DeeB

I just wanted to thank everyone for their help with my first batch of soap. I unmolded and cut it last night..yippee I have soap! Put them up to cure, can't wait until they are ready to try. They aren't the prettiest soap, got a rind on it, I'm not sure but does that mean the soap got too warm? I'm excited now I want to try something pretty with a swirl! Adding another addiction to my already long list. Thanks so much for all your help, Dee

My daughter found this tutorial http://www.coastalscents.com/cfwebstore/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.display&page_id=20&CFID=740599&CFTOKEN=19423100 she wants to make them for her friends for Christmas. We were going to make them and leave out the shea or cocoa butter. But I guess maybe we'll skip them if they are so hard to get right. You can look at it maybe there is something in there that will help. Dee

I get dendritic salt at MMS. www.thesage.com 2 lbs. is I think $1.70. They are in Utah, so shipping might be cheaper for you. Dee

My supplier is about a 21/2 - 3hrs drive for me. A 50 pound case of wax was 15.27 for shipping. So 18.00-19.00 isn't that bad. Dee

I'm moving to where you live! I have had a couple of home parties and have been to many here, Mary Kay, Candlelite, Home Interiors, Pampered Chef and the list goes on. Not once has the dealer ever provided the food. If the hostess wants to have food at the party it is her responsibility to provide it. But I live in PA and maybe the dealer providing the food is customary where you live. But no one has ever complained and lots of hostesses book repeat parties and I don't know of anyone who has ever said they would have a party because the dealer didn't provide food. I wouldn't even expect the dealer to provide food, I get freebies for hosting the party and getting bookings from other people. I hope you took lots of ziploc containers with you and took your fair share of the leftovers home! You paid for them. Dee

Thanks so much. Everyone is so helpful here! Off to make soap. Thanks, Dee

Sorry, this is my first time making cp soap and using lye water. It is 60 degrees here tonight. Can I let my lye water sit out in my sun room until I melt my oils or will it cool off too quickly? The sun room is not heated so it is basically the same temperature as outside. Thanks, Dee

I haven't tried the air freshener blanks, but I paint on candles and before I started to pour my own, I painted on purchased pillars and a lot of them were scented. When I painted them the background color completely covered the candle top,sides,bottom and after my design was painted on them they were sealed with 3-4 coats of water based varnish. After a couple of weeks you could smell the scent of the candle through the paint. Just seal the front of the blank (leave the back unpainted) with decoart or ceramcoat all purpose sealer or spray the front with krylon matte sealer, paint with the acrylic paint, let dry for 24-48hrs. You could seal your painting with water based varnish if you want, but these are something that will get thrown away in a few months so I wouldn't use more than 1 coat. After that dries just paint the back with straight FO and let dry. Just try one at first and see how it turns out. Hope that helps Dee

Thank you Eugenia, can I get castor oil at Walmart? I've read that it's soothing so maybe would be good in the soap. Do I need to subtract 5 percent of the oil in the recipe and add in the castor oil or do I need to add it at trace. I think I can handle your recipe I'll run it through the lye calculator to get my lye and water amounts. Now I just need to get up the nerve to use the lye, the lye part is a little scary, for me at least. Thank you so much, you've been so helpful and I really appreciate it. Dee

Thanks so much! If I take out the jojoba, sweet almond, and olive and add those amounts to the soybean oil, would that be enough or do I need to remove more ingredients? She really likes the shea butter in the lotion bar, so I'd like to keep the shea in the soap. Thanks, Dee

Those girls are just jerks! Sounds like since you were ready to start selling, and they weren't going to be getting free candles anymore, they were putting you down so that you would feel you had to keep testing hence more free candles. I would ask her exactly what she meant saying the votive exploded. I doubt that it exploded, maybe the ditz burned it in a container that wasn't made for votives, burned it too long and the glass got too hot and shattered. More than likely she is making it up, if I was testing a candle for someone and it exploded in my kitchen, they would certainly hear about it as soon as it happened. Makes me suspicious that she never told you. And if I tested candles for someone and they were sh.. I certainly wouldn't accept more. As far as the girl who wanted to have the party, could you offer her some free candles to try...assuming you have tested them yourself and know they are good..that would be the best way to prove they are liars. Hey, you can send me one of those exploding votives to try, I'll test it for you, I'd like to see an exploding votive I've never seen a votive explode. I'm sure I'd be dissapointed though, I'm sure that your candles are great and these two just have ulterior motives whatever they may be. Don't get discouraged sooner or later everyone at work will realize they aren't telling the truth.

Hi, I'm fairly new here, and there seem to be a lot of soapmakers here that really know what they are doing. This will be the first time I make cp soap. I've had everything sitting around here for months just haven't got up the nerve to open that can of lye! I'm making the soap for my teenage daughter who has extremely dry rough skin. I want to put some of it in her stocking at Christmas..so in order for it to be ready in time...I drug out the goggles and gloves and hopefully when I pick up that can of lye this time I can open it! Can someone please check the recipe for me. I have spent so many hours researching oils I am getting a headache. The recipe that came with the wooden mold didn't seem like a very good soap out of 48 ounces of oils, 25 oz were coconut oil. Here is what I came up for a total of 48 oz. 7 oz coconut oil 8 oz palm oil 7 oz palm kernel oil 5 oz sweet almond oil 2 oz shea butter 12 oz soybean oil 2 oz jojoba oil 5 oz olive oil 1 oz FO I checked it on the MSM calculator recommended lye usage is 6.43 to 6.64 for 5-8 percent excess fat. I plan to use 6.5 oz. Recommended water is 12 to 18 oz., I plan to use 17 oz. or since it is my first time making soap should I use the maximum water. Checked the soap notes at BCN and the fragrance is safe and the cp notes say no problem, light brown color, scent held up well. I also have the following oils Apricot kernel oil Rosehip oil Hemp oil Evening primrose oil I am willing and open to try all suggestions and extremely grateful for your help. She has had extremely dry skin since birth. We have tried everything over the counter and prescription. She is in high school now and having sandpaper for skin is just not cool. We've had a few tear over the years on her part, other kids can be cruel and don't understand how hurtful they are. I made her a lotion bar with a recipe from MSM and that seems to be helping some, but she needs to have a soap that won't dry out her skin. Thanks so much Dee

Found this in my my candle wax list 800-7CALWAX (800-722-5929) email: sonya@calwax.com They are in California, don't know if you can buy small amounts from them but they should be able to give you names of suppliers of palm wax that are closer to you. Sorry, I completely forgot that I had this when I posted before. Dee

www.nuscents.com I've never ordered from them, so I don't know if they are a good supplier or not. Maybe someone else will know. I found them doing a search for something else, says they are in the midwest, so shipping might be cheaper. I would call and ask for shipping charges though. Dee

Hi Donita, I love your candles, they are gorgeous! What a talented lady you are. I have a question for you. I would like to get those tea light plugs for molds, it will save me a lot of time not having to drill the pillars for tea lights when I paint them. Does pourette have a website? I've never seen those plugs at any of the suppliers I purchase from. Thanks so much. Dee

I found a picture of one of the first painted candles I did. I use the tealights because I paint the whole candle. The first candle I did without a tealight and the paint melted and got stringy across the flame. I didn't burn any further to see if it would catch fire. I checked the candle medium and also the paint that I use and neither of them say they are nonflammable. If your paints don't say that they are nonflammable, I would paint one and burn it to the end and don't leave it while it is burning it's the only way you will know for sure. I'm not sure how to post a picture, hopefully it goes through.

Hi, I just joined this forum if you haven't received an answer to your question this is what I do with my painted candles. I drill out the center of the candle with a 1 1/2 forster bit and put a tea light in them. That way they can be burned and the painted candle is preserved. I'm not sure if the paint is flammable or not, some say it is, some say it isn't. Saw that you are from Philadelphia, I'm from Pa too, we have relatives that live in South Philly. Have fun painting your candles. I've done a lot of painted candles, if you need any help just yell. Hope that helps, Dee