dixylight

Those look wonderful for firsts! I bet that coconut cream pie soap smells great! I like the wrapping on the pink ones...I agree they would be great for a baby shower.

I had so much fun making these. The strawberry rhubarb scent is from KY and is one of my favorites. It's very fresh smelling. Maybe I will try watermelon next. This color combo is fun looking.

These smell wonderful! These are made from a goatsmilk base and dyed light pink and green...scented in strawberry rhubarb. I think these colors would be nice in a watermelon scent too. The layers are not perfect widths but It's not a bad start. I'll have to test these tomorrow in the shower.

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I love the green color. Very nice looking! Thanks for sharing!

Those are so cool...I bet they sell like crazy!*getdown*

I know teatree has healing properties in it. Maybe go in that direction with a name. Lavender mint is one of my favorite scent combinations. I bet they smell wonderful!

Your soap looks perfect...so professional! I'm not ready for CP yet, but your soap is very inspiring!

I actually think the swirls look nice. I bet they smell wonderful too!

Thanks for all the nice comments and helpful advice. I'm so proud. I used this soap tonight in the shower and it was really nice. My skin got very soft. I did not scent it because the recipe I used didn't call for it. It has a faint natural honey scent. I bought a bunch of different kinds of Melt and pour soaps so I will be trying more. I want to come up with something really nice for the swap! I am so hooked!

-Joanna

I poured these last night. I used a honey soap base and added real honey, beeswax and some ground old fashioned oats! There are a few more oats on the bottom side. But I don't think it's too bad for my first try at this. Making these was a blast!

Top and bottom views:

Okay, this is so cool! Thanks everyone!

Now do you notice a difference in cleaning out your jars with beeswax added in there?

I was just floored how clean my jar was when I soaped it up. VIOLA, like nothing has ever been in there.

I use about 2% b/w and do need to use hotter water and a bit more soap because of the higher melt point of the b/w. Not a big deal tho!

Welcome Starla...what a cool name by the way!

I have at least 40...have tested 30...having trouble not buying more...lol.

I have 5 apple combo ones that will be weeded down to 2, and 4 cranberry combo ones that will be weeded down also. I don't want too many similar scents. Would like to keep it around 40-45 but not sure if I can. Good thing I love testing!

I know...I'm addicted!:whoohoo:

...my name is Joanna...I'm a scentaholic.

I can't even imagine what kind of a candle would do that. I don't understand why soot in duct work would cause replacement in the first place. When we built our house 3 years ago there was tons of sheet rock dust and junk in our heating ducts that we had the ducts in our house professionally cleaned. I have allergies and I have the ducts in our home cleaned every spring. I have never been told that I should replace them instead. This whole article seems insane to me. But I'm not selling insurance either!

budgie, yes its BCS Its in stafford Tx. Glad to know its the one you felt had good scents

Tiff

Ahhhhh haaaaa...the whole time I thought you were referring to Bittercreek North!

Sorry;) No experience with Bittercreek South.

I use the candy thermometers too...but have forgotten that they can't be immersed in water:shocked2: ...oops! Now I always have a spare on hand.

Simply Stunning!

I actually like their fragrance oils a lot. Have not had a bad one yet. But I am still fairly new at this. I like their melonade, twigs n berries, and pumkin pie. They also have wick your wax scents that are a bit more spendy but I can use less because they go further. I have not used their wax but I know ez-soy is popular among some of the peeps here. I live about 3 hours away (southeastern Minnesota) so I have my stuff shipped. My father in law has a cabin near Superior Wisconsin and I plan to load up next summer when I go up. I thought you could drive there and shop??? Let me know. HTH

Good Luck...I also love their online support (during the day). They are quick to answer any of your ???s.

Tiff, now that you've been properly indoctrinated about realistic expectations, let me throw you some encouragement. Your candles need to be good and safe, but they don't have to be the best in the world. Keeping it simple and developing good candles with limited resources can be a great exercise. You can choose some materials and really learn to master them rather than searching high and low for an elusive ideal.

1 - Choose a container that's easy to wick. Very important.

2 - Choose a fairly widely used wax that you can obtain with minimal shipping costs. Commit to using it and learn to make it work as well as possible rather than testing 5 different waxes.

3 - Choose a type of wick that generally works well in soy and that people are succesfully using in the wax you've chosen. Stick to it and buy a handful of sizes in the vicinity of what you'll need. There are suppliers that will sell in quantities of say 25 rather than 100.

4 - Choose an FO supplier that tests their fragrances in soy. It can be hard to find scents you like that work optimally, so a specialty supplier like "The Scented Bean" can improve your odds.

5 - Don't stray from your one container and 6 fragrances until you really have it down.

Very good advice. It worked well for me to focus on one jar size and master it before testing a lot of fragrances. I am still testing that same jar with new fragrances and I started 3 months ago. I have since learned what wicks work best with certain fragrances. I am very close to selling but I bet I have gone through over 100 lbs of wax. I will only sell this sized jar to begin with because I am confident I have tested, tested, and then tested some more.

-and with soy I know that every new batch I get will have to be tested because they can vary.

Hello...from Minnesota!:wave:

-Joanna

:undecided I use a stainless steel spoon and clean it before each batch. I used to use a wooden spoon, but thought scents like cinnamon would effect the other batches. I do stir my wax a lot as the consistency changes before I pour. I Have not noticed any problems yet.

I have heard of people storing them indoors (out of sunlight/severe temp. changes) for over six months without any bad effects. I also think I read a link here where someone left candles in a "shed" through the winter and such and to their surprise the candles ended up smelling great. I'm sure some more experienced chandlers will chime in here.

Oh man, why you have to tell me there's a sale. I love their fo's. But can you tell me where you see there's a sale?

Never mind I see it. Its the scent of the month only

Don't worry...you are not the only scent addict! I'm buying some stuff from them also tonight!

Happy New Year!

Hey...Millcreek's is on sale this month too! I suppose tonight is the last chance to get the sale price though. Maybe I'll get some. Don't have an odor eliminator one yet.

As far as use...I stick the wick pins in the votive molds and pour the wax into them. I then tap them very slightly to let any bubbles rise. Let it set until they are hard. I have to do a repour with the wax I use to get a nice looking top. I make sure that they are completely cooled and pull the votives out. The next step can be tricky. Some people spray the inside of the mold with a veggi spray. I didn't and a couple sticked the first time I did them. The second batch was fine because you don't clean the molds and the bit of residue from the previous batch helps them slide out. Then I tap the top of the wick pin against my "very old" card table to loosen the wax from the bottom (round part of the pin). Then you can wick it. I started out with 6 molds. I use KY votive wax and love it. I now have a system down and making them is kinda fun now. HTH.

-Good Luck!