Candybee

Well today I finally got the lawn mowed. Took me 2 hrs but its done. The grass was so tall the lawnmower kept choking! But with the yardwork done today I can start soaping tomorrow. Like everyone else I haven't done anything for so long because I haven't been feeling well. I am so far behind in my soapmaking I hope I can make a dent in it this week. So Jcandleattic-- did you get to make anything this weekend? How are you feeling today?

Just curious granni if you got your order straightened out?!!

I have a market tomorrow on Saturday. So today I made up a batch of my new dog paw pad balm. It came out so nice and I labeled everything and its chillin in the fridge for tomorrow. Can't wait to debut it. Its been pretty rainy all week again so I missed my other 2 markets and didn't get any yard work done because the ground is so soft and wet. Glad you are feeling better. I wasn't feeling so good myself all week and when I feel bad it makes me feel depressed and I don't want to do anything but sleep. So I didn't get anything done this week other than the paw balm.

I have their lavender and although its nice its not special in CP. I'm still looking for a replacement for SGS/Pure Fragrance Oil's expensive $30 a lb Lavender. Giving CS a try next. Used it before but can't remember how I liked it. For EBB some of my favorites that are awesome in soap and candles are: Bamboo Sugarcane Bedtime Bath J&J type Blueberry Lemon Verbena Ginger Lime (double awesome in CP!! my best seller!) Green Irish Tweed Honey L Occitaine (love this pure golden honey fragrance without the comb or floral notes, straight golden honey) Juniper Aloe ( lovely fresh scent another awesome soap and B&B scent) Manuka Lavender Body Wrap (this lavender is definitely a keeper! its more of a high end spa lavender, hard to explain) Oatmeal, Milk & Honey (not as good as SGS/Pure Fragrance but a good runner up!) Patchouli Honey (one word: AWESOME! in CP and candles) Rocky Mountains - Flicker's (fantastic in CP and candles, one of my fav pines, very feminine, soft yet strong) Sea Island Grapefruit - stick in CP, very citrusy, smells just like red grapefruit Sensuous Black Rose - sticks in CP, lots of soapers like it but to me its just NOT as nice as MW's Gypsy Rose, however FB has a spot on dupe of Gypsy Rose Tuscan Lace - awesome in M&P, haven't tried it in CP, very clean fabric type scent, feminine, customers love it Wild Honeysuckle - another awesome sticker in CP, customers who love honeysuckle love this Those are the ones I have tried. I used to buy from Flickers a lot so when it was sold to Elements I started trying out their oils as well. Still many I have not tried yet. I am beginning to like EBB's oils better over AH/RE and Soapalooza. I have better success CP'ing them.

I have long ago when I did M&P soap. Haven't tried it with CP. Don't know if it would survive the lye monster. You are right Rice Flower & Shea is really elegant in soap. I have about 1/4oz left in an old bottle from BW that I have been keeping so I remember what the scent smells like. BW's version has a lovely note of anise in it.

You're welcome! I just remembered they should have labels that fit clamshells since so many make them. But I don't remember offhand which size fits them. 2x3"?

I just wish I had gotten a 4oz bottle so I could soap it. The little sample vials they send are not enough to do anything with except get an idea of the scent. But I will definitely give this one a try. It may have just enough toasted oat scent to give my soap a little toasted sweet coconuty note.

I'm trying to figure out how in the world they could make such a big error in the address?!!! That's just bizarre! If they don't contact you back I would call them until I get someone in person to talk to.

Moonshine-- I use crystal palm and glow palm waxes and CSN wicks from CS. CS Cinnamon bun is so strong I generally use it as a mixer but straight, wow! Customers love it.

Got this as a sample from EBB and WOW! I love this! It smells like a cross between toasted coconut and oatmeal, milk & honey. Has anyone tried this one in either candles or soap? I'm thinking of CP'ing this with a little sandalwood mixed in. I was buying some Awapuhi fragrance to test it in my shampoo bars. This is a new one for me too. Can't wait to make shampoo bars with this! So far I am liking both fragrances OOB but I was really happy I got the Toasted Oats & Shea. It has a lovely toasted bakery scent but still lovely for both soap and candles.

For rectangular labels I use: 4"x1" 4"x2" 4"x4" 4"x2 1/2" - these fit the twist up tubes I use for lotion bars 1.8x1.8 works with lip balm tubes - I use a ton of these 30up labels work great for home address labels for letters Circular labels I use: 1 1/2" inch for candle jar warning labels 2" candle labels and warning labels 2 1/2" fits jelly jars and my shaving soaps - also use a ton of these

Forgot to add they often require a 3 yr contract and if you want to get out it can cost hundreds.

Yes. Its a licensing issue. I suppose if I look hard enough I should be able to find one that sells but who has the time? You are so lucky you can get yours fresh.

Don't forget their are some fragrances that are meant to be light and airy smelling. I have a few that customers like because they want a more lightly scented soap.

I like the changes you made. Label looks great! I'm sort of torn on the skull labels. The turquoise one looks too goth to me and not reminiscent of a lodge look. I do like the brown skull much better. Nothing gothic about that one and the brown colors and shading are more 'western' to my eyes. Love the western font types you selected for the leather label. Label looks very nice. As usual, your labels are beautiful. Love your work!

I hear ya! Cancelled my bank merchant account because of all the headaches they kept causing. Coming up with new fees, increasing rates, monthly fees, then charging for a security package through a vendor of theirs that I was required to have. Enough is enough! As soon as I get a new phone that takes square I'm signing up!

I don't think I have the patience to wait 5 minutes adding lye. I only use fresh goat milk too-- only I don't get it straight from the goat. I have to buy mine from the store. Incredibly, there are many goat farmers in my area but none sell goat milk. If I don't have fresh goat milk I love to use canned gm. Its absolutely heavenly in CP soap.

I may try the bowl of ice trick again. I've done it before but always got the orange milk solution. Never white or creamy looking. Sigh. I guess its all in the technique and I just need more practice.

There are a number of FOs I use at 1oz PPO. I make 56oz batches and use 3.5oz FO for the majority of them. I have a few I use at .5 or .7oz PPO but that is because they are strong in CP. But those tend to be the exceptions from my experience. As others have already mentioned there are FOs that are not compatible to CP and others that are but may fade over time. If I have a fader then I will test other FOs until I find one that works. It helped me a lot to find suppliers that post their results in CP usage on their website under their description of the FO. They also generally will say if it accelerates, rices, or discolors. But unfortunately none of them will say if it fades or not. That's where customer reviews can help if they have those on their website too.

I always get a stronger scent and in just a minute or two using an electric tart warmer. Candles always take longer and generally don't smell as strong as the tarts using the same fragrance and type wax. Remember that a melt or tart will melt fairly quickly in the warmer creating a full melt pool in the warming bowl. This is how it releases its scent. With a candle, you have to wait for the melt pool to grow to release the scent plus the melted wax is not being heated other than its proximity to the flame.

Steve-- I love the way you mix in your goat milk. You have the best explanation I have read on that. I normally split my liquid, and use half as goat milk added directly to my oils and the other half, usually water for my lye solution. I have a question for you. Do you get white soap using your method? My goat milk soaps always discolor to tan or tannish brown.

My tent canopy is over ten years old and has some holes and nicks in it. Some big enough to let in rain. Is there something like a tape or scotch guard that I can use to repair it? Can't afford to buy a new canopy replacement at this time.

You bring a cooler full of ice and cold water and drinks. I also have a blue canopy that shades better than a white and keeps out 99% of the UV rays. I'm from southern California so I thrive in 90 degree weather. Its the humidity that kills you!... and the 'skeeters & nats!!

I ended up running several virus programs to knock out the ransomware from my computer. I lost all the files they encrypted including my photos. The word and excel docs were not a biggie for me. More of an inconvenience. Fortunately for me, I was a word processor in a former life and can knock out a spreadsheet and word doc pretty fast. So within a week I had redone my documents. It was the loss of my photos that was the hardest to take. I had copies on another program but unfortunately those were connected to my comp so I lost the originals too. All in all it took me about 2 days of comp cleanup and file deletion and another week or so of retyping my old documents. Interestingly my label documents were not affected. I use Avery DesignPro and all labels were safe. Also, my other downloaded label program, Label Factory, was also uneffected. But I will never get over the feeling of a 'home invasion' it left me with. After reading that article I am beginning to wonder if the practice will last. If no one pays these crooks there is no point of them holding files for ransom. On the other hand, they can sure get revenge by encypting all your files!!

The weather held although it was very humid. Sales were slow today but okay. Had a couple new customers. What I love about new customers is once I can get them to try my soap they will come back and spend more!! Dog soaps, pumice scrubs, shampoo bars, shaving soaps, and facial bars are big sellers for me. I am so glad I decided last year to make 'specialty' soaps instead of just one type of bath bar. Not only do I have specialty soaps I have different types of bath bars. My customers love having choices for a good bath soap.