scifichik

He is a cutie!

Very nice!

We do two lines: one is country/prim in jelly jars/mason jars, and the other is essential elegance in contemporary/boutique containers.

Haven't done votives, but since you mention you are new to soy, you will want to let the candles "cure" for up to a week before you burn them or you will not get much hot throw.

On the other hand, if you are testing for burn time and wicking only, then you are good to go after about 24 hours.

Here's a question for those of you using soy wax. I have a freind that uses soy tarts and she says when they melt, the wax evaporates and she doesn't have the liquid wax to get rid of. Do any of you know what wax this would be? Just curious because I know the tarts I make always still have wax left even when the scent is gone.

The only thing I can even think of is that must be some high-powered burner/melter if it is actually consuming the wax so there is none left at the end of the burn/melt.

It may not be too late. Do you have enough supplies to fill the order? If so, round up all the reliable people you know and go into overtime production!

I just happened to bounce past the Gateway Foods site to get their number and saw that NGI/Ecosoya in all the variations are available there.

I had been playing with GW 44 because it was so affordable to drive over to Dupo, IL to get it and the shipping cost on Ecosoya was just hideous for me.

I'm curious to know if anyone has ordered there (either pick up or shipped) and what the cost was. Naturally, I can call in the morning, but am dying to know now

These are beautiful! I think I like the green even better than the blue, and I thought those were incredible to begin with!

Sounds awesome! Lot's of people who want to at least POTENTIALLY buy. Hope you do really well! Let us know how it goes.

What's a good source for the portion cups and lids?

Welcome to the forum! People here are intense about their passions and very knowledgeable on their topics. I came here when I wanted to learn about soy candles and was able to benefit from their experiences in order to make a nice product.

Your frosting sounds like some of our Cub Scout troop's early experiments for a craft badge. The boys wanted to make candles for Mother's Day, so we got some basic instructions from a craft book. We used Gulf Wax, which was household paraffin readily available at the grocery store in the canning section. Your ParoWax (http://www.amazon.com/Parowax-Household-Wax-Sold-packs-24/dp/B000LL7NCQ) is VERY similar to what we used. Neither are really quality waxes, but are good for basic projects or "survival candles," which was another project we did.

I think the frosting you had (as we did) was a combination of the wax (which is adequate to make a candle, but NOT really a quality paraffin wax for candles suited as gifts or for sale) and the use of the crayon for color. Crayons also include a bit of clay in production to help them hold shape, and muddies up the wax in your candle. Liquid coloring agents, color chips, or wax blocks specifically designed for use with candles are your best bet.

Lastly, some fragrance oils will make your candle frost like crazy. Soy is especially prone to this, so it's been a trial/error process to determine which ones look like they have snow/frost on the tops...and then decide if the appearance is acceptable to me.

Honestly, for a gift, it boils down to: safety (is the container a suitable thickness to sustain heat for a period of time, fragrance (does it smell good?), and burn ability (does the wick stay lit and eventually create a melted wax pool across the entire surface of the candle---this is actually where the "smell" will come from when you burn). If it's only the frosted appearance that concerns you, it will be covered once a full melt pool is achieved, and is only a temporary state until the first or second burn anyway.

If this has interested as you as a hobby or potential business (which will take time to learn to develop a quality product, and you will need business licenses, insurance, etc to sell legally), I would highly suggest (as others have) to go to one of the online suppliers and purchased a kit. The kit will provide quality "ingredients" and instructions.

Best of luck to you!

What's wrong with Kayleen Essentials?

That's a really nice workshop area! Congrats on having a dedicated place like that; it looks wonderful!

What FOs are you unhappy with?

Some FOs are more soy-friendly than others, so it's a testing period to determine which of your favorite scents will work.

CandleScience has this nice "soy rating" system they measure their fragrances by, and a couple (like dreamsicle and another I cannot remember the name of right now) are not recommended for use with soy.

How much FO per pound did you use? It looks like you might want to back off just a tad on the next batch. Looks like FO seepage to me in the photos.

Did you ask her what type of liability insurance she carried with a business plan like that? :lipsrseal

If you have any qualms about it, contact customer service. Peak's is awesome and will do whatever it takes to make it right in your eyes.

Casting a thumb's up for the Peak's scent. It smell's so much like a pumpkin pie that my 8-y-o nephew took a bite out of a tart! He promptly spit it in the trashcan, grumbling that it wasn't fair to make something smell so good and NOT taste like it should!

LOL I HOPE he's learned his lesson and won't be chomping on any more items in the workshop!

Several years back, we were container candle makers who used only paraffin. We had a break and on a whim, when we decided to take up the "hobby" again, we gave soy a try.

Having used both, and our experiences regarding the advantages of soy over paraffin have been:

1. Soy prices tend to be more stable

2. We liked the cleaner burn; no more black soot shadows on walls

3. Fragrance throw was equal to or superior

4. Melting time on wax is much better

5. Soy flakes are easier to deal with than slab paraffin

6. We are in the heart of the midwest and feel very good about supporting the renewable resources provided by the American farmer

Good for you. Do you have a doughnut fo. If not mc's is pretty good & it's 15% off this month.

No specific donut FO, but we do have lots of bakery scents.

One of our best sellers is Blueberry Muffin from Peak's. It has a great throw in either GB 464 or Ecosoya CB135.

Congrats! Everything looks nice. However, I think a cute country basket would look nicer than the box she is using.

I think you're right. I've got tons of them (who doesn't, right?) and will take her one tomorrow.

Thanks, everyone!

...that she wanted to carry our candles at her bakery

We've been thinking of additional venues and consignment arrangements beyond the farmer's market, antique mall and craft mall. It never dawned on us to ask the nice lady who owns the very busy donut shop. Duh to us! Gotta think outside the box to find the opportunities.

We were chatting over the donut counter about ideas of who we might approach, and she pops her head over the top of the counter and says, "Well, let me set up a display and take orders here, girls."

We could have kicked ourselves for not thinking of it first because the shop is always busy, full of all types of people. We think she made a nice display for us. It's the very first thing you see when you open the door, as it's directly across from the entrance next to the coffee/tea stand.

Presto Pots are the best!

I'd probably replace her melts with GENTLE instructions on how to use for best results. Your customer will appreciate the excellent customer service and see how wonderful your products really are.