heartsong

Looking to sharpen my skills in wax melts and to meet some nice crafters...Maybe some will know me from many moons ago from the cold process soap forum.

Nice to be back!

Since TC is now out of business, has anyone heard if any vendor is going to carry any of her fragrances?  I'm in search of her Oats, Milk & Honey...A lightly discoloring sweet vanilla cream scent...I'm just sick over this!

16 minutes ago, Moonstar said:

Can the program be used with Apple or just Windows ? I'll have to check it out ! 

 I assume that it would be...there's a free trial plus tutorial available.

 First, I wish to thank CrazeKelly for pointing me to this program from online labels.com!

I buy my labels as full sheets, and then cut them myself...I buy my labels from online labels.com and for a purchase of $10 you get 3 months access to this program...no downloads!  If you are familiar with Windows 10 photo gallery and how to edit/crop/etc photos, you'll feel right at home. You can also save your labels.

I love their fonts, too!  In 2 hours I have created 4 different soap labels!  I highly recommend this one...the more you work with this, the more you find new goodies to finesse the labels.

https://www.onlinelabels.com/general/maestro-label-design-software-pricing.aspx

 Many thanks, it looks like they were having problems previously with the windows 10 users and must have updated things...looking thru the tutorials right now.

Is this the download program that you are using?  I can't find a link to anything else...if it matters, I have windows 10.

http://www.avery.com/avery/en_us/Templates-%26-Software/Software/Avery-Design--Print.htm?int_id=topnav-templates-designprintsoftware

18 hours ago, KrazeKelly said:

 I print on full sheet labels and then cut them myself. So you can use their label sizes or you can customize your own size. 

Thanks sweetie, you're a blessing!  I did the same with Printshop...off to look at that program right now! 

 Thank you, Sherry for such a nice demo and recipe!  Shea butter is one of my favorites!

 Kelly, may I ask what label program you use, or if you could recommend a user friendly one?  My computer crashed along with 100's of labels and now the new Print Shop I bought really sucks!  The old one was perfect, but I find this new program blurs the letters on both my computers.

 I think your product idea and you packaging is just marvelous!  "Salt of the Earth"  That says it all, and is self explanatory...perfect!

Cierra Candles has great customer service...send them an email with your order number and follow up with a call in the morning and I'm sure they'll tuck a VBN for you...they have a very pleasant frazier fir that I make soap with, too.

 Bless your hearts!  Thank you, my dears for all the info!  This was a wonderful post, and I love learning new things!

Wow, thank you for the info and photos!  For some odd reason this has never happened to me before...so the F/O would always be the culprit?  The separation appears like greasy applesauce or mashed potatoes...everything was okay until the addition of the F/O?

I'm very curious about the egg yolk, too...its a lather booster?  Since I make a lot of lard soap, the addition of eggs certainly won't freak out my customers.

Exactly how do you incorporated the egg into the batter?  Stick blend into F/O, then add to batter?

How do you avoid the lye making it into, like scrambled eggs?

 I must lead a very sheltered life...

 Holy cow, woman!  That's a lot to do even when you're in top shape, let alone after surgery!  I truly hope you don't over-do it and set your recuperation back!

 Great looking soapies!  Wow, have you been busy!  Concentrate on getting well!  Hugs, xxx

  First, I must say they were fast shipping and second, I really like the prices!  I ordered 8 oz Bay Rum, so I earned a free 1 oz sample and then I also got 5 more 1 oz fragrances (edited ... no cost specifics needed on FOs except under sales, sorry. Scented)

OOB impressions, but only soaping will tell:

Bay Rum-heavy on the clove, but I do smell a bit of bay and citrus...pleasant and I think this will be a pleasant, non-cologney scent.

Blackberry sage-I really like this one!  Not sticky-sweet, a very deep black berry scent.

Oak for Men-Kinda too cologne-y for me, but pleasant.

Jasmine-this is kinda like the real jasmine essential that you could buy in the 1960's...not what I was looking for.

Lemon Drops- This is not the sour candy scent I expected...more of a lemon verbena.

Grapefruit-Not an in-your-face sour, but more of a pink grapefruit...a bit sweeter.

Rosemary Pepper-Now I really like this one! This really smells like rosemary and other herbs in the garden! Not sweet, very herbal without being minty. Not like Aveda rosemary mint at all.

I'm only home for 2 days, so I could only do 2 sample batches using my lard recipe and since I'm searching for a couple good citrus scents, I did Grapefruit & Lemon Drops.

Soaped both at 115* with no water discount, and with .75 oz F/O ppo, which is low for citrus, since some fade. I just cut them and they're on the rack. Even tho I added sugar and coconut milk, neither over-heated or went thru gel...no drama soaping issues.

The Grapefruit came out perfectly! No fragrance fade or morph going thru lye...scent nice and strong, but time will tell. If it remains strong, then all I have to do is discount the water amount for a lasting scent.

The Lemon Drops turned bright pumpkin orange as soon as it hit the batter! I was using Nurturesoap's Lemon Chiffon mica at 1 tsp ppo, and I'm not too alarmed yet as I have had this happen before and the yellow comes back as the soap cures...time will tell. The scent is softer, still lemony, but more herbal, like verbena.

Now, I have to put my toys away and get ready to get back on the road Monday...can't wait to soap Rosemary Pepper and Blackberry sage next...and to review how my 2 sample batches turn out.

8 hours ago, Moonstar said:

Has anyone told you how amazing you are lately  Thank you ! 

 Aww, bless your heart...I just love helping others enjoy a craft that I have found so much enjoyment in...My Dad used to say "We're all in the same lifeboat of Life, so it's easier when we all paddle in the same direction."

2 hours ago, Moonstar said:

Bohemian Vanilla ??? 

 Good one!  Or how about "Moonlight Vanilla"  or " Sweet Vanilla Dreams" or "Vanilla Bliss?"

There is a VS scent called Vanilla Lace, so that might confuse customers?  Maybe "Twilight Vanilla" or Moonstar's "Sensual Vanilla" sounds nice...because of the Twilight movies, that might be a hit?

7 hours ago, Terry said:

For someone who is learning about soapmaking like me - would this  be a CP recipe or HP or can it be used both ways?  

 Terry, I believe you can use it in either way...I've only HP'd a couple times and prefer CP...maybe someone more experienced can step in to answer this question?

This recipe has a water discount to speed curing in CP soap...I'm not sure if you need to adjust the water amount for HP?

8 hours ago, Moonstar said:

Geez I forgot to ask .... Is the recipe already superfatted or do I need to do that ? Thanks so much again  

if you look to the side of  the lye amount used, you will see that there is a 5% superfat, so you're good to go.

I calibrated this recipe to fit the Brambleberry 50 oz mold...if you have any left over, scrape it in a little plastic bowl and weigh it...then we'll re calibrate the recipe so its a better fit for you.

For the WSP's Crafter's Choice mold, which is a smaller mold, 28 ozs oils fills the mold to the top, then I just level it with a plastic ruler and then cover with wax paper. 

14 hours ago, Sponiebr said:

I was just thinking about making a pine tar lard batch... I have a pound of Armour lard that I was deliberating what to do with it. I can't stand the smell of 100% lard based soap, does blending it knock the piggy smell down a bit? 

 Yes, very much so...in fact I make one batch unscented for a customer and another with just 1/2 TBSP tea tree oil ppo for another and have no complaints.  I'm not partial to 100% lard soap as I get DOS issues...no issues with this recipe.

Also, I refridgerate any left over lard that I don't use to keep it fresh after opening.

 here is another vendor (out of business) but watch the video...it shows you how to make these.http://www.soapies-supplies.com/shop/bath-bomb_press.html 

This makes a tablet...very, very hard, so no crumbles or warts and fizzes a long time.  It makes a round tablet tablet any thickness you want...all it is is a 2" PVC tube with a dowel. when it is filled to the size you want it, then you gently tap a few times with a hammer...tablet becomes rock hard.

 This is my solution to my bath bomb fizzles...works great, but she is now out of business...I think the Soap Wizards still carry them?

 I admire anyone who can make bath fizzies!  I could never pull it off...warts, crumbly, etc. so hats-off to all you "bombers!"