Lady Di

How in the WORLD did you do that????

I would like to make my own herbal infused oils. I know that the herbs must "steep" in the oil base for 6 weeks. I'm wondering if the herbs ever get moldy, or does the oil act as a preservative? Can I use both fresh and dried herbs to do this? TIA.

I've seen these somewhere, but can remember where. Anyone know off hand? Thanks.

Sometimes in the wedding section of Michaels (or another craft store), you can find round silver tins with see through lids.

I posted here a couple of weeks ago about how my roll-on body perfumes did not sell at the craft fair. It was suggested that I was not charging enough, and that I should increase the price. Well, I did. At today's show, I sold 4. Sales of my other products were through the roof, so it's not like people weren't buying anything -- they just weren't buying these. Oh, well. Can't win 'em all.

Thank you!

I was a fizzie failure. Out of a dozen fizzies, I might get 3 or 4 good ones. They either cracked or completely separated in the middle. Then I saw a demo for bath fizzies at a soapmaker's meeting. This girl was considered "The Queen" of bath fizzies. Her advice was to weigh everything (including the water and f.o.) instead of measuring. She said that cracks were almost always due to too much water. I tried her method, and I've been successfully making fizzies ever since. It was amazing how much easier it was.

I've had a jar of coffee butter sitting on my shelf, but I don't know what to do with it. I think I'd like to make a body butter (thick) to go into a jar. Does anyone know of a receipe that would work with coffee butter? TIA!

You could get a lip balm filling tray from www.thesage.com for $10. They make them for regular tubes and slim tubes.

Perfume base I used was cyclomethicone. Some (but not all) match the soap fragrances. I have another show on Nov. 3. I will raise the price and see what happens. Thanks for all the input.

You are SO lucky to live so close to a major supplier! Maybe I'm splitting hairs, here, but don't forget to factor in your roundtrip mileage for this 2 hour (total time) drive. 48.5 a mile is the rate currently allowed by the IRS. But I would probably also make the drive, because I want my stuff NOW -- not 5-7 days from now

I guess so. What have I got to lose? They didn't sell at $3.

Although I add one, I don't believe salt scrubs require a preservative, since salt is already a natural preservative. I, too, prefer the emulsified scrubs. I use a shea butter base with some jojoba oil. The ratio I use is equal parts oils/butters to equal part salt (or sugar). Scrubs are used for exfoliating dead skin cells and softening the skin. Take care not to slip in the tub or shower.

No... I had the testers all lined up in front with a professional looking sign that said what they were, and the price. The finished product was neatly labeled and shrink wrapped. People were testing them. Could it have been my fragrance choices? I tried to offer something for all tastes. I had 9 fragrances: Jasmine Vanilla, Cantaloupe Lily, Bridal Wreath, Magnolia Melba, Coconut Lime Verbena, White Rose Bergamot, Fresh Mango, Black Raspberry Vanilla and Pumpkin Spice. I don't get it. I'm really kind of fed up with shows. You never know what people are going to buy. My biggest seller was soap, then fizzies.

I recently added roll on body perfumes to my line. They are in the little glass lip gloss containers. I did a show last weekend, and not a single one sold. I had them priced at $3.00 each, 2 for $5.00. Was I asking too much, or was it the wrong crowd? I've got another show in about 3 weeks, and I'd like to be sure I'm pricing these right. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I bought refined shea from soaper's choice once and found my end product to be EXTREMELY grainy. I do not have this problem with MMS or Wholesale Supplies Plus.

I'm not really sure what you are describing. I don't know if this helps, but here are a couple of sites: http://www.storesupply.com/ http://www.displaywarehouse.com/

I discovered a problem with some of my leftover fizzies which were being stored in a plastic egg carton. The little compartments holding all the fizzies in a particular scent had melted. The other compartments holding fizzies of a different scent were fine. I don't know how long it took for this disintegration to take place, because these were discarded (no sale) fizzies, and they had been sitting in the cartons for a few months. Has anyone else had this problem? Why do you suppose it only happened with the fizzies made with that one particular fragrance?

I made 3 different bubble bars... Jamaica Me Crazy (look great), Cool Citrus Basil (sparkling white) and Coconut Lime (brown spots all through the white parts). I knew that vanilla and coconut turned soap brown, but I didn't know it would do this in other products.

I use crystal clear round labels (about 1 2/3" round). They wrap around the tube nicely, but the edges do not stick very well, so I use tube shrink bands. I have some vinyl rounds which stick, but I just like the look of the clear best.

I use WSP's Satin and Silk lotion base, as well as their Goat Milk and Honey. They are both very good.

Try Nashville Wraps or Bags and Bows Online.

Carebear, the BIG product is what I was trying to duplicate. I have used Lush's BIG, and the lather is a little slow to come on. But with my experimental batch, you have to REALLY work hard to get a lather going. I used sea water, sodium lauryl sulfoacetate, cocoa. betaine, a little jojoba oil, a little panthenol, a little wheat protein and a large quantity of coarse salt (like you would for a scrub). I then thickened it up with some liquid crothix. Out of frustration, I even added some conditioning shampoo base I had on hand. There's no shortage of surfactants in my batch. I don't get what else I need to add to pump up the volume of suds. :undecided

I read a lot about how sea salt gives hair body, so I wanted to make a sort of salt scrub shampoo. I did this and added coarse sea salt to it. But I hardly get any lather at all. Is it the salt?

I've got a show coming up and am adding some roll-on perfumes in those little glass roller applicators (like lip gloss comes in). I've never offered these before, and wondered what price to put on them. Any suggestions? TIA