bunkie68

From the archives: http://www.candletech.com/archivedforum/.2817.html Gardeners Soap 1 lb M&P goatsmilk base 1 - 2 Tablespoons white cornmeal 1 1/2 Tablespoons fine pumice 1/2 - 1 Tablespoon bentonite clay 1 Tablespoon of shea or mango butter (for moisturizing) 2 - 3 teaspoons of a citrus essential oil (orange, lemon, etc.) or one of each. Orange cuts the grime. Melt base, Stir to allow it to cool a bit, Add scent, Stir in cornmeal, pumice and clay continually until it gets to the point where it will stay suspended in the soap. Pour into molds.

Dragging up an old thread here - firegirl, do you add both oils to the same batch? Candybee's post mentioned 1 tsp. castor oil to 1 lb. M&P base - do you use 1 tsp. of oils total if you use both in the same batch? Is it just trial and error to see what amount works best? Can you use any oils (assuming you've done the research and know which oils will add what qualities to your soap)? ETA: I just saw in another old thread that as a general rule, you shouldn't add more than 2 tablespoons total of additives to a pound of M&P base. So, other than following already-tested recipes and that general rule, it's pretty much just trial and error and experimenting, yes?

I'm posting here since GL 1285 is a soy blend, and I wasn't sure it would technically be "vegetable" wax - per Brenda at Greenleaf, the blend is at least 50% soy, with the remaining amount being made up of other natural waxes and paraffin. I don't know the exact percentages of paraffin and other waxes, though. Anyway, I just wanted to review. I've made a couple of batches of tarts, and so far, I love this wax. The tarts release nicely from the molds, and the hot throw is incredible! I have a 2000 square foot house, and I could smell the Brown Sugar Buttercream tart I was testing from one end of the house to the other. I may be switching to this completely, depending on how it does in votives (to be tested this week). Greenleaf is local, I can pick up my wax and save shipping costs, and thus far, the GL 1285 looks to be less expensive than the Ecosoya I've been using (and a good bit less than the Mill Creek all natural votive/pillar wax I'd also used). If it works well and saves me money, it may be the thing to do.

Violet, I'm with you, although I'm considering just getting away from 100% soy, not stopping completely. I bought 10 pounds of GL 1285 from Greenleaf - they're just up the road in Grand Prairie, and I can drive and pick up my order there. The wax is a soy blend, and so far, I'm pleased with the tests. The throw is unbelievable - I burned a tart in brown sugar buttercream, and I could smell it from one end of my 2000 square foot house to the other. So, I may be switching waxes for sure, because I'm not sure I can affort to pay to have the soy shipped in from elsewhere. (Lone Star in Keller has V-1, but V-1 is not to be used if you ask me. Too many issues. )

I second Violet Lime and Himalayan Bamboo - HB has done well and is a lovely scent, and Violet Lime is one of my biggest sellers. Both throw well in soy tarts (Violet Lime really knocks my socks off, it's strong), and VL does well in scrubs, too. I can't really give any idea of what they remind me of, because I'm not sure they remind me of anything specific. I just like the way they smell. And to my nose, Violet Lime doesn't necessarily smell strongly of either, but whatever it smells like, it works. LOL I've tried White Tea and Berries - I like it and think it's got a fairly strong throw. It's sweet but not too sweet to my nose. I get more berry than tea, but you can smell both. I've also tried Lavender Cucumber Sage, and it's been one of my better sellers. It's a nice clean spa-type scent, not heavily floral, and not too strong on the sage - I don't normally care for sage, but it works in this blend.

I'm just laughing in astonishment at the idea that someone would be surprised/upset/bothered by the fact that when you blow out a burning candle, the wick produces smoke. What, has she never seen a candle before? That's just nuts. She's never had a birthday cake in her life? Anything that burns will produce smoke when the fire is put out. I'm sorry the other company seems to be getting to her. You did everything you could, and handled yourself in a professional manner - if you don't get this account, it's certainly no fault of yours, and it will be her loss.

Arrowroot is comparable to cornstarch and can be used in place of cornstarch when cooking. Maybe that could be used in the melts in its place.

We're starting to get the occasional springlike day. We may have a few more cold days left, but not many - I'm wearing sandals today, and it's wonderful. In the pot this weekend - new wax! I'm going to give the GL 1285 a go. They're local, I can pick it up, and given the increases all around, I figure it's worth a trip to try out a ten-pound bag of the wax. I'm going to pick up some of their FOs, too. Not quite sure which ones, but I'll likely be playing with something new this weekend.

Daystar, Candlescience, and BCS, if I had to pick three. I've had good experiences with all the suppliers I've bought from, though.

I checked Peak's today, and the price hadn't gone up there - yet. I'm sure it's coming, though.

I love Wildberry Crisp. Smells so, so good.

From Day-Star: Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting Kitchen Spices

Has anyone used this? I'm checking out local suppliers since the cost of everything is going up (it would cost me right at $30 to get a case of Ecosoya PB shipped from Peaks, and a bit more than that to get it shipped from Candlescience, on top of the increase in wax prices ), and I came across the GL 1285, just up the road from me in Grand Prairie (local pick-up, woo hoo!). I searched but didn't see any mention of how the wax performs. The Greenleaf site lists it as a soy blend. Does anyone know what percentage might be soy and what percentage paraffin? Thanks for any information!

I use Ecosoya PB for tarts and have had decent results. Occasionally I'll have to pop them in the freezer to get them to release, but no cracking like with the V-1, that's for sure. I'm also using the palm/coconut wax from Mill Creek (Mill Creek's All Natural Pillar/Votive Wax is how it's listed on the site). It takes longer to set up and release, and it's more expensive, but it makes a mighty fine tart. For what it's worth, I tried mixing C-3 with V-1 and it didn't make things any better. I wouldn't touch V-1 with a ten-foot pole (which is sad, because I could get it right up the road from Lone Star and save a ton on shipping costs!).

I have some white chocolate FO from Bitter Creek, and made up some white chocolate tangerine tarts. The oil I have isn't skin safe, and the tarts have gotten such good reviews that I want to find a skin safe white chocolate so that I can offer the scent in a scrub. Does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks!

Red Velvet Cake from BCS is awesome in soy.

How pretty!

I ordered some roll-on bottles there, and hadn't heard for a while. I e-mailed to inquire, and was told the color I ordered hadn't come in with their latest shipment, was there another color I'd like? I said sure, purple or black would be fine (I'd ordered a dozen blue roll-on bottles). Within just a few days after that, my package arrived, and it contained a dozen each of purple, black, AND blue roll-on bottles. So yeah, the shipping was slow, but they made up for it in my estimation. I'd order from them again, I'd just plan ahead and not wait until I was desperate for whatever I was ordering.

Thansk, Tereasa! I didn't realize the cottonseed made it a container wax. Good to know!

I've used Mrs. Claus Cookies, Tinsel, Birds of Paradise and Pomegranate in B&B, and they've all done well. I didn't like the Birds of Paradise in the bottle, but once it was made up, it smelled a lot better (I've used it in bubble bars).

Is this a pillar/votive wax or a container wax? Their website isn't real clear on that, at least not that I'm seeing.

Mrs. Claus Cookies has gotten rave reviews from some of my customers - so much so that I'm renaming it and carrying it year-round. NG's Toasted Marshmallow and Tinsel have also done really well for me.

It depends on the person asking. If someone I had no clue about randomly e-mailed me and asked for a sample, I'd be leery. But I've sent samples to Kim (who does the Little Black Boxes) and Liz (of Wickedly Chic) for reviews, and I've gotten some business from it. So if it's someone who's established in the e-tailer world in some form or fashion, I don't mind sending samples for free. But if it's just someone with a blog, I'd think they were just trying to score free stuff. Now if I came across their blog and wanted to offer samples to them after seeing their site, that would be a whole different story. But if they were the ones to initiate, my instinct would be to say no.

That's fabulous - congrats! Maybe I'll get up the nerve to try one someday.

I've tried it, and I didn't get musk at all from it. Just sweet tea-and-berry goodness. I really like it.