Candybee

I think you've got a good start. It might be easier to select if you used the category system of scents, eg.; pick a clean, woodsy, floral, earthy, etc. type scents. That way you can a well rounded selection. For example: Clean: Cool Water Kentish Rain (BB) Green Irish Tweed (I do mix either Green Irish Tweed (EBB) or Black Irish (BB) with Bay Rum (PFC/SGS) at 50/50% Woodsy: Rocky Mountains (EBB - my male customers love this one) Sandalwood Patchouli Cedarwood (FMC) + Cinnamon Stick (CS) Spicy: Sandalwood + Allspice EO Orange Chili Pepper Floral/Earthy: Anything Patchouli; Patchouli Orange, Honey Patchouli, Patchouli Musk, etc. Lavender, Rosemary, Mint (I blend my own) Lavender Chamomile (I sell more lavender to men than women) Fresh Grass, Bamboo, Green Cactus, or other "green" scent Midsummer's Night and Drakkar are very similar so I would just pick with one. Black Canyon is nice but personally I find it a bit on the baby powder side but customers love it. I sell a ton of patch types so defnitely try to fit one in there.

If you can pick up a cheap hand held mixer that would be best as you can control the areas you are mixing. But a stand mixer generally comes with a stainless steel bowl. Either work great.

You beat me to it J. I was just going to say use your heat gun to melt off the wax. Also, use a stainless steel mixing bowl if you can. Both are easy to clean using a heat gun.

I just mixed the best pumpkin scent I ever smelled! EVER!!! I was running low on my pumpkin blend (CS pumpkin pie and pumpkin souffle I mix 50/50%). So I looked to see what I had in stock and I had some Pumpkin pie spice from AH/RE. So I mixed that in with it and made candles for this weekends show. OMG they are soooooo good! Its wonderful I now have a mix I am totally in love with-- the problem is now I have to buy 3 FOs from 2 vendors to make it. Here's the blend: 30% CS pumpkin pie 30% CS pumpkin souffle 40% AH pumpkin pie spice

I love the 3 wick pillar. Never tried making one. I used to buy one every year until I purchased one that was wicked poorly and kept sputtering out on me. But all the 3 wick candles I ever used you still had to trim the wax every now and then to get a level candle. Hopefully you will have better luck.

I took a candle class several years ago on whipped wax. They used a mixer so thats what I use. I wait until the wax gets a little slushy then start whipping it. Use either a hand mixer or a stand mixer. Once you have the wax whipped you can whisk in your color. You only need 1-3 drops of color, each placed around the inside the bowl so you distribute the color evenly. Don't overwhisk, you don't want to blend in the color if you want a marbled look. You can use a spoon or a pastry bag depending on the look you want to achieve. But a pastry bag with piped 'frosting' looks so cool!

Mistletoe

You didn't mention the cocoa therapy. Doesn't it smell just like Hersheys hot cocoa mix out of the canister? It reminds me of the hot chocolate my mom used to make for me when I was a little kid. That classic hot cocoa powder-- not Swiss Miss or anything cheap, the expensive stuff!

Do you have any books on soaping? That would help you prepare an outline for a soap class. I don't see anything wrong with teaching a person how to create their own recipes. Also, any soaper should be able to calculate the their lye and water based on the recipe they create. That was how I was taught and I was so glad I got that info. The class I took was not boring. The instructor gave us copies of instructions on how to calculate the lye and liquid with a basic recipe. We made the soap from that recipe in the class. It was a hands on instruction and was a blast. Its all in the delivery. You can give a lot of information in handouts along with basic instruction. I have done several soap demos myself and make sure that the students have all the info they need to go home and make their own soap based on what I have taught them. It was easiest for me to start with a simple outline. I ask myself what I want to teach and what I want the student to walk away with. Design your outline around that, then start filling it in. You will be amazed at how much you can teach. I would make a class around making a soap. That will give them hands on instruction. Also, at the end of class they can walk away with their own handmade soap. They will be thrilled!

It wasn't chewing tobacco-- just spit. I know because I saw it and was sorry I did. Anyway-- finished the show up today as it was a 2 day weekend show. The weather was rainy and cold but I did okay. This was not a big show so I was not expecting much. Next weekend is a bettter show so I can't wait for that one!

Its Saturday evening. I just got home from my weekend Fall Festival. Its out of state in WV about a 45 minute drive from VA. I did pretty good today. Hoping to do well tomorrow too! Wish me luck!! I have to say I have seen more men spitting at the ground at the Festival. What is it about men and spitting? Its so gross! I mean what do you have in your mouth that is so nasty you have to spit? Honestly. I can understand if you have a medical condition but I saw about 6 spitters today. They can't all be sick, just sick habits. Ewwww! (End of rant)

Got a visit from the soap gremlins eh? Sorry to hear that. Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed.

Are you ready for some more winners from Fillmore? I know Old Glory is! Tehehehee! Tuberose and Jasmine - this is an incredible floral, crazy good in candles and CP soap Iced Lemon Biscotti - this is so good you want to drink it. Excellent in candles, very strong, very lemony. Butterscotch Brulee - another one that smells so good you want to drink it. Great in candles but especially good in soy.

That glycerin that they extract from the soap goes into their body lotions and creams so you have to buy both the soap and the body lotion. Sneaky huh?!! I agree M&P can make some fabulous soap. Before I started making CP I was making M&P. I loved it and still do. Its much better than any commercial soap you can buy.

I don't order a lot of FOs from C&S but the ones I do order every holiday season are: Bayberry Apple Spice Christmas Splendor Others I love are: Witches Brew Drakkar Orange (the best straight orange I have found as a mixer) Vanilla Pods Can't think of any others at the moment. All of these work great in parasoy and palm candles. The witches brew I use in CP. It discolors to a medium brown but holds its scent very nice and strong. I have to add that C&S is like any other collection of FOs as they are hit or miss. The ones I mentioned are hits and so good I keep using them year after year. Also, they have a harvest spice that is their number #1 seller. I keep trying to get it but it is normally sold out every time I happen to look for it. I am guessing that it must be good but my thoughts are if its always going to be OOS why bother? KWIM?

SKS carries them: http://www.sks-bottle.com/340c/G2.html

MzPhee-- once you make your first soap you will be kicking yourself wondering why did you wait so long! Seriously you won't be sorry! I hope to see your first soap pics in the gallery!!

I am not surprized by all your responses. Once you start using handmade its almost impossible to be satisfied with a commercial soap.

I love to ask this question every now and then. I haven't bought a bath soap since 2006. I only use handmade, primarily my own. A few years ago I found a bar of Dove soap in my linen closet. I thought to myself I should try it and see if I have been missing anything. So I bathed with it. Ten minutes later I had to jump in the shower and wash myself off with my handmade soap. I could not believe how dry, itchy, and filmy my skin felt. Ick! And to think I used to wash daily with that and thought it was normal to slather body oil and lotion on my skin after every bath. I don't use body lotion or oils on my skin anymore since I have been using real soap.

This is the 1st year in a long time I am not booked every weekend. I have a small show coming up this weekend followed by a larger show next weekend. I will compare my earnings from past years and let you know how it works out. I have noticed that sales have picked up overall this year but are still nothing like they were before the great recession.

I tried the gift basket thing a couple of times for the holidays. I think I sold maybe one or two in 2 yrs trying. I wasted money in baskets, wrap, ribbon, etc. So I don't do baskets anymore. Customers really like the 2, 3 or 4 for $ specials so that is what I do year round. On the other hand I once knew a vendor that made lovely baskets in the price range of $30 to $75 and did pretty good as far as I could tell. But they made home decoration products like floral centerpieces and table pieces, etc. Maybe thats the reason.

I think they look great just they way there are. Cool that they float too!

Thanks! I've been looking for a good replacement for my CP soap. Its one of my wholesale accounts soaps.

I do something similar. If its one solid color I add the colorant directly into the oils before adding my lye solution. If I am doing several colors I put the colors into seperate bowls and use about a tablespoon of oil from my soap oils that way I am not adding in any extra oil and don't need to adjust my lye. I have done it both ways, before adding my lye solution, and after. I have noticed no difference other than it works better for me to do it before adding my lye solution. Either way, I always do so long before trace.

I used to use SGS (now Pure Fragrance Oils) soap safe Cinnamon in my soap. It and Soapalooza's soap safe cinnamon were both discontinued recently at about the same time. I have not found another one so far. Only fruity blends with cinnamon notes like peach or apple not straight cinnamon. At least none listed as soap or skin safe.