blacktieaffair

Barbra, I'm in Opp .. it's dead center at the bottom of the state, between Dothan and Mobile. We're about 70 miles from the beach because the Panhandle is between me and it. I remember you distinctly from before on this and other boards. I was always so in awe of the soaps you did !!! I am just impatient to let something cure 2 to 4 months before I can use it or sell it but I bow to those of ya'll that do such amazingly beautiful work !

I have only purchased clams from one place, Community Candle here in Alabama. I bought from them for seven years and never had even one with a hole in it and melts is the main thing I did. I was out of the business for 5 years and have just started back. A gf of mine bought her clams from there three weeks ago and so far , it's the same as it was back then. Also, to this day I still have about 10 full clams left over from when I went out of business and the only one of those 10 that has a weird smell to it, is the Pumpkin Pie. Even after all this time the rest still smell the same and the plastic is as thick and stable as it was the day I poured.

Here are the first ones I made and I still make them like this. Some of the wax is colored at times from other projects and sometimes it's just for old melts ( I don't add dye to those ) I save up as much wax as possible each year but I can never save enough to meet the demands of my friends who want them !! All I use is organic cedar shavings and wax. No wick, nothing. Just light the edge of a sliver of cedar and get back, because in about 4 minutes the large ones can get a flame up to almost a foot tall ! ( BTW that is my son's fireplace with all the ashes inside , I about spanked his grown butt for that one ! )

I'm just gonna take my lil 4794 and go sit in the corner LOL You lovely's have done a lot of fantastic testing and I am definitely going to keep this topic marked for future reference. I've just always had amazing results with my wax and 1:1 ratio and it's so versatile for everything I do... but I won't fib, my interest is peaked about palm for melts....hmmm....

Hi Sharon ! There is a ton of wonderful information on the forum and I'm sure you'll find a lot of answers !

Hi from Alabama and have no clue about lids for those, sorry !

Lawd I know what you mean. I was going to ask you and Ravens and Tall what seems to be the "going thing" now as far as scents and sizes and all that . I have thought about doing some of the larger "votive" type candles for a change now.... ( sort of the size of those Glade candles in the glass ) . I just don't know .

Hey there Laura !!!! How are ya sweetie ? I know as hot as it's getting here in Bama you must be getting it worse down there already ! I think this summer is going to be a scorcher Kat

Hey there Ravens !!!! Hope you're doing great !!! I am so excited ( and a lil scared) to get back into this after all these years, but I'm too stubborn to let it keep me from jumping in. The business has changed SOOOO very much from what it used to be and that is going to be the major " re-think re-learn" of all of this . Luckily I never did candles that much other than bleeding tapers and a few votive's so I am not going to have to sweat the whole " which wax/wick/fo/container/color " works. I just never had the patience to do that like all of ya'll did LOL . Kat

I know what you mean. I know I'm probably going to have to spend a small fortune on new oils that may have the same name but the regulations that have happened since I was active, have changed it a lot. I got double whammied because back in the day, the two biggest sellers I had were closeouts from BCN ( the lemon pound cake they discontinued when they replaced it with the one from BCS and a honey crisp apple from Aztec) Have you asked over on that forum if anyone has any ? I know no one really talks but I have noticed in the past few weeks that there has been a small number that still come on and re-read the threads...

KrisS I DON'T have any but I thought I'd tell you a " funny" . Years ago I got a full bottle off of the BCN classifieds and I was busy as heck making up about 40 different scents that weekend in melts. BRILLIANT me went on my merry way not paying attention. I use 4794 so I was excited to test the WYW G that next night. I lit it in a tealight warmer, and within an hour we were LITERALLY ran out of a 3000sq ft home for about 8 hours AFTER blowing it out !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For those that don't know, WYW is double strength oil..... and I used a 1 to 1 ratio ( my normal mix amounts )......1:1 with WYW is an INSANE amount of FO to use. I haven't done melts or anything for 6 years and last summer I just finished off the last cube I had.. I would have to cut the clamshell individual cube into 3 pieces to be able to burn it LOL .. I hope you find some , that is some GREAT stuff !!! Kat

It's been a LONG LONG time since I was making candle/wickless/b&b and was probably going to continue to be out, UNTIL my best friend ( now " enabler" ) decided to get into all of this and was asking me for suggestions and help. I have fought for months not to give in, but I can't help it............. the FOHO in me popped right out and blew a raspberry at me LOL. Now living in south Alabama, I was living in Gatlinburg Tn or Cullman Al when I was active on here , so being in a new area, I'm going to have to change my thinking and scent lines due to the change in locations and people's preferences... this should be interesting LOL . I've already noticed a few names I remember from back in the day on this and another forum that is no longer an active place, so you guys have made it easier for me to decide to give it a go again, seeing everyone here still active !!! Just a rundown on what I used to do , in case anyone wonders lol I used 4794 for all of these except the bleeding tapers I did A LOT of dipped toilet papers ( scented, colored, seriously decorated ) Clamshell tarts ( looks out of the corner of my eye wondering if YC is gonna zap me for using "tart" ) Some dipped bears/plushy's Dipped Pine cones Cedar fires starters Bleeding taper candles MP soap using a modified version of Prairie Annie's recipe ( loaf and some molds) I am glad so many are still around and active in their business, hobby and on this forum and I can't wait to see what all everyone's been up too !! Kat

Dipped TP, Dipped Stuffed Animals, Aroma Beads, Dipped or Drizzled Pine Cones, Scented Salts, Room Spray, Linen Spray.

Good Point. I was just wondering how it would work even though we would wash it off, considering we put cocoa butter, honey, olive oil, jojoba , etc in the soaps and we wash them off too...

Yeah that's what I was thinking too , Kitn.

I second what KSRANCH said I use strictly 4794, mostly CS oils, and 1 oz / 1 pound........ I never add cooler than 170. Usually around 175 to 180 and some bakery scents at 185 since they are so heavy

Argan Oil seems to be all the craze now, and reading up on it, it seems to have quite a few benefits. Was wondering if anyone had tried putting it in MP and how that had worked out.

What wax are you using KS ? And in what applications? I'm gonna be using it for melts and tp using 4794 so I was wondering about the CT as much as the HT. TIA sweetie !!!

One I haven't seen yall mention is Amish Quilt. It's still rated on the site as being the number 1 seller , ... I was thinking about trying it...

I don't CP so I can't even figure out how you did that, but it's REALLY cool looking ! Great Job !

Se... I don't mix anything with it unless I'm using a vanilla based FO and dipping something, then I'll use a vanilla stabilizer. Other than that, all my melts are natural colored. If it tans, so be it.

That looks awesome! And the colors are great in my opinion ! They are the colors of my college football team !

Yeah I've tried a lot from BCN. They were the first , and then only supplier I had for about two years, then I started getting a lot from CS , and then added Aztec.

Hey there JBN !! Yeah... I'm back LOL For better or worse we'll soon find out Lizzy, yeah I have to have Cran Pom from CS and quite a few others PMM, I'm also only doing melts and dipped stuff. No candles.. don't have the patience for all that testing LOL

Peppercorn is spicy and kind of unisex but leans more toward manly to me. * but I love manly scents so ... CC, if you decide to put it up for sale, wait a lil bit LOL Ok, BCN that I've liked/loved/used... Peppercorn Pink Sugar LBC Banana Cream Pie Heavenly Honeydew Blue Sugar Cedar Wood A Northwoods Christmas Love Spell Basil Sage Mint BRV. I dont like it but it sells crazy Blueberry Cobbler ( like CS better) Brown Sugar Nutmeg Buttercream Crunch Cake Bake. Hate Campfire Smoke ( used in Tn) Capp Bruelee Cedar and Saffron lov China Rain uugh Cinnamon Bun ( like CS better) Clean Cotton ( CS better ) Clove ( got off classies love as mixer) Coconut Bay Type ( eehhh ) Cotton Blossom (6 out of 10) Cranberry Pom ( love ) Cran ( love ) Cucumber Ivy Mint ( good ) Cupid ( smells like Jergens, love ) Dream Angels Heavenly ( love but no go) Ed Hardy ( love but no go ) Gentlemen's Bay Rum ( sold but hate ) Ginger Lime ( puckery ) Granny's Pie Crust ( ehh , mixer) Hot Fudge Brownie ( o m g diet crusher) Iced Tea Mango Sage ( get again ) Jack Frost (classies, was old didn't try) Jasmine ( didn't carry, fake smell to me) Juicy Couture ( love didn't sell ) Key Lime Pie ( didn't like ) Lavender and Sweet Basil ( get again ) Lavender Basil ( get again ) Leather ( great mixer ) Lemon ( like by itself or as mixer) Lemon Pucker ( sells like crazy ) Lime Leaf and Lily ( love ) Melonade ( fruity , 50/50) Monkey Farts ( fruity , sold good ) Mountain Lake ( clean sells ok ) Nutty Vanilla ( loved ) Oak Moss ( adore ) Oatmeal Milk and Honey (love) Olive Blossom ( eehhh) Pineapple Clinatro ( loved ) Pineapple Mangosteen ( loved ) Polo Sport and Polo ( didn't sell ) Pomegranate (loved ) pomegranate and Anisse loved Pumpkin Spice loved Rosemary Mint Loved Sage and Citrus Loved Sag Sweetgrass and Cedar ( sold like crazy) Sagebrush and Pinion Leave ( sold crazy ) Sandalwood ( can't remember lol ) Sandalwood Vanilla ( loved ) Snickerdoodle( no hot throw for me) Snickerdoodle Latte (adore) Spring Rain eww Starfruit and Mango ( love) Tobacco ( great mixer) Twigs and Berries ( super strong/love ) Vanilla Bean Supreme ( use this and CS Very Vanilla ) Water Blossom Ivy Type ( clean spa scent love ) White Plum Chutney ( love love ) Wildberry Zinger Tea ( everyone's fav) Stonehenge ( love )