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KTT

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  1. Since I'm taking a break from candle making, I've been working on other home fragrance things. I just recently made a couple of diffusers (last week). I got the base from Candlescience. The fragrance oils I used were Golden Rose, from Candlescience. The other fragrance was Clean Cotton, from Peak. I used 4 1/2 oz of base, and 1 1/2 fragrance oil (70/30). The Golden Rose is going strong, but the Clean Cotton is not. I realize that not all fragrances will work in a diffuser. I went back to Candlescience's page to look at more fragrances for a future order, and I noticed that their reed base only takes up to 25% fragrance oil (I noticed this after I already made my diffusers). On this board, I see some say they do a 50/50 (1 part base, 1 part fragrance), and now I'm wondering about that. Do I need to find a base that will accept up to 50% fragrance oil, or are people just doing 50/50 even if the base supposedly accepts less? I just now did a search, but I didn't find an answer. TIA everyone :smiley2:
  2. I'm still a newbie, myself, but I haven't had good luck with eco's either. Issues with mushrooming and such. I use igi 6006. I haven't had much luck with the CD's either, but I haven't tried using those particular ones very much. Seems cotton, lx, and htp work better for me personally.
  3. Yes, thank you. I also had wondered if I could remelt my duds into another container and try again. So thank you for that information as well!
  4. Meh. I've decided to go back to the original way I was testing and just make multiple testers. I love the idea of wick pulling, lord knows, but I just can't wrap my head around on how to get accurate (or close to) results that way. I think a more seasoned candle maker might be able to get away with it, but I'm too new at this to know if a wick will work from top to bottom using that method. I was hoping there was a sort of shortcut so I wasn't wasting wax & f o, but then I think even if I found the right wick using the shortcut, I could then make a normal wick candle using that wick, but if it acted wonky in the middle or the bottom, I'd have to start all over anyway. Lol, oh well. I can't say I wasn't warned that getting into candle making is expensive! I'm up for the challenge though!
  5. Hi everyone. I've been doing the candle thing for a few months, and this board (search function) has been invaluable! I'm thankful for it as I've learned a lot and still learning! FYI, I use igi 6006 wax and 12 oz status jars. I have yet to actually perfect any candles at this time, but I'm trying. My question pertains to testing. When I first started, I made my candles with whatever wick I wanted to test with, and if I found the wick wasn't right, I started the whole process over again by making another candle with another wick & same % f o. Later on, I found that some people make wickless candles, poke a hole in the middle, and insert a wick. If said wick wasn't right, they simply pulled out that wick and inserted another one. Once they settled on a wick, then they'd make one or two more normal candles and test those from top to bottom. For me, that method seemed like a good idea, as it was nice not having to remake a candle every single time in order to find the right wick for starts. However, I've also read that candles burn differently from the top, middle, and bottom. I'm now wondering if this method isn't such a good way to narrow down wicks after all. How can I test for narrowing down wicks without remaking the same candle over and over, until I've settled on a specific wick? As of now, I have a candle curing (I was going to use the above method to narrow down a wick). I used 1oz Sweet Pea oil for 1 lb of wax. I do have 3 wick series that I like a lot, which are cotton core, lx, and htp. What should I do? I have one wickless candle already curing, but should I make 2 more with one of those wicks (make them with the wick, and not wickless)? In other words, should I do the wick pull method with the one wickless candle, or is it best for me just make 3 candles and test the 3 wicks that way? Gee, I don't really like the idea of making 3 candles to narrow down a wick, but I surely will if that's what I have to do. I'm serious about getting good at this, and one day I'd like to have my own business. I'm just concerned with wasting product is all, and it seems making 3 separate wicked candles, only to find out 1 or 2 of them don't work would waste a lot of wax and f o. Not to mention time. On the other hand, making them wickless/pulling wicks would help me narrow down wicks faster, and is good for the top part of the candle, but wouldn't do much to help me once it got to the middle and on towards the bottom. What should I do? :undecided
  6. Thanks for the response! Yeah, I am referring to unburned candles. I wondered if storing them for a period of time would cause the fragrance to fade. I'm glad to know otherwise. I did hear that one shouldn't put candles in the freezer for long periods as it may cause the candles to crack.
  7. What is a good way to store scented jar candles for a period of time? I've read elsewhere that you wrap up the candle in a paper towel, then put the candle in a plastic storage bag, and store in a cool dry place, but I don't know if that's correct. If this isn't correct, what is the correct way, and how long will the candles keep?
  8. Actually, I know what you mean. Especially living here in Texas:) I closed off the vents in my work area even when I first started on this candle trail. For now, I just turn the air completely off for the time when I am testing for scent throw, but I'm going to have to figure out something else when this Texas heat really kicks in. I can't be turning off that air, then! lol.
  9. Hi everybody! I said I'd come back and post when I got my round containers in (12oz status jars, approx 3" across), and did some testing. Yep, it seems the issue I was having was indeed due to the shape of the containers I started out with! I'm still testing all my wicks with these new ones, but thus far, I am getting full melt pools! Yay! I am so happy! Also, to all those that said to cure the candles for a few days to a week, thank you. That indeed makes a difference in scent throw! Just wanted to let everyone know! Thanks again, everybody!
  10. Yeah, it seems I did pick an odd shape to start with. I had some old votive containers around my house that I had bought from walmart a couple years ago. I cleaned out the wax, washed them, dried them, and poured in my own wax. Did a test on one of them (letting the others cure longer), and no problem at all getting a full meltpool! Lol, I think I should just stick to round containers for now, and save the fancy stuff for when I'm better at this.
  11. I liked the smooth tops on CB135, but couldn't get it to stop frosting on the sides and no hot throw. I like the soy blend wax much better. One of these days when I get better at all this, I may test the plain soy again.
  12. Ah, see I think uneven containers are causing my issue at this time! lol.
  13. Thanks everyone for replying! To Candlelady: Since I haven't tried any zincs, CD, or smaller sized cotton wicks yet, I have already placed an order last night. Thanks a million though for your offer of CD wicks! For those who say to let the candles cure for more than 24 hours, how long should I let them cure? Last night, I was being bummed about my candles when I started thinking about the containers I've been using. They're square, not round, and I wonder if the shape has anything to do with my issues. The bottom is 2" across, and the tops are 2.75"-3". I also ordered some straight sided ROUND containers as well, so I can test that theory, and I'm going to feel so stupid if that's what the problem is! Maybe a more advanced candle maker could make a square one work, but maybe that wasn't the best place for a noob like me to start. When I get the round containers in and do some testing, I will post the results. Geez, I feel stupid already, as I bet trying to work with squares at this stage was dumb. lol.
  14. Hi everyone. New to this board and candle making. I was wondering if I could get any opinions/advice? I am having a terrible time with this candle thing! I did a ton of research before I got started, and decided that I wanted to go the soy route, so I ordered Ecosoya CB (135, I think), and got to work. Actually, that wax was contained in a Soy Container Starter Kit I bought from Peaks. Anyway, I got to work, but never could get a hot throw with the soy, no matter what I did. Plus I was having frosting issues on the sides (tops were always smooth) that I couldn't seem to get rid of, whether I heated the jars prior or not. Now, I had read prior, that soy is really hard to scent. Some people can do wonders with it, and others can't. I just figured I was one of the ones who can't, lol, so I ordered and tried a different wax. This particular wax is IGI6006, and I just bought it like a month ago from CS. There were tins included with the soy kit, but I didn't want to use those, so when I ordered the soy kit, I also ordered a few 5oz hocking jars (I think they're pretty). Those jars are what I've been using in all my tests. Ohh-kay......(*deep breath*), in various instances, I've heated the wax from anywhere between 180-190 degrees, and all my pours have been at 165 degrees. The first wick I tried was a C60, which is what had come in the soy kit I ordered prior. That turned out to be too big for my size container and the 6006 wax, so I ordered sample wicks from other series. Besides the C60, I've tried Eco 2 through 6, HTP 52, 62, and 73, LX 16 and 18. I cannot get a full melt pool to save my life!!! It's driving me crazy!!!! The jar isn't even quite 3" across, and I still can't get a full melt pool! Seriously??? I don't know if you'd call it "tunneling" per se (maybe?), but when they burn, they get almost to the edge, but there's still some wax left on the sides of the jar, and especially in the corners. I don't know what to do about it. No, they don't catch up with the subsequent burn tests. I thought that maybe the temp was too low in my apartment, so I tried turning the a/c off for a bit just for while I'm working on candles, but that didn't solve the issue. I thought maybe the candles were cooling too fast, so I started letting them sit in a empty room temp cooler to set/cure, but that didn't solve the issue. Oh, speaking of curing, I do let the candles cure for at least 24 hours, before lighting. Thinking the cooler wasn't enough, I began setting the cooler into a clear plastic storage container, and then setting the candles in the cooler, but that didn't help either. I've always made sure the candles aren't near any drafts, so that's not it either. I measure my fragrance (I don't use dye by choice) and wax on a scale I have that measures in grams, ounces, pounds, etc, so that can't be the problem, either. Any suggestions, folks? Anything at all else I can try? Different wax? Wicks? Should I start singing to the candles, first? Invite them to a movie? What do I do? :smiley2:
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