SpaceGirl

I'm doing better so far this year.... but last year scared me. I bought a lot in bulk to get good prices. Suffice to say my downstairs is a maze! :embarasse I have two shows to prep for -- after those are done I'll look at cleaning out the shop..... It's really bad when you keep buying FO's and you haven't even poured samples of all the ones you already have.

Wow and wow. The first one had the ICK factor going big time. eugenia -- yours is just surprising, not quite as yucky!

Just wondering if anyone has experimented with using cocoa powder as a natural colorant in lip balm. My gut tells me it would be a little gritty but I wanted to see if anyone had tried it out before and could share their experience.

Aww I LOVE Storm Watch -- one of my all time favorite scents! Bummer about the black oxide, but I'm sure your color combo is fabulous. Can't wait for the cut pics!

My opinion only, but because this is a wash-off product, of you want to highlight it with one nice oil go for it but there's no reason to get super fancy with the rest. why don't you try some glycerin instead of the soybean oil? (unless the soybean oil is cheaper).

I love the way those jars look, too, but I could never get them wicked the way I wanted. Hmmm should I go back and try again? You are tempting me to! If not they'll show up in the classy's soon! LOL Yours look so nice. *sigh*

Silkysoy's Luxury candle from the swap, two Love Spell testers - one in my new most favorite glass container and one in a 4 oz tin, and marathon burning through two old testers... Peak's Hollyberry and Ivy and NG's Coconut Lime Verbena. Trying to clean out some old testers so I can use them for new!

Looks gorgeous!

Great job, Vio! Hope to see more of your stuff in the gallery soon.

Thanks for the comments and suggestions! I'm not really that worried about the competition -- not because I'm just that fabulous (LOL) but because it will be my first larger show -- I'm more worried about myself, my stock and my presentation. I am my worst enemy. :rolleyes2 The smaller craft fairs feel like dry runs in comparison. I know my products and how I make them, which I know will be a great advantage! I am just treating this show and another one a few weeks later almost like advertising -- I need to get my name and my products out there and this is a way to do that. With a booth fee of only $125 I felt like it was a win-win for me -- even if sales are dismal I'll get some exposure and the table fee isn't that much.

How much FO did you add?

Double-wicking can be like using a blowtorch instead of a carmelizing chef's torch. Both will do the job, the blowtorch would certainly be faster but it's not necessarily better. If the ECO 8 was too small, then try a 10, then try a 12. I am not being flip -- some parts of this testing process are a little tedious. You also have to test all the way to the end/bottom of the candle -- melt pools behave different from the beginning to tne end. I have overwicked many, many times because I wasn't happy with my second or third burn and then ended up with a MP that was way too deep later on. Being methodical about your testing will get you the results you want, unless you want to rely on dumb luck which is what happens when you just skip around. ETA: doule wicking when it's not really needed can also lead to a candle being consumed faster than it was properly (single) wicked. And I can get a decent throw from a 7.5oz container with a ~3 in diameter -- it's possible without sticking more wicks in it.

So part of my business plan this year is to get out and do some shows. I signed up for the Colorado Chocolate Festival and just checked the current vendor list... I'll be a part of the Mother's Day Market with an Arbonne person, BeautiControl, Partylite and some random company/lady from California (Nanina Ra - anyone heard of them?). This will be my first "larger show" and btw there was no expection of it being a "craft show" so the inclusion of commerical vendors doesn't surprise me. But now I have to wonder... who ELSE should I be looking out for? Cuz I've seen some of the feedback on Partylite and the BeautiControl ladies just make me laugh......

Why do you want to double wick it? What did you not like about the single ECO 8? We need to know what factor is driving you to the single wicking in order to help. Appearance? Not achieving FMP? Too deep MP?

My experience has been similar as well. Between ECO's and CD's I can wick just about anything in some of my basic containers. I've not had an ECO-1 fail me in my 2oz containers yet. Working on formulations and testing your candles doesn't have to be excruciatingly painful -- it's just not guaranteed to be easy. Congratulations on finding something that works for you.

Yay!!! Good for you. The constant state of disarray in my house keeps the threat of a home show at bay -- but maybe I'll con a friend into loaning me hers for a day sometimes.

Ooooh that marbling looks awesome! Kind of like when I was a kid and used to take those smelly (good smelly) markers and put a dot on a paper towel and get them wet..... and the color would disperse and go rainbow-ish. So purty!

The name is perfect and the soap looks beautiful! (gosh darn it how come you never send soap when we're in the same swap!!! LOL!)

I've only successfully used Sugar Kisses from MMS. I tried powdered stevia once and couldn't get it to melt and incorporate -- but then again I have no confidence that I was doing it correctly. I just got some powdered stevia from Brambleberry (much finer grain) and will try that some time soon. There are other folks who have used stevia successfully. If you can get the search feature to work, try looking in this forum and you should get some hits. HTH

I do, although the amount depends on the flavor. Lime Sugar I sweeten more than the Honey Clover (which I also have and like).

The Root Beer is good (and very strong). Lime Sugar is yummy -- but I feel like I have to use a lot. I have many more that I haven't tried yet. :rolleyes2

Um - YUMMO!!! Those look awesome.

Try it and see! I always end up underwicking with the HTP's at first -- I think the high numbers throw me off. 4630 sometimes needs a little more oompfh than your usual paraffin, so don't be afraid to try some larger wicks and then scale down if you need to.

To me a tin is a minimalist type container -- I label the top only (yes warning label on the bottom but you don't see it!).

I buy the clear packaging tape that's 1.88" wide -- and wrap it around. It takes time but I get stay-put labels and waterproofing with that one step, so it works perfectly for me. (I also force my husband into helping me!) Although if I had to do large quantities it would probably irritate me to no end!