Karen B

Total newbie here who should just keep her mouth shut. (but I've never been know to keep my mouth shut probably won't start now) Anyway the 1st thought that came to mind for some reason is Sweet Almond Oil. I don't know just a thought though. Karen B

I use these wick's (superiors) I also love them. Yes they do give you a cleaner burn, and also they are the closest thing to a true self trimming wick I've found. I've tried just about every wick out there & these are by far my favorites. I almost wish you all wouldn't find out about them because it's like one of my little secrets this way. j/k Karen B

stupid question alert!!!! Is that scented in Monkey Fart's? all I can read from the label is "Fart Monster Spray". If its supposted keep my DH's farts away I need a much bigger bottle. J/K, I know kids love that monster spray, just trying to figure out what you have on the label. BTW I love the colorfull bottles, & the baskets are really cute. Karen

I have to agree with amieelynne on this. Not that I make sugar scrubs, but my DH is type 1 diabetic. The concern is more any small scratches or wounds especially on the legs & feet. Not that it's NOT OK, certainly the "sugar" in the scrub is not going to elevate there sugar levels unless they eat it. (ewww) It's more they just have to watch any small wounds especially on the legs & feet can lead to something very serious. hth, Karen

Yes there was, (although I don't remember if it was a sticky on these pages or not) I personally printed out the thing because of how valuable I found the whole thing) (OK & I'm a space case, so it needs to be writen down or I'm search the WWW for hours trying to figure out where I had see what I'm looking for) here is the link to the message I believe your talking about. http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3164 If you need to find it yourself, go to the main Candletech message board page, at the top you'll see the 1st section is Acess the Archives, DO NOT click on that, look down in small print,(put you reading glasses on it's not easy to read) you'll see sub forums, Soap/B&B FAQ click on that & her sticky is there along with some others. Karen

Nope I actually do understand what your trying to say. (well kinda, experience will really give me the knowledge I need) thanks so much, Karen

Thanks for your reply, I was just wondering. Like I said I'm still kind of "playing with fats" (not the stuff on my body) Just curious if that was a big no, no. Like trying to use a pillar wax in a container. You **could** do it but you really don't want to. It sounds more like different "personalities" to me. You don't need the extra harding qualities from the palm so why added it. I think I get it, thanks so much. Karen B

Kind of hijacking this thread here. I understand it's all different soapers opinions & "personalities" of there soaps. But can I ask your opinion as to why you don't use PKO & Palm Oil together in a recipe? Does it get to drying or what you don't like about it. Sorry for the really stupid question, I'm playing around with all kids of butters & oils right now & just wondered. (wow is there a lot to play with too) thanks, Karen

Um, since I've made a wopping 3 whole batches I should probably just keep my mouth shut, but I'm very talented at putting my foot in my mouth :lipsrseal :tiptoe: . Maybe that little bit of weight you lost is from when you added the lye. The water get's so hot maybe it was just a little bit of evaporation? OK I'll shut up now & let the real soap makers help you out, Karen B

I thought they called it plagiarism. Chele you handled that very nicely, nicer than I would have. K

Oh shoot, can't imagine what my DH would have to say to me. :tiptoe: I think the important thing is to make sure you flush it down the line. Just run lots of hot water. Now for the water in the double boiler, well since I have my own area I just leave it in the pot. Most of the time I'm down there the next day doing more candles so I really don't have to worry. I don't have a sink in my pouring area yet so my biggest problem is I get so lazy about going upstairs to get more water. Karen B

Do not ever dump wax down your drains, its a really bad idea. Now that being said I've been told baking soda, then vinegar, watch it bubble. BUT, then you should have boiling water ready & pour that down too. I know someone that didn't do the boiling water part. The baking soda didn't totally desolve & ended up getting rock hard. They had to replace that part of the drain that the baking soda was stuck so don't forget to wash it down with the boiling water. Personally I don't even mess with this stuff, I just try to watch what I put down there in the 1st place. Karen B

LX wick's & superior wicks are my favorite wicks.(for votives) IF you can buy 1,000 at a time I'd recomend testing the superiors otherwise go for the LX's. JMHO Karen B

Hey ChrisR you used a silicone mold & it released OK. I just assumed this wax wouldn't be very willing to come out of a mold without breaking. Or was it the beeswax that helped. Karen B

Aw thanks Bruce, hope you don't mind I looked a little "sloppy" that day I was still in my "candle pouring clothes". Oh & in that one shot, you can kind of see my DH in the back, We were just sitting around casually enjoying our "summer Villa" when they came by. Karen B

I'm sure that little space is fine but because of a few accidents with my heat gun I have a lot more respect for that thing. (BTW if your pouring water into your pot for a water bath & realize the heat gun is pluged in & a little to close to the water for your comfort level, please look up to see where your hands are going when you grab it to move it, the metal part remains very hot and will burn your hands if you just happen to grab it from that end) I find it a lot easier to get a lighter & heat the tab with that then with the other side of the lighter push it a little bit more into the wax. I only do this because even with a warning label on the bottom I still find that little tab will try to find it's way out of the votive. hth, Karen B

Umm, I kinda have one, NOT that this has EVER happened to ME. It was a "friend" of mine, ya that's it...it was a friend of mine that this happened to. OK she has a neat house but her pouring room can get a little messy. She had company coming over & needed to hide all her notes & sample bottles of FO very quickly to make it look like her pouring is actually very neat. Well, did you know FO will take the ink off your notes? Just my little tip, do not put your hand writen notes in the same box that you're throwing your notes into. You'll come back to empty peace's of paper, which is not good when you can't remember how much stearic to add to your mottled candles. Not that this has happened to ME or anything. :tiptoe: :tiptoe: :tiptoe: Karen B (who now keeps her notes in a filing cabinet UPSTAIRS far away from any FO)

Thanks MommaD, Actually the bottom was about 7/8" so I "think" that's a regular sized taper. I didn't use any BW with them but I did have to use a 21 flat ply. to get a decent burn. I'm absolutely no expert in tapers at all & even though I do qualify as crazy, I'd have to loose a few more brain cell's before I'd ever concider selling these things. Hand diped tapers are not only a lot of work but that bayberry was a lot of fun to get a decent burn from. (plus I'm not really into the smell of that wax, beeswax is much nicer) Wish I would have talked to you before Christmas, never thought about those really thin tapers, maybe those would have been easier all the way around. Karen B

Kind of have to agree with HenryK take this advice for what it's worth, I haven't done beeswax sheets tapers but I've done bayberry wax tapers for family & friends as Christmas gifts & stuff. My testing was from start to finish. Make sure flame doesn't get to big, no dripping, & self consumes nicely all the way down. I'm certainly no expert in tapers, that's just what I looked for before I gave them out as gifts. But I also made sure the people that would be burning them had a positive IQ level. Karen B

OH my Gosh I'm a "Wax Drip" Must say I've been called many things in my day but this may be a 1st Karen B

I don't use this mold so don't really know how much help I am but I was thinking maybe you should try switching to LX wicks. Maybe an LX-18 or LX-20. (oh BTW just to make matters worse I don't even use your wax) Karen B (who thinks her ranking should say resident expert at blowing hot air)

Boy where have I herd this before? I know this is falling on deaf ears but I need to say it anyway when we say test your candles we mean in EACH scent you will be offering it in. You've made one votive with this wax & within a few days there it is on you website offered in all different scents. Most experienced candle makers work for a long time with this wax before they offer it up to customers. Karen B

I use it in my containers (paraffin) it gives better burn times. Really can help the candle burn cleaner. I find when you do it right you can get a longer burning candle without having to change wicks. But the percent will probably be different depending on the wax & wick's you use. Also I use straight paraffin & don't need to add as much vybar. The other benefit is there are just those people out there that like to hear there is bees wax in your candles. Play around with the % start with 5-10-15-20 see what you like & what will work for you. HTH, Karen B

OK lets get this straight I need to rub my mold between my hands to warm it up then make sure I try blowing my candle threw the wick hole. All this should make my wicks stiff too. :tiptoe: Karen B (sorry, I just had to join the crowd headed down hill)

Oh yes I've done a lot of your mistakes guys. Grabbing the heat gun to quickly get it away from the mold as I prepared the water bath & yep grabbed it by the hot tip. But my all time favorite stupid mistake I think tops everyone. A neighbor had come by while I was in the middle of pouring candles & dropped off some european chocolates. She set it on the counter top for me to eat while making candles. As I'm in the middle of my chocolate high I grab another peace put it right in my mouth to descover it was one of my dye blocks. I don't use dye blocks anymore & I don't eat while making candles anymore either. Karen