JacquiO

Am I missing something here? The link I get is to a gel jar candle with parrafin wax cookie shaped embeds. I think that could be easily reproduced by someone that does gel candle jars. It's cute. I like the use of candle glitter on the cookies. I saw similiar ones to that at the yankme outlet store. They smelled strong but I'm not a big gel fan.

I didn't start with a kit. I just bought what I needed. Choosing wicks is what I found to be the trickiest thing. That's how I found this site - looking for advice on wicks. It really depends on what you want to do first. If you like jars start with jars. If you like pillars start there. If you can find a kit great but the spending just starts there. Votive and tarts are the easiest. You don't really need a kit just for those. Just the following: Votive molds votive wick pins tart molds pre-tabbed 3" wicks pillar wax fragrance dye chips pouring pot themometer (OMG now that I look at it - it seems like a lot right?) You also need a double boiler for melting. I used an old worn out large aluminum spagetti pot with the strainer that fits into the pot. You can use a temperature controlled presto pot or turkey roaster for melting too but to me the old spagetti pot was a much cheaper starting investment. Now I use a converted presto pot with a spout. When making votives and pillars I pour any left over wax into tarts. I hate having to dispose of wax or having piles of paper cups filled with wax. That got old really quick. Most people I know loves wax tarts. They're easy to give away (or better yet sell) to friends and family. You can get novelty shapped tart molds and embed molds for a more creative touch. I could go on forever but here are a few other items I've found are invaluable. Baking sheets (must have lip around edge) - I got them cheap at Wally-Mart. I pour everything over baking sheets, - jars, votives, tarts, pillars you name it. They help keep any spills or leaks contained. You can use old cookie sheets but once you use them for candles they can't go back to baked goods. I also clean all my aluminum supplies in the oven on baking sheets. Paring knife and small spackle The paring knife for shaving dye blocks or chips the spackle for removing dripped wax off you stove and counter tops. Paper towels - keep lots on hand the cheaper the better. Someone also suggested disposable blue shop towels. I've been meaning to try those. Bamboo sticks - bag of 100 - $1 at Wally-Mart. Use them as stir sticks, to poke poke recess holes when repouring pillars and to tie off you wicks. The fat kabob sticks, not the really skinny ones. A pyrex measuring shot glass that measure in ounces and a small scale with a tare function. I'm sure I could think of more but I'm sure you head is spinning by now. Like I said the spending just begins with the kit.

Welcome. I have to admit I started candle making but my husband joined in shortly after we got married. The key is not to get on each other's nerves or treat the other as if you know more. There's a lot of trial and error involved in candle making. I remember when Del would get so unnerved when he messed up mixing a color and I would tell him that I've done the same myself and then we'd just bag 'em up never to been seen again and start over. Good luck. I hope you guys stick with it and have a lot of fun. Remember two candle makers are better than one.

Canning (mason) jars are designed to be heated up. When your working with preserves you have to kill any bacteria and spores by pressure cooking them for 10 minutes or so in order to prevent contamination. The key thing is not to reuse glassware once you've burned a candle in them. The more you heat and cool the glass the more stressed it gets and increases the chance of cracking. I'm not sure how hot you want to heat your jars but generally I just set my oven to warm. Put the wicked jars in while I'm prepping my wax and pour when they are slightly warm. HTH, J

I bought one of the 15 tealight molds. I bought it because like Sharon I'm also messy pourer and have a heck of a time with those little cups but I have not gotten this thing down at all.. It says to take the metal pins out while the wax is still warm. I don't know how to do it properly. It cools so fast that I can never seem to get them out smoothly then I put them in the cups - upside down there is a small ring on the bottom from the mold design - rightside up it's slightly cracked where the wick pin came out. Zap them with a heat gun they look great except for the wick 'cause all the wax coating melted off. Maybe I'm just a fuss pot perfectionist - or maybe it's because I'm using the soy pillar wax. Maybe they work better with straight parrafin. I bought plastic boxes that hold 10 tealights so that helps with the odd number on the 15. I couldn't imagine trying to work with the 100 count but I guess once you got the technique down it would probably be great way to crank 'em out. Personally I'm thinking of just selling the mold and working on my pouring technique.

The wick-it premeire wicks are from a company in NJ. I got a bunch of samples from them. I have many left that you're welcome to have. Just pm me to discuss shipping. Also Wick It will also send you free samples (you pay shipping). I tested a few sizes these wicks in one size jar and some votives and they all mushroomed. I also had a hard time getting a full melt pool. Personally I was not impressed. I did use them in some C-3 but came to the decision that that also was not the soy wax for me. The disadvantages I found to using Wick It: First off the samples - they gave me a lot of sizes of their premiere wicks but only 3 of each which I thought was ridiculous. You cannot really test with so few although they do state that they will send you more free samples upon request to do more testing. Secondly you can only order in batches of 1,000. Their prices are decent but how often do you need 1,000 of one type of wick especially when talking soy. The FOs often require different size wicks so you can't really pinpoint to one size wick for each container. I spoke with a rep from thejarstore and they said they made a deal with wick-it to carry their premeire wicks, So soon you be able to purchase them in smaller quantities at thejarstore. I'm not looking to bash the company or their wicks. They did seem very friendly and good customer service. You asked for honesty and this is just one persons humble opinion. Cheers, Jacqui

Most large candle supply companies carry ECO wicks and ECO wick assemblies. You can always check with your main supplier or a company nearby. You may be able to even purchase a sample pack or request free samples. I purchase all my wicks from www.candlewic.com in PA and they will send you free samples of multiple wick types and sizes if you email them a request.

I'm in the process of testing wicks with both those waxes and so far have had the best results with the ECO wicks.

I live in upstate NY but not as far as Albany. I buy from PA - candlewic and candlesandsuppplies. Both carry Cargil Soy waxes and candlesandsupplies carries Ecosoya and Golden Brand as well. I've actually driven to pick up some of my PA orders but I'm 20 minutues from the PA border although it's still a good 1-1/2 hour to candlesandsupplies. As far as shipping both suppliers cut you a break if you ship to a commercial address. So if you can have your wax shipped to work that's a help. Also a good Jar Supplier in thejarstore in CT - they also carry c-3 soy I think. And you can get tins and some jars through sks-bottle - they're upstate. A lot of the people I know from NJ and NY who make candles buy from the PA suppliers candlewic, candlesandsupplies, and fillmore. I wish I knew more Upstate suppliers. Welcome to the board. HTH, J

pm'd ya.

Clean Cotton is a good seller for me but your Cotton Balls & Blossoms might be similiar enough. Baby Powder and Lick Me All over are good standard sellers. So is Lavender, Sandelwood and Patchouli. It would be really hard for me to get it down to 20 scents. I sold about 35 votive/tart scents with about 20-30 standards and anywhere from 5-10 seasonals. I'd try to mix it up throughout the year Butt Naked and Lick Me All Over were a couple of my winter seasonals for Valentines so was Red Hot Cinnamon. Red Hot sold better than my Fall seasonal Cinnamon and Clove. Also did Chocolate Covered Strawberries for Valentines. I did carry a vanilla that sold really well called Vanilla Royal from SOS. It is not a standard vanilla, has a lot of buttery notes. Christmas Dreams (also from SOS) sold so well I ended up carrying it all year round.

You do not want to leave it on all the time. Trust me. When your done turn it off and UNPLUG IT! I accidently left it on for Lord knows how long - a day or two? I came home to a stinky burnt wax smelling house and a presto pot full of brown liquid garbage.

Can someone please provide a good example of the wording for a wax tart melt warning/instruction label. TIA, Jacqui

I cannot pull up that site. Their server may be down.

I'm interested in making soaps and B&B and was looking for help in choosing Essentials Oils for B&B. What EOs are the best to use for skin products? What EOs should I absolutely avoid?

With the aluminum molds have you tried a silicon release spray? Treating your aluminum molds with that may help. Just one can goes a long way and one treatment of the mold should last for quite a few candles. Do not use silicon spray on Polycarbonate molds. As far as them leaking I'm no help. I don't use polycarbonate. Candlewic CS is great. Don't ever be shy about contacting them.

Welcome to the board and the exciting world of candle making. Canning wax is no good for containers and look forward to a pretty messy free standing candle - they'll drip. I started out similiar to how you thinking of doing. Picked up some supplies at a craft store. Had no idea what I was doing. What a fiasco. I didn't touch candle making again for a couple more years. Votive candles or small containers are a great way to start. An inexpensive kit from a reputable supplier is probably one of the best ways to get into this hobby. These kits will give you all you need to get started except you may have to add a pouring pot and themometer to your order. Also the basic instruction on this site are very helpful. Living on the east coast I suggest checking out candlewic or candlesandsupplies. I like these suppliers because they are close to me but I'm sure their are other members who can point the way to other good suppliers of starter kits. Tell you hubby it's an early x-mas present. Warning: Candle making is very addictive. P.S. I don't recommend eBay for starter kits. Not to slam eBay sellers. You may think your getting more bang for your buck but you don't know what your buying. With a suppliers kits you know you can always go back to them for more wax, wicks, etc and know you'll be able to duplicate your good work.

Okay so maybe I was exaggerating a little on the 30 minute thing. I did recently time the melt pool and the one wick (WI premier 795) took 45 minutes the hemp wick took just over an hour. I was not testing for wicks or FO, just wax. I’m about 2/3rds down now and still no soot and no mushrooming with the WI and a little in the hemp. I find this wax to be very wick friendly. I certainly don’t think this has been a waste of time or money. In fact I think it has saved me money. I found my initial test pours with these 5 different soy waxes extremely valuable. I was able to find a soy wax I like from a supplier I can drive to. I really like the texture look and overall burn quality of the CB-Adv. I’m picking up a case this weekend to start some serious wick, FO and additive testing. I have no intention of starting over again.

Just curious. When doing a fundraiser what kind of lead time do you give yourself from receiving their order to filling it?

Dust it off? I put spigots on those babies. You can use a Presto as a double boiler. It comes with a nifty basket you can use. I just don't like it. Without the spigot- I don't even want to imagine the mess of trying to ladle wax out.

Hang tags would be best. Oval labels might be an improvement but I'd think you'd still get bumps.

I use an old large spaghetti pot as a double boiler. It has a strainer pot that sits inside. Don’t use your good cookware. Goodwill and Salvation Army are good places to look for cheap old pots. I tried a Presto Pot as a double boiler but it let off too much steam. It’s better to have a double boiler on the stovetop with the air duct above. Presto Pot is great with a spigot. You can find already modified ones on eBay. Well worth the investment if you plan on making a lot of candles.

I've found that shipping by the case is most cost effective. 2 cases even better. For some reason I think UPS and FedEx give better breaks once it goes over 100lbs. At least that how it used to be. I haven't ordered that much wax in a while. Finding a supplier close to you is better, even if they are just a state over. Also if you can have it shipped to a commercial address as oppossed to your residence can help but you have to check with supplier. Some will give you a break if you ship to a business address and some don't. I pretty much have all my supplies sent to work. But I'm fortunate enough to work for a company that will let me do that. I'm going to be owing the mailroom staff some candles this Christmas.

No Border makes it blend in better with the candle. The border reminds me that it's a label. Plus I know from personal experience that it's much easier to print without the border. I love the fonts and the design. It's very elegant.