Incendia

Less is more. Very appealing labels.

Each bar of the pink, red, and green is different. And each is beautiful. Very nice.

The only date I know for sure is when I get them. And I don't mark the bottles with that info. I probably should.

There are no 'best by' dates that I've ever seen stamped on a bottle by the supplier.

Wow! Just beautiful.

Do you have a link or photo? 

Thanks.

"Save me!"

1 hour ago, Trappeur said:

.....  So you are saying it only reads surfaces?   So would that mean the inside of the liquid is going to be hotter?  Darn!  ....... [snip]........I guess what I'll have to do is do a side by side test and see what a batch of wax reads with a candy thermometer and a batch using my infrared one and compare....

I believe when they say it measures surfaces, they mean opaque objects. The suggestion was that you can't use it to accurately measure the temperature of the human body, for example, since it will only measure the temp of the skin the laser hits.

But transparent liquids such as wax are different since the laser can go through it. I don't know how accurate it is with liquids, and I am finding some variation.  I think to some extent it depends on the container the liquid is in - if is it shiny, will might reflect the laser. And perhaps how deep the liquid is might be another factor. Just guessing here.

It's been about two months since I've had mine. In that time I've read of a number of people using them successfully with wax. But I think your suggestion to do a side by side comparison in the same batch of wax would be both easy, interesting, and set your mind at ease. I have found that the readings in my wax seem more stable when pointed at melted wax that is deeper. Since at times I don't melt large quantities, and my pan is shiny.  I will tilt the pan for greater depth of wax and take my readings in the deeper liquid.

If you have been using one of these for along time, and your candles turn out good and are consistent, there shouldn't be anything to worry about.

Oh, and the laser thermometer makes a great cat toy.

Also, different dyes were used. That's another variable.

I ask in innocence... some of those ingredients do not sound very inviting. Why would someone buy and use a soap with neem, pine tar, and stinging nettle? Must be some sort of traditional remedy.

Good luck with your rebatch.

Hi keen bean. I won't say welcome cuz you've been here much longer than I have. So, 'Hi!' from another Californian.

Very pretty. Nice use for hoarded papers. (I have a lot of that myself.)

Do you buy the large tea bags premade? How do you seal them?

Thanks.  

I was looking at some (gasp) YouTube videos about this, and it didn't look too difficult. It I hadn't had too many other things to do today, I would have probably played around with it.

MMS - Majestic Mountain Sage

As long as I had to look it up, might as well post it for others who don't know all the acronyms.  

I have some old, boring commercial soaps that I'd like to try to kick up a notch with some of my acquired skin-safe FOs. But I don't know what this process is called so I can look up information. I have made a few soaps years ago, but I'm looking for a technique that is as simple as possible. Can it be done, and would it be called re-batching, or milling, or French milling? Or something else?

Hi Jacquie, welcome.

I too am retired and returning, yet again, to candle making after my 'real' life as a biologist. I live on the left coast. There are a lot of people here who really know what they are doing and are very helpful. (You can also find a lot of information in past threads and 'search'.)

But be very careful.. there are aspects of this endeavor that can be extremely addicting.

And there are lots of enablers here.

1 hour ago, Seahawks said:

Honestly - I'm not here to expand on how I choose to operate.

I have no further questions. You've told me all I need to know.

Good luck with your endeavor.

Thanks for replying.  I think you said this would be an online business. Do you have an up and running website we could look at?

Since this will be a new business, how do you intend to attract paying customers? 

Have you ever sold 'artsy' products before? Or for that matter, anything else?  Please elaborate.

Thanks.

Will you show us some samples of your work?

Thanks.

Rats... For a moment I thought you were going to be giving away a bunch of FOs for free.  

Carry on....

I'm always amazed at how pretty handmade soaps can be. Who knew?

21 hours ago, Trappeur said:

Now I can vouch for Lux Linen.  I have a store that carries that and it has been a consistant #1 seller for them for the past 2 years.  It is an upscale scent I would say and is so different...I like it as well.

What is meant by 'upscale scent'? Something more likely to be found in a pricey boutique type place? More complex than say a simple vanilla or peach?

I sure wish there was a candle supplier close to me. It would be fun to spend some time seeing and smelling all that was possible. But then again, maybe not, lol.

3 hours ago, glasllyn said:

It's terrible. What makes it worse is that I need several FOs but they're all from different vendors, which means shipping, shipping, shipping. Bah!

Same here. I'm holding out for as long as I can however. I need to use many FOs I already have that I really like. And it's a one-way expense since I don't sell anything to recoup the fun.  I do miss those packages coming in, and the first sniffs out of those delicious little bottles. That is a real high, lol.

Would it have been possible to put the inked side away from the soap? Very pretty soap by the way.

I've purchased at our Ross discount stores plastic kitchen cutting mats for slicing veggies, etc. They came 4 to a package, and were about one dollar each. But they are not always available.

For some craftsy uses, I've sliced up used tennis ball 'cans' to make clear cylinders that things don't stick to.. But those would probably be too small both in diameter and length for your needs.

If you make your own wick assemblies as I do, make sure you crimp high and hard. If you don't, the wax will wick/burn all the way to the bottom. I've got strong hands, and I still don't always get it right. In addition, If you crimp too low, you can easily bend the bottom metal base so it no longer sits flat. So the trick is to find the happy medium.

Also, it can be difficult to find a la carte 9 or 10mm wick tabs separately in reasonable amounts. Candlewic, if I recall, does sell bags of 9mm ones. There are probably others, but I just decided to stick with my existing 6mm ones since I don't sell my candles, and only give to people I know to be responsible.