PhoenixFyre

Are you kidding? It looks great! I love the swirly planet surrounded by the solid colors. It's fabulous! If you're unhappy with it, just send them my way. I'll put 'em to good use!

Thank you for sending me off to sleep with sparkly, flowery prettiness. *contented sigh*

I can't take any more -- I'm in lovely soap overload!!! You all are so awesome!

Aww. Thanks, Puma! Getting back into the creative flow is always therapeutic.

I third that! The glitter on the top looks awesome with the color of the batter. Very cool!

You are my muse! Just looking at all that beautiful, colorful, creamy goodness makes me itch to go make something, anything, in the hopes it will come out just as lovely as yours. So gorgeous!

@infertilemyrtle You should check out the thread in this forum that TallTayl started about wax and wick testing. She is doing a burn test with C3 wax with different wicks, so it might be something you want to check out. I don't use soy, but from what I've learned on this site, it does need a longer cure, not just for scent throw but also for a better burn. I understand the excitement that comes with burning your first candle, but letting them cure the needed time will make your testing more accurate. Ha-ha! That was my first reaction, too! Then it dawned on me that it must be two separate scents.

They look bee-u-tiful. That's funny because the Harry Potter fan in my house is...me! I loved the pic with the Harry Potter books best, lol!

Wow! You made me tired! Let's see....today I have done, um, nothing. Well, that's not true. I have browsed Craftserver and eaten the yummy pulled chicken I made yesterday, hee-hee. Yesterday was my cleaning day while working with my kiddos on their school lessons (I do love home school!). Today is my day to kick back and read more about soaps and candles (in between a yell for "mom" or "honey" every five minutes, lol). Congrats on having such a productive day! I love days like that.

Absolutely, Trappeur! I'm wearing my Hakuna Matata shirt and enjoying each day as it comes! Besides my own trials, it was also so sad to lose precious Craftserver members/friends last year. I have been so appreciative of this site ever since I discovered it, and I don't know if I would have learned as much about candles and soaps without all the knowledge and encouragement from all of you. It's a comfort to find a group that not only shares wisdom but is willing to share in each others' lives as well. Thank you so much for your well wishes and compliment!

Thanks, Candybee and Terry. It is awesome to feel free to create again, and I missed being able to fully enjoy all the beautiful creations and fun conversations y'all were having on the board. Glad to be part of it again.

Yep...that's a shot of the top of one. That soap didn't move as fast on me as the other one, so I had a little time to swirl some of the leftover TD batter and blue mica on top, so I think that's the spot of blue you're seeing.

Thank you for the laugh, thank you for concurring on the suck-fest I had, and thank you for the welcome back. Oh...and thanks for the swirling compliment.

Thank you and thank you!

I cannot wait to get to the point where I'm piping on soap. The flowers and leaves...just beautiful. Love it!

Thanks to you both. It's definitely more fun going through all the posts I've missed now that the creative juices are flowing again.

Yowza! How fabulous is this! Just goes to show how much you miss when you're away from this board for a while. So terrific, TallTayl! What a great resource for us all. Loving this!

Well, 2016 certainly was a challenging year, so I decided to start 2017 right with getting back to being creative! Lost my Papa (my grandpa) early last year. We knew it was coming, but it was still heartbreaking when it did. My sister and brother-in-law suffered a miscarriage after years of fertility treatments. Then to finish the year, my husband was in a car accident, so we've been dealing with his injuries, lawyers, and insurance companies for the last five months. So, while I've popped in here from time to time to lurk, my heart just hasn't been in the creative spirit and my candles and soap were put on hold. Thankfully, times to mourn pass and times to laugh come back. My hubby is on the mend, and my sister announced that they are pregnant again and have made it to the second trimester. So I figured it's time to get my butt back into gear and made some soap to celebrate at her baby shower in a couple of months. She's having a boy, and the colors of the shower are blue and white. The white base with the blue swirls is a mix of mango, papaya, and grapefruit mangosteen, which riced on me a bit and then accelerated, so didn't have much time to play. The blue base with white swirls is blackberry sage. So glad to be back among the creative and inspirational people here!

Hey there! Hope to see you around the board.

If you ever have questions about terminology, don't hesitate to jump in and ask. Most of the "lingo" is pretty easy to understand once you've spent time on this forum. I've been at this hobby for a year and a half now, and I still sometimes Google the number of a wax or wick that I see mentioned but am not familiar with just so I can learn about it. As far as what to start with, that's really up to you. Depends on what type of wax, candle style, etc. that you're interested in making. A lot of people start out with kits, including myself. I found one pretty inexpensively on eBay that was from Candlewic. It gave me just enough supplies to make a few candles and get my feet wet with the process...helped to get me over the initial anxiety of making that first candle. Plus it came with a pour pot which I still use. It's not a cheap hobby by any means, but just start simple and take it one wax at a time, lol.

I'll be interested to see if they did too. I think that Brent and the owner of Maple Street used to be friends - or were at least acquainted - when Maple Street sold dye chips and before they sold fragrance oils. I believe, though, that Maple Street started selling fragrance oil before Brent passed away. I could be wrong --- my brain gets fuzzier on dates the older I get, lol.

Don't second guess yourself. I've had the same thing happen with the HTP 83 and 93. I use paraffin, and with some scents the 93 burns hotter than the 83, and then with others the 83 has burned hotter. Just goes to show why we test, lol.

Whoo-hoo! Very cool!

Not sure which posts you were considering, but I wouldn't mind at all. Please, feel free.

I am so bummed for all the trouble you are going through and wish I could help, but I'm also thankful for your post. I decided to try out 4786 because of the many positive comments about it on this board and my closest option was Lonestar. I've never experienced what you did with the yellow discoloration or the condensation, but you are dead on when you say Lonestar's 4786 can't be used for tarts. I thought I was losing my mind and that this wax just didn't like me because for the life of me I could not get it to perform by itself or in a blend like I thought it would perform. I was about to give up on it and move on to something else. I never stopped to think that I should try a different vendor's 4786. Last I checked, Bulk Apothecary, Aztec, and Bitter Creek South all carry 4786, so maybe when Peak gets some back in stock I'll try Peak's and compare it to the other vendors as well.