Aroma Bead Ornies not working out

[cswilson]

I make aroma bead car air fresheners, and I haven't had any problems until now. I just baked  a batch at 350 degrees for 8 minutes like I always do and for some reason as I was taking them out of the mold then one of them bent in the middle and all these dry beads came out. I looked at the other ones and they did the same thing. I know that seems like my oven isn't hot enough or I didn't leave them in long enough, but I've always make them like that and never had any problem. The beads were completely dry from the fragrance oil and color so I know it's not that. I read back over the tutorial's to see what I was doing wrong but they all say to bake them at 150-200 degrees for 3-5 minutes but that seems like it would make them even worse. They would hardly melt at that point. What am I doing wrong, should I bake them at a higher temperature?

[franu61]

 I don't have an answer except to say I do 350 degrees for about 8 minutes also.  there's been lots of posts about problems with aroma beads lately...ugh

 

[Belinda]

5 hours ago, cswilson said:

I make aroma bead car air fresheners, and I haven't had any problems until now. I just baked  a batch at 350 degrees for 8 minutes like I always do and for some reason as I was taking them out of the mold then one of them bent in the middle and all these dry beads came out. I looked at the other ones and they did the same thing. I know that seems like my oven isn't hot enough or I didn't leave them in long enough, but I've always make them like that and never had any problem. The beads were completely dry from the fragrance oil and color so I know it's not that. I read back over the tutorial's to see what I was doing wrong but they all say to bake them at 150-200 degrees for 3-5 minutes but that seems like it would make them even worse. They would hardly melt at that point. What am I doing wrong, should I bake them at a higher temperature?

I've been having the same problem ever since Aroma Beads online changed to the Premier beads they now offer.  I've been using Cajun's beads and they've been baking fine. They are a bigger bead and need to soak a little longer and bake a little longer but they don't have the dry, loose beads in the middle.

One way to fix the loose beads is to use a heat gun but who wants to do that!

Who are you getting your beads from?

[cswilson]

OMG Belinda, that's exactly who I get them from! The woman who owns the company lives about 5 miles from me and I usually meet up with her to get the beads so I can avoid the shipping cost. I thought I was doing something wrong and never imagined it was the beads. Have you contacted her to let her know about the problem? I just bought 30 lbs of beads that I can't use for freshies anymore, which really upsets me. Thanks for the information!

[Belinda]

35 minutes ago, cswilson said:

OMG Belinda, that's exactly who I get them from! The woman who owns the company lives about 5 miles from me and I usually meet up with her to get the beads so I can avoid the shipping cost. I thought I was doing something wrong and never imagined it was the beads. Have you contacted her to let her know about the problem? I just bought 30 lbs of beads that I can't use for freshies anymore, which really upsets me. Thanks for the information!

No, I haven't contacted her because another person on here did and she told her it was because she wasn't using her oils. I saw a post in her Facebook group where she said that their beads were the best which were Premiere beads. Another person posted in the group that they were having problems but I didn't say a word. When I asked why my beads were doing that in a public question in the group I really didn't get any answers except to get a heat gun and melt the middle. 

I actually bought one of their fresheners with  my last order of beads and it looks horrible! I just wanted something to compare mine too. It's smaller than what I make mine and the edges are melted looking. I couldn't believe the quality of it and their the ones that are the "experts!" I won't be ordering anymore of their beads. Trust me, you're not the only person having problems with their beads since they changed.

 

I really hate that you bought 30 pounds of beads. I would suggest getting a heat gun and using that to melt the middle so you won't lose all of your money. Maybe you could also mix them a little at a time with some better beads and use them up that way. They're are defiantly crappy beads and I won't waste my money on them anymore for sure. 

Edited July 7, 2018 by Belinda

[Belinda]

@cswilson, you're pretty close to me if you're that close to Kingwood. I live in Cleveland, right up 59 north about 35 miles.

[Sarah S]

On July 7, 2018 at 2:05 PM, Belinda said:

Maybe you could also mix them a little at a time with some better beads and use them up that way. They're are defiantly crappy beads and I won't waste my money on them anymore for sure. 

 

 

That's a great idea Belinda, I think I'll do that with my beads from Aztec that I wasn't happy with. Thank goodness, I don't have 30lbs to deal with. 😮 That's a lot of bad beads.

@cswilson, I really like the beads from NG and BC, for what it's worth. They are bigger, like the ones Belinda has from Cajun, but they soak up the oil well, melt very well, and the fragrance lasts a long time (for me anyway! 😄).

[cswilson]

On 7/7/2018 at 1:06 PM, Belinda said:

@cswilson, you're pretty close to me if you're that close to Kingwood. I live in Cleveland, right up 59 north about 35 miles.

Yes I am! I actually live in Porter and I have friends in Cleveland, small world!

[cswilson]

6 hours ago, Sarah S said:

 

 

That's a great idea Belinda, I think I'll do that with my beads from Aztec that I wasn't happy with. Thank goodness, I don't have 30lbs to deal with. 😮 That's a lot of bad beads.

@cswilson, I really like the beads from NG and BC, for what it's worth. They are bigger, like the ones Belinda has from Cajun, but they soak up the oil well, melt very well, and the fragrance lasts a long time (for me anyway! 😄).

 

[cswilson]

I might try that or just make sachets with them. Thanks for the suggestions!

On 7/7/2018 at 1:05 PM, Belinda said:

No, I haven't contacted her because another person on here did and she told her it was because she wasn't using her oils. I saw a post in her Facebook group where she said that their beads were the best which were Premiere beads. Another person posted in the group that they were having problems but I didn't say a word. When I asked why my beads were doing that in a public question in the group I really didn't get any answers except to get a heat gun and melt the middle. 

I actually bought one of their fresheners with  my last order of beads and it looks horrible! I just wanted something to compare mine too. It's smaller than what I make mine and the edges are melted looking. I couldn't believe the quality of it and their the ones that are the "experts!" I won't be ordering anymore of their beads. Trust me, you're not the only person having problems with their beads since they changed.

 

I really hate that you bought 30 pounds of beads. I would suggest getting a heat gun and using that to melt the middle so you won't lose all of your money. Maybe you could also mix them a little at a time with some better beads and use them up that way. They're are defiantly crappy beads and I won't waste my money on them anymore for sure. 

 

[cswilson]

Shes's not a very friendly person to deal with. She's been rude and demanding the couple of times I've dealt with her. She promotes her son's business on her page. When I first bought beads from her she asked what I was doing with them and I told her I wanted to make car freshies. She said well my son makes them too and you can just buy them from him. I said thank you but I want to make them myself and then she said well he makes candles too do you want any of those. Again, I said no thank you and she said well you can look him up online at Kavon's candles if you're interested. I guess he's the one that makes the freshies but I've never looked his business up because I'm not interested in buying from him.

 

I don't think the heat gun would work because the loose beads are all in the middle of the freshie. The top and bottom are melted but not the inside, it's just weird how it could melt the top and bottom but not the middle. 

 

I won't be wasting anymore of my money buying from her for sure!

 

Edited July 9, 2018 by cswilson

[Belinda]

22 hours ago, cswilson said:

Shes's not a very friendly person to deal with. She's been rude and demanding the couple of times I've dealt with her. She promotes her son's business on her page. When I first bought beads from her she asked what I was doing with them and I told her I wanted to make car freshies. She said well my son makes them too and you can just buy them from him. I said thank you but I want to make them myself and then she said well he makes candles too do you want any of those. Again, I said no thank you and she said well you can look him up online at Kavon's candles if you're interested. I guess he's the one that makes the freshies but I've never looked his business up because I'm not interested in buying from him.

 

I don't think the heat gun would work because the loose beads are all in the middle of the freshie. The top and bottom are melted but not the inside, it's just weird how it could melt the top and bottom but not the middle. 

 

I won't be wasting anymore of my money buying from her for sure!

 

Well they've defiantly lost me as a customer as well. I've never dealt personally with her. I've only ordered from their etsy store and have corresponded with her a couple of times via message on facebook but that's all. She usually seems to be "helpful" when someone asks a question in the group but it's always they have the best beads etc. She never asks anyone where they buy their beads but she defiantly says theirs are the best. The only reason I started buying theirs in the first place is because they were such good beads and had the best prices around. Now they are terrible!

Have you tried the beads from NG? I have some soaking and they're the smaller beads like Margie carries but I haven't baked them yet to see how they bake. I'll try to do that today and get back with you. They're higher but it'll be worth it if they bake right.

 

They will defiantly recommend using a heat gun or playing with your oven temps if you were to ask them why your beads were doing that. It would never be because they are crap beads.

 

And what nerve saying you could just buy your fresheners from her son! Trust me, if her son made the one I ordered you don't want to sell those as your product! I don't know if he made it or her husband made it but it's terrible!

[Belinda]

22 hours ago, cswilson said:

When I first bought beads from her she asked what I was doing with them and I told her I wanted to make car freshies

And the more I think about this it makes me mad! What business is it of hers what you're going to do with the beads once you buy them! That's almost like a grocery store asking customers what they're going to make with their groceries while they're checking out! It's none of their business!

GRRRR! She is something!

[cswilson]

6 hours ago, Belinda said:

And the more I think about this it makes me mad! What business is it of hers what you're going to do with the beads once you buy them! That's almost like a grocery store asking customers what they're going to make with their groceries while they're checking out! It's none of their business!

GRRRR! She is something!

I agree. I actually went to her website and told her about the beads and what they were doing. She then called me on the phone to tell me that the beads were affected by the weather and just like when you make a cake or candy during different weather situations that they might not work out. She said if it's cold or rainy or whatever that it would affect the outcome of the freshies. I tried to explain to her what they were doing but she was so busy telling me what I needed to do that I don't think she heard me at all. She said go get a heat gun to melt the beads in the middle. I said no you don't understand the top and bottom are melted but the middle is filled with loose beads. She kept saying yeah to everything I said and then told me to try putting the oven on 340 degrees instead of 350 and see how that works. She said this is how we make ours and they turn out just fine. I said if they didn't melt at 350 then what makes you think they will melt at 340? She said oh just try it and see if that works. These are pictures of the freshies. They bent and then split open and this is what one of them looked like. I could peel the top and bottom apart and all the beads starting falling out. You can see other color beads that did the same thing. The texas one has a hole where it didn't even melt together. 

[cswilson]

7 hours ago, Belinda said:

Well they've defiantly lost me as a customer as well. I've never dealt personally with her. I've only ordered from their etsy store and have corresponded with her a couple of times via message on facebook but that's all. She usually seems to be "helpful" when someone asks a question in the group but it's always they have the best beads etc. She never asks anyone where they buy their beads but she defiantly says theirs are the best. The only reason I started buying theirs in the first place is because they were such good beads and had the best prices around. Now they are terrible!

Have you tried the beads from NG? I have some soaking and they're the smaller beads like Margie carries but I haven't baked them yet to see how they bake. I'll try to do that today and get back with you. They're higher but it'll be worth it if they bake right.

 

They will defiantly recommend using a heat gun or playing with your oven temps if you were to ask them why your beads were doing that. It would never be because they are crap beads.

 

And what nerve saying you could just buy your fresheners from her son! Trust me, if her son made the one I ordered you don't want to sell those as your product! I don't know if he made it or her husband made it but it's terrible!

I hear ya!

[cswilson]

Just now, cswilson said:

I hear ya!

I just ordered some from Cajun Candles and hopefully that will work out. I have several people that have purchased some from me and I had to e-mail them and ask them if they wanted to wait or cancel their order because of this. I already have a 5-7 day wait for them to be ready since I only make them after they choose the shape and scent and to make them wait longer is aggravating.

 

Yes, I would appreciate it if you let me know how those beads you bought work out, I need a new supplier for sure!!

[Belinda]

4 hours ago, cswilson said:

I just ordered some from Cajun Candles and hopefully that will work out. I have several people that have purchased some from me and I had to e-mail them and ask them if they wanted to wait or cancel their order because of this. I already have a 5-7 day wait for them to be ready since I only make them after they choose the shape and scent and to make them wait longer is aggravating.

 

Yes, I would appreciate it if you let me know how those beads you bought work out, I need a new supplier for sure!!

One tip I've learned about Cajun's beads. Add oil just like they tell you to, a little at a time. I always added all my FO at one time no matter who I bought beads from and I noticed on Cajun's beads, which are a little bigger, sometimes the oil wouldn't soak up at all. The last time I ordered from them I went back and read where they recommend adding a little at a time and it's worked out so much better. I let the beads soak up and then add a little more oil. 

[Belinda]

@cswilson, that's terrible how those came out! I haven't had any that split on me like that but mine will be melted together around the edges and even about half way to the middle and then right in the middle they're not melted together. The beads will just fall out of the middle leaving a big hole!

She tried to tell that same thing on her facebook group page when a couple of us were asking if anyone was having problems with their beads. She made a big post about how the weather affects them blah blah blah. I've been making these for years and I've never had beads do that except for when I first started and wasn't cooking them long enough. I have lost so many orders here lately because I couldn't get her stinking beads to work right. No, the problem isn't the weather, it's not the oils that we're using, it's her beads!

[cswilson]

On 7/10/2018 at 11:39 PM, Belinda said:

One tip I've learned about Cajun's beads. Add oil just like they tell you to, a little at a time. I always added all my FO at one time no matter who I bought beads from and I noticed on Cajun's beads, which are a little bigger, sometimes the oil wouldn't soak up at all. The last time I ordered from them I went back and read where they recommend adding a little at a time and it's worked out so much better. I let the beads soak up and then add a little more oil. 

Thanks for the tip. I'll make sure I follow what they say to do!

[cswilson]

On 7/10/2018 at 11:45 PM, Belinda said:

@cswilson, that's terrible how those came out! I haven't had any that split on me like that but mine will be melted together around the edges and even about half way to the middle and then right in the middle they're not melted together. The beads will just fall out of the middle leaving a big hole!

She tried to tell that same thing on her facebook group page when a couple of us were asking if anyone was having problems with their beads. She made a big post about how the weather affects them blah blah blah. I've been making these for years and I've never had beads do that except for when I first started and wasn't cooking them long enough. I have lost so many orders here lately because I couldn't get her stinking beads to work right. No, the problem isn't the weather, it's not the oils that we're using, it's her beads!

You would think that after several complaints she would realize that it's her beads that are the problem, not everything else she claims.

When I met her the second time I ordered from her she had me meet her at a postal shop and she was shipping out huge bags of these beads. The bags were so big that they had to get a flat bed dolly to wheel them all in. She said she sells over 6,000 lbs of these a week.

I wish I knew exactly what these beads are called so I could look for a wholesaler that sells in bulk and go through them and just cut out the middle person. 

[Belinda]

On 7/12/2018 at 6:04 PM, cswilson said:

You would think that after several complaints she would realize that it's her beads that are the problem, not everything else she claims.

When I met her the second time I ordered from her she had me meet her at a postal shop and she was shipping out huge bags of these beads. The bags were so big that they had to get a flat bed dolly to wheel them all in. She said she sells over 6,000 lbs of these a week.

I wish I knew exactly what these beads are called so I could look for a wholesaler that sells in bulk and go through them and just cut out the middle person. 

I would imagine that she doesn't want to admit the beads aren't any good because they've probably got to get rid of what they've bought from their supplier. They may even have a contract or something with them also. I'm not sure how that type of business works. If she starts losing enough business then she'll switch to something else but I doubt she'll ever admit they were bad beads. 

I don't know how you would bypass the middle man but if you find out please share! LOL!

[katmeltswax]

On 7/10/2018 at 7:20 PM, cswilson said:

I agree. I actually went to her website and told her about the beads and what they were doing. She then called me on the phone to tell me that the beads were affected by the weather and just like when you make a cake or candy during different weather situations that they might not work out. She said if it's cold or rainy or whatever that it would affect the outcome of the freshies. I tried to explain to her what they were doing but she was so busy telling me what I needed to do that I don't think she heard me at all. She said go get a heat gun to melt the beads in the middle. I said no you don't understand the top and bottom are melted but the middle is filled with loose beads. She kept saying yeah to everything I said and then told me to try putting the oven on 340 degrees instead of 350 and see how that works. She said this is how we make ours and they turn out just fine. I said if they didn't melt at 350 then what makes you think they will melt at 340? She said oh just try it and see if that works. These are pictures of the freshies. They bent and then split open and this is what one of them looked like. I could peel the top and bottom apart and all the beads starting falling out. You can see other color beads that did the same thing. The texas one has a hole where it didn't even melt together. 

This is the same results I got with beads from Aztec. I am going to purchase my beads from Plastics4fun & see what results I get .I know earlier here someone posted she had good luck with their premium beads. The price is great & free ship under 250lbs . I think I will go for the 10 lbs for $29 free ship.

 

This co. also offers 5 lbs for $19 ,along with free shipping. I cannot find a better deal than this from any place online.

I will let you know my results .

I hope these work out ,as I get many request for car freshners & no way would I even give away the last batch I made, beads literally falling out from the center. I had to throw these to the trash . It is a waste of our time & money .

[ncraiders]

46 minutes ago, katmeltswax said:

This is the same results I got with beads from Aztec. I am going to purchase my beads from Plastics4fun & see what results I get .I know earlier here someone posted she had good luck with their premium beads. The price is great & free ship under 250lbs . I think I will go for the 10 lbs for $29 free ship.

 

This co. also offers 5 lbs for $19 ,along with free shipping. I cannot find a better deal than this from any place online.

I will let you know my results .

I hope these work out ,as I get many request for car freshners & no way would I even give away the last batch I made, beads literally falling out from the center. I had to throw these to the trash . It is a waste of our time & money .

Looking forward to hearing how they beads work out for you.

[cswilson]

5 hours ago, katmeltswax said:

This is the same results I got with beads from Aztec. I am going to purchase my beads from Plastics4fun & see what results I get .I know earlier here someone posted she had good luck with their premium beads. The price is great & free ship under 250lbs . I think I will go for the 10 lbs for $29 free ship.

 

This co. also offers 5 lbs for $19 ,along with free shipping. I cannot find a better deal than this from any place online.

I will let you know my results .

I hope these work out ,as I get many request for car freshners & no way would I even give away the last batch I made, beads literally falling out from the center. I had to throw these to the trash . It is a waste of our time & money .

Thanks for the warning about the beads from Aztec, I'll make sure I don't order from them. I do get my fragrance oils from them and I haven't had any problems with them so far.  That's a good price on the beads from the other place you mentioned, I'm curious as to how the other beads will work for you. Please let me know how they work out. Thanks

[katmeltswax]

48 minutes ago, cswilson said:

Thanks for the warning about the beads from Aztec, I'll make sure I don't order from them. I do get my fragrance oils from them and I haven't had any problems with them so far.  That's a good price on the beads from the other place you mentioned, I'm curious as to how the other beads will work for you. Please let me know how they work out. Thanks

I will let you know the results with the beads .I purchased these today .The price is 5lbs for 18.95 & 10lbs for $32.95 .I went ahead & grabbed the 10 lbs bag .I think with the free shipping,this is a great deal .

 

I hope to receive the beads later this week. The actual website is Plasticpellets4fun.

I will be in touch 😀