wookie130

Just poured this one last night in 8 oz. soy jj's...cold throw is good, but I'll need to cure it for the next couple of weeks to let you know how the hot throw works. It's a perfumey smell with citrus top notes...it's really quite lovely.

Another fun idea would be to make a neopolitan layered jar candle...chocolate brown, ivory in the center, and strawberry pink on top...this fragrance kind of reminds of some kind of yummy ice cream dessert!

Dream Angels Halo Dream Angels Heavenly Sweet Tarts White Lilac (or reg. lilac) White Diamonds

Try NG's Kama Sutra fragrance category. There seems to be some neat ones to try for V-day. Also: Carnation Champagne Pink Sugar In the Mood Wine & Roses Lovespell Chocolate Covered Cherries Cherish Aphrodesia

I know that I'm not being any help, and this does nothing to answer your question, but I really like your pillars. I think they look lovely!

I don't, personally. I melt my wax inside my pouring pot in a Presto Pot filled about halfway with water. I'll think you'll find that many do this, although surely some on here are using roasters.

This is a fun thread. For me, I prefer candles over B&B...I know, boring, right? I'm a fragrance junkie, so I am constantly putting new scents from diff. companies into my wax...I love to try different waxes, molds, packaging, etc. To me, it may never get old. There are so many things to try, that I sometimes feel I'll never master it all.

I have to drive a ways to get mine...about an hour and a half. The elevator is in Watkins, IA.

So I'm putting together these neat-o X-mas gift baskets for the ladies in my family, consisting of 1 16 oz. soy mason jar candle, 2 8 oz. soy jelly jar candles, 5 votives, and 5 tarts...and I have no idea what baskets to use!!! The Michaels near me just closed, I checked out at Hobby Lobby last night, and it's completely picked over, and I don't know where to go from there. I would like it to be an attractive/cute holiday-looking basket...but at this point, I'm willing to settle for something a bit more plain if I have to. I've put a lot of work into the candles, and I want them presented prettily, if at all possible. If you could point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it!!! Thanks!

Woo! It sounds like most of us are hanging in there fairly well with the holidays and all... Votives and tarts to pour in Spiced Pumpkin Chutney, Warm Apple Pie, Cranberry Fig, Jack Frost, and Cookie Jar. 8 oz. jj's/ 8 oz. tureen wickless to pour in Grandma's Kitchen, Cherish, Buttermint Candies, Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies, Captivatingly Current, Orange Clove, Sweetberry Deelites, Hot Buttered Rum, Warm Vanilla Sugar, Rosemary Mint, Clean Cotton, Sage Sweetgrass & Cedar, and Buttermilk Pancakes. Bah!!!! Sounds like this may carry me into the next couple of weekends. I've also got to shrink-wrap the votives & tarts, purchase gift baskets, label/ribbon, and assemble my Christmas gifts. :highfive:

Oh, and I have heard EXCELLENT things about Bubbles-n-Lights, Sweetcakes, and Snowtop Candle Supplies for fragrances that do well in soy wax. I have yet to try any of their oils, but have heard many positive reviews on this forum, and others!

I too have been experimenting with Just Scent...and I have not smelled one single sample that wasn't WONDERFUL!!! Here's the ones that I've tried so far that have awesome cold/hot throw in soy: Vanilla Buttercream Crunch---WOW!!!! Powerfully strong!!! Blueberry Cheesecake Baby Magic Cinnamon Roll with Vanilla Frosting Boysenberry Spiced Clove Snuggles "Fresh Rain" Type Pink Bombshell Hot Cocoa China Rain Creme Brulee Aphrodesia Some lighter scents in soy (they're still nice, but are a bit fainter, and will need to cure longer in your candles before burning): Dream Angels "Halo" Type Girl's Night Out I also like many oils from Peaks in my soy candles: Key Lime Pie Buttermint Candies Sugar Plum Berries (this is STRONG!!!) Amish Harvest Creme Brulee (I prefer this one over the JS version) Lilac (a wonderful true lilac scent!!!) Wick Your Wax (available through BCN) has fabulous scents (pricey), that throw wonderfully in soy: Buttercream Crunch (I actually like JS's version more) Fresh Linen (FABULOUS!!!!!!) Persimmons and Water Orchid Biscotti Perfect Pumpkin Hinokiwood and Cypress And from BCN: Spiced Cranberry (this is amazingly strong...if you plan to sell, this one may be an all-year-round best seller for you...it is for a lot of people) Mulled Cider Pecan Pie Hot Apple Pie Jingleberry Twigs and Berries (great cold and hot throw) Hope I gave you some ideas!!! These were all winners for me as far as soy goes!

I would also try adding these two in at a slightly warmer temp than some of the other oils you've used. They are heavy scents, and need to be warmed up a bit in order to bind to the wax.

I'm only speaking from experience...but EL soy didn't throw worth a poo for me ever. J223 on the other hand, has an excellent throw. I've been using C-3 Naturewax, and really love that, but how well it would do with J223, I don't know. EZ-soy has a good throw on it's own, and would work well with your J223, in my not-so-expert-opinion.

That was funny. Kind of kinky, but funny.

If you use soy wax, heat guns will fix all of the post-pouring uglies that can arise.

I'm in Iowa, and just found a supplier of Naturewax C-3 in a small town...it's actually an old farm elevator, that has been converted into a distributor of soy cleaners, wax, oil, etc. This has been great for me, as I now don't have to pay shipping, and pay exactly $50 for 50 lbs. of wax. I found this supplier by going through Cargill's website, and looking through the distributor listings.

Here's a good link that compares some soy waxes and their performance under similiar pouring conditions. Cargill's C-1 and C-2 are compared on here, but C-3 is not. C-2 has been discontinued, unfortunately, as some really preferred this over the new C-3. However, many enjoy using the C-3 as well...apparently there were many complaints of the C-1, which are illustrated pretty well by the link. http://members.shaw.ca/natural_zone/ContainerTest.htm

Gypsyjen, I'm actually very glad you asked this last night, as I just got my first case of this wax...I don't believe it is 100% soy, as the company claims. I think it is closer to the Ecosoya CB's, in that it has a few extra goodies thrown into it for performance, appearance, etc. I was wondering about the pouring temp as well. I'm going to try your method...heat to 180, add dye, FO at 175, stir like crazy, and then pour around 130-140...I'll post how it works for me. I don't plan to pre-warm my jars, as that doesn't seem necessary for soy. I also wonder if doing a repour layer over the cratery layer would fix the slight cracking thing, as I don't have a heat gun at the moment. I will also be using CD 12's in my 8 oz. jj's to start with, and CD 22's for my 16 oz. mason jars, although this will probably give me a blow-torch effect. Oh well...the joy of testing.

Well, the first candles I ever made were soy, and that was about a year and a half ago...they were crusty, cracked, scentless flops. I immediately went to paraffin...loved the way it performed for me. Now that I have more knowledge under my belt, I've ordered some soy again, and will try my hand at it this week with some sample oils I'm getting from JS on Monday, with full knowledge of how different the soy candle-making world is from paraffin. To be honest, when I smell paraffin and soy candles in shops and stores, I find many of the soy brands to have stronger cold throws than the paraffins. I think the trick, as others have said, is to find oils potent enough that will throw well in soy...most reputable companies now test in both waxes, and will elaborate honestly with their customers which oils work well in soy. If you find the right oils, it probably isn't necessary to add a higher % than you would with the same oil in paraffin. Personally, I think heavy scents with cinnamon, bakery notes, and outdoorsy scents throw well in soy...I had a bit more trouble with the lighter florals and perfumey types.

Wow...your candles look like gourmet candies!!! Very well done!

Yeah, I actually considered that scent, as it appears to be very popular. I've heard it was yummy. If I'm happy with the throw of Becky's oils in EZ soy, then I'll definitely order up a 4 oz. of the this particular fragrance. I'll also let you know how the others work in the scent samples I purchased.

Sounds to me like you have a 16 oz. wire bail lid jar...that was the closest size I can think of that meets your description. Approximately 1 lb. of wax should do it in this container. As far as wicking, what type of wax do you use?

I just placed my first order at JS (I've only ever ordered from Peaks and BCN), after reading some great reviews of Becky's FO's. I ordered two sample packs on sale for $14.95, which gives me 20 new scents to test! I use EZ Soy, and I'd like to know if any of you have tried any of these scents in this wax: Hot Cocoa Key Lime Pie Baby Magic Type Banana Nut Bread Hot Buttered Rum Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies China Rain Pink Bombshell Grapefruit-Vanilla Twist Buttermint Candy Cinnamon Rolls w/Vanilla Frosting Creme Brulee Blueberry Cheesecake Grandma's Kitchen Mojito Cocktail Orange Clove Aphrodisia Coconut Bubble Vanilla Buttercream Crunch Dream Angel Halo Type Thanks!

J-50 and J223 are great goof-proof waxes to use. However, I too tend to use a 51 zinc rather than a 44 in my 8 oz. jelly jars. However, people claim that they get a good melt pool with the 44's, so maybe test both sizes. I too order from BCN, as I live in Iowa, but Bittercreek South would be closer to you in Florida... I find that the liquid dyes and Reddiglo (both from BCN and BCS) chips work great in J-50. I would recommend any of the FO's from Bittercreek, or from Peaks, at 1 oz. per/lb. of wax.