Jillsthings

I remember seeing it in my ventures, as well. I can't remember where, but let me look around and see if I can find it for us both. :-)

Here they are: http://www.candlesoylutions.com/thumbnail.asp?offset=0&deep=1&cid=21

What kind of wax did you use? I'm new to this, too, but from the looks of it, they cooled too quickly. I had a batch with a rough tops like that the other day. I knew it would happen right after I poured them because my husband left to go get supper and my dad stopped by, which meant the door kept opening and closing, which left all sorts of cold air in the living room, where I pour my candles. Luckily I use the tins, too, so just a quick shot with the heat gun took care of it and smoothed my tops right out. :-)

I meant the pouring pot, not my Presto or wax melter. I only put the wax in my presto.

Yeah, I knew what you meant, lol. I was just saying that once I get my Presto Pot, then I can do it that way, too; put the FO in the pour pot, then the dye and then pour the melted wax from the Presto into the pour pot. :-)

The FO is the first thing I pour into the pot. So, I weigh the pot and than tare the scale and then measure the FO that way. Then I add the dye and then add the wax.

That's probably how I will do it once I get a Presto Pot. I told my husband that I'll be buying one in the next few months for him to put a spout on, haha! He just rolled his eyes.

http://www.peakcandle.com/products/SMALL-Flip-Top-Caps-(Qty-6)__A1021.aspx

Just to make sure... Is this what you were referring to?

Thank you so much for the link. I just ordered some. I am sick of wasting FO because of spills when pouring it out of the bottle. :-)

Damn Gremlins.....

Chocolate Mint - Cured for 4 days so I put the melts into both melters in our store and all the employees think that it smells the same as Berts and also they thought it was stronger? It smells really close to me, close enough where customers won't complain and it's definitely the strongest one I've tested yet. I'm excited because the price is right as well!!

I got Chocolate Mint from them, too. It is really strong! My girls love it and want me to get a melter for in their room and make them some melts, lol. It was funny the other morning when I came down to my 10 yr old and 7 yr old having candles practically attached to their noses while they got ready for school. My husband, on the other hand, hates it, lol.

Yep, they were .88 here, too! I love them! For that price, I figured why not? I was using an old plastic measuring cup, which never melted (even if I didn't clean it out for a few hours...or overnight) but I just didn't like using it. I always seemed to spill it, or I would get drops on the table when pouring into the pour pot. I don't know, maybe it's just me, lol.

I unknowingly ordered cups that are #6. I've been using them for over a month now with no problems. However, don't put straight FO in them, haha. While they hold up long enough to measure the FO and quickly pour it into the pot, the FO does melt the plastic after a few minutes. I have since purchased little 2.5 oz metal condiment cups to use for measuring my FO. They work much nicer, lol. As far as the tarts that I made about a month ago, so far so good. The cup still looks brand new, the tart still smells great. Next time I get them, I'll make sure to get the right #, though. :-)

I started with the 4oz and 8oz jelly jars. I like them, but I just preferred the look of tins, so that's what I'm slowly turning towards. I love the clean look of tins, and also don't have to worry about frosting on the sides. :-)

I just ordered some from Candlewic to try out. I'll let you know how they work when I get around to trying them. :-)

*super banana*GIVE THAT GAL A PONY!!!! :party:

:bow:

Oh, I always wanted a pony! Can I have a nice little ranch with some acreage to go with it? :-)

C'mon, y'all - I was an English & Art major in college so you KNOW I am completely dyscalculate. I just played with this until the light bulb went on... took a couple of years... :laugh2:

The key concept is whether you want to end up with an exact amount with none left over (in which case you have to do the above math) OR whether you want to end up with a little more. In either case, the amount you end up with is 100%. The whole enchilada. The entire candle. The wax and FO will be percentages of that enchilada which add up to 100%.

Let's try this: how much FO do you need if you want to end up with a total of 37 oz. of scented wax with a 9% FO load?

3.33 oz of FO

You are absolutely correct. All candles and soap made that day must be snuffled as soon as people enter the premises, THEN they can go about their business. I thought this was a rule...

Maybe there should be a sign posted...:laugh2:

Oh, I think I'm going to make a nice little sign to put on his desk for when he gets home, "Here are the candles that you must sniff, or else!" Hmmm, wonder how that would go over, lol.

I just tested a CD 18 in a 16 oz tin with a 4" diameter. While it left a little hangup the first couple of burns, it eventually caught up with itself. I tried a CD 20 at first, but it had too large of a melt pool the first burn for my liking, so I scrapped that one. So yeah, as long as you find a big enough wick, soy can definitely burn past 3" diameter. :-)

My husband gets sick of having candles pushed up his nose when he gets home from work, lol. I can't help it. If I make one that I really like, I make him sniff it, too!

So what about if you put them in an actual tealight holder? Say a nice glass one? I didn't know, and of course, I just bought some a week or so ago. :-( I've burned a couple with no problems, but it's like I tell my kids...it only takes one time! Anyhow, probably a stupid question, but I would think that if it was in a glass tealight holder, that the holder would contain the fire, and while still not safe, it wouldn't be quite as dangerous. Maybe I'm just trying to rationalize my purchase, haha!

I knew something was bugging me about that... I understand that your mixture is pleasing to you and that is what matters most, but in the example above, your FO load is not 8.5% - it's 7.834%. You ADDED 1.955 oz. to 23 oz. That makes 24.955 total ounces. You forgot to include the weight of the FO in your calculations.

Yeah, I know, but that's why I said that I don't subtract the amount of FO from my wax. I like how I do it because it's easier for me and I have plenty left to make a couple tarts. :-) Whether it's 8.5% or 7.834%, I'm happy with it. :-) If I was making big batches and didn't want/need the tarts, then I'll do it the other way. It's just too complicated for my brain to figure out with 2 dogs, 3 cats and 3 kids running around most of the time....oh, and the husband. He's just as bad, haha!

ETA: And I understand and appreciate why Stella pointed that out. It definitely makes sense as to why someone that was helping me figure things out would need to know the ACTUAL percentages used. It's all good!

I made some LS Home for the Holidays (type) for my aunt, some NG Reindeer Poo and then some Chocolate Mint tarts!

Back to topic..:-) I usually do small batches, so I've been doing 12 oz of wax with 1 oz of FO, which is about 8.5%. I don't subtract the percentage of FO used from my wax, as I like to have the tarts. If I do bigger batches, I just take the amount of wax I need, say 23 ounces. I then do 23 * 8.5% (.085 if you don't have a % sign) on my lovely calculator to get 1.955, and that's how much FO I add to my 23 ounces of wax. It works for me, and I'm happy with it, so that's what matters. I've given candles to my mom, my aunts and my neighbor, and they've all loved them! I'm happy with the results. My friends and family are happy with the results, so what more could I ask for? :-)

I use GB 464 and tried a Wick-It Premier in this jar...790, I think...can't remember off the top of my head right now. Anyhow, it tunneled pretty bad the first 3 or 4 burns, but by the end of the 5th, it had pretty much cleaned up the sides. Still a little bit of residue in places, but definitely much, much better. I was concerned about it at first, too, but now I'm happy with the way it finished. I just ordered some CD wicks, though, so I'll be testing with them, next. They are much easier to find. I order some scents from Lonestar, so that's who I ordered the samples from and who I'll be getting them from in the future.

Thanks, Stella! I'm going to attempt them again tonight, lol. My first couple came out okay, but since the wax went down over the sides of the base of the wick pin, it was tough getting it off there and ended up cracking the edges a little. I'll try all your suggestions and see what happens. :-) Thanks again!

Okay, here's a fun question. I've tried making votives, and I'm using the wick pins, but they don't fill up the bottom of the votive mold, so the Ecosoya PB wax is going around the bottom of the wick pin, so trying to get it off is a pain, and also tends to leave crumbly looking sides on the bottom of my votives. Any way to fix this?

Thanks in advance!

I just bought my second candy/deep fry thermometer to use with my second pour pot. :-) They were $8 on Amazon and are 12 inches long. It's not digital, but they work just fine for me. HTH :-)

Okay, I did it. I just bought a heat gun from Harbor Freight. It was only $13.99. I thought the blow dryer was sufficient, but I got splattered in the eye for the second time yesterday, so no more! :-) Don't ask me how it shot all the way up to my eye, yet didn't get on the table....it's just my luck, I guess.