Karen, I just happened to be trapsing through.. In my opinion the best soy wax is produced by Enchanted Lites. But I also know what it costs to ship wax. So I also recommend finding a reputable supplier as close to you as possible and working with the soy they offer. Soy wax burns better with fragrance oil added. And cotton wicks are great. I prefer HTP wicks, which are a cotton braided coreless wick, that bends towards the melt pool. Greatcandle.com candlecocoon.com Both these companies have very knowledgeable ladies running the show. They were chandlers first, then became suppliers. Unfortunately, they are both in the Midwest..I think Angie(greatcandle) has kits..that might be the best way for you to get started. 86 oz, that's over 5lbs of wax...WOW! And I'm guessing atleast 3-4 wicks?? If I did something that big, not including the crock or the cost of it, Yep it would cost about $40 for the wax, wicks and fragrance, based on my mark up rate. So $46 is not off base...But certainly it would cost about about 16-18 to make. So yes you are definately saving alot of money making your own..However, I will caution you that repeatedly refilling candle jars and crocks and burning in them will weaken the containers over time. So the more times you do it the more closely you need to watch those containers when they are lit.

Well to be quite honest. It takes longer than a few months to work out a quality consumer safe product. However, the best place to start is with a kit. It takes some of the guess work out for you, gets you familar with the process, and gives you building blocks to work with. Check the link out below. Moonglow carries EL waxes, and some of their fragrance oils. Otherwise like I said Call up Enchanted Lites and ask for Bruce. He might be able to put a kit together with stuff they carry right there. Here is a link that might be useful: MoonGlow Kits~Enchanted Lites Wax Supplier

Ive found the throw can be hit or miss depending on the actual fragrance oils you use. We've always done 8% FO at 185 high temp, then cool to 135 then pour. Experimentation is always important, even if it takes time to get it right. As a graphic designer, I keep my wax supplies and melting rig right next to my computer, so I can do tests while I work. Experimenting and testing new scents as we speak :) Check out our new site.

Hello, I read your post and use to buy & sell Party Lite candles. I stopped using them when I found out that Party Light candles are not all made here in the USA which we did not like since we had no knowledge of the quality of the materials used in making their candles. We agree, Party Lite had a nice scent throw but the soot is far too much for our liking. We couldnt help wonder what it was doing to our lungs. So to find a healthier alternitive to burning candles, Many years ago, I became interested in making my own candles. I have sold them in my own retail locations for years. I have made all sort of candles using many types of waxes. Overall (next to beeswax) we prefer soy wax. There is no dispute that soy wax is a much cleaner wax to burn. We have had great results from our soy candles and our customers come back for more. We found that measuring our fragrances by weight, not by volume gave us a better scent throw. We also found that buying a higher quality of fragrance oil also worked well for us. At times, depending on the fragrance, we have used 1.5 ounces (by weight) of fragrance oil per pound of wax. Keep in mind, wax is like a sponge and can only hold so much fragrance oil. Too much oil and you can get the opposit effect and have a poor scent throw. It is important to mix the fragrance oils very well to make sure they bind to the wax. Without aggitating, we mix ours for about two minutes. Hope this is helpful. Debbie