Jcandleattic

*sigh* I only have enough oil oil to make up a 3lb batch of oils, so no masterbatching for me until I can get a hold of my sister to get me some from Sam's. This is irritating and why I keep saying I need to get organized. I do use SM3, but it's mainly for recipes and qualities (the way people use soapcalc) and even though it has a wonderful inventory module, if you don't keep up with it, it's useless. Anyway, it WAS my plan to masterbatch and make some soap this weekend, and I *might* end up getting some done, but this just puts a damper on the dealings. I'm little OCD when it comes to plans, and if one thing does not go right, it throws everything out of whack, and I've learned when that happens sometimes it's best just to step back and do something else until things line up right again. What are all your plans (soaping or otherwise) this weekend? Anything fun?

Candy Dragon Sweet Beast (I like that one Sixx) Pink Dragon (also like this one) Pink Beast Fruit Stripe Dragon (since it's layered - I assume with different colors?) Heck, IDK ... I am notoriously bad at this kind of thing...

Good for you franu61!! I remember getting our basement finished and me moving in down there about 7 years ago. Best thing that ever happened. I love love love having my own space to do what I love...It's my sanctuary!

I remember when I first started, I would make forever hurricanes, using photos' from the site Webshots (not sure if it's around anymore or if anyone remembers them) well, I thought, hey, they are on the internet it's FINE!!! LMAO umm, no, it absolutely is not. I got a cease and desist letter from a large legal firm informing that if I didn't stop using the photos immediately I would be liable and fined up to $10,000.00 but could buy a recurring resale license for the small fee of $1500.00 a year. A YEAR. Umm, I stopped using the photos immediately. So you are right Faerywren, small time or not, they do and WILL come after you. Just like using molds to make Disney cupcakes or cookies that people also use to make soaps or melts. Same principle. I've heard people, well, I bought the mold, they know I'll be making stuff with it so obviously it's okay to sell said product. And no, it's not. It's just not.

I've got most of the gum paste and fondant molds. They are great for embed toppers. I love them.

Yes, I get just as smooth of a plane with my wooden planer, and it's deep enough to make curls out of the planed soap so I don't have any waste. Why spend THAT much money on an SMR planer that a $10 device can do just as good or better? It just doesn't make economical sense to me. And I figure, for $10 and 2 years with no warping/rusting? Pretty good investment. And if it does start warping or rusting, I'll skip that latte one day and make a new one.

My friend had one, and I was thinking of getting one until I used hers. Yes, it shaves off less soap, which did not work for me. When I shave my soap, I do so to have curls, because my bars are pretty smooth, unless I cut too soon, then they can get a tad bumpy. So, I had my hub make me a wood one that works great and the materials only cost approximately $10 (w/tax), and for the price, who can beat it? Also, about once a month I wash it with my dishes and just make sure I thoroughly dry it. 2 years later and still not warpring from submerging it in water.

Steve, if I wouldn't get so cold so easily I would probably soap in flip-flops too. I do soap in "tank" type tops sometimes, which are sleeveless, but I usually have an apron on. Protects my front, but my arms are still bare down to where my gloves are. Never had an accident or a splash on my arms, and the sink is right there if I do. I agree with TallTayl - clothing should be easily removable in case of a big spill.

I got nothing done I actually wanted to get done. But I'm off work today so after a mid morning appointment I have to attend, I will be at least making up a masterbatch of oils and possibly a batch or 2 of soap before the grind of the work week starts again. I always have good intentions, and something always happens. Oh well. Such seems to be my life lately...

I use it all the time, and although it's not as opaque as my pellet pillar brand, it's still pretty opaque. The only time I ever get the rustic look with this wax is if I pour super low and/or into cold molds. You could try adding some TD (oil soluble) and see if that helps, or a bit of stearic. I color my pillars, so haven't really had a problem with it. It's a great wax and so easy to work with, I love it.

LMAO I re-read my post above and toward the bottom, it kind of says I think it's okay to soap naked. Umm, please don't soap naked. What I meant was I don't think heavy, long sleeved, long pants and closed toed shoes are as important as eyewear. I often soap in short or sleevless shirts, with no problems, and since I am by a sink when I soap, if I do happen to get a splash (rare) of soap batter, I can quickly and easily wash it off. Also, depending on how messy I soap, I can get up to about 3 uses out of each pair. I'm just frugal that way. The 100 pair box of the nitrile gloves I think were $6 and the vinyl 50 pair box was $4 I think. So it's not going to break the bank, even if I only use a pair per batch, but really unless they are ripped, I can just wash my hands with them on, take them off and let them dry and they are good to go for another batch.

I have been using the latex or vinyl tight fitting gloves for the past 7-8 years or so, but before that I never wore gloves, because the big gloves that women in the '50's wore to do the dishes? I would always ALWAYS burn my arms with them. So for about 5 years or so I just didn't wear any gloves and never got burned. However, now that I'm using the gloves I use, I find I can get more of the soap in the mold, because I can wipe off my utensils with my fingers without worrying about burns. I'll not soap without them, but more for that reason alone than any other. I don't think no gloves, or clothing is as much of a concern if you are careful, (however I don't advocate that, I just don't harp on people about it) because you can quickly get it off of you if there is an accident. However, no matter how quick you are, you can ruin your eyes without eye protection. I will never ever work with lye or soap batter without my protective eye gear. I had a huge scare WITH them on, so there is no way I'll go without them, and it is a big peeve of mine when I see/hear other soapers do not use them, and I WILL harp on them if I do see/hear that. These are the gloves I use : I have relatively small hands, so they are a pinch big, but not as bad as the big yellow/green dish washing gloves I tried using the first couple of times...

In layman's terms, if the wax is too low the FO will not mix (aka bond/bind) to the wax, because they are different substances, Thus they will leave FO sinking to the bottom and possibly become a fire hazard. Heavy fragrances such as vanillas and bakery scents can do this if the wax is not hot enough, or it can also happen if you use more FO than the wax can safely "absorb" (aka bond/bind with). As you are pouring out of your pour pot into your container/mold, you can actually see it at the bottom of the pour pot, so either use less (usually not the problem though), heat the wax a bit more, or stir a bit longer. (I prefer to heat the wax about 5-10 degrees hotter) I only stir until I can't see the FO in there. Never, not even my first time making candles 17+ years ago, did I ever stir for 2 full minutes. Maybe 30 seconds at the longest, maybe. As far as the wax being too hot and burning off FO - it may burn off a little bit of the FO but it will not effect the outcome in a huge way unless you leave the wax and FO combined at that high temp for very long periods of time (like 20+ minutes at a time) so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

TallTayl, that was exactly what I was trying (maybe unsuccessfully) to say. LOL When I was trying to make lotion, I didn't want a recipe per say, I just wanted to know HOW to make it. Finally I was able to take it a step at a time instead of trying to jumble everything together. Now I make a damn good (IMO - and everyone who's tried it) lotion base.

Kandlekrazy, that's awesome! My grandma was like that up until the week she passed away at 98 (3 monthes shy of 99) -Even when she became a double amputee at the age of 86, she still got around like a champ! I miss that woman!

I wholeheartedly agree. Although it's nice to have and know all the scientific reasoning and effects of soap, I believe that as a beginner it may be too much too soon. I apply the KISS method when beginning anything or advising on anything. For YEARS I never tried making lotion because all of the instructions were so technical and so detail oriented with so much unneeded information, with all the different levels of fatty acids and which component was good for what and who and where and BLAHHHHHH!! It was confusing, intimidating and soooo not necessary for a beginner. I wanted to know HOW to make lotion, that's it, not every little nuance of every little added ingredient down to the teeny tiniest minute detail. Once I got over that, and found a KISS method of doing it - NOW I am researching all of the other aspects of it, but at least now I KNOW what I'm doing, have a feel for how to do what I'm doing and now can comfortably add different ingredients with confidence because I know why I am using what, where as before I couldn't do that. I know I'm not explaining myself very well. LOL

Oh, I've had weekends off, so... in reality, it hasn't really been that long. LOL

Still in TX?

I have the day off today. Not that I really NEEDED it (since I had a month off and have only been back to work for 3 weeks) but it is nice. Today is our "Good Friday" since we all had to work a full day on actual Good Friday. So today is a busy day with no crafts involved - Clean the house, hair appointment, pick up my car that's been in the shop for the last 2 weeks, some laundry, then tonight I am meeting a friend and finalizing our trip to Disneyland in October. However, starting tomorrow, I plan to make at least 3 batches of soap and then on Sunday, at least 2 batches. Plus somewhere in the middle I need to make up some more masterbatch oils. I think I only have 5lbs of masterbatch left, which for me (I make small batches) is only 2 loaves. Also, even though my hair appointment is today, I need to make my hairdresser some candles. I will do that probably tomorrow, then take them to her sometime during the week. What is everyone elses plans this week? Anything fun and exciting? Anything new? Anything the same? Let us know. I love hearing about everyone's projects.

I might have misunderstood the question. I use the soap guild, but it's because I also make soap. (which is a requirement for them, but they cover my candle making as well)

If you make your candles just for YOU and are not selling them, then you wouldn't need product liability insurance, because you wouldn't have to insure your product against damages, lawsuits, or theft. However, if you give them away, in order to be covered for lawsuits, you may have to establish a business anyway, to get the Product Liability Insurance, because people could sue if a candle you gave away harmed them or their property in any way. What you might need is hazard insurance if it's just for you though? But, IDK - I never had any insurance in place until I established my business and started giving out testers to other than family members.

I fixed it.

I haven't read the other replies, but weight is weight. 16oz of solid wax WEIGHS 16oz when melted, however the volume would be different, it doesn't matter how much the volume is, the weighed amount will still be the same. When you think about it think about it in these terms: Which weighs more, 1 pound of feathers, or 1 pound of bricks? (exactly the same - weight is weight) ETA: As I suspected you got the same advice I posted, as well as some other information as well. This is a great place for questions like that.

I use it straight and as a mixer, call it pink sugar type (when it's straight - in a mix I change the name) and it sells great for me in candles, lotion, and soap (I use a stabilizer to avoid the discoloration - and it works well) I use Peaks version.

I LOVE it by itself. It's one of the few florals I can stand actually. It's the first EO I ever worked with, and have only ever used it by itself or mixed with a bit of orange. Both ways are wonderful.