joisey girl

Hi and Welcome to a fellow Jersey Girl... I'm a newbie to candles myself so I can't offer much advice i'm afraid, I just hang out, read and read, and ask questions when I need help. You will quickly learn that the guys and gals here are experts and will never steer you wrong. Good luck!! ~~JG

Does anyone use Candle Science FO's? Since no one has mentioned them so far I'm beginning to wonder if I'm the only one:embarasse So far I'm only doing votives and tarts, but I find that their scents are working fairly well for me, but then again I'm just starting out so my opinons really don't mean zip at the moment:)

Wow, I can't believe the numbers I'm seeing. Being a newbie I can't even fathom the thought of having 40 let alone 200 FO's in my posession. Just one question for you all. Do you first buy a 1oz bottle just to see if you like the scent or do you take a leap of faith and buy a first time scent in larger increments? I just ordered a few 1 ounces from Candle Science and I can't wait to start sniffing.

The ice is a great tip, I used it to get the wax off just about everything in my kitchen. I have two other cats so guess I'll be keeping those ice trays filled. Thank you for posting the non-pet friendly EO's. This is good to know. I'm printing this out for future reference. Looks like my Felix is back to her normal self. She woke up this morning racing around the house and she had a big appetite. I checked her skin and so far couldn't find any marks either. Thank you everyone for your great suggestions and well wishes:) JG

Thanks Breanna, I will be keeping an eye on her. By the time she re-appeared she had just about all of the wax off her paw. Right now she's curled up on my bed sleeping.

Angie - great ideas Of course I can't use anything hot but I never thought about cold. I'll try that since the only baby oil I have is lavender scented. Jordan - you have set my mind at ease, if your newbie could handle it, I'm sure mine will be fine too, and yes they are very curious aren't they? Thank you so much for your help. JG

Would anyone happen to have any ideas of how to get Wax off of a cat's paw? As I was pouring my tarts on the kitchen counter my 1yr old kitty decided to climb on top of my cabinets. I normally shoo her down, but she saw I was busy and "seized the moment". After I was done pouring the phone rang and as soon as I turned my back to answer it all I heard was thud and I instantly knew without looking that that I had a green cat. When I finally found her hiding under a table I tried to remove as much wax as possible, but her poor right paw is full of the stuff. I called the wax company, but of course they're gone for the day, and her vet is closed. Now because of me "picking" on her she's managed to really hide and I'm afraid that the dye and FO(christmas tree) will be too much for her system. She's already blind in one eye and has vocal cord damage from a previous infection when she was a born. I don't know how many lives she has left. Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions. I'm gonna go and look for her again. JG

Are preservatives necessary for MP soaps and if so what are good choices? I'm reading conflicting articles and as a newbie I'm getting a little confused. I ordered BC's Opaque White and Ultra Clear soap base and Southern Bell's Deodorized cocoa butter and I'm wondering if I need to add a preservative to the mix. Thanks JG

What a cute and entertaining story. Those dreaded dead bateries, would have loved to see a pic. But after it's all said and done, don't you just end up loving them more? I am the same way about my 3 "children" you always want the best for them but sometimes it comes back to bite you -you know where. Last week my uncle came over to paint my kitchen and due to the rainy weather here lately I couldn't kick my guys outside so I call myself standing guard outside the kitchen to block them from going in and disturbing him. Well unbeknownst to me my oldest, Tigger aka "Pet Detective" because he's so nosey, decides to investigate. Next thing I know he's walking around the house with "Pale Sunshine" on the tip of what used to be his black tail.

Hi Michi....thanks for admitting your math weakness, now I don't feel so bad But when your ready for CP I'm sure you'll do fine. I've still got too far to go before even thinking about CP. All I need are a few more items and I'll be ready for my first MP batch. Hopefully they'll come out decent enough for pics.

Hi Brenda thank you so much for those helpful links, I plan to turn myself into a sponge and soak up (no pun intended:) ) as much soap knowledge as I can. This looks like such a fun hobby or possibly business to be a part of.

Thank you Sharon for your welcoming words and advice. I agree, I think it would be best for me to start out with MP recipes just to get my feet wet and used to the soap making process. I bought a few supplies this weekend so I will definetely be back with more ?'s when I'm ready to do that first batch. Oh and by the way, the total 100% has already made me feel a lot better:) Thanks again!! JG

Hello all, I'm a total soapmaking newbie and I've been "lurking" these boards for about a week now and can tell by reading your posts and looking at all of your beautiful soap creations that I've found a great place to learn about this evidently addicting craft. So with that being said I have a couple questions I hope you could help me with. First, what would be the best type of soap to start out with CP or MP? Second,what's the best place to get supplies from? And lastly, I am terrible at math, and can barely add 2+2, and the more I read about percentage of oils and lye the more nervous I get about soap making, just wondering if this part is as difficult as is sounds? Thanks in advance for any help. JG