Shani

I voted for fizzing action...I've never tried a bubble bomb, but according to everyone else SLSa may be a tad drying to ahem...slightly older skin:D

It may be the fo...does it smell funky?

She did a great job!

Just a quick question, is there any reason why you added the ewax? Ewax is normally used for oil/water emulsions...

Grape seed is a nice, light oil...I use it in a few recipes and it goes on great. HTH Shani:)

Lookin' good!

You definitely need a combo of baking soda and citric acid for the bomb to fizz. When the bomb is dissolved in water, there is a reaction between the citric acid and baking soda causing carbon dioxide to be released into the water. This causes the bubbles you see, similar to a carbonated soda. There are a few places online where you can order citric acid. You will probably come out cheaper than buying from someplace local. I don't know where you live; re shipping costs, but you can try http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus or http://mystifyyoursenses.com. HTH Shani:)

Kokum butter is very good for dry skin as well as avocado oil. Kokum butter is just as wonderful as shea butter, but less "greasy". I make a whipped butter with both kokum and avocado. If you want a small sample pm me your address. Good luck with your search! Shani:)

Looks Good! It has sort of a cozy feeling to it!

Welcome to the board!

I use my end pieces as samples or use them to make confetti soap. HTH Shani:)

My 2oz jar of whipped kokum sells for $7.50...

Congratulations!

Very Nice! Great job:highfive:

The different color paper for new orders is a great idea! Right now I have a filing system going on...every folder is labeled ie; new retail orders, new wholesale orders etc. Once a new order comes in, it gets filed in its corresponding folder. Once the order is filled, the form then goes into a customer file.

I recieved the one SaraS posted; around three or four weeks ago. I replied explaining to him/her we only acknowledge free samples with a purchase...have not heard from him/her since. Go figure. Why are people always creepin'?:tiptoe: Shani:)

Hi gerrie! Maybe I can give you a little advice. I used to be a professional gift basket designer (I guess I still am!:rolleyes2 ) and won a few awards for designing gift baskets. Are you mixing scents within the design or will all the products be the same scent? It's not a good idea to mix scents unless they are wrapped securely so they don't "rub off" on one another. The worst thing is for someone to unwrapped a beautiful basket and smell a combo of 15 different scents! Furthermore the recipient would not be able to tell which scent belongs to which product unless they are left to "air out" seperately. The best thing to do is to stand your products upright-this gives the design a fuller look-higher perceived value. You said it right-taller products in the back cascading down to smaller products in the front. You will want to have a few filler items-votives, loofahs, sponges, etc. Soygirl suggested an excellent website to give you a few design techniques. They will tell you how to secure your products in the basket or container so that even if it's turned upside down, the products will not move. Regarding a bow, you can go to your local craft store and purchase a Bowdabra. It's inexpensive, maybe $10.00-$12.00 and beleive me that thing pays for itself 20x over if you include the frustration and headaches from trying to make a bow by hand! It comes with instructions and a video to teach you how to use it. If you need any further info, don't hesitate to pm me or post your question here. HTH Shani:)

Good Job!

Lookin good!

I usually add my honey to the oils and melt it with the oils and then add the lye/water mixture. I haven't had any problems with it not being incorporated. HTH:smiley2:

I am a neat freak, so what I do is clean up as I go. I mix my lye solution-then wash and dry out the bowl the lye was in. Next I measure and pour all of my oils. I put my oils on low heat and wash all the bowls that I used to measure. Then I measure the fo/eo and add that to my oils-wash out that bowl. Then I line my molds and turn the heat off of the oils and let them sit on a warm burner. By this time my lye solution is usually cooled-make soap and then wash the remaining pots/pitchers. That has worked pretty well for me-I really don't like clutter!

I agree with Scent Cellar, try small test batches until you find a recipe you absolutely love and then soap away!

Free shipping gets me ONLY if it's something I really want. I don't order something because of a free shipping offer-but that's just me. It may work for some! I offer flat rate shipping and that seems to work really well for me.

Thanks for the suggestions! They all sound like so much fun! I think I'm going to go with taping a piece of paper under the chair or something along those lines. I get the impression that some of the women may not want to do an "involved" type of game-so I'll go with a game that they won't know they're playing!

Everything looks wonderful! I wish I was there-it looks like you had a good time!