My ex wore his ring to work one day- a no no for plumbers- and he thinks it fell down the drain in the back of Safeway. Whatever. I gave my band that matched his to my bro. They disliked each other so bro and I thought it would be funny. Bro used it to go to bars in San Fran. He would use it if creepy guys tried to hit on him. He lost it after putting it in the pocket of his Member's Only coat. Yes it was 1986. I kept the engagement ring and took the 1/4 stone out and some emeralds from an antique ring I purchased while married and on my 21st birthday made myself a ring to celebrate my divorce. I still wear it and my dh of 20 years does not care. I still have the setting and was told it would be worth not a lot because it was a mix of white and yellow gold. My husband was married before also. His ring cracked just after he learned she was having an affair with one of his old friends from school. We still have it. I could probably take the two, along with my gold crown I had removed and make at least a few dollars, ya think? I did keep one item and still have it. For our first anniversary I went to an antique store and purchased an Elgin 5 ruby pocketwatch guts and had it set into a gold case. It was really cool. I had engraved "for all of time" on the back. He never really appreciated it or me so I kept it when I left him. He understood. I paid $50 and had to save every dime to buy it. He gave me a little heart ring with a chip in it. I still have it too. Thought of giving it to my dd but I think I would rather sell it and buy her something else. I took watch to an appraisal show in town a few years ago. They told me it was worth about $300 and that they would buy it but really suggested I hang onto it as it would appreciate a lot. Even if I sold the case separate from the guts, the guts were pretty unique. They said it was still valuable even with the engraving. I still have it and will probably get around to selling it. Should take it in again just to see. There are not a lot of master watchmakers around these days but there are a few in town that are reputable.

I have been making and selling candles for ten years now. When I started, I was using parafin but within a year I switched to soy. That was about the time they had introduced soy. I use a crock pot. My husband drilled a hole near the bottom, on the side, and put a spicot on it. I melt the wax in the crock pot. I have it set on the dial where it wil heat the wax to 150 degrees. I then pour the amount of melted wax that I want (let's say 14oz) into a glass measuring cup. I then add the scent. Usually about 1oz. It also depends on how strong the scent is, so take a wiff while your stirring. That will be about how strong it will be when the candle is burning. Then I add the coloring. I've tried different ways to color and I liked the liquid color the best but now I don't use any coloring. My label for my jars are the color the candle would be. As soon as I have added the sent and color, I pour it right into the jars.(I use 8oz mason jars) I don't heat my jars first but I do have my wicks already 'glued' into the jars before I pour in the wax. I put a dab of hot glue on the wick tab and attach it to the bottom of the jar. That way it stays centered and in place while the wax is cooling. The 14oz that I mentioned above plus the scent will fill two 8oz jars just right. Once the wax cools, I cut off the wick and put on the lid. I have not had any problems with the scent of my candles. I have repeat buyers. My question to you is what kind of wick do you use. I use a hemp core wick that is already tabbed and dipped in wax to stiffen it. It sounds as if you might be using a zinc core wick. The zinc core wicks will cause alot of the same problems you're having. I tried to use up the zinc core wicks that I had left over from when I made parafin candles and they do not work in soy wax. I was trying to save myself some money but that didn't work. I buy my supplies from Bitter Creek Candle Supply. A link to their site below. I would recommend them to anyone. They have alot of helpful ideas and they do have live help on their site. I don't know what time of day but they usually have someone on there everyday. You can also call them on the phone and there is always someone available. They love talking about candles. I hope this has helped you. Keep trying, you'll get the hang of it. Cindy Here is a link that might be useful: Bitter Creek Candle Supply

As far as I know of, this is something that is common to soy wax. Blends of soy wax do not do it, to my understanding, but the frosting of the soy wax (at least the last time I used soy wax, which has been quite a while) does. It was a common complaint of the soy wax users, and therefore a lot of the newer soy wax blends were developed, I think. Again, it has been a long time since I used soy wax, I only tried it a few times and didn't care for it, but I do like the blends. Susan

Oh! I thought you meant one of those ovens where you just give a little push and the door springs up. Either way, it sounds dangerous. Way before rolling racks, my father made me a lovely oven rack puller, which I used in college era apartments, but I avoided the oven when I could. I remember making a lot of pâte à choux puffs, many of them filled with yoghurt and strawberries and frozen until just set. :) People went wild for them, and they're nothing to make. Even in an apartment cheap, rattly oven range. :) I wonder if the soy sauce thing has to do with all the wonders of fermented foods that the hard science community has been proving recently. My first reaction was that it's what they always say not to do, but Laceyvail's experience is very interesting. . :) I like Jody's suggestions, especially putting the aloe in the fridge, though I try not to get burns to start with. :)