brudil18

That is exactly what I did. I would just collect cash or check on delivery. I know that there is a chance to get burned on the check thing, but honestly I did not have a single problem and still don't on the occasion that I do take a check. I realize its a risk to take, but it has never been a problem. The one thing I would do is deposit those checks same day or the next day if it was after hours. Never let them sit for a few days

Using the standard Paypal business account (not the merchant services) has limited capabilities for doing different shipping options. I am the same way and do not charge "local" orders for shipping. If you want to get around that then you need to use one of the free carts (I use Mal's now) and you can set it up with multiple options for your shipping needs. Another way to do this is let people now on your website that local orders have "free shipping" or whatever wording you want to use. I did this and provided a list of the zipcodes I considered "local" and if the customer's zip code was one of those I asked that they email me any order and I would respond with an order total. The tricky part of this is that you don't have money in hand before you fill the order. However I didn't run in to any problems this way until I got my cart set up. This way you can still accept credit cards via the paypal business account with only the transactions fees and still take care of those "local" customers who appreciate not spending a fortune on shipping. Hope this helps, as I too look for the most economical way to run my business, but still provide some great options on the service side.

Hello all, I've seen lots of post before on how to color candles and if there is chart out there that will tell exactly how to make the perfect color. Although it doesn't exist, and really is trial and error, there are things that can be very helpful in minimizing the guess work and get the color you want with less "trial" and less "error". I know a lot of you may use color wheels, and other just try different combinations until something sticks. I found this link several weeks back that has been pretty helpful in minimizing the guess work a bit for me at least. I thought I would share it as it can be a great starting point for heading in the right direction. While it is instructions for coloring frosting used in baking, the same principles apply and it has a rather lengthy list of colors and ways to combine base colors to achieve them. Like I said its not to be used as the perfect color matching guide, but it does give a great starting point when mixing dyes to acheive different colors. Anyway, just thought I would share: http://www.sugarcraft.com/catalog/coloring/colormixingchart.htm Bruce

Great question. Search the forum and you can find some of these that people have used in the past. I agree with the previous post though that you are better off calculating from scratch. While it seems daunting, once you put "pen to paper" its gets a little easier. I also break everything down to cost per ounze when it comes to wax, scents, and dye. I use liquid dye and as an average their is about 600 drops in an ounze. good to know if when adding dye in small quantities. depending on how much you use. This is almost nothing though in the per candle cost (for me) as the amount used will price out to be a penny or less per candle, just my experience. Wicks, jars, glue, lids, or anything else you may use in candle are simply firgured out by the quantity you purchased divided by what you paid. when it comes to shipping cost you have incurred for supplies, two ways you can do this so do what ever is simple for you. You can spread the shipping cost out over all the items in your shippment received. Or what I do because its easier, is just add the shipping cost to one item in the order (my wax) and then average out the per ounze cost of the wax with all shipping charges included in my cost. Splitting it up between jars, wax, scents, wicks, etc just seems tedious. Hope this helps a little.

Agreed with the above statement. If its a container candle it will look "wet" between the candle and the glass, not very appealing to someone. All the manufacturers have a recommended load that they give for the wax. As a general rule though 1oz. per pound of wax seems to be the norm. Search "fragrance load" on this board and you can find lots of good advice for many different waxes that people use. This will give you some idea of where to go with your testing, but start with the manufacturers recommondations for the wax you are using.

I apologize in advance if this becomes too scientific or boring, but it may very well have to do with AC. In order to cool the air in a house the moisture has to be removed from the air. In essence the AC acts like a dehumidfier first before it can cool the air. "dry" air is less work to cool then "wet" air which is why the AC dehumidifies the air it cools. The reverse is true for heating which is why I have a whole house humidfier running in the winter when the heat is on. Your house still recirculates air in the winter when the heat is on, its just not dehumidified in the process. IMHO you are correct in saying the scents throws and smells are better in warm air. Not sure if this solves anything, but its some useless knowledge I picked up a while back that has now proven somewhat useful.

Thanks for all the input everyone. I'll try out the suggestions and see what happens. It will be fun to experiment

Hello everyone, I've searched the forum but haven't had any luck finding info on this. Anyone know how to make layered (different colors) using GG palm wax? After the first pour how do you keep the layers from bleeding together? what I mean is the jars are preheated so on the second pour do you preheat again to maintain the crystal pattern of the wax? I'm confused and any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Bruce

Anybody use her fragrance's in GG palm? also, what is the web address?

I'm still pretty small, but with my two wholesale accounts I have them buy by the case. It just works better when making batches that way. So technically I guess I do have a 1 case minimum. But they can mix and match as well. Just my two cents.

I use adobe Illustrator. Its pricey though, but you can do everything with it.

Welcome to the struggles of making the "perfect" candle. I don't use your wax or wicks, but I have tried the LX wicks before. If you get your supplies from CS you may want to get a couple of the sampler packs for wicks. I use the CDN with my palm wax and have to test, test, test. When I first started out I tried different wicks and finally settled on CDN from CS for what I do, but that was after many test candles with different kinds of wicks. As for the different FO, they all are unique in how they may work in a candle. I don't use the same size wick for every scent I have as they each may produce different burn qualities for the candle. Again its down to testing again on which size wick works best for a paticular scent. Hope this helps, but I usually do several testers before I find the wick I want to use. Many times there are just scents that don't "perform" up to my standards for HT and CT and I move on from it. Sometimes certain scents weren't meant to be.

I am doing a wedding in July! Very excited. Its a 135 candle order with custom labels that will be put out on all the reception tables. The guest will be able to take them home as gifts. This is a great opportunity to expand my customer base as well as go into a niche. Just thought I would share.

Thanks! They do have a good selection.

Any one know where to get patterned or plain vellum paper? I've goggled my self to death on this and haven't found anything I like. Thanks

Let me restate that. I tape the index finger... not all my fingers.

Agree with Candybee. I only have it on when I make candles. I'm just paranoid that way.

I experimented with this before. Wrap your finger tips with scotch tape. No fingerprints that way.

I'm very small myself and host my own website on a server at my house. I know most probably won't do this as an option, but I don't have to pay for hosting this way. As far as people being able to purchase online I use paypal. They provide the code that you cut and paste in to your own page and they can purchase via the paypal interface. for me its very cost effective, but still allows me to sell online with little hassle.

I understand where you are coming from. I have dreams of my addiction becoming bigger and opening a shop and the whole nine yards. I have those days too like you where I question it. I'm a single dad, live in a high rent (retail) area of the country, overwhelming number cruching all the time and the list goes on. How am I am ever going to make this work? I simply just believe I will. I have scaled back my approach to everything. I don't purchase unless there is money in the account. I hit the street on foot and target new wholesale accounts instead of mailing. I've basically gone low budget and simple, to get through these tougher times. Doing this makes me happy, so I focus on that.

Catlover, I have been looking to do the same thing as well, but find it very expensive, or cost prohibitive as well. I was talking to friend of mine, who is a graphic designer by trade. I only mention that since he has helped me so much and is highly regarded in many circles. Anyway, he suggested I look in to having a professional Ink stamp made of my logo. He said the price range is somewhere between $30 and $60 dollars. That way you can buy unprinted boxes of your liking (usually at a much lower cost) and use the ink stamp for your logo on the box. I asked it that would cheesy or look bad. He mentioned having a high quality stamp made (not talking about the generic stamps used in a mailroom) and it looks like its printed on the box. Just thought I would share as it may be a good option for you.

Work on getting some wholesale accounts close to home. Finish the website (i'm building it myself and it is taking too long.) Develop a marketing plan that I can see quantifiable results with. Word of mouth is great, but I want to see numbers this year. Keep things simple...

Look at this line in your html code: <font Face="Arial" size="2"><b>Sale Price: </font><font Face="Arial" size="2" color="#FF0000" class="salePriceAmount"> $22.95</b></font><font Face="Arial" size="2"> </font> If you use a different hex number (what I've highligted in red) you can change the color of the text. If you use one of the following it might give you what you are looking for. I also gave the hex code for a color called Goldenrod (a darker gold color) which might look good with the colors of your site (it doesn't have to be bright red ). Hex codes: dark red #8b0000 darker red #970000 goldenrod #daa520 Hopefully this helps. If you want to check out what different colors you can use google HTML hex colors and you will probably pull up a bunch sites that will show you a wide range of colors. Just change the hex number in that line of code and it will change the color of the text. You can do that for each product once you find a color you like.

Its with a nail salon about 12 miles from my house. One of my sister's friends who buys from me took a couple of my candles to this lady's shop. Next thing I know she calls me and says she loves the candles and wants to sell them in her shop. She said people had been asking about them becaue she was burning them in the shop. Its very exciting to hear about people wanting to buy my candles. 30 down 20 more to go.

I just got my first wholesale account!!!! Very exciting. Looks like I'll be up a while working on the order tonight.