Pam

I am another one that has to clean up my candle area it is a total right off can't even walk in the door because everything was just thrown in there out of the way a Christmas. Hope to get this done on Saturday, so I can make some candles on Sunday, has its been a couple of weeks since I've made a candle and can't go any longer. I keep looking at the soap boards and keep telling myself that I don't need to start anything else, but then I'm just the type of person who likes to have way to much going on.

Pam F

I really like the candles, on my to do list to try crackle candles.

Pam F

I just use the clear silicone that comes in a squeeze tube. I usually get it at Wal-Mart, in the paint department.

Pam F

My plan for 2008 is to expand my candle line, into container candles bought the stuff last year bust just didn't focus enough on it, kept getting frustrated with them. Work on the packaging of my pillar candles, just not satisfied enough with it yet but is keeps getting better, and expand the line as I really love making pillars. Need to market myself more just doing craft shows isn't enough. In the back of mind is developing a website but just don't where to start, need to do some more research.

Pam F

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all the wonderful people on this site.

Hi! This link is factory direct craft they have some that screw on, I don't know what size mason jar lid you need. Hope this is of some help.

http://factorydirectcraft.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=740_747

Pam F

Any of the candle supplies places like Bittercreek will have black candle dye. They have it in either liquid, chips, of a powder. I know that Peaks have it too.

Pam F

Nice set up for your show. I can understand how frustrated you feel about your sales this past weekend. I did a 2 day show this weekend and it totally sucked, I sold a total of 4 votives and a electric grubbie in my candles, and a few bags of fixins'. The only thing that makes me feel a little better was that nobody else at this show sold anything either, we couldn't figure out why people were paying the admission fee to get in and then not take the time to look at the displays they were literally running through the show. On Sunday morning the only shoppers walking around were other vendors. One of the few customers I had, told me that she had some candles from me last year and how wonderful they were, she stated that these are the only candles that I every bought I could still smell when burning after having them a year. Another vendor told me I don't know why people aren't stopping at your booth it is so professional looking and your products would make excellent gifts, and that I should look at getting my products into stores. Sorry for my long rant I just needed to get it out.

Pam F

Thanks, Pam. I like making them too. I'm just starting and not to sure on the wicking. I am going to try the 27 ply thanks to CareBear. Do you put your wick a bit off center or twist or ? to get a centered burn? I did let it burn for another 2 hours and still no mushroom, but about a 3/8" wick and the edges thinned down fairly good, but especially on one side. The flame stayed a bit larger than I thought it should be, but not sure. Would like to get it down enough to give a few to family this Christmas. Will light tomorrow again. Beth

I find with ply wick the candle as a tendency to burn a little off balance, no matter what you do to the wick. That is one reason I like to hug my candles to keep them going straight. When I sell to people I explain to them that this might happen and how to hug a candle.

Hope this is of some help

Pam F

The sides of the pillar looked to be a little thick, but then it is only your first burn. I find that with almost all pillars that I make that are 3", I use a 27 ply wick for, and the acheive a full melt pool, sometimes you have to hug them because they bulge out but I neve have a blow out with that wicking. Nice looking candle for one of your first. I really like to make pillars, you can be so creative with them.

Pam F

Very nice website, love the design of it. I know you said that you have to still proof it. I thought I point a spelling error on tealight page you have scetter instead of scatter around the room.

Pam F

The e-mail that I received from NG just before they moved stated that they wouldn't be having a storefront, but you were able to pick up your orders from them.

Pam F

I'm glad you've had a good show so far. I am also doing a 2 day show this

weekend. This is my third year doing this show, my total sales today have beat the past 2 years and I still have a day to go.

Pam F

I use my pour pots for holding the wax to dip the bears, because of the depth of the pour pot you dip the whole thing at once. I use 1 1/2 oz of fragrance oil to a pound of wax.

Pam F

I find any show that is successful me, is one that I make money at. I can only wish to make 500.00 at a show. The area that I live in people can be very cheap, they would rather buy a Wally world, or a dollar instead of on quality. But I keep on doing shows, I do have to drive some distances to do shows because it is very hard to find shows in my immediate area. The farthest that I have driven is an hour away, and this was the best show that I had every done, people were willing to pay for quality.

Pam F

I have slowly been changing to liquid dyes. I can't beleive that I didn't start with these first, I like it so much better then the chips. I have a bottle of Golden Honey that I got from Canwax, that I just used for the first time the other day. 1-2 drops in a pound of wax is almost an exact duplicate of the butterscotch chips that I was using all the time.

Hope this is of some help

Pam F

I like Flexible Molds, and also have bought a few molds from Candlethings on e-bay and really like these molds so easy to unmold the candles from very flexible silicone.

Pam F

You could look at www.factorydirectcraft.com . They have some different tinware on their site that looks like they could be oval but then the pictures might just be deceiving. I just purchased some from Bittercreek North at the end of August, but now they have discontinued them, so that is of no help to you.

Pam F

You could try factory direct craft, they may have what you are looking for. I have never ordered from them, so I don't know what they are like for shipping or customer service. www.factorydirectcraft.com

Pam F

I just bought a black sheet to use on my tables, used it for the first time last weekend and really liked the look of it.

Pam F

Congratulations on doing you first sale. I did my first show of the season today, and being a nervous wreck doesn't leave you. I left this morning for my show thinking I am making a mistake, but was I wrong it was the best show I have every done for sales. I can just hope that any other shows I do this year will be just as good.

Pam F

I also really like Daystars fragrance oils, I have falling in love with Pumpkin Harvest. A good seller last year for me was Good Lookin Cowboy, it was a big hit for people who like horses, and the name gets everybody attendtion and they have to smell it.

Pam F

I've tried DPG in a room spray, it leaves a extreme oily film on anything that it lays, on it makes floors really slippery. Cyclomethicone doesn't leave a film on things it evaporates fairly quickly and you are just left with the fragrance that you have sprayed. Hope this is of some help.

Pam F

If you do, please update us how it holds up. I wish I could remember where I saw it but I thought I saw somewhere that said something about not using cinnamon with the bears, but since I can't find it, I can't speak on it. Maybe if someone else knows, they can post about it.

I use cinnamon for bears and can't see why you shouldn't. I would in a nursing home and a resident there has one of my cinnamon ones, she keeps it on her window sill and the sun gets it every afternoon, and still smells really good and she's had it since last Christmas. I did so many of these bears last year for people at work, that I was sick of doing them by the time I was finished and thought that I wouldn't every do them again, well the other day at work I was asked by some of my co-workers if I would be doing the bears this holiday season because they wanted to purchase more, so guess who is going to making bears again this year. A lot of the bears that I did last year were in bakery scents apple cinnamon, Grandma's Kitchen, Vanilla. This year I'm going to try some different scent combinations to see how they do, I sold a lot of Good Lookin Cowboy Candles last year, and think that I will try a bear in that scent to see how it does.

Pam F

I'm like everybody else lost without my candletech fix!

Pam F

I made some feather palm pillars last night, and can't figure out what happened to them. When I unmolded them the top 2" or so is feathered but the bottom part of the candles have a starburst pattern to them, and it wasn't like each mold was the same size the pillars are a 3"x4",3"x6", and a 3"x9". I haven't had this happen before. Any suggestions what went wrong? They have a neat appearance to them, and I know that my mom will like the looks of as they are for her living room.

Pam F