Jcandleattic

That's a rustic look caused by a cool pour. 

You can also get hesitation lines that are a bit more pronounced that than by pouring hesitantly or too slowly and getting what are called "jump lines"

Rose scents for me are like chocolate scents - I like them, but cannot GIVE them away on a silver platter. Nobody seems to want them. I've tried for years mixing, making them unique, naming them something that has nothing to do with rose, etc., etc. Nothing works, they just do not sell for me. So since they don't sell, I don't make them anymore. 

The absolute best rose scent I have ever found though is Rose Bouquet from Peak. Smells exactly like a real rose. All others I've tried either smell of plastic, perfume or something people consider "old lady". 

Congratulations! 

14 hours ago, Candybee said:

The majority of my candle scents are my own blends, but I do have a limited few and at least a couple of these I keep the same name as the supplier's just because I like it.

this is my experience as well. 

I rename mainly because I have too. When I blend I rarely blend less than 3 scents, and typically it's usually 3-4, and if I named my candle all the names of the scents I use, it would take up the entire label, and people would probably just look at it and be confused (I have some really strange FO combinations, that seem like they shouldn't work, but they do) 

On 1/12/2019 at 3:56 PM, kandlekrazy said:

I do live with them and not just the ones on wicks!  I tolerate mushrooms if they are small or if it's just a few scents that make a specific wick mushroom.  There are so many horrible candles out there you just have to decided what you can be happy with.  With me it's wet spots and small mushrooms as long as I can provide a well burning, safe candle.

ding ding ding - this is exactly my thoughts. 

On 1/4/2019 at 10:10 AM, Candybee said:

I just see gelling as a matter of preference and not a rule of soapmaking

Exactly, soap will become soap whether gel is achieved or not. As long as saponification is achieved as TT said, you will still get soap. 

I don't force gel in an oven, but do like to gel my soaps by wrapping in towels and not peeking during saponification. 

I agree with Shari. The more liquid I use, I get rivers, regardless of colorant. I also soap at about 33% and very rarely get rivers. However, I honestly don't care if I get them or not. To me, it's like candles and wet spots - it's just a part of the process I have to embrace. 

All you can do is what you have already done, with brochures and information. When they ask and if you've repeated yourself too many times, smile hand them a brochure and let them know all information is in the document. 

They best we can do is to make sure we have done our due diligence with our testing, our labelling, having insurance in place and hope our customers are smart enough not to burn their houses down. 

1 hour ago, JackpotMom said:

I am unable to see the pictures on here. Are you able to post a few in the comments?

Thank you,

 Kim

Unfortunately Vicky is no longer on the board as she has passed away a few years ago. 

As with most guides like this, it's exactly that. A guide. It'll give you a starting point, but you'll still need to test for your application. As runner said, some of the suggestions I can see just by looking are way off and would never work for me and my applications. 

It depends on the size of your jar. 

For my 5oz and 16oz apothecary's if it was to reach a FMP on the first burn, I would not be able to touch that jar once its burned half way down because it would be WAY too hot and wicked too big. If it doesn't reach the edges until the end of the 2nd or even middle of the 3rd burn I feel it's off to a good start, but when testing you want to test the whole candle from beginning to end to get a good judge on how your candle is going to burn. 

My shorter squat candles that don't have the depth that my afore mentioned sizes do, a FMP is justified (to me) in the first or second burn. 

You just want to make sure that the candle you are burning burns correctly and most importantly, safely. 

you will only be able to find that in a Shea Butter Melt and Pour, and you should be able to google the different suppliers for the specifications you need, however it will have been originally made with lye. All soap has to be made with lye in order to become soap or else it will not become soap. No lye, no soap.

14 minutes ago, Quentin said:

I actually meant to say add the stearic to a low shrink votive wax to make a larger pillar but I think your answer applies to that as well. Thank you. 😀

It does apply as I use a low shrink votive wax blend for my votives, and still add stearic and vybar.

11 hours ago, Quentin said:

 

Thanks to both of you. Everything you say makes sense. I just got curious. Basically I think you're both telling me not to waste my time trying it.  What if... you added just a touch of stearic acid  or would that just create another set of problems? 

I add stearic and vybar to my votives, it still doesn't make it sturdy enough to be a stand alone mini "pillar"

27 minutes ago, Quentin said:

      Therefore, you could use a "low shrink" votive blend to make larger pillars. Wrong or right?

That depends on if the blend is hard enough and shrinks enough to get it out of the mold, and then holds up enough not to liquify completely when burning to turn into a puddle of wax and become a hazard.

Typically if it's a low shrink wax it's melt point is low enough that it will not hold it's shape enough either to get it out of the mold, or if you are lucky enough to get it out of the mold, it won't hold it's shape while burning. 

I know nothing about soy - is Q230 a container wax? If so it could be it's just too soft of a wax for the silicone, or it could be 3 hours is not long enough to have the wax be properly hard enough to unmold. You could try leaving it in for a couple hours longer and that could possibly help.

10 hours ago, Scented said:

Same. We cut our own caps for the top and bottom though. Are you shrinking the whole thing or partial and then tie a ribbon around the top type of thing?

I wrap the whole thing.

I have bags a little bigger than the size of the pillar and I put it on upside down, poke a tiny hole to slip the wick through, and then cut/seal the bottom with my sealer, shrink and label. I put the warning label directly on the pillar bottom and the heat from shrinking helps secure it even better.

Here's a picture of what mine looks like. It's with the acrylic paints that are about the same size.

There is a paint medium for candles at craft stores that you can mix with acrylic paint to paint on wax. I don't remember what it's called or the name brand, but it's in about an ounce bottle and a little bit goes a long way.

10 minutes ago, Candybee said:

A good lard soap works wonders if you have problems with skin blemishes, acne, pimples, etc.

And I am just the opposite. I break out and get oily skin when I use lard soaps which is why I don't use it in my recipes and try to avoid it in bars I purchase.

Here's the cut. I wanted it to look like a Christmas Tree, but... LOL Oh well, I like it.

16 hours ago, aptommo said:

I don't get it. Can someone explain to me why you'd spend the time to make slime look like food and smell like food just so it can be smashed in 2 seconds? I came this and was like WOW and then realized it was slime and not wax. I'm baffled!!!

To make it more appealing to sell.

As others have said, slime is fun, it's appealing to kids, and can sell well if presented the right way. If you saw it in a blob, would it have caught your eye and made you stop to look at it? Probably not, but in these fancy shapes it caught your attention, got you to look and there you are.

Thanks! The middle, of course, does not look like a Christmas Tree however, it is an interesting design. I will take a pic and post the cut bars a little later today.

I shrink wrap my pillars and then use my sticker label on the outside of the shrink wrap.

Yesterday to make the embeds, and today to make the actual soap is the first time I've made anything except a couple candles for Christmas gifts since September!