Jeannie

From what I have read the cotton is supposed to be the hottest but from my testing I found them very close. Wicks just burn differently in different waxes so it may burn hotter, I really don't know. I hate to say to much because I tested them so long ago and I can't recall if I tried it in soy or not but didn't like them in paraffin. I didn't like regular cotton in paraffin either but they work great in soy. Sorry, not much help but I'm sure somebody is working with them. It seems I've been hearing of more talk of the paper lately?

I'm gonna give it a try when I get over this bug. Hubby came home with my new ventilator so it's getting more and more tempting

Wow, that is a biggin! I use to use a wax that did that to me all the time (paraffin). The jar has a lot to do with it with certain waxes. Some jars, I couldn't beat it and others no probs whatsoever. The manufacturer always told me to pour cooler but that never seemed to fix the problem. Put them back in the box after your pour and throw a towel over the box so they cool more even. You might even get lucky and get a bar of soap OK, not funny but it's all a gamble really. I'm sad to hear this as I am getting ready to test this wax. I'm so not a fan of sink holes :undecided

That is wonderful! I'm glad it worked out for both of you...YAY!

I agree, it is her responsibility to test the merchandise. She ordered 205 candles without even trying one first? Not a very smart move on her part and I find that a bit unsettling. I would make a note on your site that you welcome wholesalers to request a sample before ordering. That is common sense but unfortunately not many people have any of that. This is really going to be up to you. I would do as Vickey's says and explain to her the charactristics of soy and the fact that what she ordered is in fact soy and the nature of it. You complied to the agreement and because she finds the appearance to not be of her liking does not grant the product unsellable or faulty by any means. I would also note to her that many people pride your candles on the unique appearance because it is different and because it is made of soy. Explain to her that if she was unfamilar with soy or your product for that matter, that before placing such a large order she should have sampled BEFORE purchasing. Tell her you are already taking a loss on the custom fragrances you did not charge her for and that you feel you have met your part of the bargain. Edited to say: Also do as Annie says and add a little sugar in there, LOL.

Very Yummy, I'd take a bite

First of all did she even test one of your candles before she decided to order? It sounds like this lady is pushing you around, first she changed the date with very short notice. You complied! How could you not if the money was not paid up front? Now she is stating the appearance is not what she wanted. Did she not realize she was ordering soy candles? I would explain to her that what she ordered is exactly what she got. That this order was especially made for her. Anybody who takes on a wholesale order such as this, I would assume has tested the merchandise?

These are great, I love making these and people do seem to love them.

I agree with Angela, it's not the same on paper and with my experience mixed with plastic the smell becomes altered. I've gotten sniffies like this before and by the time they got to me all had a rather distinct plasticy (is that a word) smell.

Yeah I really think it has more violet then yellow in it. I just realized you had reposted with the mauvy color you got. Sounds like you were on the right track, just not the right proportions to get it dark enough. You really have to use a lot more of the color block as the dye drops are a lot more concentrated.

Are you adding dye to your Ruby Red color block or other color blocks? I can't imagine adding black & getting pink as black darkens anything it is added too. Sounds like you need a lot more color then you are using. Lot's of red and a bit of black until you achive the deepness. Drop a bit of your color into a cold cup of water. Like when you test candy in stages, hold it up so it drops in balls so you can see the color in a solid form. Or you can put it on a piece of paper if as many do. The Ruby Red tends to be on the Pink/Violet side to begin with so not adding enough is going to give you + white=Pink. But you are saying you got orange alone so there must be plenty of yellow in it. I would probably add brown to it as red & green=Brown. Brown will help to deepen the color such as black but you can safely add more brown without creating wicking issues then you can black. The brown will help to add some more red as well as green. Keep in mind though unless you add enough of the ruby your base is going to be orange + Brown=Rust.

Wow, you hit a lot on the nail there, very smart considerations. I find most apply to me I still would like to sell again though but I have become so darn picky it's not easy to settle. The nice thing about your decision though, is you can always change your mind later. Have fun with it cause making candles as a business can sometimes take the fun out of it and then it becomes more work (burn out) then it's sometimes worth.

Very cute bags by the way! I think the dark burgandy plastics would compliment them very nice.

Are you including your costs into your pricing? This is part of your packaging expense. I include all those considerations in my pricing whether they get a bag or not. I generally include .05 for extra packaging, per candle! Now times that by retail x 3= 15 cents (10 cents profit) x 4= 20 cents (15 cents profit) per candle. If they just buy one candle or votives or something you really don't need a real expensive bag, I would go with a dark plastic that is still appealing but cheap. Now if they are buying multiple candles and one bag cost you .31 cents you should have no problem covering the cost of the bag and still making profit. If they buy 5 candles and you included .05 per candle for packing cost x your retail. .15 cents x 5 candles=.75 cents minus your expected costs .25= 50 cents profit and they walked away with a nice looking bag. I hoped this made sense, I'm not real good with math but I try

Hey that is a great sticky, lot's of info! In case you didn't find it! http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=698 You should have lot's of selection in or near ohio. I know Natures Garden is in Ohio and I believe they have several different kits. I can't think off the top of my head which others are in Ohio but I'm pretty sure there are several.

I just got my samples yesterday. Really want to pour them today but since I'm under the weather afraid it may make it worse :undecided I believe I read something about this in the old posts about losing scent half way down? Sounds like it's burning to hot but you never know it could be one of those crazy quirks. Nothing surprises me! Do let us know how you like it. I would like to make it work too since I can get these waxes local.

OK, I looked up the jar and it's the melting pot, not the pean pot right? Cause the bean pot is actually a bit wider. Believe it or not it don't take much neck to throw the whole thing off. That's why I despise any jar with a smaller neck but yes they sure are pretty. LX 18 or LX 20 (possibly higher but then it can be a flame height issue/smoking) 44-32-18z or 51-32-18z ECO 8 providing you established a melt pool on the 10. Make 3 testers, no wicks. Let them set a couple days so they are fully hardened. Poke some holes in and stick one with LX 18, one with 44-32-18z and one with the Eco 8. Compare each type of wick and how they burn. If it's a no go, try your next size. If those don't work then you will need some other type of wicks to test as you have already went up with smoking issues. Possibly the CD's would give you more options in sizing. I have a few other things in mind but let's see if you can get it first. I would hate to tell you to tweak your formula if you don't have too.

Yeah, you cannot double wick that it is to small. Are you adding anything to the J50? What zinc wicks did you try for single wicking that you got smoke? My experience with J50 and I don't have a lot but it does tend to smoke. Not as much as it use to as I the last time I tested it, I felt the formula had changed. You may be wicking to large and not giving it a chance to catch up after a couple burns. So much depends on the shape of the jar and if the neck is smaller it can cause more issues with smoking when you get down in there. What is your reason for going down in the ECO's? Are those 2 sizes to large? Smoking? Did you get a full melt pool? What other wicks do you have?

Snow, I am not familar with that jar but a 9 oz is generally to small for 2 wicks. How wide is that jar? You should be able to single wick it with a larger size of course. What type of wax are you using?

Well my guess would have to be the LX as far as buring hottest. In the wrong application though, they will often drown because they burn so hot they burn down instead of out, resulting in a weak flame or none at all. In your cored wicks, cotton is hottest, paper & then zinc. Zinc though it burns the coolest will often produce or appear to be hotter as it generally remains stable in most waxes. Maybe this site will help you http://www.wicksunlimited.com/atkins_pearce_candle_wicks.php Look under Wedo for you LX/ECO (German Wicks).

I tried the old formulations and liked the 464 better but still wasn't what I was looking for. I've got the new formulations of both waxes coming so there is still hope I've done a lot of searches on both waxes and found pretty good reviews. Not sure how recent they are though but would be nice to hear some updates!

I guess I'm crazy cause I've always noticed a bit of pine smell too it but it's real faint. Maybe that is the spice I am smelling, but I barely notice it in the wax.

WOW, I had totally forgot about this post, LOL. I don't always get my email notifications so I do apologize for not answering the camera question. The camera is a Sony ummm Cybershot I believe. I've had a lot of people ask me if I am a photographer but I can tell you I don't even know how to work half the buttons on this thing As for the labels, I do make my own from print shop pro deluxe 12. Like the camera, I am self taught.....Anybody can do it if they set their mind to it. I've spent a lot of nights crying to get there

The soy will discolor with certain oils for sure. I have one that eventually turns yellow. I don't personally care for that as I like them to look white but it has never been a problem and was always a best selling fragrance. What I do notice is you don't notice the color lines that color leaves after the burn. When I tried to color I noticed when I burned the candle the top burn layer turned lighter then the rest. That to me is not pretty!

Well Holly, that doesn't surprise me as that seems to be my luck, LOL. Something either changes or ends up getting discontinued. I haven't burned one yet but personally with such poor cold throw I don't feel it is something that I would want to carry. What a bummer, another slab to add to my collection! The GL 70/30 has a better cold throw then this wax but I had a problem with the seepage from the heat in my house during the day. I'm apparently the only person who noticed that though. I still have the testers sitting around and they all are wet on top. It comes and goes with the temperature changes! Other then that it seemed a good wax, great adhesion, nice color. Can't much comment on the hot throw & wicking but the one I did burn did very well (violet musk). To me the KY125 soy has the best cold throw out of any wax I have ever tried soy or paraffin...So I guess this makes it hard for me if something isn't even remotely close. I would settle for less but it still needs to be pretty darn good I guess I was on the right track when I started blending my own. The last batch I made was KY125 soy and IGI 4786 50/50 and 3% crisco. I chose the 4786 because it is NOT a single pour and well it burns better then single pours. I find when you mix soy & single pours you end up with wicking issues. Both are viscous! My combination above is a wicking dream for me. I was able to wick a 3.5" jar with a single wick & a substantial melt pool. I have never been able to single wick this jar and I have been fighting them for the last 5 years. I was double wicking them with the soy but the soy doesn't stay the same either. My main reason for blending. Personally I prefer at least a 4" jar for double wicking but that has been my other nightmare. What wicking are you using Holly? I hate to say this but I have tried every wicking out there when working with single pour type waxes (paraffin) and it's been a disaster since I gave up using zincs. Yeah they can be a mess but the other wicks are a constant battle. I hate the HTP wicks everybody uses, to me they stink profusely. The CD's are better but again like the HTP they tend to get a very large flame height & flicker. They eco's did OK but they are messy like the zinc and burn uneven so what's the point? The only bending wick I like is the LX but they just don't have the guts to hold up in this type of wax. To many drowning issues in anything larger then a 8 oz candle. Also when wicking larger with them they respond the same as the others in the flame height gets really large. I cannot stand that with any wick! They are great in votives and small containers though, such beautiful burning wicks. The only free standing wick (natural) that I liked in my old single pour paraffin besides the zinc was the hemp. They tend to smoke if not trimmed though, sigh. In my soy they burned beautiful in my double wick jar.....Messy (mushroom) but perfect clean burn without drowning. I think a lot will always depend on the jar. Unfortunately when you are double wicking it has been my experience that the freestanding wicks are the ones that can withstand the heat. For paraffin/soy blends my first choice would be zinc. Hate to say that as I gave them up years ago but learning a hard lesson. I would love to tell you LX cause I still reach for them but they always seem to eventually drown as the candle burns down. Not only that it certainly affects the throw when the flames become weak. I would try the hemp & the cotton but I think the zinc will probably burn the cleanest with the addition of paraffin. Cotton doesn't do good in paraffin (smokes) and hemp can be tricky too. Would depend on how much is paraffin but I love the cotton in soy for 8 oz jars. Love the hemp in soy for double wicking. The LX in any of the above for 3-4 oz jars. Well, now that I have finished my latest novel I think I will get back to testing and burn one of these babies