Spellkast

You know what helps with that? I usually have a bunch of toothpics on hand, and before I put the embed in, I make a v with the toothpicks at the height I want the embed, then I pull the toothpicks out after a few seconds...and for some reason that keeps the embed from sinking to the bottom. HTH!

I do that...I freeze the embeds, pour the soap into the mold and then when the soap gets a light film on top, I push the embed into the soap. Just remember, the soap mold is upside down, so put the front of the heart facing down. I made that mistake with a pretty rose embed, and all you could see at the front of the soap was the back of the flower

I make both still actually..one with shea, another without it. When I don't use the shea, I just use some more coconut oil (the hard stuff) or cocoa butter. The only key to this recipe is to make sure the hard, soft and liquid ingredients stay the same ratio...so if you sub another oil for the sweet almond, make sure you sub the same amount...and you could use any light oil. I use the coconut and almond oil, but safflower, olive, soy...I'm assuming they all would work just fine. HTH!

I'm in love with ICS's cake FO...mmmmmm...smells just like cake mix to me!

I agree with Prairie- it does seem like a wonderful marketing idea...but it really won't be doing something just out of the goodness of your heart, because as nice as it is to be giving people stuff for free to cheer them up, you'd still be hoping in your deep down business oriented heart that it'd wind up turning a profit for ya. It is a great idea, and I do believe I will look into doing such a thing, because whether or not people buy from you because of it, it is still a nice thing and no one will turn down free goodies...I know I wouldn't!!!

I actually use glycerin soap with kaolin clay in it, so I'm not sure about a castille, but I KNOW the clay absorbs oil and is WONDERFUL for oily skin. Hopefully someone who does CP can chime in, but you're definitely right for wanting to use the clay.

I had the SAME problem! Just go into soapmaking on the top of the CT page and there's a link for her tutorial in there. Just had to search around for it last night...

Thanks Momma- just whar she said! If you only have the 76 coconut oil (the hard stuff) you can sub the liquid coconut oil for a different light oil of choice or double the maount of sweet almond oil. Have fun- play around with it!

Thanks for the link! And thanks for the hint...I found Robin's link- finally! What a great tutorial- I can't wait to try it! Now I just need a good recipe...and I guess I'll try HP AND CP...see which I like better since I guess it's all a matter of personal preference. Thanks so much!!

Ok, so I've played around with M&P and want to move up in the world and try a REAL soap recipe...ya know, like the big boys and girls do! Soooo, I was wondering- which is better? HP or CP..It seems most people on here do CP, although from what I've read, HP seems a lot easier- and FASTER...and patience has NEVER been a quality I possess So those of you who do CP, why do you like that better, and those that do HP (if there are any of you out there) what do you like about that? Thanks so much guys!! I really appreciate your help...also, it seems as though robin's CP tutorial on here is broken (or I'm retarded) and I've searched the board...is it listed in the postings anywhere on here? And if anyone could send any AWESOME recipes my way, I'd so very much appreciate it! I'm at my mom's and her computer here is HORRIBLY slow...trying to search the internet right now would be like torture to me (remember the patience problem?) Thanks!!!

Michelle

Are those the ONLY two ingredients listed? Because I'm pretty sure I read something not too long ago stating that you can still market your product as all natural as long as it doesn't contain a preservative with parabens...like optiphen. Not sure if that is entirely correct, but it's legal- so they may have a preservative in there (which they MUST, because like you said, it could get mold otherwise!) and still be marketing it as all natural.

Ya know, I was under the impression that MMS lip balm flavorings were already sweetened, but I really REALLY can NOT taste my buttercream or vanilla from them...so I was thinking of adding either powdered stevia (which I use with my other flavors) or lip balm sweetener I bought from WSP. If it's just for you, you can even add sweet & Low!

You'd be better off using a container wax so that the tealight doesn't actually pop out of the mold. Votive wax is designed to shrink away from the sides of the molds so that they don't get stuck...whereas container wax adheres itself to the container- if you don't mind someone accidentally turning the tealight over and the tealight falling out, then it would most certainly "work" but container wax would be ideal...especially since most container waxes have a better scent throw (typically) as well. HTH!

You can use whatever light oil of your choosing in place of the almond oil...you can up the coconut oil or add a different oil...play around with it- make it your own

You know, you would think if these people have the time to write these stupid emails requesting samples, that they would at least go through the efforts of TRYING to make it seem professional!!! I mean, all caps, come on!!! I wouldn't want to give that person anything even if they were legit for fear that they're so stupid they'd eat it! And if they're mass mailing it-spell check is your friend- they should use it!!!!! Ugghhhh...so many people trying to take advantage of hard working people...just disgusts me!

My only guess is that the first one is cosmetic grade citric and the second is food grade citric. I used to work at a spice factory and they had citric there, and it was really fine, with tons of rock hard lumps in it...and the stuff I used to buy from B&B suppliers was thicker with no lumps. Only a guess, but anyway, they both work fine, just different kinds!

I would contact them! I used to order that base all the time, and it was very hard- like you said- chapstick like. It shouldn't be soft or mucky. Give them a call, maybe they had a problem with a batch or something.

http://www.thesage.com/catalog/FixedOil.html?mmsID=1af3231256e48d5f7cc67f005ebc4635

That's where I get mine from, at least

Thank you! I've been wanting one for myself, and customers have been asking- so I think I'll just mix the dry ingredients together and put on the instructions to add enough water to make a paste. I'll sell the dry ingredients in little jars...hmmmm, gotta get to thinking now! Thanks!!!

I love the one from JS- it is tart and fruity, which is really what a pomegranate smells like. I used to use NG's until I found JS's. Sorry to add ANOTHER supplier to this list!!!

Oh my god that is expensive!!! If you want an all natural lotion- why not try making your own? I believe there's a few recipes for lotion in the B&B recipe section- and there's a few on The Sage's website I think. A lot of people on here make their own lotion- and although it may take a while to perfect the recipe, you'll have the peace of mind of knowing exactly what's going into it

Ok, I may be a retard here, but I make air freshener spray, shea butter & Scrubs...I WAS using the liquipar until one of my customers stopped using them because she didn't want anything with parabens. So I bought some optiphen plus to use. I've been using it the same as my liquipar (with no seeming problems) but now i'm worried!! What's all this pH stuff? Does using this preservative raise the pH level of the product? Will this harm my customers?!?! AAAAAHHHHHH!!! So confused!!!

P.S. Sorry to have butt in on this thread!

Ok, got the recipe from my friend- And I've only tried it twice, but it was awesome! She uses 4 oz. shea (unrefined is the best, but refined will work as well.) 2 oz. cocoa butter, 1 oz. olive butter and 1 oz. mango butter. Melt these all in the microwave and mix in 2 oz. sweet almond oil and 2 oz. safflower oil. I added a T of Vit. E and about a T of aloe juice, but they can be left out and it still makes a good belly balm. She also added a little bit of Lavender EO, and Peppermint EO...from what that heavenly stuff smelled like, I'd have never have guessed it was a lavender/mint blend...smelled awesome!! Anyway, hope that helps!!!

No one has a recipe for this?

Ohhh, I just love baby showers..can I come? There's tons of stuff you can make for baby shower favors, but I think the easist is just to buy cute little stork molds, or baby booties- whatever strikes your fancy and some M&P Goat's Milk Soap (not as drying as regular glycerin) and get creative! You can use a bag with a hole cut in it to fill in different parts of the molds with different colors. It's super easy and tons of fun! There's also lots of wonderful recipes on this board for actual baby items that you can make and put in a basket for the expecting mama. Or you can make some belly balm (but that requires more ingredients.) When I was pregnant, my friend made me homemade belly balm to rub on my belly...helped a lot with stretch marks and really did wonders for the itching!!!