CandleCrazyGal

Thanks Franu! I might get their sampler pack to see how it goes.

HT throw is same as CT. VERY chocolatey with only a small hint of the mint in the background. HTH

Congrats! That's awesome. Beautifully done too. I don't think you need a good luck wish, but I hope 2012 sees many many sales!

Ok this is just MO but I just smelled it and the CT is dark chocolate (heavy) with a whiff of cream and caramel -- kinda reminds me of a mug of dark chocolate hot chocolate. There is a TINY bit of peppermint in the CT but you really have to close your eyes to discern it. It's not strong like an Andes mint. I lit my candle and will come back in about an hour and let you know about the hot throw! TY for giving me the perfect "excuse" to light it up!

Though I may order a BBW candle myself so I can see what they smell like! That would help me a lot lol

The candles are on sale right now, 2 for $20.00 instead of their regular 19.95 apiece.

And the dark chocolate mint is HEAVENLY. I own it myself...

I need to make an order from them for a couple of things and was wondering if anyone uses or has used their FO's and what your thoughts are on them.

TIA!

CCG

I can say as a consumer that I like them colored. And it wouldn't matter to me if the color wasn't EXACTLY right for the same scent twice. But I mentally keep track of the scent by the color and when I go to turn on my melter I know instantly if that's a scent I want to smell for the day. If they were all natural I would have a hard time remembering what I last stuck in it. And since I don't wait for a scent to lose it's smell, I change with my "want" of the day, I'll purchase more faster from the creator! JM2Cents.

( peeking my head in )

After reading all this......... NOW do yall know why I DON'T do candles ????? lmao!

That pure hurt my wittle head just readin it !

Do you only do melts BTA? And just out of curiosity do you use clamshells or the tart molds?

May as well look good while testing, eh? ROTFLMAO

LOLOL You got it!

I think 10 pounds is good, and test them with all the same fragrance and figure out what wicking is best for them. It is an ok price for those waxes but I think it misses two of the most important waxes- c3 and 415. I think these two are the best throwing soy waxes. Xcel sort of sucks, 135 is picky about fragrances 444/464 are very similar the biggest difference is the melt point. 444 melts at a higher temp than 464. If I were you I'd buy 10 lbs of c3, 415, 464 and pb then test with those.

If you are a 3 hour drive from them you might be close to fillmore container (lancaster, PA) They sell c3 and will give you 5 lbs for the price of shipping and CandleWic (Doylestown, PA) and they carry a wider array of products and have them in stock more reliably than CAS. I purchase from both of these places and am very satisfied. For 415 you might want to try candlescience.com they are in NC but their shipping is not bad. They also carry all of the above waxes. Candlewic says their soy 125 is identical to 415 but I am not sure about that.

Thanks, 001! Fillmore is the closest to me at only about 2 hours, but they are limited in what they offer all around. And I know I'm crazy if I think I can keep it to one or two suppliers, lolol but I'm going to try! I was CandleWic is only 30 minutes more than CAS and I'm glad to hear you have had good experiences with them. I'll take a harder look at their inventory and maybe just order with them to begin with. Thank you for the advice on the waxes!

While you may not be testing them all at once, that is still a major effort to test 5 waxes. Four that you mentioned are container waxes and one is a pillar/votive wax (PB). Do you have a system already worked out of some other soy wax and just plan to substitute the new waxes? What trait of the wax are you testing for, CT, HT, frosting, smoothness, wet spots, all of these? Some of those waxes are easier to for with than others, 415 vs. 464 for example. In anycase, if I were starting out again, I'd pick C3, 415 and 464. Ten pounds of each.

RJ, I'll be testing all of the above as I am starting from scratch. And I see that you recommend the same waxes as 001. I do have an outline I am following as to what I want to create first, which is scent blox, then on to pillar beeswax candles and finally containers. Thanks for your input!

Testing is forever.

Pick ONE wax at a time to test and learn that wax inside out before moving on. Testing a bunch of waxes, different brand/size wicks and an array of FOs can be the road to hell unless one is incredibly methodical and even then, there is stuff you learn along the way that usually skews the early data. Keep excellent notes and record more data than you think you'll ever need so you can review in the future. Buy a lab coat and have fun. :-)

Thank you Sliver and Stella for the testing reminder. I really hadn't thought about each time a new batch of anything arrives that it may give slightly different results other than previously tested. I'm a pretty methodical person and sometimes forget to step back and see the big picture! Stella, I don't have the actual lab coat, but a friend had a t-shirt made with "Mad Scientist" on the back!

I really appreciate all the advice! I'm soaking it in and making additional notes and changes as I go!

When you are trying a new wax, how much do you typically order to test? 5lbs? 10?

Candles and Supplies (where I ultimately would like to get my wax as it is only a 3 hour drive from me) is offering a 5 different soy wax sampler at 5lbs per type for 71.99 (Ecosoya CB-Xcel, PB, CB-135 and GW444 and 464). Is that a good price?

I want to start testing waxes for tarts, containers and pillars right after the holidays so I want to order the waxes soon but am at a loss as to how much is a good start. And no I won't be crazy enough to try creating and testing all of them at once lolol, I'll perfect one at a time.

TIA!

CCG

That is absolutely gorgeous!

Here are a couple of the things I did last year ( I dip a LOT of stuff ).

Absolutely gorgeous!!

Thanks, Robert!

I have a few questions that I am hoping you all may be able to help with. While I am new to making products, I know that I want to turn this into a business (both candle & B/B).

I have decided to go the LLC route and register with my state (WV) but do I need to apply for an EIN for federal taxes and such?

Also, what do I do with the receipts for the money I have put out thus far in beginning to purchase the things I need -- ex: FO's, Wax, Presto Pots, Double Burner hot plate, etc, etc. Will I be able to use any of it as a business expense? Or do I have to have the business name filed etc, before the end of 2011 in order to do that?

Also, where have people been successful in finding business and liability insurance? Just with your regular homeowner's insurance company? Or do you have to find someone who specializes in the industry.

TIA for any help! santa big

Hi Robinanne! Welcome to the board! Not sure where you might be in NC, but you could check this link to see if there are any suppliers near you that have reg business hours at their store/warehouse! Unfortunately for me, I live about 3 hours from some. http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?55309-Supplier-by-State

Welcome to the board Kiara! There is a TON of information on these boards. It will take some time to read through certain threads and the search function will be your best friend too. You'll find some of the nicest people ever on here for when you are ready with specific needs or questions.

That is awesome news! Congrats!! There is nothing wrong with tooting your own horn! Good luck in the coming year as well.

Welcome to the forum! I noticed after I had been here a month I was able to look at profiles and access some of the areas I couldn't previously, but don't know if it was due to 30 days or a certain number of posts, but as you can see I'm more of a quiet joiner.

Congrats, Annie! That's awesome! They sounds beautiful!

I never did hear back from Luis, but my box showed up today. Yay! It was a little difficult to read the scent names on my bottles, though, since they were handwritten in black marker. All in all, I ended up with two extra samples, and I love the way they all smell. I got 32 samples and two 8 ozers-Iced Cranberry and Sugar Cookie. I know what I am doing tomorrow! ;-)

So glad they finally arrived! I bet your SIL won't mind a belated bday gift.

I think that is really reasonable and what a great gift idea for people. The tarts and a tart warmer for $25.00? Excellent! The packaging is beautiful!!!

I HOPE you'll report your experiences to the CPSC. It only takes a moment... http://cpsc.gov/

It didn't happen to me. I haven't burned my candles from there since they were pulled, but mine never had an issue. A co-worker had it happen to her and I will def give her the link. She reported it to B&BW and a couple of weeks later they were pulled for further testing so she probably wasn't the only one to report the issue.

I picked up these little candles from Bath & Body Works from slatkin that

are about twice the size of tea lights, in plastic. Funny that a company like that would take such risk using it when it's not safe. Just sayin.

They ended up having the same problem with catching fire and pulled them from the shelves. It wasn't widespread but one fire is one too many.

I am absolutely intrigued by this idea! I have some sea salt at home gathering dust and this is a perfect way to use it up and find out if I like it!