jade

I cut extra soap into narrow strips & use them in one of those soap saver bags. You can get them in a hemp like material or in a sponge type. I usually save up a bunch of them to put in an old canning jar & give them to my nieces. They love them because they can change the scent of the soap they're using often without having bars of soap laying around. If you do this it doesn't matter if the pieces are crusty and it's quick & easy. I leave one of the hemp bags outside by the hose & it has just enough scrubbiness to help with the dirt after working in the garden. We also take one of the bags full of slivers when we go camping & we no longer have to look for the "lost" bar of soap. My brother likes to take one with unscented slivers to hunting camp so nobody else uses his soap.haha

I use silicone baking pans that are not by Wilton & the FO odor is strong even after washing but like BarbaraAL said, I never smell it when I make the next batch. The first time I used them I cleaned them with a paste of baking soda & water but could still smell the FO faintly. Now I just rinse them out after a batch & even tho the FO scent is still strong it doesn't matter in the next batch. I've used a Wilton mold & had no lingering odor but I only used it with M&P not CP.

If it's a mold I'll use often I get silicone. I always have a hard time getting the soap out of the plastic molds. Last year I bought Wilton cupcake molds at less than half price after Halloween & Christmas. They work well for me. I've bought some silicone soap molds for my m&p on ebay at good prices too. Today I embedded some Silly Bands in the heavy duty plastic molds. The soap stuck even after I put it in the freezer. I put it in the microwave for a few seconds & was able to unmold it. The kiddos at school will love the Silly Band soap!

Does anyone know if Daystar Marshmallow or the Marshmallow Fluff discolors M&P? How about Bitter Creek's Candy Corn? I tried to sign in to the BC forum to check but it's not taking my user name. TIA

I've dipped ragballs & pine cones. They came out nice. I like the prim look so I've dipped those old clothespins - just plain & have also dipped them with some old thread and/or homespun wrapped around them. I've dipped salt dough ornaments - love the gingerbread ones that I leave out all year. I had a Barbie doll sized pair of prim looking pants in a box of stuff I bought at a yardsale & they were just sitting there while I was dipping so I dipped them too. They looked cute & I was thinking if I had more doll clothes like that I could do them & hang them on a jute clothesline. I made candy canes from chenille stems last Christmas & dipped those. Bet you could dip those little hats you find at craft stores. They have straw ones that remind me of scarecrows and little witch hats made of felt.

Wow-everything is awesome! Love the colors, the top on the blue, the names of your scents, the blends & the photos. Very creative.

I'm wondering if those of you who use these notice any difference in the gelling of your soap. I put a silicone baking pan in a cardboard box and in a wooden soap mold. I had some soap overheat and some took longer to gell than in my paper lined wood mold. However, I did try some new FOs which could account for all of this.

I just bought a Fiskars large squeeze punch at a yardsale Sat. It works very well.

I have a scalloped circle punch from EK Success. On the bottom of the punch it says Paper Shapers. It's a hefty punch that will easily cut a 1&1/2 inch scalloped edge circle from poster board. I know these punches come in other shapes & sizes but this is the only one I've tried.

containerandpackaging.com has them.

I made two batches of soap-one lilac(from KY) & one green clover & aloe(Peaks) & my mold was going to be too full so I mixed the extra together. Everyone that has used the soap in my house wants some! I don't know what you'd call it because I can't even begin to describe it. I really can't smell either scent by itself in the mixture tho Peaks seems to be the dominant scent in it.

My Misty Creek slab mold came with a thin piece of wood to use as a divider. On ebay I've seen wooden slab molds that have the cutting grooves like the Misty Creek mold. They were sold with a cutting knife but not with a divider. Perhaps the mold maker could make a divider for you or you might be able to use a thin piece of cardbord that would fit into the cutting grooves. Before I won a bid on a Misty Creek mold, I was looking at ones from these sellers - wood_lab and annescraftshorses.

It can be discouraging testing oils in reeds! Peak's Sweet Pea and Clean Cotton did well for me and also Love Spell from Tennessee Candle Supplies.

If you decide to go with the one from flexiblemolds.com - you can ask them to list it on ebay. I've done that before & won a mold at an awesome price & the customer service was great too. They even combined shipping with the mold I won & one that I bought at their site.

I need to place an order with Peak & want to try some reed diffusers with holiday scents. Would anyone mind sharing results using Home for the holidays, Balsam & cinnamon, Spiced cranberry or Spruce Christmas Tree? I've only used Peak's Sweet Pea & Clean Cotton in diffusers & both worked well. TIA

I found a new soap recipe I want to try & I have avacado oil but not avacado butter. What can I sub for the avacado butter? Thanks

I bought a Misty Creek mold on ebay & didn't realize I still had the search saved until I received an email notifying me of a mold for sale. It has a buy it now option. I don't know the seller but here's the URL if you're interested. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300337357871&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123

I bought netting at Walmart to use for a birdseed project. It's like the onion bag & is in the sewing section. I know it was less than $1 a yard. I gathered the netting around and tied it. Could you do that?

When I saw your post I thought you made one layered soap naming it "sex on the beach with a Georgia peach under a love spell"! LOL Not what I was expecting but nice soap anyway! Guess I'll get my mind out of the gutter.

I organize bottles by type(food, floral,etc.). I put each type in priority mail boxes that I cut down so they're just tall enough to hold the bottles. I put a sticker with the scent name on the top of the bottle cap. I keep an alphabetical list in a Word document of each scent I buy & notes about the scent. I have a second much shorter list by supplier. In the second list I put my most favorite scents by that supplier and scents from that supplier that I want to try. Sometimes I get a 1 ounce sample, tried it in tarts & liked it but didn't soap it so I put it on the supplier list so I'll remember to order it the next time I place an order with that supplier.

I like the lightness/brightness of your site. I think the flowered background is a little too busy tho. The candle photos are ok but didn't really grab me & I'm not sure why. Sorry I can't be of more help!

"I think that people thought I was holding seances all the time." LOL-That's a good one!

For watermelon-Hot Fun in the Summertime or Sweet Fun in the Summertime or Sweet Summer or Summer Sweet. Is Hot Fun in the Summertime a song? Is it ok to use the name of a song??

I love Emerald Dragonfly Soaps for a godess, mythical, whimsical &/or upscale sound. Dragonfly & Co. gives you lots of opportunities too. You could play that up on the rustic side or otherwise. I would be intrigued enough by both of those names to check out the websites.

If you don't want a clear base-Millcreek makes a nice white one.