sure exactly what it is called, but a company set up at a local rental hall near the highway and were mostly selling tools. was with hubby and the in-laws, so we stopped for the tools. got 2 tables for $20 each and they are the gray-ish plastic ones like at sams and SOOOO light weight!

i make some of them, but not a whole lot. they will consume themselves, but it takes longer before you can actually hug the sides in since it is wider. once you are able to hug them, they will burn just like a 3in. i use 36ply i think. my notes are at home, but it's that or 38.

i use the concave molds. the concave will sit flat when you are pouring. when you put the wick in, it sticks out a little. since it is conclave, there is enough room for the wick to be so it will sit flat. i've not used the flat top molds, but the wick issue could be a factor. if you use wick pins, this might not be a problem, but i don't use those either.

Greetings! one of my cousins asked me to look for a scent called oriental blossoms. the candle she has is made by a company called Green Leaf. I did a search on some of the fragrance finder sites, but couldn't find anything. has anyone heard of it? i'm sure it's around, but may be called something else. here's a description of the scent: Experience the mystique of plum, tuberose, and violet paired with the dark richness of ylang-ylang and black currant Sound familiar? it smells really good and i don't usually go for this type of scent. but, hey, it may be worth it to try!

hi all, i need some advice from you. i did a non-craft show this weekend - it was a hunting/fishing show and they advertise there is "stuff for the ladies" who get dragged there by their husbands/bf/whatever. I was dragged there myself a couple times and thought it would be a good place to have a candle table b/c the only "ladies stuff" is jewlery. so, i went and it was smaller than the last time i had been and it was really slow. i did OK, booth fee is not bad at all for 2 days. my in-laws came on the 2nd day to help me load out and they talked to the other vendors and had talked to some of their friends at home. some of the vendors (the actual hunting/fishing people) said they would not come back next time and some of the customers said they were really disappointed and would probably not come back. after talking to some of the other vendors around me, a lot of them said they did ok, but not great. i did see quite a few vendors reserve a spot for next time, which is in october. i already put a small deposit down for same table next to the same jewlery lady (she was fun to talk to and we would watch each other's tables for potty runs). i'm just not sure i should do it again. i have thought about how i can change up my stock to make it more appealing, but if there are no customers there, it just won't matter. i'm leaning towards doing it just this one extra time and if it flops again, then i wouldn't do it again unless i knew it started to pick up. anyone have any thoughts?

in my 3in pillars, i use a 24ply, but have heard the 30 works too. i do not prime...too much extra work! and i don't use a wick pin. hth

thanks angela. i think those are the ones! i thought i had the link from the old board marked, but i didn't and i never could find it. i am search challenged! lol thanks again.

Hi all, I bought some of those cardboard risers, but lost the instructions on how to put them together. Anyone know? I actually need to use them this weekend (first time needing them, lol). TIA

i think you could make some extra money at it, but probably not a whole lot. a big key for me is to limit what i make. i only do pillars, although i am pondering containers (they scare me a little). since i limit it to a few shapes i know burn well, it is easy for me to not go overboard with spending on new things. i don't buy a whole bunch of new fo's each year.....maybe-4-8, depending on what i find. if you can keep the "gotta try this" itch away, you could probably do decent. i've been doing that for about a year, and although i haven't made much, i have been able to only spend what i make from sales and not tap into my personal account. it's hard, but i think it is worth it if you are willing to do it. my customers know what i make and that i make it well. i tell them when i have a new scent coming out and often give my good customers votives of it. depending on your town, you may be able to do some small shows in the area and get a good return on your money. start looking at different websites and see what you can do. also check with the school to see what they have going on. i work at a university full time and sold candles at a breast cancer awareness event -made all kinds of pink and purple candles and donated part of money to ACS. it was free. check with the school district to see if the cheerleaders, choir or dance team do craft shows for fundraisers. they don't seem to do that in my area, but many do. fee would probably be pretty low for that too. many optionsout there....just gotta look for them! btw, i started experimenting when i was in college too.

that looks really cool lit up, just like a hawaiian sunset!

they look good! i hate it when there's no mottling! going through issues myself right now. love the orange one! nice and bright!

probably about $600 too, maybe a little more. i sell, but not a whole lot. I'm trying to find shows to do, but summer is my slow time and also way too hot in texas for me to have pillars outside, which of course is where most of the shows are. i try not to spend more than i make on candles and that has been working so far. we'll see what happens now that i am trying to get some shows.

i was thinking the same too!

thoes look great!

that is awesome! lucky you!

i will recommend two types of wax to begin with to make pillars. IGI 1343 - a straight paraffin and very versatile. You can add different additives to obtain different effects. Vybar (there are 2 types, both sold by peaks i think), stearic or stearine, universal additive (UA) and UV inhibitor (helps prevent fading) are typical additives. the supplier's website will list suggested amounts to use. Start there and then play around with adding more or less of different ones and see what pops out of the mold. I swear, it's like getting a present when you are a kid b/c you can see the "wrapper" aka mold and you're just not sure what is inside! IGI 4625 - this is a pre-blend paraffin wax. It creates very solid colored candles and it can be a challenge to get dark candles, but not impossible. I think the only thing you need to add is UV inhibitor (usually just called UV). good you have extra $$ you can invest. this is so much fun and there are so many different things you can make. too bad you didn't get here before the old board crashed. there were thousands of pictures that were absolutely inspiring and lots of information for newbies on where to start. btw, we are crazy and have horrible spelling! welcome!

it looks like it is coming along quickly! keep up the good work!

i would consider charging 2 times your cost to the organization and set a pricing limit, plus give her a suggested sales price. this way, you can tell her that you usually sell candles for X, but you don't think many would sell at Y. to determine what size to sell, i would talk to the lady and ask her what her profit goal is. tell her if you think she is able to make that by selling SOME of the 14 oz or MORE of a smaller size. I know, it's hard to tell what will sell better, but something to think about. I think 10 scents is plenty so she won't have a bunch of candles sitting around behind the table or in a car. It would just be a pain for her to keep filling the scents or trying to search through boxes to find it. they always do fundraisers outside of my area walmarts and people will buy stuff because they want to support the cause. good luck!

once i sell a few more candles , i'm going to order some cranberry orange spice from snowtop (maybe they can change their name to snowcow just for me ha ha). my brother got a candle of this scent last year and it was to die for! i asked about it last year on TSR and they told me to check out this place. should place the order in about 2 weeks. other than that, i have: amish harvest spiced cranberry chirstmas spruce (or whatever it is called from peaks - i love it, not too strong on the tree smell and the spiced scent is a very nice finish to the smell) hot cocoa (also sell this during v-day as chocolate kiss) cider think that's pretty much it.

got a leadership conference that weekend here at the university, so won't be able to make it. maybe next year, although chances are slim if it is always in september. between leadership conferences, retreats and sorority recruitment, it's a crazy time of year! hope everyone has fun!

had the opposite happen with my 1343. supposed to be translucent and it made the creamiest candles ever! didn't even bother trying to call igi...figured they would tell me it wasn't their fault. anyways.....good luck. hopefully you will find an answer soon.

not really If they are not sticking well, i will heat up the bottom of the pillar, then stick it on. sometimes the warm wax will help to create a bond with the label.