jruhsam

Perhaps the Green Tea is the perfume by Elizabeth Arden?

Still kind of on topic. Where is the best location to get good liquid dyes? I like Peaks but I'm always looking for something new or better. Also how about "different" types of 'colorants' like the pigment chips at Peaks that are blacklight sensitive?

Don't forget that certain scents will smell different over time especially on paper. Consider perfumes. Once put on the body, clothing, or? they will change through the night. Test some of the oils and let them sit for a while then smell them again, repeat after a while, and repeat again. Putting the scent into a heavier medium, ie wax, lotions, etc allows it to remain truer for longer. Of course this is all dependent on the type of oils. Scent mixtures, ie warm apple pie or country garden, will change over time much more than straight scents, ie Patchouli or vanilla. The more complex the scent the more it could change. Test before you send.

Something that I have used before that worked pretty nice was hinged plastic containers. There are a few sites for similar items but here is one of them. http://www.sks-bottle.com/340c/PlasticHingeTop.html The ones that I used we the 08 size http://www.sks-bottle.com/340c/fin69c.html Similar to a tealight but with a cap that doesn't get lost. Less chance of mixed smells and even if it does melt they are less likely to spill due to the cap. Plus they are reusable.

Just to try to clarify a bit. The tops of almost all of the candles looked 'foamy' kind of like the foam when you pour rootbeer on ice cream, or kind of like a sponge. When I got home from work today almost all of the candles had large amounts of FO seepage, not just little drops. Yes, I put in 3/4 of an oz, .75oz, to 1 pound of wax for these 4 scents. Been as high as 1.5oz per pound with little issue before. I have remelted the candles in the oven and once melted I placed them on the counter. So far so good. Smooth tops this time not foamy. I have been making candles for about 3 years+ and have never seen so many candles with 'foamy' tops or so much FO seepage. I will just go back to what I know works. I will try altering the pouring temp to find what works for me and this new wax. I should have remembered. "If it ain't broke Don't fix it." After I learn this new wax I will slowly try other things to improve the candles. I'm in Florida near Tampa and wanted to try placing the candles in a warmed oven for a slower cool down, especially with temp swings in my place from ~83 during the day to ~67 at night. Trying to save some money on electric. On a different note about the excel wax. I have 4 candles, 6oz (12 sided jars), Amish Harvest scent, red color that I am testing with different wicks. ECO 10, HTP 93, LX 22, and RRD 34. Figured I would test the different wicks since I had them laying around. So far they all work but the HTP 93 is a bit much for that jar, larger flame than the others, deep melt pool, mushrooming. ECO 10 and RRD 34 burn about the same. Nice flame and melt pool. LX 22 is the slowest burn with a smaller flame and a little hangup on the side ,which should correct when it burns down a bit more, but seems to work fine so far. Jim R.

Just got home and there is FO sweating from every candle, .75oz per pd. I tried what you suggested with the warm oven and that is the first time I have seen anything like I described above. I will just try different temps and leaving them on the counter where I have had MUCH better luck. Jim R.

Will be making a couple more scents in a day or so. This time I will try pouring at 135 and 125 but leaving on counter, not in heated oven this time. So far I am liking this wax. I just need to learn the differences and what to do. Jim Ruhsam

I made 4 different scents last night in 3 different containers 3oz votiv, 6oz 12 sided, and 16oz 12 sided with excel soy. Tried pouring at 135, normally pour at 145-155, and placing in a preheated, to 175, oven and leaving overnight to cool. I looked at them before heading to work today and it looks like a Rootbeer Float, all foamy at the top and frost on almost all of the candles. :confused: Any ideas on what happened? Will remelt when I get home tonight to correct. The batch before this one was nice smooth tops, a hole in the top of a couple of them. Only the brown had any frost. Found my camera and some pics will be posted soon. Jim Ruhsam

This is off the subject of excel wax but If you are just looking for a pretty good camera, do a search on "waterproof camera". There are several makers of them now, ie Canon, Olympus, etc... Most of them can be droped from about 4+ feet and still work with no problem. You also dont have to worry about rain, the pool, freezing weather etc... They are tough cameras and range from about $100 - ~$400. Jim Ruhsam

One thing to always remember for starting anything new. Keep It Simple. Stick with just a few things then once you have that down then you can start to look at adding more later. If you do or change to much at the beginning you will forget where you started. Get the basics down the go from there. I have also found that the candles always smell weak after making them since I made them and used the oils in warm/hot wax. Basically I have desensitized myself due to sensory overload. Give it a few days and you can get a better idea of the actual smell. Or ask someone else who did not make the candles with you. Jim R.

Typing this at work where I have 1 customer that is lucky enough to be able to light the candles. Bird of Paradise from Peak in a 10oz multifaceted container is throwing very well. Distance is hard to judge due to the layout of the building, guessing about 70+ feet from his office. He is in a cubical room, high cubical walls with a door, so the scent has to leave through the door or over the cubicle wall. I am impressed with the HT so far. :smiley2: Jim R.

So far I would say that there is better HT than the advanced. I have only tried tealights and a couple votives so far. Will try candles tonight or tomorrow. Since I am still relatively new to candles I will leave the real judgment to others with more experience. Jim R.

Hello all, This is my first post on this site, just found it a while ago and have been reading a lot. I got some of this new wax and I just made a bout 15 candles, 8 secnts and colors, with it. Pored all at about 140-150 and have only 1 set of candles, hot cocoa in brown redi-glow, that I can see any frosting in. The tops are smooth but there was some minor holes in the top from air pockets, only 1 per candle. Nothing a heat gun could not fix easily. CT is nice and HT, as far as I can tell, TL in bathrooms and small room, appears to be pretty good. But then the last wax I was working with was ESA. Will try to get some pictures of them posted. Jim R. BTW - Semper Fi Judy. 1833 in Camp Pendleton CA. Out in 1990.