dreamfaerie

Definately some there I want to try! Elf Sweat sounds awesome! hehe

what is the diameter on that jar?

Double wicked htp83's:

First burn gave fmp in about an hour with a half inch depth.

After 2 hours, the flames were very tiny, and the melt pool was over half an inch.

At 4 hours the melt pool was near 3/4 inch.

Pretty sure it is the mp depth that causes the tiny flames, but if I blow them out and take off the mushrooms, they have a more medium height.

Boy, they sure do DEVOUR the wax, But it has an incredible scent throw. lol

Guessing these are too big for the jar. Will 73's be much of a difference or should I go to 62?

htp 1312

First burn gave about a 3 and a half inch diameter melt pool with slightly over half an inch depth.

Second burn went to about the diameter of the first.

Third burn, wick at 1.4 inch... high flame, streamed smoke/soot for 5 min. Blew it out, trimmed again. Small wick had no smoking issue, but after 4 hours the melt pool was about half the diameter of the first burn.

I don't think I can get the burn I want with a single wick.

Any one have suggestions on a type of wick that performs well for them with the 4627 wax in a larger jar?

Not sure about fonts on your system - I think for the most part they are ok to use. Some guidelines:

http://www.aiga.org/resources/content/3/5/9/6/documents/aiga_2fonts_07.pdf

There are several sources for other fonts you can use commercially as well.

This link has 10 specifically available for that purpose.

http://woork.blogspot.com/2009/01/10-delicious-free-fonts-with-commercial.html

This site is a repository of fonts from different authors. You would need to read the "read-me" file of a specific font to see if you can use it commercially.

http://dafont.com/en

You didn't say what all information you put on the hang tag, but candles are required to be labelled with the company info. Not sure if that is different with wickless tho.

I use Photoshop to design and word templates to lay out the card. Basically the whole tag is an image, I just insert it into my template.

You must respect the license of of the image, so it is a definate no-no to google and use any image you come across Not that you would, of course!

Good free images for commercial use can be found in the public domain.

http://www.publicdomainpictures.net

http://www.public-domain-photos.com/

Some are not public domain, but are free with a very generous license.

http://www.morguefile.com/

http://sxc.hu is an excellent resource, but each photographer/artist can set their own terms. You need to read them

Some sites sell their images for as little as a dollar apiece, but usually you have to buy up a chunk of "credits"... usually $20 minimum.

http://dreamstime.com

http://www.istockphoto.com/index.php

lots of those types of sites.

And you also have your commercial giants, like Getty Images. Fairly expensive from what I understand.

http://gettyimages.com

Prolly update this when I figure out where all my bookmarks have gone...

Hope that sheds a little light on things!

Saundra

yeah, I am working on the size and a slight redesign Will post a new pic soon. Thank you all very much for your valued input!

I'm thinking you mean http://thelittleblackboxes.com ?

Bottom, top or middle of "shoulders"? Right where the glass starts to curve toward the neck?

Top of the shoulders, where it curves toward the neck.

I pour mine to about the curve of the "shoulders"

wax - igi 4627

jar - 16 oz apothocary

fo - 1oz/pp butt naked

I'm testing a single 1212 htp wick on this combo and it is about all the way down. There is about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch hang up around 3/4 of the jar and the last quarter did burn down a bit down the jar, but not much. I noticed that I have had to keep this wick VERY closely trimmed or it just sooted like crazy. I know htp are supposed to bend but I just was not able to get it to do so, or does it just bend at the very tip? I know my votive wick (htp-62) gets a good curve on it and they burn nearly perfectly. The 1212 also mushrooms a good bit -not huge- and frays.

Anyone else have this type of experience with it, should I burn another, or is this wick in general too small for the jar? I'm going to try a double wick with my htp 105's and also test a single 1312 htp as well. What wicks have you tried in the 16oz apoth jar?

Thanks!

Saundra

I just buff the extra wax and fingerprints off with an old nylon stocking. Quick and easy.

Interesting suggestion, I will have to give that a try! The freezing does work but I still kinda have to flake off some of it. I guess some of the cups cause the votive to leave a thin uneven film of the outer skin even tho I have put a bit of release spray in them. Does this mean they are damaged (the cup) and I should toss it?

Very nice! I love them

Yes, I do like the look, but I'm thinking it is probably not worth the hassle at least to do them with an eye for selling. Maybe for personal use wickless, tart type maybe for selling, but not a wicked candle. I haven't started doing anything wickless yet, are they very popular?

dreamfarie- to figure out the percent here is a way I found to do it.

Figure out the % FO you want...so 6%. Then you convert this to decimal...so 0.06. Take 1 and subtract that decimal number to equal your "divider number"...so in this case 0.94. This is your "divider". Now here is the formula from there...

Number of wax ounces you are using divided by the divider number = the number of ounces of FO (or other additive)

wax oz

_________ = additive oz

divider #

Hope this helps.

thank you but I must be thick... I tried 16 (for 16 oz) divided by .94 and got 17.21. Am I missing decimals somewhere?

saundra

Also if anyone has advice about cleaning these, I'd be forever grateful. For some reason I'll get wax sticking to the sides occasionally and it is a pain to clean them.

Balmoral jar that I use - http://www.candlewic.com/store/Product.aspx?q=c24,p1042

I use a smidge over 1 oz per pound of wax for the fragrance - 1.05oz (by weight). I admit that I am bad about not being precise with my amount and I think what I use is around 6%, but for some reason I cannot wrap my head around figuring out the percentages in ounces. I need to find a good formula to use my scent throw is awesome tho, so I think it doesn't take a lot. Maybe on some lighter scents you will need to use more.

oh and wet spots, I have one scent that I poured 5 of the 8 oz balmoral jars and none have wet spots, even a couple weeks later. but then I have another scent I poured ... well, double poured it for 2 colors... and they all have wet spots.Trying to figure out why, but I suspect it has something to do with the double pour... maybe I didnt heat the top portion of the jars enough.

I am using HTP. I use 8oz balmoral jars and the 105 gets a good melt pool and it burns clean all the way down. Having more trouble with my 16oz apothecary - 1212 is leaving a bit of hangup on one side and I never did get a full side to side melt pool. Hesitant to try the 1312 as I read that it is a torch! I am going to try testing a double wick on it this week with 2 105's. The scent throw with the 1212 is awesome tho.

I got mine at Peak. 3.90 for 100, customizable with your company name and info, plus fragrance name if you wanted seemed to be a good deal.

I didn't see the original that you made changes to, but I wanted to say that your site homepage is very inviting. The pictures are great and clear and just make me want to explore your products! The side navigation is awesome, your logo is beautiful (not that I'm fairy-biased or anything lol). The only criticism I would offer is that the main body of text under the red headline is a bit wall-ish (wall o text). It might be that I prefer paragraph spaced, left aligned text personally. Other that that one thing, your homepage is very user friendly and inviting to customers as well as easy to navigate.

Also I really love your labels! Where did you find crystal clear labels? The only ones I have are from Avery and they have a frosted look when applied. Also for some reason my inks come out fairy transparent on those labels. Very annoying.

Apparently I got the wrong ones

I ended up ordering these for molds -http://www.naturesgardencandles.com/candlemaking-soap-supplies/item/mld-001/-Polycarbonate-Votive-Cup.html. I didn't realize they were so small (no dimensions on the description). It does say 1.75 oz capacity, but I can't get mine to weigh more than 1.40. Am I doing something wrong? I use wick pins and do repours til the cups are full.

Looks like I should have gotten the candlewick ones, they are definately bigger than mine.

I'm using 4627 and I really love it. I have not tried other waxes, still a lil nub at this. But I have a 1700 sq foot house- my kitchen, dining and great room are all open together and the scent throw is awesome, you can smell the candles everywhere in the house. I also add about a tablespoon of shortening per pound of wax because I like how it firms up the wax just a touch - not quite as "gooey" while burning.

Good Luck!

Saundra

How do you put spices, petals or other decorations across the the tops of votives like these: http://www.naturesflame.com/web_soyvotives.htm? Can you do the same thing in jar candles? I want to try things like this, but I am worried there might be some risk with the burning flame.

Thanks!