Catlover

Has anyone experienced a problem with CS Cedarwood Vanilla causing yellow areas after curing in 464? (I don't use dye.) This is the only fo I'm seeing do this--I'm using 9% load. I'm getting odd yellowish areas either down one side or at the top. I'm guessing I have too much oil, but it doesn't happen every time, so.... I have noticed it happens more if the candles are exposed to warmer temps after curing.

Works for me anyway! Men and women both love it. I think men don't feel like they're buying a "girly" candle since it has such a straightforward name. Who knows?

Thanks, guys. Of course you're right...I guess I can consider them as an artistic addition...no two are alike! santa big

I just call it "Lemongrass" and it's selling great.

[ATTACH]21016[/ATTACH] Here's one that appeared about 3 days after pouring (and I had turned the heat in the house down). I have found that trying to fix them makes things much, much worse! They do burn great and have wonderful throw, so I should count my blessings, I know. :smiley2:

Stella! Were you hiding in my workroom last week??? The bubbles and wet spots make me insane. I have noticed the waving motion with the heat gun, held high above the wax, is better. It's so hard to just look at a funky spot and not want to "fix" it. But...my daughter used to work in a flower shop that sold Archipelago, and they were riddled with wet spots. Didn't stop people from plunking down $25+ per candle! Obviously we all see things others don't! I don't remember ever noticing frosting or wet spots in the hundreds of candles I bought before I started making my own. I just feel like if I'm selling it, it should look *perfect*. I'll end up in the loony bin if I don't relax about that! (Or at least, broke from wasting all that wax and fo....)

I finally got my workroom all set up , with a counter, wire racks for the candles to cool on, etc., etc. However, I'm noticing a lot more wet spots since I've been using this room, and they are worse on the candles at the edge of the shelves--the ones in the middle and the back are much better. So, it seems my room is too cool? I keep it around 72 while I'm pouring, but I've been turning the heat back down at night, so the temp goes back to about 67-68 in the room. I don't have a separate control for each room, and I don't want to blast my heat 24/7, but how about using a small space heater just for the workroom? Think that would help? I never had a single wet spot until this fall. Also, they don't show up sometimes for 2 or 3 days after I've made the candles....I'll think "great, this batch is very nice", then *boom*, a big wet spot. I've tried to "fix" them by heating the sides of the jars with the heat gun; then I trade wet spots for frosting after they cool back down. *sigh*

Yes! Thank you. For some reason, that size is hard to find. Apparently I wasn't looking in the right places.

I refer only to the wax I use as being "all natural", which it is. I never refer to the entire candle as being all natural. So rather than saying, for instance, "all-natural soy candle", it's more like "made with all-natural soy wax, blah blah blah..."

I use CD wicks in 464, and they work great. BUT, it's getting harder to find the large one, #22. Have any of you used CSN wicks? CS recommends a 26 for the large container I have.... Are they comparable to CD's in 464? I've ordered a few to sample, but thought I'd ask here as well. TIA Terri

It looks great! I'm in the process of doing the same thing in our guest bedroom. I have a 48" wide, 5-shelf standing wire unit (from Lowe's) for my jars and for candles to cool on, some drawers for storage, now I need the TABLE. I have room for a 7' table, which would be awesome. Is the countertop-on-cabinet combo working well for you? That seems like such a nice, simple way to have workspace and storage without asking hubby to build a table (or pay several hundred dollars for one).

Leslee, I still only have two sizes of soy container candles and have done really well at craft shows this fall. I find people have enough trouble trying to decide what fragrance they want, much less trying to choose from several different products! Everyone's different, but I like the more streamlined approach. Good luck! Terri

What an awesome list! :yay:Thanks very much--I will check them out~ I have a few guys wanting more "masculine" scents! P.S. I think I'm more on the "hate" side for CS Asian Amber...my daughter (a spa potato) insisted I sample it, but I didn't like it at all OOB. She admitted that it wasn't what she expected based on the name either. I went ahead and whipped up a candle to try, but...naah. Oh well. Love those free CS samples!

That's a really good idea--thanks!

As always, thanks for the words of wisdom, Stella! I'm going to get another thermometer rather than just relying on the same one all the time. Have you found any particular type to be more reliable? Gotta make several candles today while this crazy front comes through and strong, warm winds are buffeting the house; I hope the candle fairies aren't afraid of storms!

I know! I'm so excited to get my own space, although now anyone who spends the night is relegated to a twin bed with lots of candle paraphernalia all around instead of a nice, pretty bedroom. Gotta make choices! Actually, I did just replace the battery in my thermometer and noticed it was reacting much faster to temp changes....maybe it was on the blink before. It's the digital kind with the probe thingy, which seems to work pretty well except for when I'm doing really small amts. of wax for quickie orders--if the wax isn't very deep I don't think it's very accurate. That stinks about the weird wax--I guess all the distributors say veggie waxes are inconsistent; that's their out to keep from having to replace or refund, right? I'm just glad that some of my crap candles are in great holiday scents; I'll just burn them at home. My nose may be shot, but everyone else will enjoy them!

I'm getting ready to put together little gift sets for the holidays, and am trying to figure out how to price them. I only make candles, and only two sizes, so not many options in the way of variety--I'm planning to group fragrance types. The thing is, I'm assuming I should make it a "deal", i.e. three candles that would normally cost $14 each for a total of $____? Or maybe four that are normally $10 each for $___? I know getting them out there is the goal, so it's in effect paying a little for advertising by cutting the candle prices. I think my husband will cobble together some little crates for me, so that shouldn't be much of a cost on my end. Just wondering if any of you have really simple candle-only sets like this and how they sell for you.

A few people have asked me for more spice-type fragrances. I also like those types of scents, but haven't found more than a couple that fit the bill without being foody. (Dragon's Blood and Moon Lake Musk from CS are great...I'm still puttering around with their cinnamon fo's.) I use almost exclusively CS oils because I love the soy rating they put on each one--pretty much eliminates wasting time with a fragrance that fizzles out in soy--but if anyone knows of some great spice fo's from someone else, I'm open to suggestion! I use GB464 wax, BTW.

Awesome! I had one of those casual wholesale things happen to me too, in a store I was in for another reason, and never would have even thought about approaching. A great feeling! Know what you mean about neglecting other aspects....I honestly can't remember the last time I dusted....

I've had a couple like that too--my disaster candles were from tried & true fo's, except for one. I've gotten a wire shelving unit that I'm going to start cooling them on, which will hopefully be better than just sitting on the kitchen table (also they'll be out of the way of people & doors whooshing the air around all the time). I'm converting our spare BR to a workroom, which will have to be an improvement over doing all this in the kitchen!

So, the Wagner also has a little bit of air blowing?

No worries, Island Girl! Funky wax is funky wax, no matter which kind! I will add to my litany of woes massive wet spots, which I never, ever had before. So I shot the sides of those jars with the heat gun, and watched hundreds of little air bubbles come to life and shoot to the surface. What fresh hell is this? I've gone through 100+ lbs. of wax with this same combo and great results. All these problems are new. It's baffling. To sum up: *Sinkholes, some huge *Lots of air bubbles, which I don't see while wax is liquid, but appear when I heat gun the tops, leaving bubbles or pockmarks on the surface after cooling *Wet spots, big ones Annie, I used the same amt. of fo that I always have, same pouring temp, etc. The only possible variable, other than a hex on the wax, is my house is a little cooler (but I've made candles at this same time of year with no trouble before). It hasn't been humid at all--very dry, actually. The pouring temp issue has such WIDE differences--I had settled on 150-155 and it worked for me. When I had poured cooler in the past, the results weren't great, so I tried hotter based on some other posts, but now it seems all bets are off. I'll try pouring cooler again. At least I have a brand new box of wax ready to open and I'll just hope & pray it's a good one for all the Christmas candles waiting to be made!

Arrrggghh!! I've been using the same wax (464), same wicks (CD), same jars, same pouring temp, same room--everything, for dozens and dozens of candles. But the last 30 or so I've made have had some serious issues! Where before things usually set up pretty well with the occasional heat gun needed on top, now EVERY one has sinkholes and when I do use the heat gun, some still end up with the tiny bubbles or pockmarks. I've been pouring at 150-155 (which has worked fine up to this point), and some of these were closer to 160-165--no difference. I let them cool uncovered. The last bunch I did, I thought I'd try the box over the top while they cooled...YIKES. I went about my day thinking my little babies were safe and snug under there, and when I took the box off it was a disaster. Deep, gaping maws of craters around the wicks, and the tops looked like an army of little soldiers had been marching all over them. I've heat-gunned these, so we'll see how they look later. (My heat gun blows the d*#m wax around too, which doesn't help.) These candles were made from the very last of a 50 lb. box of 464, if that makes a difference. Wax dregs?? This is not the time of year for this kind of problem!

Thanks..I'll check them out. I looked at the site a couple of days ago, but didn't see pricing anywhere. I'll give it another look.