dovestudios

If you upgrade to the Mals Premium account (I think it is like $8 per month) you can use both the USPS shipping calculator or the UPS calculator to figure your exact shipping. You can still set a handling fee too if you need to cover shipping supplies on top of the postage amount. Donna

It is very thick, holds scent well without thinning and leaves the skin silky soft. I like it a lot. It also has great lather. The only drawback is it is so thick that it is awkward to get it into a bottle. I found the consistencey to be very similar to the base that To Die For sells. Hope this helps! Donna

Maybe your ingredients are too hot when you add the FL oil? Although FL oils are safe to taste, they are still volatile just like fragrance oils and if you add them when the ingredients are too hot the fragrance/flavor will evaporate and lose strength. HTH Donna

I have version 9. I didn't upgrade this time because I am totally satisfied with 9. You can get 9 on ebay or you can get the latest version from the Corel site. I use PSP 9 as much as I use Photoshop 7. It is a powerful program, yet is fun as well. They will give you a 30 day tryout on the Corel site. I would recommend with any new program you get the tryout to make sure it is what you are looking for. http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite?c=Product_C1&cid=1155872554948&lc=en&pagename=CorelCom%2FLayout Donna

If you want a lot of the same features as Photoshop, but don't want to pay such a high price, I would suggest Paint Shop Pro. It is awesome for editing photos. Plus, photoshop filters and plugins are compatible with PSP. Donna

Take a look at the source code on this page: http://www.tne.co.uk/2006/mals/user-entered-value-plus-total-discount.html It has a script that will help you with multiple item discounts. Just follow the directions in the code and change the perameters to your own mals account and product names/prices. HTH! Donna

I get mine from the Chemistry Store but I see they will no longer carry it. ugh... Donna

I'm glad you got it! Donna

I can draw one up for you. Do you want it to say anything? Donna

It is also an emulsifier.

Lotioncrafter.com sells a liquid silicone called Phenyl Trimethicone that is awesome for imparting shine. It is a bit pricey, but you only need a little to get good results, so a little bit goes a long way. Recommended useage amount is 1 to 10% of total ingredient volume. You would mix it in as one of your liquid oils in your lip balm recipe. Using the PT with castor oil will give you maximum benefits for shine. PT is about the consitancy of cyclomethicone and is colorless and tasteless. It is also awesome as in ingredient in hair serums to impart a glossy shine; which is what I primarily use it for. http://www.lotioncrafter.com/store/LC1550-Phenyl-Trimethicone-pr-16218.html Hope htis helps! Donna

You can make a frosting with SLSA and it will be nice and hard and bubble when put unter the faucet. SLSA acts just like powdered sugar. You can make a mixture of a hard butter, like cocoa butter and tro with slsa and corn starch with a little cream of tartar (helps bubbles stay longer in the tub)...whip it all together and pipe out. Note** shea butter won't harden enough. I Hope this helps. I don't have an actual recipe, so you will need to experiment. Donna

Everything looks wonderful! I especially like the old washpan. Your set up looks very organized and visually appealing! Donna

You can email me at: soapgraphics@charter.net Donna

I offer label design. I can source a professional printer for you (I don't offer inhouse pringing, but I have worked with some outstanding online printers.) You can PM me if you are interested and /or need references samples. Donna

I totally agree. I have worked with Century... the quality and pricing is outstanding. Now that they have opened Print My Thing, it is even easier to get your labels printed. Donna

It depends on the suppier. I know Sweetcakes says no way. I emailed them once and asked. I would ask the actual vendor if it is ok with them. If it is, go for it, if not then it is copyright infringment. HTH! Donna

I have worked with http://www.centurysolutions.com/ Their turn around time is quick and their pricing is reasonable. The printed labels are very nice. Donna

Google images are collected in much the same way websites are indexed in Google. A spider goes from site to site and collects the information. When you search for an image in Google images, you are searching through material the belongs to other people . When an image is created, the copyright belongs to the creator. It may be sold or transferred to another individual or licensed to many individuals, ( like you would see on a clipart site.) If you grab an image and make a derivative work from it without permission, you are violating that person's copyrights and could end up in legal trouble. Some images are in the public domain and may be used without restriction. These images are few and far between and consist of work that was created more than 50 years ago by artists who are no longer living and without living descendants who have inherited the rights to the images. Even clipart sites are pretty strict on the usage of their images and do not permit them to be used in logos or service marks without permission and/or a high fee for exclusive use. One of the main reasons for these laws is to protect the people who create the works and derive their living from the sale of the works. When someone uses an image without permission and/or payment, they are in essence stealing money from the pockets of the artist who created the image. While images are not tangible, they are property. If you drove by a field and saw a pile of lumber that you really needed to build your house, you would not take the lumber because you know it belongs to someone else. You know it would be stealing. The same principle applies to material online. Aside from all the legal issues, you really wouldn't want to use an image that may show up somewhere else because you would want your logo to be unique from all others. You would not want to use an image that was not unique to you. Your best bet is to have your designer draw an image for you. That way, you don't have to worry about copyright or originality. I hope this helps! Donna

Here is one that will size and/or rotate the photo, then will let you crop it http://www.resize2mail.com/ Hope this helps. Donna

Thank you for the compliment Donna

When I create a label or other graphic for a client, I get as much info as I can about what they have in mind, then draw up a draft based on the info. I then will do as many revisions to that draft as they ask for; or if they do not like the draft I will ask them to tell me what they don't like about it and what they do like and then I will make a new one. I do this until they are pleased. I don't charge extra for revisions and I will make as many changes no matter how small until the client is pleased with the final design. I try to keep my own design preferences out of the picture and become a tool for my clients that they can use to create their perfect logo or label. Good communication is vital to insure that the designer gets a clear picture of what you have in your mind's eye. Sometimes my clients will send me images they like to show me a style or concept that caught their eye. I use industry standard software to insure compatibility with professional printers. All work I do is on the computer hand drawn with a mouse. A client will sometimes request that a photo be used on a label rather than my hand drawn art. If so, I will outsource a royalty free photo that is clear to use in business printing. There are a lot of clipart/photo suppliers that do not allow their art to be printed on business items or 'for sale' items. If your designer uses clipart on your labels, make sure you know the source so you can check the licening terms. Never allow a designer to use clipart in a logo or you may end up in legal trouble down the road for violating the copyrights of the clipart owner. I now of no clipart company that will allow their art to be used in a logo or other service mark without a high fee to purchase the full rights to the artwork. Hope this helps! Donna

I have been in the graphics and web design business for almost 10 years and I have been doing graphics and web work for soapers and chandlers for almost 4 years. I do: (WD) (L) (LB) plus print work like brochures, stationery, print ads, business cards and soap box template design, set up for printed banners etc. I also do web graphics like banners and website templates, forum signatures and avitars...etc. I am pretty new over here, but I see lots of folks I know from the Dish Thanks! Donna

You might want to consider adding what your product is at the end of your biz name and trying that. Like: www.yourbiznamesoaps.com or www.yourbiznamecandles.com That will help two fold...it will keep your business name in the URL and make it less likely for confusion AND it may help with search engine rankings. Some search engines will rank you higher if you have the actual name of your product in the url. HTH! Donna

I offer a database cart system that allows wholesale log in as long as wholesale pricing is at a percentage of the retail pricing. I use a system that has a back end with a control panel making product updates a breeze. You can set individual items or whole categories on sale, add or remove photos or descriptions or set items as unavailable with a click of the mouse. Sale prices don't pass to the wholesale customers. The system is capable of keeping inventory and will automatically set an item as unavailable if you sell out of your current stock. You can also set it to cross sell related items. The system incorporates order tracing, a website search and a wish list feature for your customers. On the admin side you can track customers and keep records. Order info can be downloaded for accounting purposes. The system uses Mals to actually process the orders, then passes the info back to your admin area, so you don't have to bother with a SSL. Most databased systems require a SSL. I offer this system several ways. I can custom design the whole site, configure everything and add your products and info, I can design it and set it up to add your own content, or I can install the system and allow you to do the design yourself and add your own content. There are different price levels for each option. Feel free to email me or visit my site for references. I don't post much on this board, but I have worked within the soaper/chandler community for years. I am a soaper and lotion crafter myself, but I make bath and body products only as a hobby at this time. Donna