blacktieaffair

Ok yeah, I have the Elements and the one from CS. I don't have my oils anymore but, having used the VNSS from BC, I would try that one. I'm wondering if the GK would work. Let us know what the results are. This sounds interesting. I love the MF from CS all by itself.

Thanks Beth, I was already reading a site on it, but it didn't have hardly info. I sure do appreciate it.

Well fiddle ! You can't get the two favorites of mine that I can think of I gotta ask, where do you live ? I'm going to go read up on rapeseed wax. I've never heard of it, but then again, I do everything except candles ! lol Edit : After looking it up, I see that it's a product in the UK. My daughter goes to the University of Kent at Canterbury.. I might see if she can bring me some of it home this Christmas and mess around with it just for kicks and giggles.

Jeanie, yes, they would, but.. and this may not happen to you but it did me... I found out that if I didn't start out around 170 and go down from there... if I started dipped at like 150 or so, the wax would build up lumpy, and not only that, it was REALLY easy to pop the wax off by just moving it around slightly. Not what you want when you're putting them in a basket and arranging them. You can try it starting out cooler, but I never did like the results. The 170.. it seems to give it a basis to build slowly on by seeping into the wood. I sort of compare it to dipping tapers. You have to start out slowly, and add a little at a time. Chandler... you're welcome hun.

No. It going with percentages just like other "additives". To get a true dark Navy Blue, in my wax ( para ) , for a pound, I'd probably put in 5 drops. I just went to my notes and looked. On those two pictures I posted, the one with the pine cones out on the work table not in the basket? I used 10 drops of Garnet and 2 of Midnight Black to get that color for 2 lbs of wax. Here is the chart of their dyes, and it shows how the percentages work on each color, to get a light and dark shade of it. http://www.communitycandlesupply.com/products.php?cat=Liquid+Candle+Dyes HTH !!

Is it the one from CS? Reason I ask is, I had 2 different ones and they were totally different from each other.

How about Vanilla Bean Supreme from Bitter Creek North? I was going to suggest it, and the Very Vanilla from CS.

I think you did a great job ! $90 bucks an hour ... I'd take it LOL

I'll be honest with you, I can not remember what temp worked best but I do know I started out about 170 with 4794. I had them tied with a string, the tip part, and dipped the larger end in first. I would let them soak in the hot wax, for about 10 to 20 seconds, depending on the size. I have a long metal rod I kept stirring the wax with ( see, because I use such large cones, I have some extremely tall , slender dipping vats that I had a muffler shop weld for me out of 1/4 inch thick steel for the vat, then they welded a bottom on it. They stand about 14 inches tall.) As I had the wax vat on the floor, so I could dip good, I kept stirring it with the metal rod and then I'd do a test dip... if it was clinging, I'd dip,.... remove the cone til it finished dripping, then I'd stir... then dip again.. etc.... Those that you are looking at, were probably dipped 5 times AFTER the first initial dip in hot wax ( which is designed to make the wax and scent seep into the cone good ).

All of the dyes I have ever used, for wax, are from Alabaster ( now Community Candle ). It's their liquid dyes. Highly concentrated and wonder amazing in paraffin. The do have a chemical smell to them OOB but it completely disappears as soon as it hits the wax and I've never known of it to monkey with over 300 scents (scent wise ) They have a TON of different colors in the dye department, and since I truly bite at mixing shades and such, I bought two sampler packs. They have a couple of reds, that are so dead on it makes me smile. A couple of times, like with the barn red, I dipped a toothpick in some midnight black to give it a deeper red but with so many to chose from and so many shade variations out of each bottle, you can't beat it. It's the perfect thing for someone who wants to get creative and quickly go with a color that they normally wouldn't.

Chandler, the way hers are, it's more rustic and prim looking. Here's some of mine that are thickly coated so you can see the difference we are talking about

That's what I was thinking too Justa... except unfortunately, I know people around here would look at 6 to 8 bucks and walk away

Concerning these, I have a question. I'd thought about doing this a couple of years ago, right when Clams were taking off but the market wasn't saturated yet, but , I never did. Now........ what price would you charge for these, that people would be ok paying? It's twice the size of the clam most of us use, so would you double your price, or go strictly by costs and take out any extra for labels ( but then , wouldn't the almost double price per clam eat that up anyway ? ) I want to wiggle my nose and make the melt section at Wal Mart and other stores go away with their 2 buck prices.... grr

If you go with paraffin, try 4794 !!!

Good luck sweetie. Can't wait to hear how it went !

Those are cute. I've been meaning to do some like that for home, but most people were always asking me for the ones thickly dipped and coated.

(((( Looks at her super clean work area )))) ((((( looks at pictures of my old workroom and table )))) (((( doesn't know whether to laugh hysterically at the difference in my mess and her tidyness.. or cry cause I'll N E V E R be that organized ))))

First and Main are the best, but I've never had a problem with the BCN bears. They used to carry the 7.5 (?) jointed bears and I used them ... as for looking or feeling cheap, they didn't.. Plus, you're soaking them in wax and fluffing them out..... PLUS they aren't supposed to be handling it, so they should work fine for you.

So good to see you up and running ! I know you must be super excited! Candle looks good and the color looks really nice for the scent !

jack, me too ! Seriously though. The hardest thing I've ran across is a good friend of mine from school, wanting to know how I did this and that because she wanted to start her own. Well, I gave her a little info and a ton of advice and pointed her in the directions of some good suppliers.. and of course I pointed her to this board. I wasn't so worried about competition since she was in south Bama and I was in Tn.. my main concern was 1. finding out just how serious she was in making a really GOOD product or just dabbling and 2. To make sure she wasn't one of those that half ass do something, and give the rest of us a bad name. I honestly think, in our situation , it turned out for the best..but would I just give someone my secrets, uh NAW , not happening. The only one that even remotely knows some of my secret blends is my DS because sometimes he needs to work for me cause of my back.. and even he has to pull out the notebooks.

For the ones who use soy and can get it to work for them, fantastic!!!!!!! But I wouldn't switch my para either !

I applaud all the wonderful advice on this thread.......... But NOW yall know why I went with a simple black/silver/white design for everything from packaging to labels to font colors !!!!!!!!!!!!

I just spit my diet Dew at the "wsp" comment ! LMAO !

LOL Og... I know I know, but what can you expect from me.. I left Tn ( albeit not by choice ! ) LOL

And that's if you bought it in bulk because any savings you might get if you bought in bulk, would be destroyed and then some, by having to have it overnighted to you from Lord knows how many different suppliers.