Fern-Marie

Dude, you're killin' me! LMAO And, to the question....Geek's right. Check the temp of the tart once it is at a full melt point. I'd wager it's too hot. You can easily remedy. Good Luck to you.

I opened up a forgotten about container of tarts from last summer....still smells awesome. I'd say they're peach is pretty darn good!

Thanks everyone for helping. I thought that this scent was something that someone had 'renamed', and I searched forever and could not find it on the board...I would have sworn I read that here somewhere. Whoever made the candle, I am told by anoter cousin, that it was..."The most perfect candle...EVER!" I am going to have to investigate further and see if there's a company name she can give me. I was left wondering what scent this candle would be! You gotta have some spunk to put that candle name out on a table. I really don't know this cousin's wife very well at all. My cousin (41 yrs old) passed away quite suddenly last summer, and his wife was devastated. This wonderful candle was the first happy experience she'd had in a long time. Thanks again for your help!

Mucho Macho, Muchacho!! Love the masculine flare that you guys bring to the craft.

I use labels that are store brand, ie, Staples. These are cheaper than the brand names and they are compatible with AVERY. You can go to the Avery site and download their templates for their labels. It is waaayyy easy to make them yourself and Avery sets it up just fine with your printer so there's no 'set up' issues. Now for designs, Microsoft has free Clip Art. But another fave of mine is called PC Crafters www.pccrafter.com They have so many styles and artists to choose from, you will surely find something to fit your taste and in whatever style you are interested in. You can usually buy a set of designs for around $5. Again, very easy to do. It took me so long to decide on a design, but I have finally gotten one together and got all of my labeling done last nite. I love my new label! Best of Luck to you! Fern-Marie

My cousin's wife bought a candle at a Christmas craft show in Western, NY, Silver Creek Area. The scent was "Smell My Nuts". She loved the smell, as well as the candle. Anyone know who made it? Thanks, Fern-Marie

I missed the OVEN part....BIG NO, NO!!! They must have a constant and even air flow to set up and cure properly. After making that mistake with disastrous results...trust me. I don't know what happens when you do this..it seems like a logical idea. But I think the candles do not get the steady, even, AIR FLOW, in the oven. Not only that, but it has, again, the same principle as when making a cake..when you open the oven to check on the cake, or candle, the cool air hits it all at once....causing huge holes and collapse. DO NOT COOL IN AN OVEN! It is the plague of candles. I experimented once, and left the oven door closed, and left the candles in overnight. The next day...they still had not set fully, and didn't the damn things all sink and get huge holes! Sorry that I didn't see that before.

I have this wax, but I haven't played with it yet. I'm glad to see that ppl are liking it. That puts me at ease. I have a question for you if you bought from CS.... Do you find that the 'wick guide' suggestions are accurate for this wax? I bought it specifically for a good throwing wax using wicks...not for tarts or wickless. Thanks!

Dana, I tried a couple of things that helped me with the sink hole issue. After I poured...at 115-118* - I would tap the whole jar on the counter a bit, kind of like if you're making a cake and after you pour the batter into the pan you might slam it on the counter a bit to release the air bubbles...sometimes I would see the air bubbles rise to the top. Also, try pouring slushy. Most soys do require a slushy pour. Most importantly, be sure that there are no 'cold spots' where your candles are setting up. Try to keep them from any cool drafts and in a fairly warm environment. I find that if I pour in my very sunny kitchen when the sun is blazing, I have no set up problems at all. At night...forgeddaboudit! What a nightmare! Sink holes are caused by rapid, uneven cooling and sometimes that can occur in a certain spot, usually caused by drafts. I know it's tough and frustrating. You have my sympathy. I've been through it.

Ditto! ...and welcome!

Geek...I put my tin foil hat on and I think you are right! Hell, we all know that these guys are buying soys from the same manufacturers that supply our suppliers. I don't believe for a minute that there's some little lab tech mixing, blending, pouring, and testing without some major help from a major manufacturer. Trade Secrets my *** Somewhere along the line some genius like Geek is going to shake and sniff, hope I'm not getting too personal here dude, and figure out which wax they are using. I wondered if or when someone who has tested and worked with so many waxes would be able to spot a wax and notice a familiarity...and spill the Bean Pod. It was only a matter of time. Kudos, Geek! Very astute. Fascinating info on the "AD" lingo. Isn't it odd that we 'home crafters' are turning out to be the truest to the craft...no fancy lawyering to help us sleeze out some sales with legal jargin that the average consumer would undoubtedly think is dishonest, or misleading. Deception is legal as long as it's worded correctly....? The rats can't win all the rat races.

Not bad at all! Have you made them and burned them before? You're doing great!

EZ is a great soy, but like all soys - it has its drawbacks. Yes, it frosts like crazy, and bumpy tops are typical. But it has a great throw and is pretty easy to work with....and...it sho is ugly! Try heating your jars, pouring slushy, make sure you cool slow and evenly...avoid drafts, and if you need to get a $20 heat gun at Wally World....Bill can tell you how to use it. The only other thing that I will caution you on with this soy, is that it can vary batch to batch from that manufacturing process and the supplier. So, once you find a wick and jar that work for you, you absolutely must test the next box of wax that you get...the wicking could be different, it may color a bit differently, etc. I know this from experience. Welcome, and have fun! Fern-Marie

LX...if I can't use LX...I dump the wax. Beautiful burn qualities, no sooting, no jumpy flames, steady and even, smooth flame, nice height. Everyone has their favorite, you'll get lots of suggestions. Try getting wick kits with samples of many sizes in a series.

Chauna, When these jars first came out and were hard to find, some ppl went to their local hardware store where they usually sell canning jars and asked the owner/manager to special order them. You may be able to do this and work out a special price. I have never seen those jars at a lower price.

Double check your temps when adding your FO, you may want to try adding the FOs at a higher temp. The FO has to bind with the soy...make sure that the thermometer is accurate. Most of them will vary 5-10 degrees...this can ruin your batch. Also, the hotter at the end thing does sound logical, but may I also suggest that by the time you get to the end your candle has had that much more time to cure, thereby giving the FO and the wax more time to bind? Lastly, is it possible that you should wick up one size so that there is more heat to produce a hotter melt pool?

EZ is a notorious froster. It may not be the dye. It's one of my favorite soys, but man, it is ugly! You can heat those chips and blocks to the point of ruining the soy...the flecks will not go away. I tried it. I even tried mooshing them with a spoon! Liquids are best, and do experiment with the red drops and a bit of black or brown as suggested. That works pretty well.

White Soy Candles are becoming all the rage! Ohhhh, yeahhh. The Hollywood crowd and those money types are into the white. It is 'more elegant, and matches every decor.' I heard that there's a Hollywood star (?) marketing them. We know it's a cover to hide the difficulties of soy...can't fool us!

Hi Bill, I've done this too. Ease up on the heating. Just a slight blast - you don't want to melt the tops or heat parts of the jar...this will cause the frosting and the pull away that you've got. Just ease up. Practice should make perfect...but this is soy. Warm the jar all around with the heat gun...until you see it starting to adhere back to the jar. Be gentle...not too much heating. It could turn into a nightmare...been there too! Make sure you're letting it cool completely before you start trying to pretty it up, this is where I always got into trouble...patience is not one of my virtues. I've learned to make them only when the sun is blasting in my kitchen. This time of year, once it's dark and the temp drops...it is always a nightmare. Keep the jars away from any cool air flow. Keep a steady warm, even-temped environment..this is critical to prevent frosting. Let it cool slowly even after blasting it with the gun, or you will never fix it. I don't think it looks that bad with the frosting, but I would try to get the wet spot out if possible if you are planning to sell it. You're doing fine, don't worry. Fern-Marie

Just to add one thing: Make sure that you are cleaning the jars before using. Glass is sprayed with a coating during the manufacturing process to prevent fingerprints and dust from adhering. It must be cleaned and dried or the wax will pull away from the jar.

My pleasure. Tychels, that is exacly the jar I was talking about! Ppl think they're cute too! I was not able to get enough of them to stock all of my scents. Though I think Filmore Glass has them now. As far as wax: Mill Creek's 100% and Golden Brands 415 (?), are the equivalent of EZ Soy..I found very good for tarts and wickless. My only problem with it, is that the formula changed recently and I had to wick up on tea light wicks. They need to manufacture these things more consistently. I don't know what the Pure Soy is from Candle Science, but now that I have compared so many soys and para soy blends, that one is the one that stands out in my mind as my favorite. It really holds the scents very well. The guy acrossed the street from me moved out and got his own apartment. I made him a wickless as a gift. He had that thing burning non-stop for 4 months! He and his mom told that it still was scenting. He only had to get rid of it when the jar adhered itself to the warmer from the constant heat! I know that wickless was Pure Soy from CS. And for the record: I absolutely do not condone leaving a burner on 24/7....that horrified me! One more thing with the soy tarts....use soy teas! Paraffin burns too hot and will burn off the FO at a faster rate making the tart not last as long. TL 25 or TL 28 wicks for teas with EZ Soy, and TL 15 or TL 18 with the Pure Soy from CS. The Candle Warmers from Michael's are 17 Watts. Though I have used the Wally World ones very successfully. After the wickless has melted fully, give it a half an hour and check the temp of the melt pool. You should be around 165-175 ish. Again, if the jar is not a short, squatty jar, or a short tureen you may not get good results. I use glass jars, not tins. Best Wishes

Hi, I do a lot of these and have for a long time, so let me just shoot a few things at you that I have learned: Make sure that your jar is short and squatty, like the tureens sold at CS. You might find the short, flat, Elite Series Mason Jars in your area...these work beautifully. Use the max FO load....9% for most waxes. Good FOs are important...must be good quality. Make sure the candle warmer is operating properly...they do not last forever...avg. melt pool temp is generally around 165. You must melt it completely, and just like with a candle you burn...let it alone for a good 3-4 hours. Think of it as a huge tart...you wouldn't half melt a tart and expect good performance. The scent will flow throughout your home. Also, if the warmer is new, I have found that they need a bit of priming. A warmer used a couple of times for several hours works more efficiently and timely. IMO, pure soys work best, not blends. For some reason Pure Soy holds and lasts longer. I've tried 6 different soys and blends..paraffins should work well with this, though I have never done a straight paraffin. As far as how long it lasts...take the average 8 oz candle, burn it. Now, take that time and double or triple it! Don't tell me otherwise...I've made them and sold them and get at least 70 hours out of them - before they start to fade! I've had ppl use the same damn candle every day for months. Kills me! Trust me, you can make and sell these successfully, I promise. If you have any problems or questions, feel free to pm me anytime, I'll be happy to help guide you. Good luck to you, Fern-Marie

I've made thousands of tarts and teas. The best advice that I can give you is to use a good and accurate thermometer. When the tart is fully melted and warmed for awhile, take it's temp. If you are not getting a good throw and you are using proper amounts of FO, then I'd wager that the tea light is not heating the tart well enough to give a good throw. Try upping the wick on the tea and take the temp again. See which wick is giving a better throw. You can achieve a good throw with a tart, I guarantee it. But you must find the right temp. On the other hand as stated before, if it is burning too hot then you must, of course, wick down. Take it's temp. Best of luck to you.

It's steaming because it burns hotter. It will give off a great throw initially. My only hesitation with them is that the temp will cause the FO to burn off more rapidly. Great throw, but may not last as long as with a tea. It's the same as if you use a tea with a larger wick, more heat, quicker burn, faster loss of FO. I use soy and cannot use the electric tart warmers for that reason. I wish they made them with a high/low temp control.

I tried it several times with 4 or 5 different waxes. My issue was the clarity of the soys when melted...they tend to be very yellowy. I think you should give it a try, you may have a wax that is clearer and will work better than mine. Hope you share if you are successful. Good Luck with it, Fern-Marie