Jcandleattic

21 hours ago, Trappeur said:

Does it really matter what the wax looks like after it is burned?    As long as it burns good and you have a nice scent is all that really matters?

I know consumers don't care, at least none of my friends that burn soy candles care one iota about what a candle looks like after they have it in their home. They care about a nice scent and a well burning candle. 

Most people who buy/burn soy candles know that the way it looks before, during, and after a burn is just a characteristic of soy. 

On 8/21/2018 at 12:51 PM, Laura C said:

Many times I have considered throwing everything in the trash

The very first candle I ever made took some flying lessons (oh how I wish I was not exaggerating!!) I was so frustrated, disappointed and yes, angry, that I threw that sucker across the room! Thank god for my husband and his infinite wisdom and calming ways. If it weren't for him I never would have continued. My second candle was not much better, but it didn't go sailing across the room at least. :)  

That was 20+ years ago, and now I try not to get frustrated and disappointed, and now never get angry. And still love it after all this time. :) 

Welcome Laura

2 hours ago, runner14jc said:

I think it took 2-3 weeks for me to hear back and get access when I signed up.

Good to know. I'm not in a hurry, so can wait it out. Seems like it'll be a neat tool to add to the collection.  

9 hours ago, Marleigha said:

I have yet to order from Lonestar

IMO Lonestar's FO's are up to par! They are just as good (if not better) as anything I have received from NG, Peak, and others. And that is in both candles and soaps. 

2 minutes ago, Pam W said:

If we are working toward making a soap that entices the granddaughter then let's discuss..............what fo's does she like....bring her into the process........let her sniff fos and go from there.........like a totally bonding experience here.  Between the two of you, you can come up with a formula (or two) that highlights your combined efforts...............

This really doesn't have much to do with my granddaughter - she and I make soap together all the time. 

I just needed some inspiration because I just was in a rut and tired of the same type of soaps. I rarely ever repeat soaps because of that. it's one of the real reasons I havent' been able to make this into a bigger business for me than it is. I truly don't know how people can stand to do the same scent/style etc., soaps/candles/b&b items over and over again. I only have like 4-5 that I will do repeatedly, and I am completely stocked up on those. 

So far with the suggestions here I've made a Halloween soap, my challenge soap, and have 3 others in the works/designing stages. 

On 8/16/2018 at 1:28 PM, runner14jc said:

I found www.soapinventory.com not too long ago. It is free and fabulous! You can track inventory. Recipes and it gives you basic cost of a product once you have recipes in. 

I signed up for this last Thursday and still haven't heard back for approval - and can't get in without it. Do you know how frequent he approves new people? No biggie, as I said I have spreadsheets and my SM3, but I like having ALL THE GADGETS! LOL 

yes, I've done this. I've burned day by day and week by week and noted the differences. It's a nice little experiment. 

9 hours ago, Scented said:

Misbehavin'  it's a crazy, fun scent

Yes, also another favorite of mine from NG. It's great by itself, and lends itself to be a great mixer. 

I just mixed Mango Papaya, Coconut Banana Blast and Lemon Colada - and OMG it is my favorite for the moment. I even made a 6x6 candle out of it. 

1 minute ago, Forrest said:

Wow! They named a FO after me:)

Yes, yes they did. HAHA

I don't sell mine but make it for the house. 

I'd have to look up my recipe as I don't make it often - but I know I use cyclo in mine. 

Not sure how I missed this one, but those look great. 

I get a LOT of my scents from NG and honestly there are very few (for me anyway) that are duds or "misses" as some call it. 

I can agree with what everyone has said - but one not mentioned, if you want a masculine scent is Perfect Man. It's a bit on the pricey side, but man o man is it good. I do have a hard time buying that one because of the price point, however it's worth it. Every time I offer it, in any medium, it's one of the first to sell. 

Here are a few off the top of my head I like: (I know some have been mentioned before) 

Perfect Man

Coco Mango

Tropical Blast

Vanilla Silk

Pear Berry 

Elf Sweat

Reindeer Poo

Vanilla Champagne 

Bite Me (VERY STRONG CHERRY- I drop down to 4% in all my applications with this one) 

OMG Olive

Pumpkin Spice (not skin safe if that matters) 

Warm Apple Pie - don't remember if this is skin safe if it matters

Wedding Day (not skin safe if that matters) 

I have many many more I've tried/used/loved that I just cannot think of off the top of my head, but will add to the list when I get home this afternoon. 

48 minutes ago, ScentedPleasurez said:

I emailed them last night,and the response that i got back this morning was that they are not formulated for candle making

Just because they aren't formulated for wax doesnt' mean they won't work with wax. 

31 minutes ago, kandlekrazy said:

I think what they are telling you is they don't formulate and test in candles only in B&B.

Yes, this.

4 minutes ago, MrDan said:

It really does come out super glossy!

The plastic mold has a lot to do with that as well as the wax. I always get super glossy candles when I use plastic molds. 

1 minute ago, runner14jc said:

I found www.soapinventory.com not too long ago. It is free and fabulous! You can track inventory. Recipes and it gives you basic cost of a product once you have recipes in. 

I just checked this out, awesome.

Dean Wilson is out of AU is he not? I think he is/was a member here as well. Did a lot of M&P soaps. Nice guy and very 'giving' of his knowledge. (if it's the same Dean Wilson that is)

30 minutes ago, ScentedPleasurez said:

They are not for candle use strictly bath and body,but my mind kept taking it from a candle perspective "safe for bath and body"  😇

I guess I don't understand what this statement means. I have used them in candles. IMO soap and candle scents can be interchangeable as long as the scent is skin safe at a high enough %. 

Unless they have water in them or are water based fragrances (which, personally I have never seen at any reputable FO supplier) then I would think they would be fine in candle/wax formulas. The ones I got from them worked just fine in my candles. 

EBC is like most every other company when it comes to scents. You are going to have hits and misses. 

I've used a few scents from them. I don't remember off the top of my head which ones they were, but I do remember thinking I needed to buy more scents from them to test out, so that tells me they were good enough in all my applications that I would buy again. 

Not sure if that helps at all, but that's my experience with them. 

My embed soaps are usually the first to go at my markets. The look of the soap draws them in, the scent gets them to buy. 

3 minutes ago, Sarah S said:

 

That sounds fantastic, that gets my vote! Lol

I just have to make sure I can find my leaf mold for the embeds. Embeds take so long to make. Especially when the embed mold I want to use I only have 1-2 cavities. LOL 

5 hours ago, Shari said:

They were going through an ugly divorce so they shut down.  Then he opened back up.  I won't give him my business anymore.  He flaked really badly an left a lot of people flapping in the wind.   I believe Maplestreet purchased their remaining stock.  I had stocked up on the last sale PEAK had before suddenly closing.  Will find another option when the time comes to reorder.   Fortunately I only used 3 or 4 of their fragrances.

As others said, it was Keystone. 

And he didn't only flake the one time. They did the same when they were here in CO. One day - business as usual, next GONE. No warning, no email saying "hey we're moving, buy what you can now" or even if they didn't want to sell/consolidate anything before just packing up and leaving a little heads up would have been nice. They blamed it on the warehousing district becoming too expensive and too competitive with the marijuana growers, which is not inaccurate, there was (and still is) a lot of that going on, but if that was the singular reason for them packing up and leaving, you can't tell me they didn't know in advance it was happening, and it could have been dealt with in a much better way than it was. They left a lot of Colorado crafters that relied on them in a bind of absorbing the new cost of having their supplies shipped out of PA. 

There are several reasons I won't purchase from Peak again, but the main reason is how they have treated their loyal customers. I just cannot/will not in good conscience give them my business... 

2 hours ago, Crafty1_AJ said:

A fall soap that flies off the shelves for me is Spicy Apples and Peaches.  I know it sounds weird, but it smells divine, and my customers agree.  By far, it's my most popular fall soap.  It's a blend of apple, peach, and cinnamon.  

 

Or how about an Autumn Leaves soap?  You could have a ton of fun playing with warm colors on that one -- russet, gold, orange, etc.

Y'all are good with the suggestions!! 

Autumn Leaves sounds good. I could use Amish Harvest as the scent, and do warm, fall colors, with leaf embeds of green, yellow, red, orange, rust, etc., 

16 hours ago, Barbara AL said:

Orange Patchouli soap orange and black

Ohh that sounds good. I got some patchouli about a year or two ago. Not my favorite scent so I haven't used it, but have heard it gets better with age (it's an EO not FO) so maybe I'll do that as well! 

4 hours ago, Shari said:

I'm in the same position.  I get tired of making the same thing again and again.  I have 7 I need to make as restocks then maybe have some fun. 

 

I'm in the same challenge but don't think I'm going to make it.  This month ended up be way more crazy than usual.  I have another weekend show in two weeks plus a big order to deliver at the same time.  And having a 60th wedding anniversary party for my parents next weekend.   I want to have some fun for a change.  

 

Black and purple dancing swirl would be cool looking and I like the patchouli orange suggestion.  Bet that would smell nice. 

 

As for pumpkin scents, I can't sell those for anything here.  At least not in soap or B&B.  I've tried.  I have 12 of 16 bars left from last year and they will be going in my misfit bucket at my next show.

I don't have many soaps I make more than once, but I ended up making around 15 loaves of the mermaids last year, and sold ever last one of them within hours. So I feel I should have at least 5 batches ready at the go for my first shows this year. 

I missed last months challenge because of life getting in the way. I was going to do my Sailor's Dream for that one (which I made anyway, just didn't make it in time for the challenge) 

The black/purple dancing funnel will probably be scented Love Spell, simply because it slows trace down of my recipe, so I'll have enough time to work. I don't particularly like the look of the dancing funnel soaps, so I'll only be making a small 1lb batch for the challenge. 

It's the same with pumpkin scents here. Candles fly off the shelf with the pumpkin scent, but B&B and soap just sit there. I stopped making pumpkin anything other than candles about 4 years ago.