SpaceGirl

I use the same blend I do for containers... 75% GB415 and 25% 4630 (because I'm just weird) and it means I use my "leftover" wax in a useful way.

Okay I glanced at the title for this while clicking on another thread and read.. "Odors can affect a woman's health" :rolleyes2

I don't have a retail store (not even close!) but as a customer I like to have sscents grouped together. If you're worried about having customers miss some of your scents because there are too many to look at, you could pick a couple of areas to display a mix. If you happen to have some small items, you could group them in all scents on the checkout counter? Like small sprays or lotions (sorry , realized you didn't list B&B stuff). And maybe feature a new "item" every month on a central display table in all the scents -- like all candle tins in all the scents. That way you can also rotate some stock as well. Just my 2 cents

WOW!!! Is that a seahorse in there?

For those who are interested -- the method I was trying mixes the FO in the melted wax before any color is added. I then separated out the "swirl" amount and added color to it. Poured the "base" first and let it partially set up (not too much or you'll just get swirled layers). I keep the additional wax at a slightly higher temperature so that when I add it to the already poured wax you can cut through some of thicker consistency and create some nice convection action. It turned out to be very tempermental but I really like the effect! I think I'm going to try it more and see if I can get it to behave a little more predictably. :rolleyes2

How funny that we've got soy swirlies from two of us today... who else is going to come out of the woodwork?!? Please, please ignore the mess -- I am by no means a neat pourer. I also can't measure / estimate volumes very well because I ran out of wax to fill up my tealights.... good thing I was only testing out this technique! The scent on these is Spices of the Orient - I was trying to do white, red and black. The red didn't come through too well on this one. Think next time I'm going to try to a nice, deep red with subtle black swirls... if the wax cooperates! LOL! The ones in the middle have the effect I'm going for -- one of them ended up with too much black

Can I say that great minds think alike or would that be insulting? I've been playing around with swirlies in my candles, too. Am trying a slightly different technique -- will post those in a bit. The candle looks really nice, by the way What's the scent?

You don't ever "have" to use any one type of wick... it's all about what performs the best for your combo. Don't ever exclude a wick because it should or shouldn't work in your wax. Sometimes wicks that are meant for your wax will be horrible -- for example I can't use the tealight wicks from Lonestar that are the paper type formulated specifically for veggie wax -- they always fall over and extinguish themselves in the melt pool. Maybe someone else knows how to get them to work... :rolleyes2

As long as the wax doesn't catch on fire the plastic tealight cups are fine. I use them all the time and only had a problem once..... and it was my own fault. :embarasse I use zincs -- Nature's Garden sells a huge quantity (1000 pack?) for not that much and they always work.

I love, love, love NG's Orange Clove -- has never smelled like fuel to me.

LOL! Who needs an inkblot test? We've got soap swirls.... My hubby said two fish, or turkeys.

Oooooooh! I agree -- love the patchouli one, but I like the idea of mica swirls in soap, too! I need some relaxing.... I'll test one for you

Woohoo! Looks good.

Yep -- weight of the actual candle.... and sometimes you can get the volume of the container in weight. I weigh my stuff and can usually get enough wax into a container to reflect the size (like 2 oz of wax in a 2oz tin). Not always, though. (I wish) Also remember that most people on the street don't know the volume of the container anyways (we do but we don't count!)

I'm sorry things are slowing down so much.... but maybe this is a good time ro re-evaluate your marketing scheme? I think it's fairly common for business to keep doing what they've been doing until it doesn't work anymore -- and that may be where you are? My suggestion (don't know if you wanted one so please feel free to ignore...) is to go back and look over the options you had when you were starting -- do you mainly rely on print ads, word of mouth, repeat customers, sales, fundraisers, etc...... ? What could you change to bring in a new crowd?

I started with NG fragrances -- am now doing a combo of theirs and Peak's.... I agree, the Spiced Cranberry is absolutely awesome. The Sweet pea is almost headache inducing strong (at only 6% and that one was in C3), the Coconut Lime Verbena is super strong and the Country Apple is also awesome (can you tell is I was on a B&BW kick?? LOL!) my friend LOVED the Jack Frost as well. I personally wasn't all that impressed with the Christmas Splendor or the Strawberry - although those who like their Strawberry to smell like kids' bubblegum / candy would like it. The Strawberry and Gourmet Dark Chocolate together was great, though (that's how I'm going to use up all the rest....) I really, really didn't like their Pumpkin Spice, though. Didn't do a think for me. Will be trying a new supplied for that this year. I'll go back for the Orange Clove every fall, though. Someone please do a CO-OP!!!

I think the CD's work really well but they curl more than ECO's (in my experience) so they stress me out a little more, getting them centered and twisted. The ECO's are my standby -- they always work -- not always as well as the CD's but with less hassle.

That's a farily wide range -- I think you should hit a minimum of 22 (personal opinion only). Of course round numbers (like 25) are nice, too.

In a perfect world the wax mass distribution would be perfect, your measurements would be perfect and your cuts would be perfect -- then that would work. In my world (obviously far, far away from perfect) it's me, my knife (no chisel with 4630! ) and the digital scale.

Some questions to get the creative juices flowing...... Where are you located? What direction are you going with your line? Sleek, elegant, country, prim? Any favorite colors? Hobbies?

There's a thread in the classifieds about gauging interest in an EO co-op. You might want to check that out.

Soy doesn't go rustic in the traditional sense. You can get some very nice frosted soy pillars...somehow. Managed to do those early on then lost the technique. :rolleyes2

Agreed - I'd go with the tins, too. I think they travel better than glass. Or you could always do a butt-load of tarts...lol SKS does discounts based on how much you purchase, as well. GOOD LUCK and CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Very, Very Pretty! Can I have some?!? LOL Unfortunately for me I now have 9 completely untouched bars of soap from the various makers/enablers on here... probably more than enough for the whole year :rolleyes2 so I'm on a buying hiatus.

You know that actually doesn't suprise me too much. I use GB 415 and IGI 4630 together (I know 4630 already has some additives in it -- I've always assumed it has some vybar although I've never seen specs on the exact numbers -- maybe proprietary?) and I get excellent results in terms of little to no frosting and excellent adhesion. I also get really good scent throw at 7% within 1 week. Maybe you've just found your own perfect blend