nadiap

Was using Angel (type). I did test early - 2 days after pouring - but this was for the wick rather than scent throw. Cold throw was fantastic, the hot throw wasn't too bad either, until I got to that bottom section. It could have been my imagination, thinking it smelled odd, but I'd been pouring different scents all day - so my nose may not have been reliable :-) All I can say is that it's all doing my head in !! You get to a certain point and think all is working - only be to thrown a curve ball at the end. Richard is right, lots of money wasted and you have to wonder whether it's all worth it sometimes

No, that's the weird thing - apart from the hangup which does look sooty, the glass is pretty clean.

Pretty clean right up to that little bit of hang on one side - and even the hang looks dirty. Yep, and the place I always seems to fall over myself :-) The wicks do really well either at the top of the bottom, but not one has been consistent (I won't speak too soon - have a glass votive that seems to be doing really well - best yet regarding MP ) Makes sense - the 'dirtiness' does have a black tinge to it - I tilted the candle over a little and you could see that the melt pool wasn't clean, but the not yet melted wax looked exactly the colour I tinted it ! So this is whata is called 'sooting'.? and generally means the wick is burning too fast ?? Still trying to get my head around this part of it Oh, I nearly forgot - the MP looks like it has some sediment in it- can't explain it any other way - made more obvious when I tilted the jar a little. This has happened to be before and have never had a good explanation of what it could be - even if I had a camera - I doubt that this sentiment would be visible... Why is this wicking business so damn hard ???? :-) I have every size you can get in the CDNs and HTPs and have yet to make the perfect container candle :-( Thanks for the tips !

Not sure how to describe it and my camera doesn't work but here goes.... Using a combination of Advanced and 135 wax, no additives, 6% FO and a miniscule droplet of green colour dye. Testing a glass container that was burning perfectly - but I'm down to less than one third of the container and the the wax now appears to be a 'dirty' colour.... there is a little hang up on one side, but again, only started on this burn, otherwise the container is completely clean. The wick (CDN10) just started to mushroom a little, but otherwise worked well up until this point. Any ideas on what could be causing this 'dirty' look to the wax? I'm guessing it's also got something to do with the mushrooming of the wick -- any ideas? TIA

Thanks for the tips about the shrink wrapping - I've decided against that now :-) I'll certainly try for an alternate method - though at this point I'm not making too many of them anyways - so it's not a huge drama.

Thanks Richard, I'll check out the site and see how I go - too late for Christmas but have other plans for the New Year, so the labels will come in handy then :-)

Thanks Richard, The shrink wrapping was more or less for storage too - and it is a bit of a nuisance - but I'll figure it out. Even wrapped in tissue paper would work. As for labels, that's one of the reasons why I haven't proceeded too far with my jar candles. I'm actually testing 2 right now and I think I got them down pat :-D but the headache is going to be how to label them. I'd love to be able to place a 'clear' label on the front, so that only the company name and the fragrance type show on the clear glass, but have yet to find something that works as well as I like (and not pour money down the drain at the same time). Can I ask where you get your labels from??? I've finding nothing locally - unless I go to a local print shop and they want to charge and arm and a leg !!

Hope I can post this question here :-) Just wondering how you all package votives. I was packing 2 into a nice clear box, but having to ship them out makes it rather awkward. I'm thinking of 'shrink wrapping' them individually, but all I know about this is that you can use a heatgun on the plastic - or is that for soap?? <lol> All I can see is a gooy mess if I use a heat gun on some thin plastic wrap. How do you guys go about it?

Thanks Chris, have some lavender EO on order and will give it a test sometime next week.

Sorry to butt in :-) but I have a close friend who really loves her lavender candles - health issues and it helps her relax at night.. If I were to test a couple of either pillar or container candles, (to give her for Christmas) is the rule of thumb the same as using FO - ie: 1oz per pound of wax (in US speak :-) I convert that over to grams Thanks !

That's good to know Richard. I placed my order with them Thursday night (after they told me via twitter to hold off ordering earlier as there would be a nice surprise in their newsletter :-) In addition to a discount on the bigger FO bottles, there was a 10% discount across the board ! So I've a heap of new fragrances coming in and I can't wait !! So if it's only a 6 day wait, the freight costs will certainly be worth it !! :-)

I've also tested the HTP73 and HTP83 in those jars and they didn't work for me at all. I started a new test this morning 1. using htp 104 and the other using CDN10, but again both were too big. I've rewicked to a htp93 and CDN7 respectively and am waiting for them to harden to retest.

Ah, so great to see some other Aussies here (thought I was alone for a while) - Tammy, Tracy, Richard and now Koalagirl - good to see :-) I'm in Wollongong and we hit the high 30s, didn't quite reach the 40's but I felt every one of those hiddeous degrees - I just wilt in any type of heat I'm afraid - I too hate the heat with a vengance. Maybe time to move to Tassie for a few months - or at least for another small holiday as we've done the last couple of years - so much cooler down there :-) Hope none of you guys are in the 'bushfire zone' !!! Tomorrow promises to be another scorcher We've been invited out to Wilton/Campbelltown way where it's supposed to reach the mid 40s !! Yikes !! May need to turn down the invitation. It's now 2.30am here and I'm still flushed, hot and bothered - time for a cold shower and then off to try and get some sleep. Didn't get around to making any candles today - and looks like tomorrow is going to be a none starter as well ... good luck with the stall - and hope it does cool down for you !!

Why not carry on with the 'cow' / 'farm' feel. Fill the inside with straw like material and place your tarts or any other 'smelly' type of products in there (potpourri or similar) in there. Reason I say that is because I too see a 'milk bottle' connection with those baskets :-) Goes back to the old school days (and I'm talking years and years ago here!) when they supplied us with bottles of milk and carried them around in those type of baskets :-)

Thanks Tammy ! I have an order sitting in their cart right now - they look like they have some different Chrissy fragrances that I want to try - so I'll add the moulds to the list as well. ps; have you started testing the mised advanced and 135 yet? I'm about to start testing the new batch in the honey jars without the CO :-) but that's another thread

@Deb - thanks, that's what exactly what I was thinking to do - I'll experiment first to see if it works - the order is quite large for the cupless so I'd better be prepared (especially the pricing :-) so that I don't have any issues. The event isn't too far away, so need to get to it today I think. @Sharon: @Carole Very nice links - thank you both !! I haven't seen those before - and as far as searching - no-one in Oz has them.. I'll have to see whether these companies sent to Au.... May be a little late for this 'possible' order, but good to have for the future. Off to email them now ! PS: Carole, lots of other nice moulds at your link - hopefully they do send to outside of US - thank you !

Oh wow ! how clean are are those jars !! I've a thread running on the board where I have been testing the same jar by the looks of things (a 142 honey jar) and dont' have anywhere near those results :-( I tested using CDN10 and the HTP93. Your HTP93 looks so much better than mine.. I'm ready to test a htp 104 tomorrow actually. How far up did you fill the jar and what type of results did you get at the top of the jar? that was the real problem area for me.

How would you guys go about creating cupless tealights? A friend of my daughters would like some clear-cup tealights - and also the same number without the cup, for a 21st party. I'm fine with the cup-tealights of course :-) I've made heaps of them for family and friends, but wondering how to do 'cup-less'?? I'm assuming that I would have to use a votive / pillar wax so that it pulls away from the cup - is that the correct way to go?? and would the clear cups be the correct mould? I guess I can experiment , but thought I'd ask you guys here first :-) Anyone have experience with this? Thanks !

Thanks for your kind words everyone - very welcome after the disappointments of testing other candles yesterday... you made my day :-) I think I"ll try them next using FO Mistletoe and colour: Bayberry. Have to get myself another size mould, the taller slimmer ones are the ones I like, but my supplier doesn't have any of the 'concave ones in stock right now - so may have to wait. Again, thank you !

I used the heat gun on it last and yes, it removed that 'spillage' at the bottom without any problems. :-)

I was thinking of doing that, but didn't want to bugger up the whole candle if something went awry :-) I'm presuming I'd lose some of the 'feathering at the bottom if I did that though - right? or as long as it was a gentle sweep of the heat gun it shouldn't affect it too much ? PS: Love your work btw :-)

My work is no-where near the class of some of the other photos I've seen here, (I'm only a newbie :-) but after a disastrous day of container candle testing, thought I'd at least show what did turn out well for me - or at least I think they look ok <lol> The 'tubby pillar does have a little spillage (over-run - not sure what you'd call it) at the bottom, but I don't think it gives it a 'bad look' (or at least I hope not). Using Feathered Palm Wax FO is Holly Berry and the colour should have been darker, but I can live with what I have. Also a pics of the matching small pillar and votives. I had set up a display for taking other photos, so threw these into the shots to dress them up a little :-) Are they looking Ok, to you experts out there ??

Ok, final results are in and I'm abandoning the rest of the test :-) After 4th burn - image speaks for itself. After todays 5th burn after 4hrs... Stella - I have been trimming the wicks before the start of the burn btw :-) What you see is the results after the burn. Have no idea what that gunky stuff is made of - maybe you guys can clue me in - it's an accumulation of something - the CO..... particles from the wick itself maybe? sooty stuff - though no soot inside jar ? The CDN burned the jar the cleanest, but much too fast and leaves that residue. Though the jar itself wasn't too hot to the touch - a fraction warmer than the 93. The 93 didn't do a good job in the middle stages - started off ok, but fizzled - as you can see leaving the hangup on the sides and didn't clean itself higher up either. I have a new set of testers ready to rest tomorrow. Received some Stearic Acid and used that as an additive and will test with a CND8 and a HTP104 instead. Not sure if people would like to see the results of my next test, I may be filling up the board with a lot of rubbish :-) but I will if anyone is interested. PS: Top - I've tested a variety of different wicks in these rotten containers, and am willing to try anything - whether it's mixing the waxes I have, or adding an additive of some type to get them to work. At least now I know that the CO I used, doesn't work and I won't be using it again - so another lesson learned. I doubt (from my limited experience admittedly, whether I would have had different results had I not added FO with these containers. There must be a way to wick them correctly, cause I've seen many being sold locally (market stalls etc), or else, they are selling stuff that hasn't really be tested... and many with the FOs I used in this test ... ah well, I'm doing something wrong - and that's where the continual testing will sort out I guess. Note: Though this was a disaster - I'm happy to say that I have some feathered palm wax pillars & votives completed that look terrific. I'll post those up in a new thread - I'm quite proud of them <lol>

That's really great to know - I'm sick of squinting trying to compare a cut off piece (where I didnt' mark the cut off end) with a tabbed wick to see which end is up - I've ended up throwing out quite a few cause I thought they had to point right way up !! Something else new I learned today - thanks ! :-)

More testing later - but I think the HTP 93 is drowning out as well :-( I burned for a few more hours last night and the CND10 played nicely, but the 93 was throwing a very very small flame. The CDN10 wasn't too hot to the touch though - so that's a good sign. (but then again, I'm very frustrated and looking for any little sign of something actually working!) Yep, Tammy explained it well. I remember one of your last posts to me and it did mention the ingredients that were in it, so that's what I used. Even if it was wrong - the results with this wick test is pretty much what I had with the other tests where I didn't use any CO of this type. There were smaller wicks of course and burned out anyway. I have some arriving tomorrow - so will do another lot tomorrow. Ah !! I also found the USA - though they called it UA - when I queried them, they said they were trying not to be too confusing - which I fine I guess cause they only sell soy waxes :-) That will go on order as well, but will take about a week to get here which is a bummer ! Sure after my next test burn - but as Tammy also said, it's very hot here right now - probably just right for candle making :laugh2:but I'd wilt a lot fasterthan these rotten wicks LOL Back later with a progress report. PS: I should burn for longer now anyways shouldn't I - or should I keep to the 2hr schedule - I read somewhere to burn for 4 hours and then again for the same amount of time...