EricofAZ

So I have a lot of recycled wax and left over wax and wax that I wish I had not bought and won't use. Best use seems to be firestarters. I know the wood must to be free of toxins, smoker grade, etc. Three questions: 1. What is the best wood to use? Anything from the lumber yard? Mesquite? Hickory? Pine? Any woods to avoid? 2. What is the best grind of the wood? Fine sawdust? Course sawdust? Small chips? Medium chips? Chunks that barely fit in a cupcake mold? 3. Any thoughts on FO's? Some of the wax has FO in it and I can heat it up and burn off most of the FO if necessary, or I can add some FO's that I just don't want any more. Favorite FO's for firestarters? FO's to avoid? Cautions? What are your experiences? I am guessing that the buyers will use them either for the BBQ pit, or the indoor fireplace so I want to do my best to make something that will work in an indoor fireplace. Thanks, Eric

I am using a slight bit more of the Sea Mist than normal, maybe 1.5 oz. pp. The Sandalwood also has turned out to be a strong thrower for me at 1 oz pp. I don't know about the Clean Cotton 'cuz I haven't burned it yet, the CT seems pretty good in a pillar.

I bought a large roll of glue dots and can't use them because they unglue when the hot wax is poured. I heard that the stickums hold better in the heat but have not tried them. I bought a 99 cent glue gun and some glue sticks at the 99 cent store and use that. It holds well and I can recycle the jar after it has burned all the way. However, they are a bit messy.

Yeah, I think if anyone had a magic wand, they would be rich beyond their dreams. On the sage, I've read that regular sage increases BP but Clary Sage is shy of the offensive ingredient and has the opposite effect of lowering BP. I'm sure its just the process of making the candle that is relaxing, but I sure do enjoy a deep breath when that swill of Ylang Ylang, Lavender and Clary Sage is pooled.

Bamboo and Pear Tarragon from www.snowdriftfarm.com might work for you. I like it and it does seem a bit of the Orient.

Delete, eh?

Most States treat dogs as personal property. If you get sued because the dog died in such a State, it is worth the value of the property. Sentimental value = $0.00. So, if the dog is high bred and exotic, it might be worth something. If it is a mutt from the pound, about 5 bucks. The cost of an attorney to defend you is free if you have homeowner or renters insurance. Expect your rates to go up a bit if this happens, but you won't be paying hourly for the lawyer. That said, think about ethics. If your product does help the dog and the owner is glad to buy it, great. If your product hurts the dog, expect to associate your business name with mud.

Ravens, Great sense of humor. Hubby will like you with a coffee nose, but probably will like you more with a cup in hand for him that is brewed European style (not our weak American coffee). Whatever the recipe you read on a label, double it for real coffee. That said, I'm back to sniffing my blood pressure candle. Ylang Ylang, Clary Sage, Lavender, all genuine and expensive EO's. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. That's the candle nose that I like.

Keep a container handy with ground coffee. Dark Italian Roast is the best. It will clear the nose rather quickly.

Um, more directly... ... For a wide mouth container that is right at 3 inches or maybe 3 1/8, I'm using a CD 14 flat wick off a spool and using only the candle wax to saturate the wick. The flame is about an inch tall and it tends to leave about 1/16 inch of wax on the container wall until it burns down a long ways. By the time it burns out, all the wax is consumed except for a bit on the bottom due to the safety tab. I've lit off 6 ounce sizes and let them burn to extinction (two days) and I've burned for a few hours and extinguished and re-lit. Pretty much the same results. Personal blend of mostly paraffin, some soy, a bit of palm and a touch of beeswax with vibar 260. I would like a taller flame so I am going to experiment with some square wicks. I have some LX wicks but for some reason I'm really drawn to the CD's. I also have a ton of round cotton core wicks, 44-24-18 through 62-52-18 and I don't like any of them. Too small of a flame and pool and too much mushroom if I use a large size.

I have enjoyed wide mouth containers that are over 3 inches (but have not tried 4 inch yet). Also, I am experimenting with some containers that have different diameters to them. Here is what I think so far.... A container that widens towards the bottom probably is OK with a wick designed for the top diameter. That is because there is some heat buildup in the glass container when the wax burns down and the pool tends to get larger. So on those, I'm wicking based on the diameter at the top. I have a container that is oval top to bottom meaning that the bottom is as narrow as the top with a wide middle. Those I am wicking for a diameter slightly smaller than the max width, but larger than the top. I'm finding that the middle tends to leave wax on the sides but once it burns down, the wax on the sides starts to melt and join the pool at the bottom. I have also found that these oval containers tend to throw better. Not sure why, maybe because the pool is warmer and there is a "draft" as air flows across the top and through the cavity in the container. The only problem with the containers that have the oval shape (vertically) is that the base is sometimes not as large as on a straight vertical container. I sort of wonder if they might be knocked over more easily. I know enough about law that I am not concerned about the legal aspects of this, but I would feel bad if any harm came so I'm trying to find a container that has an oval internal shape with a wide base.

So, my co-workers are giving the CT sniff test to some container candles. I've been buying from SnowdriftFarm.com which is mostly a soap company, though their EO's are great and the FO's seem to work very well in wax. I also bought from Berts which I really like. Of these two companies, the candles to me smell just fine and have strong CT and strong HT, but the co-workers say they smell like soap. The more I thought about it (and sniffed), they had a point. The candle CT does smell like soap in most of the fragrances. Is this just our imagination that it reminds us of some soaps we might have used in the past, or is there a difference between FO's formulated especially for candles vs. FO's formulated for soap?

I ordered recently from Bert's and they arrived very quickly. OOB I was wondering about some of the scents but once in the hot wax they were great. The strong HT scents that I really like so far are: Redwood and Cedar mixed with Aspen Forrest Jamaican Bay Rum Sea Mist Honeydew Melon

First thing that strikes me is the drop shadow on your Germantown title. It was a bit hard to read your name. My suggestion is to take the drop shadow and lighten it a bit and bring it in tighter to the letters. I recognize the photoshop tool you used and it has its good side, but I think it was overdone slightly and distracts a bit. A good crisp company name makes a big difference. Good job, best wishes.

I buy from a local but you can too. www.snowdriftfarm.com If you join the club ($49/year) you get 10 percent discount all the time, 15% on the first Friday of the month and 20% on your birthday and the day before/after. Their scents are very strong and I tested the EO's by putting a drop on paper and letting it evaporate. No oil stain, which I guess is supposed to mean it is not cut with oils, but pure EO. Soy seems to kill the scents, but Palm really does well with the EO's and some paraffin is OK. I made a swill of Ylang Ylang, Lavendar, and Clary Sage for calming, blood pressure and it seems to have some affect on me cuz I find myself taking in good long deep breaths of it when the pool forms. I did start adding a pinch of Orange and Lemon.

Ok, so this banana / tropical fruit blend seems to be pretty popular. Several FO companies have it in the top 3 or at the top of their most requested charts. I came across it at the .99 store in an A&E Oils bottle. It smelled medicinal but the second purchase did smell like banana. My co-workers think it is a joke and just laugh and laugh and laugh when I mention that it is one of the most popular selling fragrances. Apparently, it was so named and designed to get little boys to take a bath and use soap. So, true confessions now..... Who here has ever made anything with Monkey Farts?

EO's work. Eucalyptus, peppermint, clary sage. But I found that I need to use the real EO and not the fake FO. Also, I found that soy kills it. Palm and paraffin just ends in a foamy disaster, so when I want to make an aromatherapy candle, it is pretty much all palm with the EO's and no FO's.

Kleilac, Ok, so, paypal is not going to help you, but you know Lisa and Terry's contact info and that they are still corporate owners. They did not dissolve the company. You can write/call them and if they blow you off, write a complaint letter to the corporation commission in the registered State. As for the new owner, let it go is my advice. New owner bought inventory and has it for half off. Certainly the new owner has no interest in goodwill. Someone should alert her that there is a public forum that has a thread all about her and see if she comes here to defend herself and make things right. You have access to justice court (small claims won't work against corporations). I'd hold the wrongdoer accountable. There is an old saying that stealing a little is OK because nobody will object. Well, stealing a little is big bucks when the thief has a huge customer base.

EmpressC, more than one ounce per pound of candle wax? See, that's the problem, the cheap stuff is cut so bad that it doesn't really work.

When buying a company, there are only two reasons to really do it. One is that you just want the inventory and don't care a whit about the customer base. The other is you want the goodwill of the former company. Well, if there was any goodwill, it doesn't seem to show in the letter, but they have a point, why wait 7 months to complain? If it was just for inventory, then it would be good to buy and not show any kind of public transfer. I have to agree with everyone, it doesn't seem like the new owners care much about keeping that goodwill going. Edit: Oh, but I disagree about just taking it on the chin. I'd be calling and writing to Lisa and Terry and pushing for a refund or something. I don't like it when folks take my money and refuse to deliver. I thought I saw a half off sale. Great way to liquidate inventory, but will they send the stuff? Seems pretty dicey at this point.

I just tried some A&E Oils Egyptian Musk in a pillar and kinda liked it. Doesn't seem to be on very many of the popular websites and A&E only shows up in the .99cent stores. Anyone buy from: http://www.egyptianmusk.org/ or the website recommendation of Smokin' Joe's? http://www.smokingjoesincense.com/Fragrance_Oil.html

Ohio does not have a corporation registration for either gelluminations or midwest, but does have creative illuminations, Inc. Agent Contact Information Agent Name Agent Address City State Zip Effective Date Contact Status Kimberly Bulger 1056 Pacific Ct Worthington Ohio 43085 07-APR-10 Active Midwest Candle Supply has been trademarked since 2000 in Iowa, so they seem to have been around for a while. Interesting that the Iowa corp commission shows Midwest Candle Supply as "expired" in 2005. Kleilac, so from what I can see, the basic information in the red letter seems to be right, however, gelluminations has not formally dissolved yet (at least the corporation commission is listing it as active and I think they updated their paperwork in April of 2010). Here is another address for gelluminations if that helps: Address of the principal office of the corporation: 11959 240TH AVE SPIRIT LAKE IA 51360

If it helps any, the gelluminations website is now owned by midwestcandlesupply. There is a gelluminations inc in Iowa with the same address. There is also a midwest candle supply inc in Iowa but no creative illuminations corporation. creativeilluminations website is also owned by midwest candle supply. Anyway, it looks like Terry Moeller is still the registered owner (or at least listed as such) for Gelluminations, Inc. http://www.sos.state.ia.us/Search/corp/%28S%28a2s1b4z4viusmd45dsm2nyea%29%29/corp_search.aspx ============================================ Registrant: Midwest Candle Supply 3209 center lake dr spirit lake, IA 51360 US 1-712-336-1802 Domain Name: GELLUMINATIONS.COM Administrative Contact: info@creativeilluminations.com Supply, Midwest 3209 center lake dr spirit lake, IA 51360 US 1-712-336-1802 -------------------------------------------- Registered Agent or Reserving Party Gelluminations, Inc. Full NameTERRY MOELLER Address3209 CENTER LAKE DR Address 2 City, ST, ZipSPIRIT LAKE, IA, 51360 Midwest Candle Supply, Inc. Registered Agent or Reserving Party Full NameJULIE KAY CATHCART Address116 S 21 ST Address 2 City, ST, ZipFORT DODGE, IA, 50501

Did you say the first batch had higher FO content? I would think that to be the culprit. I've over dyed this stuff without any problems. Pigment is a different story. But the FO does seem to be a bit of a concern if it was not a good quality one or too much used.

For a newbie that is reading older posts and searching the internet for info, it would be great to have a historical thread or site where we can backtrack. Every once in a while I read about properties of some special wax that has a number or name only to find that it has not been in production for years. Then to find that it was bought out and changed names and is still in production, just under a new name or number.