dee263

And peta is who you want to be aligned with? They are a terrorist organization and they do nothing for animals. Their ultimate goal is the extinction of all animal use, including pets and livestock. Do some research here http://www.petakillsanimals.com/ or here http://www.naiaonline.org/body/articles/archives/arterror.htm In the meantime, here is a lovely quote by peta's "Humane Education" lecturer: "Sometimes I think the only effective method of destroying speciesism would be for each uncaring human to be forced to live the life of a cow on a feedlot, or a monkey in a laboratory, or an elephant in the circus, or a bull in a rodeo, or a mink on a fur farm. Then people would be awakened from their soporific states and finally understand the horror that is inflicted on the animal kingdom by the vilest species to ever roam this planet: the human animal! Deep down, I truly hope that oppression, torture and murder return to each uncaring human tenfold! I hope that fathers accidentally shoot their sons on hunting excursions, while carnivores suffer heart attacks that kill them slowly "Every woman ensconced in fur should endure a rape so vicious that it scars them forever. While every man entrenched in fur should suffer an anal raping so horrific that they become disemboweled. Every rodeo cowboy and matador should be gored to death, while circus abusers are trampled by elephants and mauled by tigers. And, lastly, may irony shine its esoteric head in the form of animal researchers catching debilitating diseases and painfully withering away because research dollars that could have been used to treat them was wasted on the barbaric, unscientific practice vivisection." Gary Yourofsky, PeTA Humane Education Lecturer, quoted in the University of Southern Indiana Student Newspaper, The Shield, January 24, 2008 Are these really the people who's seal of approval you want on your products?

Thanks MarieJeanette; that's the one I was thinking of trying. I guess I'll have to go ahead and add a new supplier

Does anybody have a recommendation? I'm looking for a realistic scent, not candylike, that holds up well in CP. I've seen some reviews for OT's Watermelon Patch but I've never ordered from them. TIA!

Thanks, snewbie! That's what I was imagining but needed clarification.

Hi Top, First - Thanks so much for all of the testing and reporting you've done on the palm waxes!! It was the final straw and goaded me to try pillars; I'm loving them! I've only worked on the feather palm so far but I'm getting the same results with the CSN 12. It is great to be able to go back through your threads and check pictures and results to compare! Thanks again!! Second - I have a couple of questions, surprise, surprise. I have only made jar and tin container soy wax candles in the past so I'm an absolute newbie at pillars. When you say to cut the wick short so it doesn't reach the bottom of the candle, do you cut through the wax to get to the wick leaving a depression that you then fill with wax? If the mold is pre-wicked that's the only way I can think of to cut the wick short; am I missing something? The other question is about pillar height and wicks. If a wick works in a 3" tall pillar, can it be expected to work in a pillar of the same diameter but 6" in height. I'll be testing the taller ones next. I'll start with the CSN 12s but I'm wondering if there's some rule I haven't discovered yet about wick sizes and heights. Again, many thanks! You inspired me to make pillars!

Has anyone used this is CP?

I have some (very dark) bars that are 2+ years old and they still smell wonderful! This is my favorite vanilla and sells very well.

According to the newsletter that I just got from Elements the Caramel Dip just arrived. It's not on the website yet but I'm sure will be soon!

Hey, I'm in Philadelphia, too! Enjoy your soapmaking, especially since there's not much else to do until the snow melts :smiley2: Let us know how it goes.

I second tkb!! http://www.tkbtrading.com/index.php Their Pop colors are great and easy to use.

The best strawberry I've ever used was from Solas. Unfortunately, they stopped carrying FO but theirs was easy to work with, the scent held up great and although, in my formula, it discolored to a dark yellow/orange, it quickly cured to pure white. I still have a little less than a pound that I've been hoarding. I don't think anyone bought them out and I don't know if anyone else's strawberry is the same. Sorry

Has anyone used EOs from Felicia http://soapersupplies.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=SS ? I have bought other things from SS in the past and I've always been happy with quality and CS. She's having a sale on some EOs I need to restock. I usually order from EOU or New Directions. TIA!

Thanks for the info! Maybe I'll try the NG Hawaiian Tropic.

Was this in a leave-on product or in soap? I'm looking for a "Hawaiian Tropics" type oil for CP soap; anyone soap AHs Bahama Coconut? TIA

These people are called "back yard breeders." They are the next step up from puppy mills and are not "good breeders" by any stretch of the imagination. They have a dog and b*tch of the same breed so they put them together and make puppies. Good, responsible breeders certainly do give their pups "a lot of love." They also screened the parents for genetic defects or other health problems. The parents have been shown, or at least worked at their original purpose, and titled. Owners/homes are rigorously screened and new owners sign a contract. Pups are required to be spayed or neutered and are sold with limited registration (AKC limited registration means that if the new owner disregards the contract and breeds the dog anyway, none of it's offspring can be registered. Unfortunately, the pups can be registered with one of the "pet" registries and some people won't know the difference.) Good breeders take responsibility for every pup they produce for the life of the dog. If you purchase a pup from a responsible breeder and 5 (10, 12 ...) years down the road can't keep the dog for whatever reason, a responsible, good breeder takes the dog back, no questions asked. Please don't delude yourself into thinking that any person who would sell a pup to the first person who shows up with the asking price is a "good breeder." They are in it for the money, pure and simple. A responsible breeder, who has done all of the things I've mentioned and more, is lucky to break even with a litter of pups. I've been showing dogs in AKC conformation and obedience for 20 years. I've worked with rescue. I've been a member of all-breed and specialty clubs. I know plenty of responsible breeders, and some not so good. Here are some more examples of what makes a good breeder http://www.akc.org/press_center/facts_stats.cfm?page=responsible_breeder

They're great! Which show are they for?

Beautiful soap!! Is this an EO blend or an FO?

I sell wrapped single bars and have never tried the "cut as you go" method at a show or fair so I may be of no help I've thought about it though and here are some of the drawbacks that I can see: 1. Cutting consistently, especially if you're busy. I cut my logs with a TOG cutter (soon to be replaced by a tank, but that's another story) I have a hard enough time cutting even, consistently sized single bars by hand when I'm not rushed, even with single bar cutter. I think it would be worse if I was trying to hurry. 2. Sort of solves that problem but brings on another - cutting random sized slices and selling by weight. Makes the cutting easier since you don't have to be precise, but then you need a good battery operated scale and calculator. Again, do I want to be messing with a scale and adding different numbers on the fly? Not me! I'm not a numbers person and especially when I have multiple customers waiting, I like the fact that there are only so many totals that result from different combinations of my products. 3. What happens if you have a formula that gets really hard? After a few months it might be too difficult to gracefully cut slices. My soap does get rather hard and the few times I've left a log uncut, it gets a little tough to cut easily. Again, you'll be trying to do this in front of customers, trying not to waste time and slice a nice bar of soap. I can just see a ridiculous disaster (the log flipping up and hitting me in the head, cutting my hand, the slice of soap flying off the table and hitting a passerby) occurring because of the public situation. My fears are probably unfounded but you never know. Having said all of that, I do plan to bring a few uncut logs to my next farmers market so people can see a little bit more of the soap process. They'll be logs of scents that I already have wrapped and cut so I won't have to worry about cutting them. I may even offer them for sale rather than just use them as decoration but it will depend on whether their fully cured. Just some ramblings for this morning! HTH

I was hoping the same thing (that someone else would take over their line.) I love their Sandalwood Rose; it's one of my favorite scents. I have two full pounds of it, plus about 6 oz in another bottle but when that's gone Their Guavaberry was great, too!

I've looked at their site and wondered as well. There are some reviews here http://soapscentreview.obisoap.ca/index.php at the soap scent review board. But I don't need another supplier, I don't need another supplier (say it with me!) I don't need another supplier . . .:rolleyes2

Actually, you should probably pray for yourself and anyone who buys your candles. Working for "weeks" is nowhere near long enough unless you've done precious little else besides pour and test. How many scents are you offering? Maybe, just maybe, you could have perfected one scent in a few weeks time. Most candle makers, myself included, spend months and months, even years finding the perfect combination of container, wax, dye, wick and scent. The process is repeated for each container, wax, dye, wick, scent combination. It is, as Teresa so aptly put it, an "oxymoron" to be new to candlemaking and ready to sell.

Crisco is hydrogenated vegetable oil, usually soybean but can contain others. Lard is "pig fat." Leaf lard, the best for pastry making, is the fat that surrounds the adrenal glands, but regular lard usually comes from the back.

I usually use .7/lb but in this batch I only used .5/lb.

When I use powdered GM I just save an oz or 2 of my water before I add the lye, mix the powder and water together into a slurry, and stir that into my oils. I only add lye to GM if it's frozen liquid.

Can anyone compare both of these in CP? I have Bert's in a 3 week old batch and it is strong to the point of being harsh. I'm thinking of ordering some from the Peak co-op but wondered if anyone could compare the two? TIA!