Spellkast

Yeah, they're probably aroma or sachet beads. The cheapest I've found is at WSP, but BCN also carries them. You just put 4 tablespoons of beads and 1 tablespoon of FO into a container...mix them around every few hours until they're dry to the touch- then bake them in the oven for a few minutes and voila! Car fresheners!!!

Thanks Maryann- do you happen to have a link for Millcreek...? It's not in the supplier abbreviations- and that thing is like my GOD. Thanks!

I do, actually, but it says the file is too big. And if I make it any smaller, it's basically not worth posting then, ya know! I'll see if I can tweak it. Thanks for your interest, though!!!

Actually, I did try to kick and stomp on mine a little before I sent them out. You must have gotten the best of the bunch!

Thank you- I love NG, actually. One of my favorite suppliers. I haven't gotten around to ordering a sampler from them (probably because money is tight, and their designer oils are a little too pricey for me!) I definitely will try them, though, for my FO revamping needs NG, Tri-state and Taylored Concepts are all on my sampler wish list Thanks again! I'll definitely try NG's PK.

Thank you! I always forget about that board- and fragrance finder, too! :embarasse If people who've used them find them weak, then I won't bother- I love the FO's that knock you down when you open the bottle! Thanks!

Ok, if this has been mentioned before, I'm so very sorry...I tried searching and nothing came up. I order all of my salts from Starville Soap & Candle supply...and everytime I order, I am so tempted to order some FO's from them...BUT, they have never been mentioned on this board before (as far as I know!) And I know it's a stupid reason for not trying a company's oils, but I trust everyone's opinions here and I've tried some that haven't been mentioned on here and have been sadly disappointed...so I mainly stick to the tried and true companies that are raved about. So, to my point. Has anyone tried their FO's? Are they strong, weak, true to their description, yada yada yada? They have really awesome prices (which makes me leary.) And I am really looking for a cheap Angel dupe (since Tony's is CRAZY expensive- as is sweetcakes and SOS and WSP.) Their passionate kisses and monkey farts seem interesting (along with many others) as well. Can anyone help? Thanks!!!!! Michelle

I do- just because a lot of people use those in the shower, and it could get germies in it. That's only if you're planning on selling it, though. I don't use a preservative in the ones I keep for myself. Anyway, the preservative I use is Optiphen Plus (it's paraben free) at 1%. HTH!

My husband has said on numerous occassions that I should have been a perfumist...I'm usually pretty good at picking out scents, so if you have any left, I'd be willing to give it a try! I'll mail them back to ya, too, if you want...since I don't need to eat it or anything to smell it Lemme know!

It depends on which company's Flavor oil you're using. I know with MMS's, it's only about 11 mL per 10 oz. (I think) and for BCN, they recommend up to 6%. It should state somewhere on the bottle, or on their website how much to use. WSP recommends 1%, which in 4 oz. is only about 1.25 mL...doesn't seem like enough to get a good taste, huh? If you're making these for yourself, just add some Flavor, and take a toothpick and taste it. That's what I always did...but I like a lot of flavor! This is the recipe I use for Solid perfume- it yeilds about 5 oz., so I really have no idea how much FO you'd need for 4oz. Sorry!!!! But it's close!! 4 ounces of Sweet Almond Oil 3/4 ounce of White Beeswax 1 Vitamin E capsule 1/2 teaspoon FO

Thanks! Yes, the folgers bag was for people to clear their senses. I had 20 scents with me, and some people wanted to smell all of them. I basically made a whole bunch of signs I made 3 price list signs in front of each of the tiered displays...then I made little cards that described each product and had the price on those, and then I also had a sign for a little doggy I was raffling dipped in wax, and a sign for my Donation Of Elation...I give 10% proceeds to one of 6 charities...and the customers get to choose which charity they'd like to donate to. I think that was it as fa as signs went. There's a great sticky at the top of the business forum that discusses what things to bring to craft shows- it was very helpful! I totally discourage brochures though!!! I didn't have any- but tons of people were walking around with NO bags, and handfuls of brochures! It seems as though they were just collecting them...and I was right by a big ol' garbage can, and people would walk buy and just toss them..so bring SOME, but don't keep them within reach of anyone...if someone specifically asks for one, then give it to them, but don't just leave them out for people to take and throw away...Just my opinion

Thanks guys!!! My husband actually took those pics before I was finished setting up...so I had a huge cloth with my company logo hung on that table you see...so the boxes weren't visible And I know he took a pic of it, but I have no idea where it went! And the tins sold a lot better than I thought they would!!! They sold better than the jars, in fact! I guess people think they're cute after all! And the number one best seller was Lilac!! Didn't see that one coming!

I'm actually not sure- I only get my Flavors from BCN and MMS. You could try it! There's actually something I saw a few weeks ago- they're called Lorann flavor oils (I think that was the name anyway!) and they are used to make kid's medicine taste better. I saw that they sold them at the pharmacy- and I'm almost positive you could try that in your lip balm-since it's food grade. I asked the pharmacist if I could try a little, and it was super sweet. So maybe check out your local pharmacy...? As for it being good for really dry lips- I think it is. It's very soft, but it really works its magic quickly. I've put it on my chapped lips and they were much softer within the hour. If it's too soft, you can always try adding some more beeswax or lessening the oil in the recipe, or try some petroleum jelly. HTH!

Hi Cryptic- no the FO is not in the recipe. You can certainly make it un-flavored if you want (which is what I did when I was testing new recipes-so as not to waste any!) What I used to use when I filled the lip balm tubes was just a plastic cup that I creased, and that worked pretty well. But now I use pipettes (droppers) for each individual FO and just transfer the lip balm that way. Since they only hold like, .15 oz. it's a lot easier to do it with the pipettes....well, less messy at least! And this stuff sets up QUICK. I just melt it all in the microwave- I'm sorry, I have no idea what temp it gets to..but I watch it and when the last little bit is melted, I add my FO, mix and transfer it all to the lip balm tubes. It's pretty simple. It's as easy as melting a base, and it's saved me $$$ which is always great! Let me know if you have any other questions!!

Well, thanks to a lady that I met during my very first craft show, I got to do two more these past two weekends. I got a wholesale account out of it, and tons of people commented on how great everything looked and smelled, and how cute all of my names were (even if they didn't buy anything, it still made me happy!) I made about $750 these past two weekends- which to me, I don't think is too bad. Here's the setup from this last show I did. Since I'm new to the whole craft show scene- please don't be too harsh! [ATTACH]3518[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]3519[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]3520[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]3521[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]3523[/ATTACH]

I, personally, offer all of my B&B safe fragrances in my B&B line...the only one that differs is my vanilla...for my candles, I use one that smells like vanilla ice cream to me, and for my B&B I use more of a straight vanilla. But my wholesale accounts love getting "sets" of basically everything I carry in one scent. HTH!

I tried Nature's Garden's Chamomile...I couldn't stand the scent, but both my mother in law and my grandmother LOVED it...and they both drink chamomile tea. I'm not sure if it really smelled truly like chamomile (since I don't like it) but it's worth a try, right?

I've noticed in my M&P that items float when you try to embed them- so for me, doing the duckies that sit on top of the soap was super easy. I just pour the soap, push the duckie in a little bit, and it floats to the top, but the soap that has gotten around it from pushing it down keeps it from seperating from the soap itself. If you wanted to actually embed the ducky in the soap, then melt your soap, let it cool until it's sort of an oatmeal mixture and then shove the little guy in there. Try not to feel too bad- he's only plastic.

I'm a total sucker- I pay the outrageous shipping because if I didn't order from them, I'd have to order from like 7 different places to make up for it. And I'd rather get it all in one place...plus, I'm addicted to their shower gel, their lotion base and their soaps Not to mention a few of their FO's and wicks...ok, yeah, just about everything they carry!!! I know that TLC was offering to do a co-op from there (which was very nice of her) and she'd pick up the stuff and send it USPS..but I guess there wasn't enough interest. I really wish they weren't so expensive- but I still order

Very Sexy from VS seems to be a hot one, also Angel like someone else stated. Ibiza Hippe is really selling a LOT more than I thought (especially since I'd never heard of it before my cousin asked for it!) And Hypnotic Poison- young and old love that one!

I had the same problem!!!! There was a candle lady a few booths down from mine, but across from me, so we could see each other...and the whole weekend, she was glaring at me and pointing at my booth when she was talking to customers. And I'm very nice I talked to all of the other candle people there and even bought some of their stuff because it smelled so nice..and we all shared information- but I was petrified of this woman because of the looks she kept giving me..and finally I went up to her and she's like, those are the candles that are manufactured and you just put a label on them. It was like a statement...so I said, nooooo...I make and package all of my stuff from scratch. She's like, well, it looks like one of the companies I saw on the internet that makes candles for you and you just package them with your label on them. I was livid...that whole weekend she was probably telling people that, and I could tell she still didn't believe me!!! My husband told me to just take it as a compliment and that she was just jealous that her stuff all looked homemade while mine didn't. People are so nervy sometimes!! She should have just come and asked me instead of telling people all weekend long that I didn't make my own stuff!! I'm sorry that the same thing happened to you- but be proud!! Your stuff obviously looks wonderful!

Hypnotic Poison- just LOVE it!!! My husband wears Curve, Curve Crush & Eternity (if you're looking for men's scents as well)

I had a few batches that turned hard after a couple of days...I just stuck them back in the mixing bowl and added a couple more ounces of oil (a little at a time, though) until it was the right consistency. It worked well- I don't think it's entirely neccessary to melt it down again- as long as the shea isn't so hard it'll break your mixer...someone correct me if I'm wrong here!

Ok, I'm baffled. I use fresh ground lavender from my mom's garden, and they have never turned black. Has anyone used fresh ones, or just the ones from suppliers...I wonder if this would make a difference? How odd!

Thanks! I've never smelled them...I mean, I'm sure I have on my cousin, but never noticed. If they smell nice, I might just introduce them to my line- but SOS prices are really outrageous...I hope that I only need a REAL little bit, otherwise I'll lose money on products with those scents! Thanks again!!!