Jcandleattic

So here are my weekend soaps. Black/White/Pink = Love Spell Yellow/Green = Apple Pear mix Reddish Pink/Pink = Strawberry, Rhubarb, Watermelon - Not impressed with color or scent. Was supposed to be more distinct, and more red / pink to make each color stand out more. Eh, Oh well. There's always next weekend to try something different...

Looks great! I want to sit in that chair and read an engrossing novel! Looks like a great reading chair!

The button barrettes sound cool. You should post pics!

Well, I made the candles for my hairdresser, and got all 3 soaps done that I wanted too. Now it's basic house cleaning and laundry for the rest of the day as I watch the playoffs. I feel I have had a good day. Now if I can keep up this pace (and more) every weekend, I'll be in good shape.

I know the weekend is almost over, but what did everyone do or going to do this weekend? I didn't do anything crafty until today. I am going to make 3 batches of soap and have a candlemaking session. Not sure on scents for the candles, but i make them for my hairdresser and since I have an appt on Friday I figured I should make them. She never cares what scent so I usually just close my eyes and pick a scent at random for her. She has never been disappointed or not liked a scent I've picked. The soaps are going to be as follows - A restock of my best-selling Love Spell soap - black, hot pink and white swirled. I use a mix of Peak's love spell with NG's loving spell. Since they smell similar but different the scents compliment each other and I get something just a little different than the typical everyday love spell scent. Also I'm going to mix a pear and apple scent with a green, yellow and white swirl. I'm excited about this one - the mix is delightful so I'm naming it Herbal Delight And finally I'm doing a Strawberry Rhubarb mixed with a Watermelon. It's a nice fruity tart mix, but I haven't come up with a clever name for it yet. I wanted to make lotions this weekend too, but that probably won't happen until mid February at this point... So that's what I'm doing, how about you?

Love it...

I love this idea...

My main recipe uses castor at 5% - I don't go higher than that.

LOL yes, because it smells really good. Thank you

I will bet it's either the temp of the warmers being different and/or you have candle nose after a while and just can't smell it anymore. This happens to me all the time...

Use filtered (I have a reverse osmosis and water softener and use a filter on that) or distilled water for soapmaking. Just general tap water (soft or not) can have metal and/or mineral deposits in it and can wreck havoc with your soaping. Otherwise it sounds like you are well on your way to making your first batch of a successful soap. Not sure about certain oils retaining or making the scent stronger in soaps. My recipe takes scent pretty well even when I use GM as 100% of my liquid...

I think the DB I have is supposed to discolor, but I use BCN's vanilla stabilizer in almost all my soaps (just in case) and that really seems to help a lot. The only scent I've ever had go brown on me with using this stabilizer is Peak's Pink Sugar and it didn't start to turn for about 9 months to a year. Even then the discoloration was gradual. I love this mix. I tested it on q-tips, then in a little .5ml mix. At first it's really super minty but after the mint settles down - it's a really nice blend, and I love it.

Here it is cut. The blue came back. I'm loving it.

To me, just from the look of the pic alone, it looks as if the wax is trying to pull away from the sides of the clam-shell. I'm sure it's just an aesthetic problem and nothing to worry too much about. Kind of like wet spots in a container candle...

Made my New Year's Bastille today. I was not going to scent it, but at the last minute put lemongrass EO in it. I'll unmold and cut in a few days.

What ChrisR said. This kind of rhetoric has been tossed around for candles and scented products for years and years. A lot of it has been disproved.

Aww *blush* Thank you..

Here's a better couple of pics, And I did a sneak peek and the green that was supposed to be blue, has turned back to blue. Can't wait to cut it tomorrow.

Can't wait to cut this one. It's a mix of Dragon's Blood and Peppermint

Yes, even though I don't take temps, I don't pour hot (or mix the FO when it's too hot) for that specific reason as well.

Candy - there is also a Facebook group specifically for SM3 users and questions/problems. If you are on FB you should look for it and check it out. It seems to be pretty helpful... Also, there are TONS and TONS of youtube videos on it too.

I pour as soon as I'm done stirring. I don't take temps, so couldn't tell you at what temp that is. I see it this way, it's going to cool down with the FO in there whether that's in the container or in the stir pot. I have never in all my years had a problem with FO sinking to the bottom of my candle jar. I did early on, but that was mainly due to using too much FO load per lb of wax.

I know there is a way to do it, but not off the top of my head and since losing my harddrive on my old computer I haven't reloaded any of my programs on my new computer. Not loving Windows 10 - that's for sure... :-/

I think we are all still so busy - it's no biggie. IMO as long as it's made in January, it's a "New Year's Castile"...

The polycarbonate molds I have used in the past, yes are reusable, but get brittle and crack over time, and also if you are using a fragrance they can get etched from the FO in the wax. I found that I had to keep buying every few months, which made the pricing much higher in the long run than a typical metal votive. I would probably do what Chefmom suggested and use a small pillar mold, and short pour it.