JacquiO

LOL You need to watch the movie American Pie...lol

Did they expain it in American Pie? I thought I saw that movie. Must be a little hazy with all I smoked back then. I never heard of MILF until Weeds.

Thanks Carebear for putting me back on track.

what is the difference between a heat gun and an embossing gun?

I'd like something that radiates more and blows less than my heat gun sometimes!

An embossing gun is smaller than a heat gun. It's also designed to be held upright so the heat blows directly down whereas a heat gun is designed more like a hair dryer - just don't try to dry your hair with it. Both are pretty much designed to concentrate the heat in one direction. As far as which blows more heat - I would imagine the heat gun but I never compared the two. I wouldn't go sticking my hand under either.

For an embossing gun you could try AC Moore, Michaels, Joanns or Walmarts craft department. If you go to any of those craft stores online you can request coupons and get one for 40% off.

That's a wicked cool idea! Too bad it's already taken.

OT - Can anyone tell me what MILF (the milk & cookies scent) stands for. It's on this Tori Amos song and and in the show Weeds they called Nancy's homegrown MILF weed. I have no idea what it means. PM me if it's vulgar. I'm over 18 - I swear.

I feel so out of the loop,

J

Anyone have any nifty tips on getting the wick tab centered in the base of the jar?

TIA,

Jacqui

I testing some bags of soy I bought to try out and poured a dozen scented votives. I poured 2 batches of six each and they all cracked around the wick pin.

The wax is candlewic's soy voitive/pillar.

I did a repour. I got a little shrinkage and nippling around the pin.

Easy release and a nice smooth finish but how do I eliminate the cracking.

The 1st batch I did at 120 degrees when it was slushy. The second batch I tried pouring at 150. Waited 20 minutes between pours. Cracked on both 1st and 2nd pours. I did not warm the molds. Should I have?

They have soy wax that recommends pouring at 150?

Dawn

I pulled the product sheet from candlewic and it says that the recommended pour temp is 150 in to a pre-heated jar or container.

I'm confused by how you added your fo & determined how it blended w/ the wax. Just dump it in & stir for at least 3 minutes.

I did stir the FO in but definitely not for 3 minutes. Thanks Susan for the suggestion and the link. I will be purchasing some beeswax and palm steric see what helps the best.

UPDATE

I test burned these last night and the results were disasterous. When it cooled the tops were bumpy and completely uneven. Same as they did when I tried to even out the tops in the oven.

I tried a another candle being very careful of the heating and pour temps and using less FO but it looks as if it going to do the same thing. I'm going to make a candle with no FO to see if it's just the consistancy of this wax.

I have never seen triple wick pins but I has seen triple wick holder bars.

http://www.candlewic.com/store/Product.aspx?q=cWick+Holder+Bars,p203

HTH

Shhhhh. Don't tell anyone. I put my pour pot over an open flame on low (**yes** I said that) .

Me too.

Then I wipe it out with paper towels

I'm getting ready to order some 1lb samples from candlesandsupplies in PA. I noticed that they are close enough for me drive to and they carry quite a few soy container waxes.

My question is out of the following waxes which do you like to work with the best and what additives do you use with it if any.

EcoSoya CB-135

EcoSoya CB Pure Soy

EcoSoya CB - Advanced

Cargill C-1

Cargill C-3

GB415

GW444

I bought this soy candle where the texture is so smooth and creamy. That's what I'm looking to create myself.

Ok so I made my first soy container candles. Actually these are my first container candles period. I purchased some soy-125 from candlewic and poured around the recommended temp of 150.

1st off I probably added too much FO. I was kinda testing to see how much the wax would hold so I poured a whole ounce in one pound. I poured a little at a time waiting to see at what point the scent would no longer blend into the wax. 1 oz seemed to mix in okay but as it cooled. (and you know I couldn't help but poke my little finger in the warm jar) the wax came out grainy. The wax wasn't smooth but had tiny grainy balls. Is this normal? I'm thinking this is because of too much FO. I have to remember this isn't paraffin. - The one thing I do have to say is that it's got one heck of a cold throw.

Secondly it kind of crystallized around the wick. No wet spots and the top was even and shiny but you could tell it crystallized a bit. I didn't use any dye. I wasn't too happy with this effect. I'm wondering if additives would help? I didn't use any this time around because I wanted to see how the wax behaved on it's own . Should I try palm steric or beeswax first? I really want creamy soy candles.

To try to get rid of the crystallation I heated them up in the oven. Big mistake. They came out fugly as ever. I ended up remelting and pouring again. Oh well I will be test burning tomorrow.

In conclusion

Pluses

- No wet spots

- Good cold throw

- smooth even top

Minuses

- crystalizing around wick

- probabably used too much FO

- no additives

Next 2 I will try pouring at the slushy stage and use only 1/2 ounce FO. I have no additives on hand but will purchasing some in a couple weeks. Could really use some help with additive usage reccomendations.

Gorgeous! What a great way to combine your talents.

The last three candles I have purchased for myself are soy. They all came from different candle makers. I like the way they burn - leaving very little to no soot in the containers. They also burn pretty evenly and I like the throw of all of them although they may not be a strong as they would be if made from paraffin. Really I have no way of comparing the two but I like the soy candle fragrances – Sandalwood, Almond and Rosemary Mint. The fragrance fills the rooms they are burned in pretty well.

I’ve worked with paraffin for about five years with some pretty good business success. I’ve decided to make the switch to soy. I don’t feel the need to offer both.

I also prefer working with soy. My hands are always soft.

Also I noticed nobody’s really mentioned that with the cost of crude oil going up so is the cost of paraffin. Right now my choice paraffin cost more per pound than the soy pillar wax I’m currently testing. Perhaps there are cheaper sources for paraffin around but with the oil situation I think the choice of offering paraffin candles for less than renewable waxes is a thing of the past. Soon the market is going to be the opposite and that’s when the soy and palm preferences in the marketplace will increase. I already see a lot more requests for soy from my customers. I think the real key to successful soy candle sales is sticking with FOs that throw well in soy and finding those is a challenge in itself.

I see some people have had some luck with Creme Brulee. I've been debating adding that to my repertoire.

I just want to say thank you to all of the members that have replied to my topic. It’s actually been very helpful. Although I see that opinions are mixed after reading and reviewing your comments and suggestions.

I’m leaning towards no color and the fact that I have yet to purchase any candle dye has had an affect on that decision. However I have been considering using some color to create some effects like marbleizing or creating chunky colors. So I may purchase some liquid dyes to test some of the storms in my brain.

I really appreciate what everyone has to say. So please continue to post your 2 cents worth here whenever you like.

Cheers,

Jacqui

I am going to be bottling and labelling 320 FOs for my Flea Market stand Ughh. But we're moving to a busier location October 1 so I really need to beef up the booth.

I'm hoping to be making my first soy test jars and votives but that depends on whether or not my sample wicks are in the post office tomorrow morning.

I've got some groovey FO samples to try out - Feng Shui and Good Fortune scents.

I’m making the big switch from paraffin to soy. My husband and I are in this debate. Should we go colorless or should we color our soy candles to complement the fragrance.

The last 2 soy candles I bought are colorless. Meaning they are natural creamy white or off white. I liked both the display presentation of these candles and the kind of natural look and feel to them.

My hubby thinks that people may want to color coordinate with the home décor and candles which I don’t 100% disagree with. But on the other hand what if there is a scent a customer likes where the color doesn’t match their décor?

From a sellers point of view, do you feel that color/or no color makes a big difference. Has any one made the dye to no dye switch or vice versa?

Also what are the challenges when it comes to coloring soy?

Girl,

Anyway, what sells good for you, might not sell good for me...that's the way things go. Anyway, I have a scent called Island Pardise that, personally, I think it stinks; but...the people in PA love it. Go figure! Anyway, good luck with your list...I hope that everyone else is a little more friendly!

Shari

Shari makes a good point. Trends can vary from region to region. I should mention that live in southern New York State.

When I used to live in Florida. The Floridians I knew tended to go more for sweet and fruity smells like Sugar Cookie, Pina Colada & Buttercream.

New Yorker's tend to prefer the Aquatic and ozone smells - like Clean Cotton, Ocean breeze and Storm Watch. I think it has something to do with all the air pollution around here.

If you want to include where you sell great. If not, no biggy. I still think people can find things of value.

1. Clean Cotton SOS – My hands down AYR #1 best seller. Can’t keep it on the shelf. The irony is I can’t stand it.

2. Banana Nut Bread CW – Another AYR Best seller.

3. Christmas Pine SOS – I renamed Christmas Tree, sells great at Christmas and AYR

4. Hot Apple Pie SOS – A great fall/winter seller

5. Christmas Dreams SOS – Surprisingly this one continues to sell the whole year through. I never take it off the shelf. It described as a blend of peppermint, chocolate and tangerine. It’s also my mother’s favorite.

6. Christmas Cookie SOS – extremely popular fall/winter.

7. Macintosh Apple SOS – Good fall/winter favorite. This one is really crisp and genuine to me.

8. Vanilla Royal SOS – Not your typical vanilla. Reminds me a little off Yankmee’s Buttercream. A lot of buttery notes. Sells well all AYR but increases in fall and winter

9. Lick Me All Over SOS – The last 2 kinda of tie in regards to sales. This one’s more popular with the ladies

10. Butt Naked SOS – This one’s more popular with the men folk

Well that’s pretty much my top ten sellers out of about 80 scents I try to keep in stock. I sell the bottled FO but change around 36 candle scents to fit the seasons. I know my list seems pretty run of the mill but I’ve noticed that in general customers tend to gravitate towards what they know.

What sells best is not necessarily the same as what one likes best. Only one of my favorites actually makes my best seller list – Banana Nut Bread. That’s why I think lists like this could be helpful in seeing what scents people tend to buy the most around this time of year.

would you like us to include our special blends, additives, wicks, jars, and notes from the last 5 years of testing as well?

I am not willing to share things I have been developing for years. Carole

I respect your desire to stay competitive but I personally don't live with that kind of attitude in my heart. I have always believed what goes around comes around. If you don't care to share then simply don't. Otherwise please refrain from the comments.

This isn't about "big" secrets here. This about comparing trends in the marketplace so that everyone can be more successful. Many of our suppliers list their top sellers, why can't we? I'm going to start this off. I didn't have enough time this morning to put my list together. I'll have it posted soon.

-Jacqui

Getting geared up for the fall/winter? Please post your 10 best selling candle fragrances for the Fall/Winter and include ones that continuously sell well regardless of the season and where you purchase the FO.

If the name of the fragrance is obsure (for example - Jamaican Me Crazy) please feel free to add a brief description.

Let's all make a big boost in revenue this holiday season!

Cheers,

Jacqui

what kind of candles are we talking about?

Any type of scented candle and any type of wax. I'm just curious what people think about curing. You can mention your type and wax in the comments and if you think curing makes a difference with it.

Cheers.

You be the judge.

I find anything I make with paraffin has no need for "curing" at all. In fact, I'll make a candle and as soon as it's set up, test it!

Well that's fine and all. But if you just made the candle doesn't the fragrance still permeate your house.

My house will smell for days after making candles.

Is curing is real or is it a myth? Id love to take a poll.

According to JacquiO, she stated that when the cold throw is basically gone,.

I don't know how "lessen considerably" translated as "basically gone". That's not what I was getting at.

All I was saying is that you would notice the difference once they've cured just by the way they smell. I've made and sold thousands of tarts. Of course you can still smell them cold but I think that there is a noticeable difference from how they smell when I bag and label them straight from the molds from when I pull one off the wall several weeks later to show to a customer.

All I was saying is that cold tart smell is less strong when they are cured then they do when they are freshly made. But once they are cured the hot throw is sooo much better. I've had customers that bought recently made votives or tarts come back and complain they don't smell them when they burned them. I tell them wait another week and try one again if you still have the same problem I'll refund. They come back to say "oh you were absolutely right, they smell so strong now!" No one has ever asked for a refund. Most of the time I try to tell them when they are purchasing from a new batch.

That's my experience take it for what its worth.

Also the tarts I made were paraffin. I'm in the process of switching to soy. That will be an adventure of which I'm totallt clueless.

Thanks Stella for sticking up for me.

Best,

Jacqui