How do DIPPED items work?

[tbowers8403]

I was browsing the thread with all the dipped creations. Some of it to me looks gross, but wondered how it works? Like the dipped clothes pins, toilet paper, etc? Does it work like a Scent Cone you can get (renuzit, glade, etc)? I am far from going to try it just yet, but seems like something I could get into. Was just curious

[ksranch]

Yes, the wax it is dipped in is scented - so it smells.

[blacktieaffair]

Dipping can fast become an addiction just like candles. It's easy, fast, fun, it's a good type of novelty to expand your line with little testing or money involved. Some people love it, some people hate it, but if you turn into one of the ones that love it ? You're going to be looking at EVERYTHING differently and thinking " hmm can I dip that? " LOL Every time I dip a bear? I kiss him on the nose before I dunk him LOL.

[tbowers8403]

Dipping can fast become an addiction just like candles. It's easy, fast, fun, it's a good type of novelty to expand your line with little testing or money involved. Some people love it, some people hate it, but if you turn into one of the ones that love it ? You're going to be looking at EVERYTHING differently and thinking " hmm can I dip that? " LOL Every time I dip a bear? I kiss him on the nose before I dunk him LOL.

How cute!

How long does the dipped scented stuff last?

[jeanie353]

You're going to be looking at EVERYTHING differently and thinking " hmm can I dip that

So true...lol. The critters come out looking nice and fluffy but it does take the right timing in beginning to comb/pick them out and when to stop so they don't dandruff. The only part I don't like is squishing the wax out with tongs. Also, the wax always seemed to splatter outside the drip pan on me making clean up a bit of a mess.

[ksranch]

How cute!

How long does the dipped scented stuff last?

Depends on your system - wax/FO load etc - mine are lasting about 5 months, then when they start to weaken you can just hit them with a hair dryer (heat the wax slightly - don't run it down the sides) and it'll 'release' more scent...

[Jillsthings]

I'm thinking dipped stuff would be great for those FO's that have a great cold throw, but no HT in your wax. :-)

[ksranch]

I'm thinking dipped stuff would be great for those FO's that have a great cold throw, but no HT in your wax. :-)

So true!!

[blacktieaffair]

" How long does it last " .... as stated up there ^^ , depends on your wax and scent.

I know this sounds crazy to some of yall, but I have one TP sitting behind me on a shelf, that I did 2 years ago, and every time I walk past it, I can get a whiff. Its not super strong but it's just as "smelly" as most candles are on CT. It's honestly "nothing" for one of the TPs to last , without refreshing, 6 months, and they can go up to two years refreshing. Now, having said that, it does depend on the airflow in the room. If its in direct drafts all the time, no , its not going to last as long. One good tip for those that need freshening up in the winter .. if you have air vents in the floor, sit it on top of that. The warm air flow will gently scent the air. I only suggest doing this with those that scents are getting lighter on.

I've found , for the most part, and dont ask me why cause I dont know, but TPs tend to last longer, than dipped bears do (without refreshening that is ). I use the same amount of scented wax in a 7in dipped bear as I do a TP and the bears need refreshening sooner to me, ( usually around month 4) and more often than TP.

(Note: Everyone does it differently, but I dont use "regular" size rolls of TP and I dont use the inexpensive stuff. Since I tend to go nuts with the decorations on mine, whether its florals, ribbons, or cake types, I use Scott 1000. It holds more FO/wax when I need it to, without falling apart ( like doing cakes, some of those have up to 3 lbs of wax and scent on/in them ) and it still hands well with 1:1 when Im just putting some ribbons on it or sparklies )

Wax dipped Pinecones : These , for me , are a complete booger to make but I love love love them at the same time. Scent wise, they do not last as long as the other dipped things, because theres not as much wax on each one, but if you put a big basket of them together? Watch out! LOL You get a scent explosion. People use these for decorations, and they also use them and firestarters. I make other firestarters so haven't ran into many people that want to pay the price for these pinecones just to throw them in a fireplace.

Dipped clothespins : Me? I've never gotten more than a month out of them WITHOUT refreshing. I am new to this one so maybe someone who knows more about them will pop in and give some more info.

Paper Towel Rolls : I get about a year out of them before refreshing. Give or take, depends on the FO I used. Just like with everything, some fizzle out way before others.

Jeanie, on the bears with the tongs ? I gave up doing it that way LOL I just use high heat resistant surgical type gloves and I dunk em and just squeeze the lil critter to make it distribute good, then I roll him around in the wax I squeezed out, so he soaks it all up. Since I always have wax paper under my work stuff, I just peel off what goes everywhere, and throw it back in the pot to remelt LOL

[jeanie353]

Jeanie, on the bears with the tongs ? I gave up doing it that way LOL I just use high heat resistant surgical type gloves and I dunk em and just squeeze the lil critter to make it distribute good, then I roll him around in the wax I squeezed out, so he soaks it all up. Since I always have wax paper under my work stuff, I just peel off what goes everywhere, and throw it back in the pot to remelt LOL

Good idea there...Will keep it in mind next time I get around to bears again. I do want to do TP though. But then I have a "to do" list so long it will be mid 2012 b4 I get it all done....and that's only if I'm lucky.

[blacktieaffair]

I never thought something so "hick" would go over SO well. Since to a lot of people they are still unheard of, they get really curious when you start talking about good smelling toilet paper LOL. I do special orders all the time, but when I make them? I try to make up about 60 at a time. Rarely do I ever make one that looks the same unless someone special orders it.

[AlwaysWondering]

This is all very interesting. I thought dipping meant a quick dunk, giving the item a coating. It sounds, though, from the thread, that dipping really means soaking. The wax absorbs into the stuffed animal? About how long do you keep it submerged? Until air bubble stop? The toilet paper really has be confused. For sure, I thought that was just a coating of wax but again, sound like you soak it. How deep does the wax penetrate? Is the squeezing of the stuffed animal to get the internally absorbed wax to get evenly distributed or is it simply that too much wax gets absorbed and therefore wasted?

[PAgirl89]

The dipped items have been pretty good sellers for me. Dipped pine cones and clothespins sold well at craft shows and if they didn't sell, they were ooh'd and aahh'd over. I also don't dip my bears, I inject them with fragrance oils. I bought syringes and needles used for dogs and inject about an ounce of oil per 8" plush bear. I make the dipped items as novelty items as I have learned over the past year, the more unique and different you are, the more people stop at the booth and look.

I just started making the dipped toilet paper and sold 3 at the first show. I use the regular rolls of TP, 4 rolls for $1 at the dollar store and sold them for $6.00 each. As for the pine cones, I double dip the cones in scented tart wax. Once they are double dipped, I pour the left over scented wax over them and let them dry. I package 6 pine cones per 4x4 box for $3.00 per box. The clothespins are double dipped as well and then rolled in spices or sugar.

I sell more scented and dipped items than I do candles.

[001]

I've never heard of injecting straight oil into the core of the bears, does it ever leak? I've often put scented beads in them (1/2" cut, and funnel into the center, few stitches) but never straight oil. Interesting.

[PAgirl89]

I've never heard of injecting straight oil into the core of the bears, does it ever leak? I've often put scented beads in them (1/2" cut, and funnel into the center, few stitches) but never straight oil. Interesting.

I use bears from C&S and have not had any of them leak. I'll inject oil into each leg, arms, belly area and head. I have scented bears that I made back in June and they are still very fragrant. The plushies have to be filled with stuffing (poly-fiber), not the beads. It's the fiber filler that absorbs the oil. Bitter Creek has bears that have velcro openings in the back for scented sachets, I tried that, but I like my method better.

[blacktieaffair]

hehehe I just "drownedededed" a lil bear ! LOL But I made sure to kiss him on the nose first ! I haven't made one in forever. I'd forgotten how easy and FAST it was!

[001]

I use bears from C&S and have not had any of them leak. I'll inject oil into each leg, arms, belly area and head. I have scented bears that I made back in June and they are still very fragrant. The plushies have to be filled with stuffing (poly-fiber), not the beads. It's the fiber filler that absorbs the oil. Bitter Creek has bears that have velcro openings in the back for scented sachets, I tried that, but I like my method better.

Hmm, I'm going to have to try this! I would have thought the oils would eat the stuffing out of them like they do plastics.

[IwantItgreen]

Do the dipped items have to sit on a protected surface, like a mirror or plate? The FO in the wax would ruin a wood surface, wouldn't it?

[blacktieaffair]

Yes, they need to sit in, or on , something that will protect it from anything you dont want hurt. We use wood baskets and a lot of times for the bears, I'll go to Dollar Tree and get some of those medium size pillar candle glass saucers and use those ( for bears and tp to sit on )

[shessuchatart]

Do they actually scent a room, or is it more like an unlit candle, where it's more subtle? I guess too, it depends on the room size, temp, wax and FO...But in general, will a dipped bear or basket of cones actually throw enough scent to notice it when walking into a room, or an extended period of time (more than a month)?

[blacktieaffair]

Absolutely. All I do is bath and body, wax melts, and about 5 different "dipped" items. Here is what Ive found out so far :

It will depend on the cold throw of the FO and type of wax you use. (I have a tp I did honest to God over 2 years ago with BCN closeout FO Honeydew and I still smell it every time I walk past it )

TPs last longer on cold throw and ability to "refresh" (i.e. heat up to release scent again ) than bears or pinecones.

Paper Towel rolls , no matter how much wax/scent you put in them or what FO , do not last quite as long as TPs do. Dont ask me why. I've done side by side tests and every time no matter the FO , still get the same results.

A basket of pinecones WILL scent a whole room and in some cases, most of the house but since there is not as much wax or FO on them , you have to really consider the strength of the FO you use.

Bears as the easiest to do ... kiss their nose, dunk them, roll them around, squeeze, fluff and pose. I also can not explain why a bear doesn't last as long as a tp with the same amount of wax and fo, but it doesn't.

Air flow, in and around the dipped item, will greatly influence the longevity of the scent and how often it needs refreshing. You want some airflow but you do not want a ton of it.

If you have floor heat registers,(like with central heat and air ) when an item is seriously losing its smell, place it on the register. The heat will slowly release any scent that's left in it. I usually do this or suggest doing this if something is a year old and been refreshed numerous times.

You CAN find FO/Wax combos that will blow the doors off for quite a while, but you will never have the massive HT of a candle or wax melt of the same FO. BUT you will have a good strong scent that will last longer than a candle does over a longer period of time.

I don't even begin to profess to know all there is about dipped items, but for the past three years, I'd say dipped items account for 70% of what I sell the most of. Im always wanting to learn more and love hearing others experiences Hope I helped a little.

[blacktieaffair]

grrrrrrrrrrrr it ate my reply

[Beth]

Does it matter which type of wax you use? Would this be suitable for all the leftover waxes that we save for firestarters, which for me is mostly tart wax? That wax is already scented, then it could be scented a little more with an FO?

[moonshine]

This has me curious... I have never dipped before

I was cleaning out my bedroom and have this decorative box made of birch (log furniture- rustic room) and years ago I filled the box with pine cones- didn't know what else to do with it- well I was grossed out at what a dust collector those are! Seriously about 3" of dust clinging to them- I have dusted the tops but never took them totally out- so I can dip these in wax?

Do I just make a batch of scented wax and dip them in? Does it matter container/votive wax?

I would love to try this and see how it scents the room up.... Do you dry the first coat and then dip again

Edited October 19, 2012 by moonshine

[ksranch]

so I can dip these in wax?

Do I just make a batch of scented wax and dip them in? Does it matter container/votive wax?

I would love to try this and see how it scents the room up.... Do you dry the first coat and then dip again

Yep, you can dip them. I have better luck with votive/pillar wax than container. Dip and let dry, then dip again. How many times you do this will depend on the 'look' you are going for. I like to use wax with no dye and go for a 'frosted' look myself, but many like them colored and completely covered with wax - so just go for it, they'll be pretty!