Candybee

For hard slabs I break with a hammer into pieces. With the soft waxes I use a butcher knife and whack off a piece. I also got some of those large sterlite containers to put a case of wax in them. So each time I open a new case of wax I place the slabs in the container to cut or whack off pieces so any stray slivers or lumps stay in the container. That way I can also seal the container to keep contaminants out.

I couldn't wick my pillars so that they would not tunnel. I did not have trouble with cracking or blowouts. If I ever try it again I will try the CD. Trying to remember if I tested with CDs and can't remember. I know I tested with several wick series.

I brew chai tea and add cream and sugar. It's very spicy and cinnamon is definitely a strong spice in the tea. I have not seen any citrus chai tea? It may be that some people prefer orange peel in their tea and drink without the cream. I may give the one from Fillmore a try. I prefer the 'creamy' type. Have you ever bought a premixed chai tea with added cream? You just put in your refridgerator and chill it. You drink it the same like ice coffee. Its divine! Forget who makes it but every now and then I buy a carton for myself.

I am so glad you started this threa. I think you are the one that got me interested in trying their oils. I just wish they had an outlet on the east coast. Shipping from CA to VA might make shopping there impractical for me. But I am still curious about their oils and may give them a try. They also have some other great stuff for candlemaking.

Haha! I just realized I got the recipe % wrong. It's 80% CO, 10% palm, 5% shea, 5% castor. Or you can split the shea and palm or just use one or the other depending on which one you like. I just like the combo of both as they give me the best creaminess. I gues you could just sub them for lard or tallow too!

Woohoo! I think we have such creative people here. Such beautiful soaps! Suzy those pumpkin soaps are amazing! Debratant-- JC may be right about the heat and full water and TD combo for the glycerin rivers. I just remember reading somewhere that too much TD can cause it too and I've seen pics of it before. So I have always been careful not to use more than 1 tsp PPO. But in the right soap it can look awesome. So hope you can figure out how you did it because your soap looks cool with the cracking on it.

That's beautiful JC! I love ocean and made my very first batch of salt bars with it. I've tried using cool water before but can't find one that sticks in CP. Wish I could share some pics of something from the past but alas.... my pics were obliterated recently by a nasty comp virus. I do recall one of my favorites was a sunflower oil recipe soap I made using Fillmore's Daffodils. I had finally mastered this beautiful delicate swirl and posted pics of it a while back. Maybe if I can find the thread I will post a link so you can see them. Here's the link to the thread about the Daffodil soap: http://www.craftserver.com/topic/105419-daffodil/

I don't sell them anymore but when I did I also kept them in the original box. Great idea Moonshine to give them a clamshell with their purchase! That's what I would do if I still sold them. Warmers are great sellers BTW!

Yeah! Those are waaaay to pretty to burn! Awesome work! I especially love the basketful of fire starters. I bet you sell a ton of those! Cute kitten pic! Makes me think of that song.. on the road again!

I remember you using a couple of those glass containers before. I just love all you candles and pictures and your style is beautiful! One of these days you will have to show us a picture of the lodge and the woods around it. Munchkin is a character the way she sits! Cats never cease to amuse and amaze me with their antics and preferences. Now Sox looks like she's getting ready to go into one of those feline trances... contemplating a thought, of a thought, of a thought. LOL

LOL I second this!

Thanks Belinda! and yes you are an enabler you rascal!!

If anyone has any sample(s) of these they want to share I would love some! Just PM me. My limited budget is pretty much spent and I hate it when I can't buy everything I want.

Maybe you have the Olive Martini or the Galactic Moss? I love how she names her colors. I wanted to get more colors but that was all I could afford. Next on my list to try are: Key West Blue Ruby Slippers Flirt (OMG Its sooooo perfectly hot pink and sexy! why didin't I get this one today! Argh!!!) Goldfinger Twilight Silverfin Blue (Ohhh! what a purdy sky blue!) Satin Penny Enchanted Forest Pot 'o Gold Haha! I don't want much do I??

You know I never tried the tins. I see a lot of them at shows I do and they look nice. I guess its because I use palm wax and I prefer to use glass containers so you can see the beautiful crystal patterns. Also, the wax glows as it burns which would not show up in tins. I do like the idea of a travel tin candle so I can see why they would be popular.

So keep us up to date if you try the other waxes and how you like them.

6006 is a parasoy blend meaning it has a certain % of paraffin to soy. Paraffin is notorius at producing wet spots which occur as the wax cools and pulls away slightly from the jar container. Its the bane of all paraffin candle makers but most learn to adapt or embrace them as JC and others point out. If you really want to reduce the wet spots you could add a little soy wax. I would start with 5% increments. Just remember anytime you add something to your wax blend it will change the performance of the wax. Sometimes it can be in a good way sometimes not. You will have a much better candle using soy as an additive to reduce wet spots than if you add mineral oil. You should remember that 6006 is an already blended wax produced by the manufacturer to perform without additional additives. All it needs is scent and color.

I simply let the wick tab stick on its own after I center it in the tea light container. Personally I don't see the sense in glueing it with a stickum, glue, etc. I pour my wax first, then wick them. I double check to make sure they are centered, then let them cool. The wicks typically burn without 'traveling' unlike regular container candles which can travel quite a bit. With a tea light if the wick does end up traveling it doesn't seem to hurt the candle that much cause of its small size.

Hmmm.... you sure about the Maniacal Pea? It looked more bright in the picture. There was a moss colored green that is sort of olive colored and I didn't want that one (for now! LOL)

I do my salt bars with 80% coconut oil and 20% other oils. I like using shea 10%, palm 10%, and castor 5% and superfat at 15%. I do a 35oz oil recipe and at exactly 2 lbs (32oz) of sea salt. I buy the bulk sea salt at my local health food store in the bulk isle. I also use half aloe juice and half coconut milk as my liquid. If I have it, I throw in a little wildflower honey too. I sell the dickens out of my salt bars. I can't keep them stocked and can't make them fast enough. Mostly I sell them during the summer and market them as spa polishing bars. When customers see my stack of salt bars in a basket they are always curious. So when I explain to them what they are they always buy them.

Okay I just sent in my order. I got: Grape Nehi (purple) Bright Yellow Raincoat (bright yellow) Orange Crush (bright orange) The Maniacal Pea (bright green) Bazooka Joe (pink) Voodoo (raspberry) TD (thankfully she carries the water soluble) and the Nina Simone iridescent glitter. I am giddy like a little child. I can't wait for my 'treasures' to get to my house and open up my box of goodies!! Oh I hope the Bazooka Joe is really, really pink. It looked so pretty in the picture. I am also excited about the Maniacal Pea. Love the name but hoping it is bright green. Same with the yellow raincoat. I loved the sample bright mica collection, so I used that as my guide for ordering the ones I wanted. I love bright colors. Thats why I love the 'vibrance' micas from Nurture. They really are bright. I am hoping the Voodoo (raspberry) doesn't bleed like the vibrance raspberry does. That would be awesome!

Actually I think I am going to go ahead and order from Mad Oils today. Timing is important and I have already waited more days than I wanted to order the micas. I need to go ahead and order what I need now. I might still take advantage of the sale at Nurture when it happens. Will see. So I will will let you all know what I get from Mad Oils. not_ally: I will get me some glitter too! Thanks for the tip and thank you much for the generous offer but it looks like I will get what I need anyway.

I got it too. Well I hope she is able to get it all figured out.

I saw your email. That was sweet to send it out letting us know whats going on. So sorry about the site crashing. That must have been so frustrating! I will try to cool my heels while I am waiting... I adore the vibrance micas and am totally out so I knew I wanted to get in on this fabulous sale!! Sorry about the rant earlier. Sometimes I freak out before I have a chance to cool down!

I never ordered from them before. What other oils do you like? Maybe you could start a thread about Genwax FOs so we can get some reviews going!