Crafty1_AJ

Enchanted Apple. Makes me think of Snow White, though. LOL

Can you describe it? Basic notes? Cinnamon, clove kind of thing? Or are there other notes too? Black pepper? Cardamom?

I sell some -- not a ton -- but only around Christmas.

Soaped a big batch of OMH, a GM soap. In candles, we poured Spiced Pumpkin, Home Sweet Home (a cinnamony fragrance), Lilac (yes, I'm still selling lilac in October - lol), and Sandalwood.

Yup. I was laughing too. Plus face-palming.

What's the diameter of this jar at its widest point?

LOL @ TT. I know these problems I had are my own fault. I'm human. I wasn't even slated to make soap today. DH sold some soap to a co-worker and I didn't have enough in stock, so I made an emergency batch. I don't normally run out of stock -- at least I try hard not to -- but it's been a weird year soap-wise.

So in summer, my coconut oil barrel is semi-liquid. There is soft stuff on top with some liquid portions too. We scoop out the oil with a big scoop, which we leave resting on top the solid portion. The weather changed yesterday, and the workshop got significantly colder. When I went to scoop out the coconut oil for today's batch of OMH soap...ummm, where is that stupid scoop?? Yup, the coconut is solid now, and the #$%&! thing sank to the bottom of the barrel before the oil hardened up. Had lots of messy fun digging that out. You know what both of my assistants hate the most? Weighing out the greasy soaping oils. They'd rather clean the toilet than get all greasy. LOL To top it off, one of my large soap mold liners went missing. I scoured that stupid workshop for nearly 1/4 hour before finding it had fallen down behind the workbench and was wedged up against the wall. *sigh* If I have to search for one more thing today, I'm hanging up my apron.

To answer your previous question, yes, fo can change the color of the wax, but not generally too much. Lots of fo's make wax have a yellowish cast, and I've even experienced one fo that made the wax go army uniform green. How fresh is your fragrance oil? I've tried some old ones that were difficult to incorporate, although they worked fine when fresh.

I like the black olive spiders and the black spider web patterns on hard boiled eggs. Way cool. My hub's cousin posted a how-to video on FB.

What is the mfr. suggested fragrance load for that wax? And how much fragrance per pound did you use?

Hi and welcome!

Those cupcakes are cute. Better colors after sap. I'm due for making some pillars as well. I have some nice palm pillar wax and I plan to make some fall scents and some Christmas. I typically make us some every fall in one big session, and we coast on that pillars supply all winter long. If I don't get my sewing room cleaned up asap, I'm going to burn it down in frustration. Actually making small steps of progress, but it's slow. I'm weeding out junk I don't use and want anymore too. It's nice to de-clutter. Frees up space and my mind. When things are tidy, it stimulates my creative juices.

Howdy! Thanks for introducing yourself! Nice to meetcha.

Old topic, but just now getting around to reading on the soap forum here. LOL I love coconut, and use it in almost every batch. But for customers with sensitivities to coconut, and customers with drier skin, I make a coconut-free soap using PKO instead. I also use lots of OO to help with the non-drying / skin conditioning properties.

Ditto. That's messed up. Edited to add: Gail and I were posting at same time. LOL My "ditto" is that this whole scenario is very unprofessional.

Haven't smelled all of these, but SW Provence and Tonic are da bomb. I never tested Tonic, but Provence is great in soap.

Then I'd recommend starting with a 40.

I was going to suggest a 47. LOL But I was assuming a fairly hefty scent load and some dye. What % of f.o. are you using? Are you coloring? Light or heavy? If you're not scenting and coloring, I'd also suggest starting with a 40.

Keystone bought out Peak's remaining inventory. Also there is a supplier here by the name of Julie who has some Peak clones for sale. I'll go find these threads and shoot you a link. Edited to add link: Here's another thread to check out:

OK, I clicked on your link, and according to the info there, you can add up to 10% fragrance load. That means you can add about 1.5 oz. fragrance per pound of wax. How much are you using? If you're using less than 10%, you could try bumping up the amount of fragrance you add to improve scent throw. Another factor in tart throw is the wattage of the warmer. If you're testing in a low watt warmer, that might impact throw. What is the wattage of the warmer you test in? Also, try changing location of warmer to an area with more air flow. You might have it in a "dead zone."

So I did my first show of the season this past weekend. Sales were so slow the first day -- I made a bunch of crocheted pot scrubbers. LOL The second day, sales REALLY picked up. There were times I had lines of customers waiting to check out. (Yay!) Most candle buyers bought at least 3, if not more. Big sellers in candles were clove, spice, pumpkin, cinnamon, and apples. No shock there. My best selling soap was my Lemongrass Scrubber. Go figure -- I would peg that one as more of a spring/summer (gardening season) soap. No complaints, though. Overall, good sales. My dd and dh did the farmer's market for me because I had the show the same day. So we MLOM! ;-)

One of the best features of more traditional craft shows and markets, IMO, is that the maker is standing right there beside his/her product. Customers get to interact with the creator/seller, and you can explain the highlights of what you do and talk up your product. You are knowledgeable about your stock, can answer questions, and can point the customer to a particular item he / she wants. As a buyer, I prefer the seeing to and talking with the maker face to face. JM2C

I don't dig Nag Champa either, but boy, does it sell. Lilac smells horrible to me, but it's my top-selling floral, so I just tough it out when I sniff test a fresh batch for throw. *gag* Thankfully, I wear a painter's mask when I pour it, or I just toss that job off to Lovely Assistant and leave the workshop to do paperwork. LOL A strong coffee scent I tried once had a skunk note. P. friggin. U.

Has anyone tried wicking with RRD series?