wookie130

I absolutely LOVE Peak's Sugar Plum Berries. It isn't a straight plum...there is a real tart kick to it, and boy, this is a powerful scent. One little measly 8 oz. tin I made with paraffin wax strongly scented our entire house. It's really one of my favs from Peaks...I would try it, if you want something strong and unique.

Try an Orange Clove. There are several suppliers that offer this, and apparently it has more of a fall/wintery appeal to it than a straight-up citrus. Grapefruit-Vanilla seems to be popular too...WYW makes a wonderful one. Cranberry Orange is another one that is popular for fall and winter. I just poured JS's Orange Chiffon Cake, and good grief, is that yummy. I've heard Millcreek's Orange Chiffon Cake is to die for...either that or NG.

Yeah, I actually could envision this happening. It probably depends on how powerful your hair dryer is.

I get mine from Candlescience.

I get mine (and the rustic lids) from Candlescience.

Yeah, a blow dryer will definitely work...it just doesn't get as hot, and will take a bit longer to do what you want to do with it...but really, it's the same thing. In fact, my heat gun finally did croak on me yesterday, and while my hubby was getting me another one, I fiddled with my blow dryer, it took longer, but it worked!

Yes, I heat my jars, but many do not. If the area in your home is cooler (like 60-65 degrees), I would recommend warming your jars. If the room is warmer, then you may not have to worry about it. It's just a preference thing for me, and I personally have had better results with paraffin when I've done so. Really, wet spots happen, whether you warm your jars or not...I just find that warming them can help a bit with that end of it. I do agree that you should check into buying a starter kit from a good supplier...Peaks offers a wonderful starter kit...it could help you save some money! Just follow the container instructions on this site, and you'll be good to go!

I absolutely agree with you. Yet sometimes it's nice to have another member give you a starting point...it can save time.

I personally have not used Peak's Cinnamon & Balsam, but have heard other great comments about it. Apparently the cinnamon really cuts down on the tree smell...adds a more tolerable element to it, apparently. I love Peaks anything, so hopefully you have a winner with this oil...

If you scroll down the forum listings, it's right under the swap forum, I believe.

Yeah, the RRD-55 wicks are actually for containers 4-4.5 inches in diameter.

Give it time. For those of us on here who do candles/b&b on here, it took quite a while to get things up and running, and to watch our businesses grow. For many, it can take months, even years. I don't really know of anyone who started their candle business and watched it become an overnight success.

Same here. Hot glue gun all the way.

I will agree that the basics have worked for many, and for quite some time. A blow dryer is a good substitute for a heat gun, it just doesn't crank out as much heat, so the process takes a bit longer...but if it's working, why invest in the heat gun? I do still feel that heating your jars before pouring paraffin wax is the best option. I don't heat my jars with soy, but when I was pouring with paraffin, pre-heating my containers helped tremendously with the end-product. And re-pours are always a good method for the "dip", but only if you have good wax adherance to the sides of the jar first...otherwise the repour could spill down the sides of your jar. And with a digi scale, I do stick with oz. Each to his/her own! We should always stick with what works best for us!

If you do plan on venturing into veggie waxes, research them thoroughly on the veggie board...it's a whole different beast than paraffin. And soy can be very tricky to wick if you're not used to it...generally you must wick up an entire size (if not more) for the same container you've been using for your paraffin containers.

Check Levine Gifts...they're wholesale, and I do believe they have a minimum of $100 per order, but their melters are very reasonable...possible co-op?

Heating jars is very beneficial with paraffin. Wax that is poured into a jar that is too cool, will often pull away from the sides, and you'll have a lot of wet spots on your finished candle, and more shrinkage. Heating your jars will promote better wax adherance to your container. I used to just place my jars in the oven while my wax was melting, on a low setting, like 150 degrees. I just let them warm away, and about 2 minutes before I'm ready to pour, I'll remove the jars from the oven, wick them, and then I'm ready to pour.

No, I use a digital scale and a dixie cup to measure FO's. Place your dixie cup on the scale, tare it to 0, and then measure your FO...this is the most precise measurement. If I'm pouring 1 oz. sample fragrances (which are measured by weight in the bottles), I'll put my pour pot on the scale, tare my scale to 0, and then measure out a pound of wax. I usually make candles with scents I've already tested in 4 lb. batches. I purchase 4 oz. bottles of FO, measure my wax on the digi scale, melt my wax to the desired temp (usually around 180-185), add my dye, remove my wax from the heat source (I use the presto pot double boiler method), add FO at 175 (I just dump in the whole 4 oz. bottle since I know it's measured by weight...if it's a heavier oil, I add the fragrance at a warmer temp to incorporate it better...and I stir gently as to not get air bubbles, but for several minutes), and pour at around 150...keep in mind my pour temp is for soy, which pours much cooler than paraffin. You will want to heat to 180-185, add your dye, remove from the heat, add your FO, stir stir stir, and pour at around 170-175. Save a bit of wax in the pour pot in case you get a dip, and need to do a re-pour. 3 items on your shopping list: Heat Gun (around $19-30) Presto Pot with a temperature control knob...I usually just set mine to "warm", fill it halfway up with water, and set my pour pot inside, creating a double boiler...Prestos are about $25.00 if not less at Wal-Mart. A digital scale...also available at Wal-Mart and Target...find a scale that has the tare feature. (Tip...you can cheat a bit with the digi scale thing...before I had my digi scale, I used a kitchen scale, and only bought 1 oz. sample sizes of fragrance...I'd measure my 1 lb. of wax on the kitchen scale, and while it's less accurate, it worked for me at the time...I have done the same with the 4 lb. batches.) Hope this helps!

Littysmom, go back to the sink hole thread...a heat gun isn't like a propane torch. It's more like a blow-dryer that gets super hot. And yes, you can use it with paraffin! It's really a godsend. I use it to melt leftover wax residue in my pour pots, and then wipe it out with a paper towel, to re-melt wax drips that have splattered (so they wipe right up), to get rid of wet spots in my container candles, to warm my jars before pouring, to smooth out unsightly tops, to fix general mess-ups. It's the best thing I've ever bought in terms of candle supplies!

No, it's really not a torch (that would be scary!!! LOL!!!), it's more like a trumped-up blow-dryer. And yes, it works well with paraffin too!

I only ever use 1 oz. of FO per lb. of wax. If the candle doesn't have a good throw at this ratio, I ditch the scent. There are others who do swear by 1.5 oz. of FO per lb., but this is only if your wax is capable of retaining this fragrance load...otherwise, you'll find your candles sweating or leaking FO out the top, which is a fire hazard. 1 oz. per lb. is what most waxes hold, traditionally. Some waxes, such as IGI Comfort Blend (4627) and J50/J223 can retain 1.5 oz. of FO if not a bit more with additives.

A heat gun is used to heat off old paint, so you can scrape it away and get ready for a new coat. It gets extremely hot, so use caution. We chandlers use heat guns to re-melt the tops of our candles, giving as a smooth top, and it's great for clean-up, and fixing mistakes in our candles. As a soy wax user, its a necessity...otherwise all of my candles would have butt-ugly tops...LOL. You can also warm your jars with a heat gun...the uses of this tool are endless! You can pick up a heat gun around $19-30 from Wal-Mart in the paint section, or in many hardware stores.

Do you mean that you have a huge dip in the center, or are you getting actually holes in the top of the candle with craters and cracks? If you have a dip, that means you will need to top off the candle with a repour...make your repour wax about 5-10 degrees hotter than your first pour. This is common for many container blends...it doesn't mean you did anything wrong. Now if you really have actual sinkholes (like pits/craters/etc.), that may be related to your pouring temperature. Are you heating your jars before pouring? What temp are you pouring at? I would recommend heating your wax to 185, adding your FO at 180, and pouring at around 170-175...pour slowly. Once the wax is poured into your containers, tap the outside of your jars with a butter knife or a spoon to release any air bubbles around your wicks. Let the candle cool completely before fiddling any further with it... Hmm...did I miss anything? Are you using any additives, by chance?

I second the IKEA director's chair...affordable. Check around on E-bay...people throw IKEA stuff on there all the time...another way to save you some money, possibly. Edited: Oh, I see you just found a used one!!! Good deal!

Those are just lovely!!! I say co-op too!!! Love the pineapple and star tart melters!