SunshineSundries

I made some sugar scrub cubes out of MP soap, oils, and of course sugar. I was just looking at the labeling issues for these as a scrub (the label would have to be 3x3 just for all the names!!) but what if I labeled it as a scrubbing soap? I'm just wondering what % needs to be soap to make it "legal" to market it as a soap and not a bath and body product. My exbf deleted all my bookmarks when he started using my laptop for his use (only a small part of the reason he's an ex!) and I know there are guidelines but for the life of me I can't find them again! when I do a search I only get links to the scientific/common names of ingredients - maybe I'm just missing something... My formula is 8oz MP, 7oz butters and oils, and 20oz sugar, if that helps figure it all out... TIA for your help!! Tish

I use my electric roaster to melt wax but only when I'm making my firestarters. :smiley2: I built up my scrap wax in there and then when it's about half full (or so), I plug it in and wait... and wait... and wait... and wait... lol then throw in my cedar chips and wait some more... It works though and I can get a TON of firestarters done in one day - I just have other quick stuff to do while I wait... Tish

I've used emu oil before but never knew the grade nor what the grades all mean in reference to what works best in soaps (both MP and CP). :rolleyes2 Basically I just tinkered. :smiley2: Anyway, I found a local Emu farm and this is what they quoted me: "We offer AOCS confirmed and AEA Certified Grade A emu oil 16 oz at $105 retail and 128 oz at $285." So is this a good price?? All I can really find online is stuff from actual emu producers and I take all that with a grain of salt... :tiptoe: I won't have shipping because I go up to that area about once a month and the extra gas to drive that little bit is minimal (maybe $5). If anyone has a reliable source for info on this or even a site that plays out the opposite of what the emu oil sites say so I can get both sides of the story, that would be awesome too... TIA for any info you can share... Tish

Other than the legal issues that were brought up in the other post, I had a shop out in my garage that I did on my own but lost it when my husband and I divorced... But my advise mostly is to get the shop insulated to what area you are in - don't skimp out! You want this to be an extension of your home kind of thing. I skimped out on insulation and my shop was COLD even with three small heaters running in the winter time. Of course I live in Minnesota so when it's -10 outside it's hard to maintain 60 sometimes! That's not the only thing I would suggest but it's the most important. If you have any other questions, please feel free to PM me. I went back into the old posts here and found the link to my old workroom. http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39881 Now I'm in a building that used to be a car wash! So it's all about planning space and using it as best as you can... that and keeping it cool/warm so you can pour/make consistent product all year long. HTH Best of luck! Tish

I was doing a search on Target.com and came across these ice cube trays that are made from silicone and in all kinds of shapes including letters and numbers. I was just wondering if anyone has used these trays for MP and could give me some feed back on them before I go buy one (or all of them! ). I think they may make cool embeds and the square ones would work well for sugar scrub cubes. Hopefully they have these in the store too! TIA Tish here's the link Ice cube trays

If you google search "bolt ends fabric" or something similar, you will come up with online and local stores that sell the remnants of bolts used to make apparel, linens, and other such things. We have a store called "Mill End Textiles" here in Minnesota and they have stuff really inexpensive as well as I get an email about once a month with coupons and sales... It's a great way to recycle and get a good deal. I sometimes use fabric ties on gift baskets or "one-of-a-kind" product and find its less expensive than ribbon to just whip out my cutting wheel and mat and just cut away!! HTH some... Tish

These are simply beautiful!! I aspire to make candles such as these! Wonderful work!! Keep 'em comin'!

I just wanted to thank you guys for your input. I've been messing around with soy wax pillars for years now - adding beeswax and para just lately and thinking of starting palm cuz I obviously up for a challenge! I am still flustered with wicking and well I'm stubborn and not going to give up. I have always used wickpins but now I think I will try wicking the molds themselves. I have metal tape and plumber's putty (any homeowner's secret weapon besides duct tape!) so I'm set. The only question I have though is on occasion I have let the pillar burn to "the bitter end" as Topp put so eloquently put it and I FREAKED out!! I had like a mini fire in there cuz the bottom burnt out and I was burning the whole wick that was left floatin in the MP that was directly on the plate I was burning and OMG - I just freaked! lol How do you trim the wick on the bottom so this doesn't happen. I know I want no tail candles but how do you get that close to the wax without damaging the wax?? Is there some special tool that I don't have in my arsenal?? It feels like a dumb question to me but I'm just used to doing containers and this isn't a worry with those... TIA Tish

I just made these the other night and I think I have stumbled on to something here... they are firm but not hard hard, ya know?? I do think I need to decrease the sugar a bit because they are kinda crumbly when I cut them... my question is how are you packaging these? I've seen jars and bags out there on the www but I'm not sure what sells well... I would think the cubes would hold up better in a jar - I've even seen these "wrapped" then put into a jar... maybe to keep moisture in or out??? I don't know... all I know is I'm excited and I can't decide!! LOL TIA for any input... Life & Light! Tish

This is freakin' cool!! I accidentally ordered coarse sea salt about 6 months ago - and this stuff is COARSE!! Now I can play around with this and see what I can get... thanks so much for posting this! You saved my oops! I've been trying to figure out something to do with this stuff since I can't return it... I'm so glad to be back on this board!

yes, please do let us know what it smells like! Ironically enough, I've had requests for this and a hay scent... I'd think after harvest time, they would have had enough of that scent to last the whole year!! I guess not!

I work for a restaurant so I order lard through our suppliers... Sysco is a national supplier that might supply a restaurant in your area so maybe check them out. I order through a local supplier and I get 50# of lard for $37 which is the best pricing I found even after going to local meatmarkets and such... I'm also checking into getting my EVOO through a local restaurant that orders from different suppliers than we do - we're a bar, they're a more upscale restaurant so they order more of that stuff than we do... but there is an avenue that most people don't think of... good luck in your quest! ~Life & Light!~ Tish

I use heat lamps to keep my jars warm. I got mine at Menards for I think $7 each plus the heat bulbs. I hung them over my pouring table using a bit of light weight chain that I had around with a hook in the ceiling that way I could adjust the height depending on the room temperature. I have all three plugged into a power strip that way I can turn them all off and on and not have to deal with unplugging them to turn them off (they don't have switches) and I only had to run one extension cord instead of three. HTH! Life & Light! Tish

I soaped this with a few drops and a few additions after some recommendations. coconut 15% lard 65% Canola 10% soybean oil 10% I made a 2# batch with 2t salt and 2t sugar along with a smidge of silk. OMG! What a bar!! I love the fact that this is slow to trace to because then I can play more with color! I did a yellow and blue swirl (trying to make a Detroit Lions bar for my boyfriend lol) and I had PLENTY of time when I blended oils and lye water at tad above room temp... Holy bubbles, man!! I did an ITMOP and it's curing further now... I'm so very happy! Now to make a few batches with some FO.... Thanks for everyone's input... TTFN! Tish

I am trying to configure a new soap formula using oils I have here with me now and if I like it, I can get mostly locally. I have a few formulas that I *LOVE* but I don't have the $$ right now to buy in bulk and I can't bring myself to pay $7+/lb for cocoa butter or shea butter!! Anyway this is what I have and I'm wondering what's more important on the Calc - Hardness or Iodine. I've been reading posts here and I'm totally confused!! OK so here's my compilation... sweet almond 5% castor 5% emu 5% lard 70% olive 10% soybean oil 5% Here's the numbers I get from SoapCalc... Hardness 34 Cleansing 1 Condition 61 Bubble 5 Creamy 37 Iodine 67 INS 127 I wish I had some harder oils to use but the best I've got is lard which I want to use because I can get it VERY inexpensive from the local meat processors around here! Any advice/input is appreciated!! Life & Light! Tish

Thanks, E! I got so excited last night when I saw that that I went and just made soap and forgot to thank you! Guess that's what happens when you haven't been able to make soap for 4 months! Thanks again! Life & Light! Tish

OK - this is going to sound like a dumb question but since I've never worked with slab molds only log molds I want to make sure that I have this right in my head before screwing up with the precious materials I finally got to make soap!! YIPPEEE!! Anyway, I was at work today (I work at a bar) and I saw these cardboard trays that two 6packs of beer come shipped on. My soap makeing deprived mind thought they would make great slab molds (with a liner of course!) but I have no idea if I'm just having soap delusions or if they really could work... they measure 15x10x3... but my question is I know the formula to gauge how much soap to put in it if I want to fill it up but since I want to only fill it say 1.5 inches up (the thickness of a bar on average, I'd say) I would just plunk 1.5 into my equation for height, right?? I'm still trying to figure out how I'm gonna cut the buggers but I'll get to that when I get to that... lol TIA for any input and/or an answer... Life & Light! Tish

I'm test burning these right now (literally!) I have 3 CD12s in the container with my soy wax. I think I'm going to bump it up to 3 CD14s though because its not burning to the edges... we'll see as I close up the last hour of the first test burn (I'm burning it for 5 hours at a time). I just remembered to rotate it (I live in an old drafty house!) so we'll see if that helps balance it out. Good luck with your trials! Life & Light! Tish

Is there any other way to "melt" this other than adding it to the lye water?? I make goat's milk soap and I freeze the gm and use a cold water bath so the lye doesn't brown the gm... anyway - could I add it to the hot oils while they are in the melting pot? or doesn't this get hot enough? TIA Life & Light! Tish

alot of massage oils are either based in Sweet Almond Oil or Fractionated coconut oil from what I've read... I tend to stay away from SAO because of the whole nut allergy factor but FCO sinks in too quickly for my taste... so I've been trying to find an oil that isn't *too* expensive and doesn't sink in quickly and has good slip. I've been thinking about Rice Bran oil and mixing it with FCO but I have yet to try it out. I have a link somewhere to the oil that a massage therapist friend uses but I can't find it right now. You don't have to know a ton about EOs to make a good massage oil scent... just sick with the ones that you know... and if in doubt do the research. I've learned more online than anywhere else but quality aromatherapy/psycology books are very handy too. I would personally start with a 1-2% EO to 98-99% oil and go from there. You can add other ingredients - I cant remember what it's called but it's in lotions to give it glide - but I tend to stick with natural stuff... put a bit of vit e oil in the mix to help give the oils a longer shelf life... otherthan that I think you are good to go. But do remember if you are going to sell this to put on the label "not for use with latex items" HTH some

I love Menards! I get so many cool soap and candle making supplies there! lol I get my lye there because it's the only reasonable place to purchase lye... all the other ones are like $5 for a bottle! Home Depot is too pricey for my budget. I only go there if Menards doesn't have it, I want good quality clear wood (Menards can get kinda sketchy on that point), or it's on sale! The sad thing about HD is that we have a charge card there but only get 2 or 3 of their flyers a year. We get a Menards and Fleet Farm flyer every week in our newspaper - it's evil I tell ya!! Too much cool stuff!! lol

Pretzels go through a lye bath to give them the crispy outside. Old fashioned hominy gets reconstituted in lye water. Lutefisk is white fish cured in lye... there are others but those are the ones that I remember off my head.

I use almost exclusivly BCN fragrances - though I haven't tried the WYW or BnL FOs yet. I like to blend mine and getting their sample packs really helps with that! I have only found a few FOs that haven't worked in the soy that I use. Other than that, I love BCN FOs! To help me narrow down the FOs I get, I make sure that I can use them in all forms - candle, soaps, and lotions. That's about the only thing that keeps me outta trouble! Good luck and have fun!! Life & Light! Tish

Actually, I was thinking of the actual components of the oil/butters reacting to the FO (makeing it seize or whatever). I think I should be ok considering I'm going to test this in a OO/castor bar but I was thinking that if I do end up selling the FO someone uses it with say Palm oil or some other oil that I don't use and it goes rotten for them. I don't want to sell shoddy FOs - goodness knows there are enough people out there trying to make a buck and selling crap. I'm going to give this a whirl tomorrow, I think. It's been so bloomin' cold here that my poor little heaters can't keep up with it out in the studio! It gets to be only about 65* in the studio when it's 20* or below. Thanks for the help though! I'll post the outcome when I get the soap tested. Life & Light! Tish

Thanks Scented for your reply, though it prompts another question to ask. Do certain oils really accelerate/discolor a FO more than others? I know OO can turn a greenish tinge on it's own and certain butters will effect the color of the soap just by their nature. But what I'm wondering if certain oils will "trigger" an FO to go funky more than others. Make sense?? what do ya think??