Jcandleattic

1 hour ago, Candybee said:

Could be that the type of chocolate you use makes all the difference.

Very well could be, but I've tried 3, all chocolate, but different (if you kwim) and same difference. Could barely give any of them away. 

1 hour ago, aptommo said:

I'm interested for myself some non scented milk soap but I don't want goat milk. Does such a product exist? I know next to nothing about soap making so I'm wanting to purchase from someone else.

I only use goat milk for my milk soap, but any type of milk can be use in soap making Almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk, cow milk, you name it. The difference is the way the soap will feel on the skin - there is more fatty substance and lactic acid in goat milk which is why it is the preferred milk to use. 

If you do a search on Etsy for the type of milk you are looking for, you are sure to find something. 

For me, it sells only slightly better than my non-scented soap, which isn't saying much since the last 11 bar batch of non-scented soap took me about 3.5 years to sell half of it before I gave up. I've only made 1 batch of chocolate scented soaps, and it took about that long to sell the whole batch, so I keep my chocolate scents for my candles that sell out almost every time. 

16 hours ago, Sarah S said:

I use a similar wax, HTP 104 usually does the job for me. Some oils I need to wick up to a 126. If the 126 didn't do it, then I might consider double wicking with 52s, but then I would be concerned about sooting with that narrow neck.

I use 2 44z's in my wax for most scents (similar but not the same as 4630) and I rarely get any soot. when I have to wick up to the 52z's, with heavier scents, I do get some soot. 

On 11/25/2018 at 9:19 AM, Candybee said:

So far this year my credit card sales are averaging a little over 40% of my total sales. That's a big increase from recent years when they averaged 30 to 35%. Has anyone noticed an increase this year in their CC sales or is it just me?

 

Again as per usual, I'm the odd one out. LOL

I've actually noted a decrease - a huge decrease actually.

During my 4 annual craft shows, I would normally do about 1/2 - 3/4 of my sales in card purchases across the board. This year, I got a total of 4 card sales total through all of my shows. 

I prefer this because I just "eat" the cost of using a card reader, and add it in to my COB.

This year, that total is significantly less. 

24 minutes ago, Kshaler said:

Thank You 

•  

• Thank You Bfroberts! I know 12% is high but I have had good results in the past with it theese are Christmas candles I want them to be beautiful as well as smell good ! They are almost red but not quite !

not sure what happened when you did this reply but I fixed it for you,

I agree with Bfroberts - 12% is quite high. I can get a great smelling candle with 6% or less. 

More is not always more, if you know what I mean. 

16 hours ago, Sarah S said:

Have you seen what @Jcandleattic does with her molds?!? Stunning embeds in soap! You should check out her stuff in the gallery if you haven't yet!

You are very sweet. Thank you! 

I just love it and I think that is what is coming through in my creations more than anything else.

How high is your water content, are you using full water, or a discount? Are you gelling your soaps? 

High humidity certainly can cause ash, as does full water content, and ungelled soaps. 

I use 91% Isopropyl Alcohol, spray generously, then I cover with plastic wrap. Also I gel my soaps. 

My craft show season is over, and this was a rush job, however, I almost sold out so it's probably a good thing it was my last show. 

This is basically what my set-up looks like every year (only usually a little cleaner and not so cluttered looking) 

55 minutes ago, Daisymay66 said:

Any cut pics yet???

Unfortunately I never took cut pics, and sold all but 1 at my last craft show. 

If I remember, which is very doubtful, I'll try and take a pic of the bar I have. 

This is one of the very very few times that my vanilla stabilizer didn't work on holding back the discoloration, so it got super dark, but that only enhanced the look of the bar. 

On 11/17/2018 at 1:28 PM, Quentin said:

The only thing I don't like about it is that when it shrinks during cooling, it REALLY shrinks. Ends up extremely concave. I then have to use the heat gun to level it off. Since I try to keep my votives at 1.75 oz, topping off isn't an option unless...  I thought about this the other day. I suppose I could pour it a little short like 1.6 oz and then do a second pour to bring them up to 1.75 oz.  Do you think that might work?

Probably, but they still might dip with that much extra for the repour. I always do a repour and never use my heat gun on my votives, so not sure I am really of much help. Also, I know 4794 already has additives in it, but I always add a bit of stearic and tiny amount of vybar to my formula as well.. 

On 11/14/2018 at 7:12 PM, Jeana said:

Now a second part to the question. What do you do with the scents you don't like? Do you just toss them? I wish I had some candle/soap makers near me.

I didn't see this part of the question until I read Laura's response and I agree, either firestarters (but I use them for personal, and don't scent them, I feel there is no need) or I try to use them in a mix. 

If they are just really horrible and I just can't mix them with anything to make a better scent, then yes, I just toss them. I typically don't buy large qty's of samples usually get them as freebies for buying other stuff, or when I do buy they are on sale, so those are allocated to my R&D expenses and tossing them is not a big deal to me. 

10 hours ago, Marleigha said:

Yes that's how I used to do it also.  I started with the block candle dyes.  I now have sooo many of those so have since added the entire candle science liquid colorants to my stash.  It's a sickness for me.  Lol 😂. The only color I'm wanting now is a nice hot pink liquid dye.  Determined to find one.  

 

Also @Moonstar  I do have a few extra CS liquid dyes I am getting ready to destash.  The Red is about 1/2 full.  There are many others.  Shoot me a PM if interested.  😇

Too bad candles4less went out of business. They had the BEST hot pink/neon pink liquid dye for candles. I still have over half the bottle, even though I use it pretty often. Thing I LOVE about the liquid candle dyes is they last friggen FOR-EV-ERRRRRRRR... LOL 

11 hours ago, Quentin said:

Reminds me of when I accidentally ordered a case of 4794 Votive Blend instead of what I intended to order. I see a lot of votives in my future.

Well, you won't go wrong with 4794. I LOVE that wax for votives and melts. :) 

Just now, Quentin said:

What is SM3? 

Soapmaker 3 https://www.soapmaker.ca/

it's a software that if you get the professional version will help you keep inventory, create batches, etc., for the price it is sooo worth it. I've had it since it was in beta testing and got it directly from the developer(s). there have been SEVERAL updates and reconfigurations of the software since I got it, but have never had to pay for an upgrade. 

It's a handy little soapmaking tool, but I also use it for my candles, and other non-soap formulations also. 

4 hours ago, Shari said:

I too like the combo of bubbly oils.  I generally combine PKO and CO.  I've never tried Babassu.   Sorry for the car problems and running out of CO.  Hope it's resolved soon and not to pocket draining.

I also combine PKO and CO in my main recipe. 

In my experience Babassu oil is more cleansing (aka drying) than Coconut oil is in cold process, and it's a tad more expensive, so I try to save that for my lotions because as a leave on oil that doesn't go through saponification, it's fabulous.

I've tried CO on its own and PKO on its own, and it just does not compare to them being combined. It just really adds so much more to the soap than the oils by themselves. CO on its own is too cleansing, and PKO on its own lends to a rubbery feel. 

I have a spreadsheet I created with formulas, that auto updates everytime I adjust. I update every time I use/buy a fragrance (regardless of size) so I know exactly what and how much of each I have.

I also have SM3 that I update with the invoice that is sent out so when I use the scent it will automatically adjust my inventory as well. 

As far as the physical bottles, I put them in a small box I have organized by supplier, then by scent. This helps me when I concoct my blends. (which I also put on a spreadsheet under a different tab with a formula that will automatically update the usage rate on the 'amount' tab) 

I would sub the babassu for the CO and not just PKO. In my applications PKO and CO bring different things to the soap and make the soaps feel completely different if using separately. This is why I use a combination of CO and PKO in my soaps, and not just one or the other. 

Both Walmart and Amazon provide same-day shipping here, so if I was in a pinch, I would order from there. Do you have Amazon Prime, and do they provide same-day shipping in your area? Might be something to look into. 

I mix my candle dyes the same as I mix almost everything else and have almost every color under the sun, just by mixing the basic primary colors I have, or using more or less drops per lb to get the intensity (or not so much by using a tip of a skewer dipped to get way less than even a drop) 

It's easy once you get the hang of it, and experiment. 

How far down is the "tunnelling" because yes, most paraffin candle pillars will do that, and yes, most of the time you can just 'hug' them when the wax is warm enough. It's what I do with my paraffin candles, and the candle will completely consume itself until about the last couple inches of the pillar. 

However, even though it's hard to tell in the pic, it does look like the middle does go down a bit farther than I would like for my candles. (I will try to find a pic of some of my candles when I get home and show you what I mean) IMO any bigger of a wick and run the risk of blowouts for those that power burn. 

In my 3" diameter pillars I use a 24 flat braid, and I honestly don't know how that compares to an LX18

As for hot throw - how big of a room did she burn the candle in and how big is the room you are burning in? some scents are just not huge power throwers, and pear happens to be one them that I consider a "light" scent in pillars. 

13 hours ago, Candybee said:

the bottom 1/2" of wax would never form the crystal patterns like the rest of the jar.

I've never had that problem, however if it develops, I'll make a note of it, and use the baking racks. 

30 minutes ago, Laura C said:

I'm wondering if the clam shells could be made of paper like the paper egg cartons?

Scent retention would be the concern here. You don't want to use a material that will suck the scent out of the product. 

Will it work? Sure. Will it skew your testing? Most definitely. 

If you are making them for yourself and just want something until your wax comes in, then yeah, go for it. But if you want it for testing purposes, it won't work. Anytime you change waxes, you need to start the testing process all over again. 

27 minutes ago, Ladymvb said:

I set them on the cookie rack; however, I place a thick layer of paper towels and a styrofoam on top of the rack, and then put my jars on that.  I guess I should not do that?   Right?

No, probably not. that's probably why the bottoms are cooling so much faster than your tops. The towel and styrofoam is absorbing the heat and cooling it more quickly than the tops are doing since there is nothing on the tops absorbing that heat. I don't use a cookie sheet, I just place my jars on the counter with nothing under the jars. Never really have a problem of them cooling unevenly. 

2 minutes ago, Quentin said:

I like that idea. What type waxes do you use?

paraffin blends and palm.