Candybee

I could look at your soap all day. So pretty! I just love the colors!!

Luci-- I was the same way re SGS. But I have a couple of their oils that are must haves. I was happy to find out that their west coast supplier's prices were cheaper than SGS prices. I ended up ordering from the west coast supplier and was happy I did. The shipping wasn't so bad and I got the oils within a week. I live in Virginia.

Those are really pretty! I was looking at BB's Kentish Rain. I need a nice 'clean' type scent and was wondering how it holds out in CP?

I can tell they are labor intensive. I used to do embeds but nothing as elaborate as those. Beautiful work Suzy!

Those are beautiful! Love the colors.

Those are beautiful!

Thats pretty! I love GIT.

beeeeautiful!

Sabrina you are adorable! Your candles are beautiful too! Inez-- I can see now that what is eating away at you right now is the pressure of paying back this credit. I almost lost my house last year as I lost my job and was behind in my mortgage. When I got a letter from the bank about them starting proceedings to forclose I was as down as I could be. Instead, I picked myself up, drove over to the bank, and talked to the manager. I was able to pay what I could and after a few weeks got work and started making regular payments. The pressure was eating away at me but it passed when I got myself in a better situation. So stay strong and hang in there. Times are tough right now. But this will pass and things will get better for you I promise.

I am very happy for you! I know you must be excited and can't wait to get started. Like Pam said make sure you read up on and research working with lye. You should be okay as long as you use common sense and practice safety instructions for working with lye. When I first started I made sure I had a well ventilated room; a respirator, rubber gloves, eye goggles, vinegar bottle on hand, and old clothes that covered my arms and legs. When I make soap I am covered from head to toe. Make sure any pets or children are out of the way and not in the room. Make soap on days when you can give it your full attention and not be bothered by any distractions. Good luck and have some fun!! I bet once you become more experienced and your hubby gets to try the fruits of your labor he will be more open to it and hopefully even more supportive and encouraging. You never know, he might even want to watch and learn!

I don't think I have seen a metal mold for soap except for M&P. If its for CP it has to be stainless steel as the lye can react dangerously in other metals. Sorry I have not seen any Disney molds. Probably because anyone making them would have to obtain permission to make them. Also, if you do make any soaps with a Disney character, logo, design, etc. you would have to also get permission to use each one. You could get away with personal use but can't sell them without permission. Copyright laws apply. I knew a flag maker once who used Disney characters in her flags. She had to go through the process of obtaining permission to use the characters from Disney. She told me each flag design took months to get the permission.

I really do like my recipe and don't want to change this one except to turn it into a more creamy paste sort of like toothpaste. Right now the finished soap is the consistency of a pasty gel. Its okay as is and I can certainly put it in a jar but I just don't personally care for the consistency. I want it more like a thick creampaste. I am thinking of maybe making it again and using Snow Drift Farm's cream soap calculator and adjust it to make a 'thicker' cream soap. I have never made cream soap so I am not sure this will work. Or maybe I just need to add more liquid to the crockpot and SB it at the end. Or perhaps there is an additive that will help with a creamy consistency. If anyone has any ideas that can help me I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

Looking good! I see the shaving cream is nice, thick, and creamy. Doesn't that make you feel good when you get the recipe right and see how the quality of the shaving cream dramatically changes?! Just for comparison, heres a new batch I made with only KOH as my lye and CPHP'd in my crockpot. I tweaked my recipe too after a lot more research. Its the recipe I am sticking with for now. This is only 10-15 seconds of loading the brush. A small piece makes a bowl full of lather. More than enough to shave. If you compare to my earlier attempt you can see this one is far creamier and more stable.

You could also draw more people in by doing candle classes-- taking in some extra money too!

Sorry to hear what you are going through Inez. Maybe you just need a break. I discovered a long time ago not to worry about what others are doing or selling. I put all my effort into making the best product I can and selling that. I think you are probably just more open and sweet than you need to be. You have to have a bit of tough skin and be assertive. I know you have the talent but right now you sound defeated. Sometimes a break and regrouping helps. For myself, when I get new ideas for something that gives me the boost I need and a fresh burst of energy to pour into my work... and sometimes just taking a break or a small holiday to take my mind of it helps a lot. I know this will pass for you so just hang in there.

Wow thats a lotta FO! You have definitely earned the FOHO badge of honor. Happy testing!

This is very true when adding FOs to CP soap or 'cold processed' soap. Once you mix the FO in the soap batter with the lye the lye can play havoc with it. You can get a scent that fades, lasts as long as the soap, or morphs into a completely different scent all due to how it reacts with the lye. With candles, it depends on the wax or wax blend. Soy is really unpredictable and finicky to work with when it comes to scenting it. Sometimes all the wax needs is a good long cure and sometimes a fragrance just doesn't work in the wax. Other times it smells great and of course there are scents that smell totally different once they are in wax-- sometimes not at all like the OOB scent. Haven't you noticed with perfumes that they can take on variances and subtle nuances with different people? Its due to their blood and skin chemistry, harmones, etc. Everyones chemistry is different and can also have an effect on their likes and dislikes of certain scents.

That article is a rehash of a rehash of a rehash! In other words, its been going around and around for years. The National Candle Assn is right. There has yet to be any difinitive proof of the allegations made in the article. ChrisR is right. As long as I have been making candles there has always been a lot of unscrupulous marketing especially by the soy industry aimed at vilifying paraffin. The remarks about the lead wicks are also very misleading. They simply are no longer made in the US nor can you buy them from any US supplier. Implying a wire cored wick may contain lead is a scare tactic used on consumers. The chances of you having a candle with a lead core wick is zero. You would have to go out of your way to even find one unless you go to China. Even then they would have to make them themselves as none of the worlds leading wick companies manufacture lead wicks. Zinc wicks have replaced them for at least the last 20-30 years. Why this keeps popping up is to rehash old fears and scare consumers. When I burn a candle I don't worry about the fragrance as it has been diluted by putting it into the wax. They only thing I worry about are customers with allergies but they have to make that decision for themselves and those that do have allergies to fragrances or essential oils are already aware of it. But when it comes to making candles I always wear a respirator as I am working directly with the full strength oil. After years of making candles I started to notice I had a "smokers" cough for days after candlemaking. So I started wearing an OSHA approved respirator and no more coughing spells. Working with FOs can have an effect on your lungs and you can inhale the fumes and vapors directly from the oil itself as you are working with it. I also noticed my cats would vomit on candlemaking days so now I lock them in a ventilated room and cover the door with a cloth so no fumes can enter the room. So if you don't think working with FOs and EOs can effect your lungs or health you should reconsider.

What are you cleaning your molds with? You shouldn't use soap and water. Molds have to 'cure' with use. If anything use mold release or wipe out with a dry cloth. If you must use a little bit of mineral oil and carefully wipe out with a soft dry cloth.

I started out with a small email list. I fixed that by taking a signup sheet to all my craft shows and markets and asked people to sign up for sales and savings through my website. I ended up with quite a list by the end of the craft show season. So whenever I needed extra money I would do a website sale and send a coupon in the email. My absolute best sales were for free shipping. I generated enough sales to cover my shipping costs. But then the majority of my sales were from local customers per the sign up sheet so shipping was relatively inexpensive plus I used regional flat rate boxes. Don't know if you have those in Germany. Or just do a flat fee shipping. People love saving on shipping more than 10-20% savings on sale items.

He had issues with the candles?!!!!! What nerve!! You should tell him you have issues with the shipping fees and send him a bill.

Not a good sign when FOs go OOS for months at a time. It could be an early sign of trouble.

Those are so pretty!

Lucky! Wish I had a nice workroom. I see kitty plans to take over already.

Wow! Ubure. My gut feeling is he knew he was getting away with a bargain and took advantage. I would be really surprised if he came back for more but you never know! I try to look at these disappointments as a learning tool. My suggestion is sit down and write out your shipping, return, and restocking policy. Think through all the different scenarios can think of and apply them to your policy to safeguard yourself. Then put it on your website. Take the knowledge you gained from this and use it to your advantage.