wookie130

That is an interesting jar (the one with the pewter scrolling/accents)...although it's pretty, to me it's not "elegant" or classy. It actually looks a bit on the goth side, to be honest...but I do like it very much. I hope you can find some, and I hope the glass works for candles.

The Sugar Plum Berries and Buttermint Candies from Peaks are out of this world!!! The SPB is so strong, I was burning it in my classroom, and other teachers kept coming in and asking about the fabulous smell out in the hallway!

They have a third one too..."Independent." I haven't tried any of the three...but they all look interesting! Although I'm an Independent, the "Republican" one sure looks yummy! But what can I say...I'm a bakery/food smell addict. It's a highly creative idea, for sure!

Yes, the Status or Metro jars are beautiful...very upscale looking. I also like the look of the frosted bulb jars with the round flat lid...elegant!

Well, here's some tips. Do NOT use a microwave to heat wax, unless it's soy, and that has been known to be iffy for some people too. First of all, stick your jars in a warm oven, set to 150 degrees. The safest method of melting wax is the double-boiler method. Take a pot of water, and fill it up about half way. Put it on the stove on medium heat, and place your pouring pot of pre-measured wax inside the pot of water. Now, clip your meat/candy thermometer to the side, and stir occassionally, until you reach about 180-185 degrees. Add your color...do not use crayons!!! These clog your wicks! Remove from heat (cool to about 170-175), once color is mixed well into the wax. Add your FO, and stir slowly, as to not create bubbles. Take your jars out of the oven...it's time to wick your warm jars. Thread the wick through the empty barrel of a BIC pen, until the tab is flat against the edge of the pen barrel...add a drop of hot glue to the wick tab from a hot glue gun, and carefully guide the wick into the center of the jar, and stick it down...center it the best you can. Give your wax another thorough stirring to incorporate the fragrance oil. Now, you can pour your wax into the warm jars...slowly!!!! Allow the wax to cool completely. If after pouring (while the wax is still liquid), you see small air bubbles coming up to the surface, tap your jar gently with a spoon or knife, and pop them with a toothpick. Then...leave them alone until completely set up and cool. Hopefully this will give you better results.

You could start with a flat of jelly jars/canning jars from your local grocery store that are used for canning...these are heat-resistant, and give candles a nice primitive/country/Americana look, if that's what you're going for. You can usually get a flat of 12 jars for between $4-7, around that range. It would be a great starting point. I've even gotten fancy, and bought the quilted round 4 oz. jelly jars from Wal-Mart, or the 8 oz. quilted jars...some jelly jars have fruit shapes in the glass, which can be neat too...especially if you scent the candles with a "jam" or "jelly" fragrance oil, such as Strawberry Jam, Orange Marmalade, Raspberry Preserves, Apple Butter, etc. Just giving you some ideas!

Yes, I would strongly consider going into the business for yourself, and for yourself alone...friends are not worth losing over a business arrangement. If she wants to learn the trade (from the making-end of things) for herself, and go into it alone, then that's great...but this way, you can be at least your own boss, and not worry about straining your relationships with others.

I absolutely agree with this. The 4627 (albeit a pain) to me has the best hot and cold throw out there, and mixed with a pure soy, such as Ecosoya CB pure, at either 50/50 or 70/30, I'm sure would be wonderful. J50 is another excellent choice for a paraffin, and is a bit more user-friendly than the Comfort Blend. This would be another option. If you do use Comfort Blend with the CB pure, play around with low-smoke zincs, LX's, and CD's. You'll find that a 50/50 blend wicks quite similarly to a straight-up paraffin wax...but you'll need to do some experimenting. Oh, and just a tip if you choose the Comfort Blend for your paraffin...use one of those ice cream scoopers with the handle that releases the scoop...plop it onto your scale, and once you have the right amount, plop it into your melting pot. It is a messy wax (probably the sloppiest gooey stuff on the market), but most FO's adhere to this stuff like crazy, thus giving it it's excellent scent throw. If you can deal with the texture and consistency and get the wicking down, it is fabulous stuff!

Oh, we've all had our moments, for sure. Sorry you had a rough go of it!!!

You must try the Nana's Old Fashioned Apple Butter, Blueberry Cheesecake (one of my all-time favorite oils...EVER), Pumpkin Nog, Chestnuts & Brown Sugar , and Vanilla Buttercream Crunch (to DIE for...better than WYW's oil). I would also add their Cinnamon Rolls with Vanilla Frosting...this is the most realistic and STRONG cinnabun scent out there for me.

I second the Mid Summer's Night. I want to re-name it "Backseat Window Fog." I also love Boysenberry Spiced Clove (kind of a berry-head-shop scent) from JS...something about this scent is sexy, although I'm sure that's not the company's intention on this one. Lovespell is awesome too. I actually have had a few passionate moments while burning that one...

I just visited Donita's web site for the first time and saw her stunning candles...I am flabbergasted by the artistry and craftsmenship that she has put into her work. Such a talent is truly a gift that very few of us possess. And to whoever stated that one could simply "google" or use a general search engine to find Donita's techniques...impossible. Because what Donita brings to the table is so uniquely hers, and her work so original, it would be impossible to replicate her techniques via the web. Take a famous painter, for instance. You too can learn to paint, possibly by taking classes, researching, or even apprenticing under another painter. But you will never re-create the Mona Lisa, Sunflowers, Starry Night, etc. You may even be able to mimick or reproduce the same style of painting...but the aforementioned works will never be yours. This too can be said of Donita's candles...I can completely justify paying to learn her techniques. She is simply offering to teach others about her unique methods, and that type of education merits a cost to those who want to be her students. I can't blame her at all for putting a price on her tutorials...if I were even remotely as talented as she, I too would charge a price.

Double ditto. Almost blackish purple.

I happen to be one of the people who have a special place in my heart for the Comfort Blend wax...I don't use it any more (I now make soy candles), but if I could afford to only do paraffin, this is the wax I would use. It is kind of a pain to wick, and it's globby and sticky, but there are tricks to making it more bearable to work with. That being said, I love this wax because it makes absolutely the most powerfully scented candle there is, in my opinion. J223 and J50 are more user-friendly, but the Comfort Blend has a FANTASTIC scent throw, which is really what I aim for in my candles...the appearance of a container candle made from this wax is quite lovely too. It's an excellent wax, and I would recommend it to anyone, given that they're willing to test a variety of wicks.

I'm a soy chandler, and the two best things I could advise someone on are: *Heat gun!!!! and *Cure for at least a week...better to wait two! (Even if you have a fragrance that's strong right after pouring/setting up...you won't believe the difference it makes to wait the couple of weeks for the first burn!!!)

Lovely soaps!!! I'm sure they smell fabulous. I'm sorry to hear you've been diagnosed with diabetes...:awww: That is definitely not fun...but at least you can indulge your sweet tooth through your nose by creating your lovely soaps!

I think they work great, and for the first time working with soy, they look EXCEPTIONALLY great. My first soy containers were beaten by the UGLY STICK!!!!

Those are great looking candles!!!! There isn't a girl alive that won't go for that pink!!!

Those are lovely! The red one is my favorite!!! Palm wax is an interesting beast...nothing is quite like it!

I haven't had many frosting issues with C-3. I try to store my candles in an area that is warmer...between 67-70 degrees. Most soys will frost to some degree if kept in an area that is too cool.

What a helpful thread! Thanks so much!

Isbennis, your candles and labeling concept are very nice! Love that deep red!

Yeah, this is true. If an oil will throw in soy, it will most likely be a big winner in paraffin too. The opposite is not necessarily true, though.

What type does she use now? Does she live in NY also?

Hey, to each his/her own. It's a shame that so many of the oils haven't worked out for those of you that have been disappointed. I would never venture to tell any chandler that he/she isn't doing something right, and if they were, the oils would throw for them. That's just uncalled for... It really is just a matter of personal preference...like I've said twice now, I've had several very strong throwers from JS, and also some that didn't do it for me. This can be said (from my experience only) that I've sampled some from BCN, Peaks, and others that didn't work well for me either...but again, I've had many that were wonderful. I don't really have any strong allegiance to one supplier, because there isn't one supplier that meets all of my needs. I guess when I mentioned earlier that I was a JS junkie...I retract. I'm more or less a JS/NG/BCN/Millcreek/Snowtop/ICS junkie...I've found oils from each of these suppliers that were complete winners for me.