moonshine

I also was a Yankee addict before I decided to give it a try making them myself last winter. Their regular price for tarts and votives went up to 1.99 each about a year ago- standard pretty much everywhere now but they are more and more doing a 1.00 tart/votive sale which used to be very few and far between. I would go thru about 2 or sometimes 3 a day- 4 to 6 bucks a day and finally said I am going to figure this out myself and save all that money (which isnt working out so far with all this testing and 1000's of FOs to try! LOL) but I have never seen them offer packages of tarts or votives and we have a yankee store close by- they only sell individually and they do only last about 8 hours- alot of them are very strong but fade quickly- so far with my soy tarts I am noticing they are lasting longer:yay: I have a scentsy catalog in front of me- a friend I havent seen in a long time came to a party we had and brought me a hostess gift- a scentsy plug in and 3 scentsy bars of fragrance (she didnt know I was making them myself) They sell their bars (3.2) ounces in a clamshell type container with 9 bricks for 5.00 or you can by a one pound brick for 20.00 Their warmers are 15.00 for plug in style, mid-size are 25.00 and full size are from 30.00 to 35.00 and they offer a design your own with the warmer being 30.00 and decals to chose from for decorating for 10.00 I tried the honey pear cider and it was okay but nothing to write home about- and I never put in the blueberry cheesecake because it smells very "cheap" and way to sweet for my taste I cant figure out what type of wax they use though- its kinda goey like taffy and their warmers are so cute but they all use a 20 watt bulb and I personally like the hot plate electric ones like yankee but I have not been able to find any place remotely similar to either one with a huge variey of cool designs to buy wholesale (sigh:() So I guess I got away with myself here but yes I think single tarts are a must- I want to try them out before I buy quantity and I too change up my smells probably way to much! I think its good to offer a single tart price and a package offering a price break so if the customer really likes that scent they feel they are getting a deal.

Hi Candybee, thanks for listening Excactly- my husband bought it because it looked so "environmentally friendly and true green" - it caught his eye and it was junk in my opinion but it was also very cheap for the size candle you got! How do you compete with that? Maybe display the crap candles up against our own hand made to really see the difference- then get sued- LOL:laugh2: Thanks again for the reply

Thank you for listening Judy! It is very frustrating to see all this stuff at meijer/walmart- everywhere and for so stinking cheap but yes testing the one up against my beginner candle made me feel like a million- theirs stinks! LOL Thank you for the pat on the back!!

Thank you RichardLOZ- It is so nice to hear encouragement and others experiences! I to have been spending alot of time figuring out my packaging and display and I am not even anywhere near to sell- but I want to be ready and have it all perfect for when I am- perfect by own standards that is:cheesy2: Thank you again

Thank you so much Luminous! I am going to try it out- and I do have some peaks cotton wicks I bought but never tried. The cold counter top is exactly what I have been doing only in the basement where its even cooler- My jars have not turned out that bad so far compared to my tarts but the few sinkholes and dips I do get I hope this will help! Thanks again

Hello- Very new here but I also use the 464 and square mason jar- i love that jar and will find a method to wick it properly one day! LOL I started with the Eco wicks as well and CS fragrance and for me it didnt work out but alot of people love this combination- I have tried the LX and the CD and so far for me the CD has the best results- But I too am going to do what Luminous suggests and retest with no FO and the different wicks in the wax- so far I have found different FO's with same wick to be all over the board and I think in knowing how the wax works alone with just a wick will help so much- gonna start myself today!! Good Luck and CS Pumpkin Souffle is so amazingly strong!

Hi Luminous- Never even thought about testing 464 without FO- thanks for that tip, that is going to save me alot of headache in my testing! As far as coconut oil how much do use per pound of wax? I think for my melts I need to start adding it to get a better top- I have started to get hairline white lines through the top of my 464/PB blend and I have done nothing different other than the temp change in my house is cooler with winter on its way. Thought maybe that would help with appearance and in saying you have your technique down for pouring 464- could you give a hint as far as temp that you pour? In straight 464 with jar candles I have not really had to many issues with appearance yet- just minor frost and dips in the surface. Also what type of wicks are you preferring in this wax? I have been using CD and love what I see so far but I also do use the square mason jar and like Chuck said- the corners must be what most of my problems are- some dont burn all the wax off the sides but I do get hot throw- lots and lots and lots of testing ahead of me:laugh2:

:rockon:I just had to post this- I FINALLY feel like I may be getting somewhere with this candle making! My husband brought me home a candle from Meijer tonight to show me how "cool" their marketing for it was. It is a empire home GREEN soy candle- the flavor GREEN Garden. The label is the paper brown Kraft kind that I also plan to use and it does look like a "Eco Friendly Candle" In looking at it I could immediately tell that it was a soy blend- way to smooth of a top and you can see that is a harder wax. Now the front of the candle in big lettering it appears to be a true soy candle but in fine print it states soy blend, all cotton wick, biodegradable, All natural ingredients and all natural material. I have nothing at all against soy blend- believe me I have thinking about adding paraffin to mine, I use straight 464 right now and have been beating my head against the wall trying to get it perfect- and I know and have read many posts that I am way to new at this to get that lucky but I can still hope one day I will- but anyways, I have been getting so down about it because in my mind of what the perfect candle is, being a perfectionist makes me crazy not getting it perfect right away! So I fired up the Go Green candle to see what she had and immediately ALOT of black soot starting smoking up, I blew it out trimmed the wick even more and relit and same thing- I couldnt trim it any shorter So I left it on the counter and lit one of my own- Pumpkin Souffle and put it on the other end of the counter and let them cook! After a half hour I checked them both and the Go Green one was still sooting bad but did begin to release scent- BUT mine was not sooting at all and MINE was much stronger!! I am so excited that my candles are not as bad as I thought they were- definitely not anywhere near perfect but better than the meijer candle in my opinion! Now I am re-motivated to continue on!! Thanks for listening- I just had to tell someone that understands the frustration and triumph of candle making!

Thank you!! How are their fragrance oils while I'm at it? If I am going to pay shipping anyway I may as well add some FO!

I am no pro at this but of the 3 I have tried in 464 so far the CD is most definite the best for hot throw- I have used LX and ECO as well I do get mushrooming though which I believe from everything I have read is a fragrance issue- I tend to use to much and am trying very hard to cut back! LOL

I am loving the CD's in the 464!! Used to use the Eco BUT where can I find them that sell in smaller quantities than a hundred? The sample packs are great but I need more of the Middle sizes to keep on testing...and if it doesnt work having a bag of 100 wicks with most of them left kinda sucks! I havent been able to find them in less quantity

Thank you so much for your replies! So much to learn:cheesy2:

Hi everyone- Very new here and have a question about how long fragrance oils will stay good for and if its possible for them to go bad or if its just a matter of losing their potency after time?? A guy in my area is selling all of his candle equipment for a great price- tons of molds, and over 100 fragrance oils from bitter creek- they are in 16oz. bottles- some completely full and some mostly gone but before I buy I would like to know if that is the worst that can happen if they are really old is just being weak or if there is other possible issues I might have Thanks so much for any feedback!

Hi Jackbenimble- I am super new to candle making but in what I have done and tested so far I like NG in soy. I have tested several of them, cranberry spice being my favorite and they have all been excellent in tarts and tealights- I am still trying and testing jar candles but the cranberry spice in 464 with a cd wick in a mason jar has given excellent hot throw for me (have other issues to work out with wick) I just order the 1 oz. bottles so I am not out to much money if I dont like it and they ship super fast-wonderful customer service!

Hi Stella- I am new to the board and very new to candlemaking- The 10 to 12% fragrance load is what I was going off of right from the CS recommendations on what the 464 can handle. The only reason I started to try this candlemaking craft was my frustration over buying sooo many candles that you cannot even smell when your right over top of them not to mention the high dollar places like yankee and bath and body works wants for them. I went with the 464 because it had the highest percentage of fragrance per pound. Maybe I am calculating it wrong but if I use 1 lb. of wax I multiply 16oz. X 12% to get 1.92 oz of fragrance per pound and at 10% I use 1.6 oz per pound- is this correct? I have not seen any seepage or feel any oily residue on the candles but some have had a heavy oily look to them if that makes any sense... as far as the tarts go I have been using 10% fragrance with a blend of 464 and PB and you say cooling to quickly could cause the rings and whites lines? I stir the fragrance in the wax right up to pouring and have done nothing different from when they were looking beautiful- maybe temp change in my basement with weather getting colder is causing cooling to fast? I figured the mushrooming would be related to the fragrance amount or quality- but I really like super strong candles and I cannot get it in my head that sometimes less is more... I use mostly CS oils and NG along with a few from Just Scents, Lonestar and Peak. I will make some more like your suggestions with cutting back on the fragrance and testing the CD's one at a time- If you have any other suggestions I would greatly appreciate it and at what percent of fragrance per pound do you suggest with this wax and the correct way to calculate it if I am doing it wrong! Thank you so much- I am so glad to find a forum with such nice helpful people!

I am finally get hot throw with the 464 straight up- I switched to CD wicks- I heat the wax to 185- pour it into my pour pitcher- add fragrance right away- 10 to 12% depending on fragrance and stir until temp gets to 140 then pour into warm jars (I use the square 8oz Mason) and both the CD 10 and CD 12 are working as far as fragrance throw (I wait at least 3 days before lighting) I am getting mushrooming on the wicks but at this point...scent throw is good I will deal with that later With the Eco I was getting more of a burning wax smell and black from the wick would mix into the melted wax I did order paraffin to mix in with the 464 to see if I cant get better throw and resolve the mushrooming- also going to try htp wicks This is the first time using this wax that I actually have 3 scents so far that actually throw- it is possible its just FRUSTRATING!!!!:undecided Now my issue with this wax is that in my tarts I am getting white lines and rings on the tops- doing nothing different and I do not use dyes in anything- wondering if temp change is doing it- my basement stays pretty cool in fall and winter months! UGGHHH

I purhcased the NG Spiced Cranberry about 3 weeks ago and my candles in 464 with a CD 10 and a CD 12 are burning fine- good hot throw but ALOT of mushrooming BUT my tarts I am having issues with in this fragrance- I cant get them to come out of the molds and they have a white ring around the center??? I do not use dyes and blend the 464 with the ecosoya PB- I cannot figure this out at all- I have never seen white rings or lines in my tarts and this fragrance is giving me that with every batch....

I have not tried the cranberry relish or the others but their "spiced Cranberry" is soooo good- I put this one in at our business office and had so many compliments- it is not super sweet and has just enough spice to make it so homey and it is very strong in tarts- have to test my candles this weekend to see how they throw...maybe one day I will succeed in the candles- I might just start going wickless! Let us know about the others if you try them- I have reindeer poo to try out also- I couldnt resist the name! LOL

Hi Johnna- I am brand new here reading thru old posts and if you get this could you please send me one too? I am pulling out my hair trying to decide how and if its worth selling my products this xmas during our family xmas tree business! Thank you in advance- f3410@aol.com

sorry- the cranberry spice is from NG! see I cant keep them straight trying so many- if anyone has any other suggestions of good suppliers let me know Thanks

Hi Oceangazer1- I am new here and new to candle making but got a huge shipment of oil samples from Justscents a few weeks ago The ones I have tried so far that are amazing and super strong(and I am very particular about strong-if it doesnt smell the whole house its gone)are: -spiced cranberry -peppermint/candycane -autumn leaves -cranberry orange -aspen winter -pumpkin spice I have many more to try but I do like them so far right up there with Candlescience. I am still in the testing stages of candles but have the tarts down pretty good using 464 and ecosoya PB I am spending way to much money trying different suppliers to find the perfect oils but just may have to check out the sale! LOL -LOVE the spiced cranberry- so homey

Hi Faerywren- Thank you for your reply! Have you used 464 straight before? If so did you find that blending helped with the hot throw? If you dont mind my asking what type of wicks you use with this blend also? That will be a whole other issue if I start blending and I know I have a lot of testing ahead but a starting point would be much appreciated! I never worked with paraffin before and just started candles last January. Thank you so much

Thank you TallTayl- Just to make sure I have the right correct product...the J223 Astrolite is what is considered the 4633? Name change somewhere down the line? Also for a starting point what ratio would you suggest I start at for blending with 464? Thanks so much:cheesy2:

Thank you the reply- I will look at them both!

What to do...I looked at both the 4630 and the J223(astrolite) on Candlescience and hard to decide- Of the two- which would you suggest for someone that is new at blending and candlemaking? Also does it really help with the hot throw or does it more help with appearance and burn? Thank you so much Brenda!