Sag_77

I use IGI 1230 and then add to it, I personally never had luck with the preblended waxes.

I use a 2cup Pyrex measuring cup to transfer from my presto to my pour pot. I also use paint filters to pour through, this way if anything gets in my presto it is filtered before the final product.

All mine come the same way and they are from 2 different suppliers. My t-light wicks are from a Canadian supplier and come in bags of 1000. My votive wick are from a US supplier and come in boxes of 1000. I have wick pins in both cases and have never had a problem. ButI can see where you are coming from if you are not using wick pins. I home it gets better.

Anyone know if that will help with silicone molds. I have 2 button molds from CandleWic and have issues with one of them. One releases no problem and usually as I am turning it over, the other one I have to almost pop each one out individually. Any ideas or help would be awesome. TIA

I use shot glasses, they can hold the oil longer than dixie cups and are easily washable. I lucked out and got about 3 doz of them for free. My cousin had them made as favors for his wedding and had left over ones even after people asked for more.

I use disposable pipettes and just elastic them to my bottles, upside down so any excess doesn't drip out and a quick whip to the outside of it. I replace them as needed but seem to get a decent amount of use out of each one. I weight it out into glass shooters from the dollar store. The oil can sit in them as long as needed and they are easy to clean up for my next run.

Not sure how new "Maestro Label Designer®" is but it won't allow me to log in. It says I have no access code I am assuming my order was to old to get one. Guess that is the down fall of making hugh orders so they last forever and are cheaper.

Thank you, I tried that and when I then open it everything is still wonky. The original save would have been in the old version also so I think the problem comes from opening it in the new version. However Word transfers the files from the old save to the new program buggers it.

I have rectangle labels (OL800WX) from Online Labels. Have been using them for about 2 years now with no problems. I just downloaded the Word layout and filled it in; that has worked great. I recently got a new laptop and it has Windows7 along with the newest version of Office (Word). Now my labels don't print out lined up anymore. I have been trying to fix it for about 2 months now everytime I get an order with no luck, good thing I had a folder full of extra labels. I am not sure how to fix it or what to do to get it to line up properly and am basically out of those extra labels. So with a show approaching on the 29th I am in a bind to get this fixed and am clueless. TIA for any ideas or help.

Someone may correct me here as I only use these for my samples right now. In my experience 160 degrees is way to high, I think I let mine cool till about 120-130 degrees befor pouring.

Yes you just pop in a wick, put in cup (I use the clear acrylic ones) and then package as normal.

I use this mold, http://www.candlewic.com/store/Product.aspx?q=c29,p208. I have a few of them but there is a larger size I just don't have the room for it in my work area (kitchen). I never have a problem with off center wicks and it only took a couple batches to get the hang of not over pouring. I have no problem selling a dozen for $10.00 and only make scented ones. Even with the mold for the time saving aspect cost of supplies make it impossible to compete with the big bags of plain.

There are a few different ways to make them, and all have their advantages. I am another that discontinued them due to sales being very poor on them.

I took and weighed out .01 on my scale and how many drops it took to get there. Then did the multiplication for how many drops ended up being in the 4oz bottles. After that I rounded down to the closest 100 to account for waste, it worked out to 4200 drops per 4oz bottle. The cost per drop is something like $.001 and after all the math to figure cost per item the dye still ends up being under 1 cent per votive or whatever is made. I hope some of that made sense!! :undecided

I use disposable paint filters to filter mine, they work great and when they get to nasty no cleaning just toss it. I use the strainer for all my wax not just the end of the box. When I am transferring the wax from my presto to my pour pot (to scent and dye) I pour it through the filter while weighing out the wax. HTH

Just one more thing I wanted to point out as I know from my own experience. FO's can smell different from person to person especially OOB. Also but rarely at different times, when I was pregnant 2 of my scents smelt bad and DH told me I was nuts every time I poured them. Now even 2 years later those 2 scents still smell bad to me, even after restocking from the supplier the new bottles smell bad. Just thought I would through that out there also.

I am another that likes Peaks Watermelon!

Not sure why 5.4 isn't working I have 5.0 in (for some reason I don't have the updated DesignPro) and it has been working fine for 4 months. I had to re-calibrate my printer but that worked out better as now my round lables print better.

Yeah I have done the melting first and the stirring till my arm falls off. It is only a few of my colors that leave flecks. So now onto re-testing as I go with the liquid, I ordered the liquid ones this afternoon. From what I have found out so far about the liquids is to shake them very well before each use, and to make a bottle of diluted black for easier darkening of colors. Now to figure out what I can use to dilute the CandleWic dyes. It is a very good thing I love doing this or by now I would be nuts, lol.

The supplier for liquid dyes I was considering was CandleWic, they were the best for shipping to me here in Canada. I have notice from different suppliers that some are more of a thick opaque and some are a thin clear. Is there a better one over the other going by consistency wise? I have issues with some of my chips leaving little flakes in my wax so I think I may bite the bullet and go to liquids. I still have enough chips to last while I test the liquids, so I shouldn't have any downtime. Now to search out tips and tricks of liquid, lol.

Thank you again Stella. Hopefully I can figure it out, do you know if all color wheels are the same. I have looked at one at a local paint store here but again looking at it all I feel is DUH:confused:. That is why I am wondering if there are different types of wheel for different applications?

I have always tried to get things local rather than shipping it, especially the heavy things like this. If you have a Shipper Supply Inc. http://www.shipperssupply.com near you they have a huge variety. HTH

Cool ty that is a start anyhow . I like the chips for ease of use but have been told that the quality and intensity of liquid is way better. I am just a complete duh when it comes to the mixing thing and haven't been able to find with any supplier or even just a basic list somewhere of (5drops A to 3drops B per lb = C). If I could find that I wold have no problems swapping to liquids.

Ty, yah I have emailed all of them and waiting to hear back. I was a while back that Pourette had shut down and since they are the producers of those chips I am not sure. The supplier I was purchasing them from only carries a few colors now and once there stock is gone they won't be carrying them. When I asked about it they had said that the producer went out of business. Guess I will just wai to hear back from other suppliers to see what they say, figure I should after the weekend.

Anyone with full info on this please. I have found suppliers that still carry them and have sent out e-mail asking if they are just clearing old stock or if it is still an active item. I just havn't been able to get a straight answer yet, if they are not available anymore I will just go to a liquid dye and start testing. Then my biggest problem wil be figuring out how many dorp of A & B = C, boy I hated art class shouda payed better attention.