Denya

Hubby goes to work at 6 am... Kids are off to school by 7:15 am.... My UPS guy usually shows up around 9am... Oh yes....life is good! Denya

I've only been using a hair dryer. I was afraid the heat gun would be too hot. I'll have to look into the impulse sealer and see if that's something I want to invest in. I tried a few more over the weekend and was able to get the top to look nice, but the bottom never quite gets smooth enough to let the candle sit flat. I guess I just need to practice at it more. lol Thanks for all the advice! Denya

I'd like to be able to shrink wrap my votives so they stay nice and clean and don't get too banged up from hamdling them but I'm not having much luck with it. I've tried these shrink wrap bands....(http://www.soapwizards.com/tek9.asp?pg=products&specific=jofqpqqrc I hope it's ok to post this link) but using enough heat to shrink the wrap keeps melting my votives as well. I can't seem to get it to wrap nice and tight and smooth without doing damage to the votive inside. Any suggestions or am I missing something obvious here? :embarasse Thanks in advance! Denya

I'll add my kudos to this thread as well... I've exchanged several emails with Lyschel over the past week, and she's been super patient with all my rookie questions and very very helpful. One big thing that struck me about her was when we were discussing my choice of wax. I had originally ordered a starter kit from her, but then purchased a different kind of wax later (and from anothre supplier)to make more. When I expressed a wish that she carried the other wax, she only asked what wax I was planning to use. After a weekend of fighting with craters around my votive wicks, I gave up and decided to go back to her Enchanted Lites wax which came out beautiful for me. Never once did she mention a bad word about the other wax. No hard sale or trashing another brand to get me to purchase from her. She let me decide for myself and didn't offer an opinion either way until I had made that choice. I kinda liked that. Denya

Speaking from the viewpoint of someone that works for UPS, I would guess CS has a different/better contract with UPS than Peak has. UPS will often offer lower shipping rates based on past/anticipated volume to companies that are willing to commit to them as thier main or only shipper. Maybe Peak should hit up thier UPS sales rep and demand a better rate. Denya

LOL...there's a LONG story behind my nickname. In fact it goes back about 8 or so years now. Hubby calls it my alter ego, but at least it's shorter than my given name. Maybe I'll find a way to incorporate it into a company name if I ever get serious about candles, but for right now I'm just goofing around for myself. Thanks for the welcome! Denya

Thanks for the guideline Vicky! That helps a ton! I'm up north near Rockford, Candle....in a little town out in the sticks, but I love it here. Denya

Hello all! I've been reading these boards for a week or so and I gotta tell ya...I never would have guessed there was soooo much to learn about making candles! Awesome board, and awesome group of people here! I'm so thankful I found you! Anyway...I spent my weekend playing around with my votive candle starter kit and I'm hooked! (note the rolling of hubby's eyes when he kept wondering where I went to and he could always find me at the computer reading reading and reading some more! lol) So I'm putting together a list of things I need to make some different scents and something keeps nagging at me. Figured better to ask and be sure than keep wondering and do something I shouldn't! Scoping out the zillions of scents to choose from (how can I only pick a few??!!!!) and I'm wondering about the flash points. Is it bad to use a FO that has a lower flash point than the temp I will be melting the wax to? I thought I remembered reading somewhere not to use FO's with a FP below 200 but I can't find it again. I don't think hubby would be happy if I torched the kitchen with my new hobby/obsession. :rolleyes2 Thanks in advance for any help you can offer! Denya in Illinois