LittleMissSunshine

Okay phew that's good haha. You can barely even tell they're there. And thank you thank you!! I was surprised by how nice the swirls came out, especially with how thick the batter was. It was definitely pudding thick, heavy trace haha. And thanks! I actually like the textured top too! 😊 I don't hate the fragrance the way it is now. It was a really like sexy, sensual kind of scent before and now it kind of smells like....black tea with like berries in it? Or something like that. So it's still a nice fragrance, but here's hoping it goes back to the original! 😁 Haha there are so many I want to make! I already had a ton of fragrances, and now I just got a ton of samples from the CS sample sale lol!! I want to try them all!!!

I probably will test it out! and I did make sure to run it through soapcalc before making it. It was actually a good way for me to learn how it works!

It's a little messy, especially on top, but I love it! I actually think it looks really pretty. 4 weeks is going to be a long time to wait!

I love it! The colors actually look really nice right now. Let's hope it stays that way! the fragrance seems like it's morphed a little. Wondering if it will morph back...? You can see the spots/holes on it from it being so thick so it didn't completely settle. Anyway! Here's the cut. I did the zap test too and we're all good. Although there are a few little white spots at the bottom on one that I'm worried about. Should I be worried?

It feels pretty firm, and the sides of the mold peeled away from it really easily. I think it would probably be okay. But I'm going to give it another couple hours to be sure. Thank you! What do I do if the zap test fails?

Absolutely! Do you think it'll be good after 18hrs? Or will it need a full 24hrs? What's the best way to tell?

Ooooh! That's smart thinking!

Haha so it was a little bit of a mess! I really wanted to try fragrance and colors, even as a first time. So I asked my husband and he picked Amber Noir from CS and black and purple. Just a little 1lb recipe so it's not too much. The recipe is from Yellow Cottage Soapery's video on YouTube for beginner soapers. I'm pretty sure that the colors are going to completely discolor so the whole thing is kind of a weird shade of grey lol! It also thickened up on me a lot so I had to scoop it into the mold. I definitely need to learn how to tell what trace looks like, but I know that will come with experience. Hopefully it comes out at least somewhat okay. But either way it was a lot of fun and I wish I had another small mold so I could make more!! 😍

Eeeeeeeee!!! I'm so excited!!!

Maybe I am wrong for starting out wanting to sell. I probably could have taken it more slowly. But I have my goals, and I am not going to stop reaching for them.

@Sarah S Thank you for your input! I really appreciate it. Honestly. For me, I decided to start with candle making as a hobby, but I really loved it so much and felt so inspired that I quickly decided I wanted to take it further. Part of it definitely was trying to recoop expenses for buying everything, especially when I am at home with the baby right now, not working, and we are living on a budget. But the more I delved into it, the more excited I got. I made a plan, figured out what I want to do, what I want to be. I made goals. And everyone saying, "you're not ready, you're not ready," really was disheartening for me. I like having a goal and something to work for. I thoroughly enjoy everything I make, and I don't think I'll ever stop making any of it. But having a goal in mind for what I'm going to do with it is really motivating.

Yes!! This is exactly where I am at. I had a 50lb box of 464, spent months working with it. I got it to a point where I felt like I couldn't get it too much better without excruciating amounts of extra testing and whatnot for small improvements. But when I got to the bottom of the box I had to sit and think for a while.....is this worth it? Lol. And I don't mean candle-making. I LOVE making candles. I meant dealing with the soy. So I decided to switch to parasoy. And I also have been figuring out my business at the same time. What is going to be my appeal? What is my flavor? What jars am I going to use? So finally I settled on 6006 and a couple different jars. And now I feel like I am starting over with testing all over again haha.

I feel like I've been in a total funk lately! I think a lot of it has just been Winter. I go into total hibernation mode. Another problem is that I read this whole big post on another forum saying why "you're not ready to start selling". I mean, I already knew that, but it was pretty discouraging and really made me step back a bit from making stuff. The business side of everything has been extremely motivating for me. Now I'm also in this weird place where I'm just testing everything? Like I will make one or two candles so I can wick test them and then not make anything for days or weeks because I want to test them first. I'm even taking some time to use my scrubs and make sure the preservative holds up, so I don't want to make more of those either. And I haven't gotten the chance to try out my CP stuff with my little one around. I am usually exhausted by the time she goes to bed lately and don't want to do anything. Plus I don't have a store yet, so I don't have orders to fill or craft fairs to prep for. I feel like I have no reason to make anything. You know? Have any of you ever felt this way? What do you do?

My need for the gooseberry is much....nerdier. Lol. There is a book and video game series called The Witcher. One of my favorites of all time. The main love interest, a sorceress, is said to always smell of Lilac & Gooseberries. <3 So I really wanted to make some sugar scrubs, lotions, soaps, etc. all based around her and scented with that. I am beyond excited.

I just ordered from C&S! Including shipping, they were the cheapest I could find for 6006. And since they're the closest distributor to me (I'm in ME, they're in PA) it got here like 2 days after they shipped it! Woo! I also ordered Gooseberry FO because I have been looking for one everywhere and they had it on sale for $9.99/lb! They also included a pour cover thing with the FO, so that's pretty cool. Overall, I'm very happy.

Well....as a newbie, that was very educational haha. But now you're making me question the jars I'm looking at. https://www.fillmorecontainer.com/g16-03c-case12jar-12oz.html Are these too wide? I'm also looking at doing 16oz Apothecary Jars, which are very wide, but I would be double or even triple-wicking them....so would that be okay? Wicking is the most complicated and confusing part about candle-making....

So crazy that you posted this lol. I literally just made my first one today Haha! I love these so much. They're so adorable. I was thinking about doing even more of them but probably without lids. I did a bit of searching today and only found rubber/plastic lids for them, so I'd rather go lidless. I was also trying to see if there's any way to buy these in bulk lol. 😂 Here I was just trying to see how much wax I could fit. No wick or fragrance or anything. 5oz of wax.

I am up in Farmington, a couple hours from both Orono and Portland. Much more out in the boonies. It's so exciting to see so many Mainers! Love it!

So glad to hear you say this, because I just ordered 60lbs of 6006! So excited to try it. I've heard great things. And I completely agree with your sentiment. I am so excited to move on away from pure soy. I'll be trying CD wicks for now, and possibly zinc depending on how the CD's perform.

Are you from Maine too? Shipping is the real killer for us Mainers....without shipping it would be more like $1.50 a jar. I've been really struggling with trying to figure out my target audience, but I really decided to go with what I enjoy! So my candles and other products (soap, B&B) are going to be fantasy/nerd themed, so more of a fun market. Not necessarily high-end. Do you have any recommendations for jar distributors with decent shipping rates to Maine? I could be persuaded to change my jar if I still thought it looked nice. I want my candles to be affordable while still making a profit haha.

I have been having this thought a lot lately, and this thread only makes me feel it even stronger.....if soy is so bad/frustrating/poor quality/etc. then is 6006/parasoy even worth it? Even with a little bit of soy? Wouldn't pure paraffin just be better? What reasons would you have for doing parasoy at all over just pure paraffin?

I have been looking for the perfect jar for months....in the meantime I have been learning about candle-making using cheap walmart mason jars. But what I really want are nice thin-bottom Tumbler jars. Like the ones at Candle Science. The problem is that they are just sooooo expensive. Especially once you get lids too. The cheapest I have been able to find them, with some neat custom wood lids, is about $2.10 a piece after jar, lid, and shipping. If I bought like a pallet of them it's like $1.90 a piece, but I can't afford that right now, and don't need that many anyway. Is that reasonable for jars? It literally doubles the cost of my candles. I just don't know if I can justify spending that much on them, since it will make my cost per candle so much higher. They would look a lot like the one in this picture, though this is not my picture.

Absolutely agree @Candybee. I do most of my 'making' at night anyway when the kids are in bed and hubby is home to be there just in case I need him or the kids need him or something. I will definitely be doing that with soap. I am still trying to figure out WHERE I will be doing soap...I do everything else in the kitchen, but I don't want a spare little lye crystal to get lost on the kitchen floor where a crawling baby could find it. I'm thinking either basement or outside when it gets warmer.

I read a lot about the different types of soap-making before deciding on M&P. Mostly I decided because it seemed simpler and I was also worried about having lye around the baby and animals and everything. But after seeing how just absolutely stunning some peoples' CP can be, I decided I have to give it a try! And I know that I just have to be careful and keep it out of reach....just like sharp kitchen utensils or anything else. I haven't made my first batch yet, but I will soon. It has been a lot of money so far already, but I love it so much! My husband has given me a budget every month. I'm okay with that! I definitely agree that it just feels worth it because of how much I love it.

I've already posted in here a couple times since I joined a few weeks ago, but I never really introduced myself haha. Sorry about that everyone! So rude of me. Here goes! My name is Sara. I'm a stay-at-home mama to two beautiful girls, 9 years old and almost 1! I got into this hobby last Fall and just kind of dove in head first. I was going to just do candles, but I ended up getting into M&P soap, scrubs, bath bombs, and I decided to start doing CP soap soon too. All in just a few short months! (My poor husband...lol.) I just love it all so much. It can be hard to find the time to make with a baby, but I even just enjoy reading and learning everything there is to learn about all of these different products. They're slowly starting to take over my house too, as I'm sure many of you can relate to. For now I'm still learning the ropes, but I really hope to eventually turn this into a full-fledged business. A lot of you are really inspiring and I feel like I can learn a lot from you! Oh and I almost forgot! I am from Maine.