NancyT

Antonia, you definately need to try to make it to the social next year, especially since you are so close. I don't know what the fee will be next year, but we only paid $35 for our registration. If you plan to stay overnight you will need to allow for a hotel room and of course your food. Aside from that, it's up to you what you want to spend. As far as vendors, Diane from Southern Garden Scents was there with a ton of frangrance oils plus other items. She definately did not charge extra and I kind of think she may have even given us a bit of a discount. I haven't checked online yet to see. Anyway, her oils were very reasonable.....and she is a real sweetheart. No you won't have to do any demo's. Birdie and Angela had speakers lined up and Birdie did a soap demo. Aside from that, you just need to sit there, listen, and take it all in. We always had the opportunity to ask questions with any of the speakers. If I were you, I'd start putting back a few bucks each week and make plans to be there in 2010. It is worth every penny you will spend. Nancy

Girlie you are really on the ball. I was just kidding with you when I asked if you had started planning for next year. I like what you've done with the site so far and I am going to try to either get in to town a few days early or stay a few days after the social so I can "browse" around Franklin. I really had a great time and definately look forward to being back next year. I've already started thinking about what to bring for show and tell.

Hey Birdie, send me an e-mail, I couldn't get the site to open. I'm not sure about needing a roomie for the PA Gathering. Hubby usually goes with me, but hasn't said anything yet about going to PA. I'll have to let you know. Jennifer, dinner was just the "last ones standing" after everyone had left. We had helped Diane pack up and helped clear the room and decided to grab a bite to eat before some had to hit the road for home. Very informal but a nice time for sure. BTW I loved your quote how can I get to the CA conf. on a TN budget?? I got a good laugh out of it. Can't wait for next year.

I'm not sure how it will react in cp soap, but I made mp soaps with added pumice and most of the pumice settled to the bottom. I used a foot mold and it actually turned out pretty cute....it just looked like a dirty foot. Just thought I would mention it. I do agree with the rest, the ground pumice should be just what you're looking for. Good luck.

Can you please tell me what the benefit is to adding Tussah Silk to the soap? I received some in my goodie bag at the TN Social on Saturday, and I plan to use it, but wondered what the benefit is. Thanks

What a great event!!!! I want to thank Birdie & Angela for all the work they put into making it so special for all of us. Our speakers were very informative and I enjoyed the soap making demo by Birdie, even if she wouldn't divulge her "secret recipe" to us. I guess we'll just have to work on making our own masterpiece!!! LOL It was great to meet everyone and have time to network with others to find out the "secrets" of what works for them. Heather gave me a recipe I can't wait to make for my granddaughters excema...and her lip balms look very inticing, so I'll have to make them too. Jennifer, Lance and I had a nice time "talking shop" at lunch. Of course, dinner afterward turned out to be a great time to learn more about each other on a personal level. I was just thrilled to make some new special friends. I hope everyone made it home safely. Thank you again to anyone that had a part in making this event so special for me and everyone else. Angela, I haven't forgotten your candle.....I may not get it out this week, but next week for sure. I'm glad you all liked them. Birdie have you started planning next year's social yet?????? Ok, take a week off if you want. LOL You and Angela did a great job so I hope you relax a bit now that it's over. Nancy

This will be my first year to attend and I'm anxious to meet those of you that I have been reading your posts and gaining from your vast wisdom. It will be here before we know it. Looking forward to meeting you Birdie.

Thank you. I'll be interested to see how they turn out. I finally took one of my body poufs and rubbed them down with it, enought to get the spots off and they look pretty good, but like you, I'll give it some time to see if they come back. Thanks for your help.

No, I actually hadn't packaged them yet. But they were in the same tote. I'm just wondering if there is any way of saving them. Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Very nice displays. I especially like your tall candle holders, and I love the fact that you use different containers. I like variety.

No I don't think they did any sweating. I know they were completely dry when I packed them away, and I don't think the tote was in the sun at all, that might have caused some condensation inside. What did you do about yours when it happened? Do you just package them and try to sell like they are or is there something I can do to make them look a little better?

About 3 weeks ago I made some m&p using white base, added grapefruit & peppermint fo; cocoa butter, shea butter, glycerine, jojoba oil,and ground pumice. Most of the pumice settled to the bottom but it still looked nice (kind of like the bottom of a dirty foot ). They had a nice shine to them and were very cute. Yesterday I opened the tote I had them in and they have a dull spotty look to them. I was sooooo disappointed. Can anyone tell me what might have happened. I let them set out in the open a few days before packing them away so I know change came sometime after packing them. Any ideas????? TIA

I agree.....these are so cute and fun. I'm sure the girls will love them. It looks like they were fun to make. Great job!!!!!

Hey Abbie, I got your message and I replied......I'm not sure what happened to it. If I can find it I'll resend it....the only problem is, I'm thinking I cleaned out my sent & trash folders. Don't worry, I still love ya........but evidently my e-mail didn't.

Hey Abbie, how are the numbers coming along? How many reservations do you have now? I'm hoping to get to come so I'll be watching closely to make sure the gathering doesn't fill up before I get a chance to make my reservation. As you know, I'm kind of "on call" having to help my folks and that's the only reason I don't go ahead and sign up now. I'm really hoping I get to come this year for sure. Nancy

Everything looks great and I love your packaging. Are your bars shrink wrapped before you add your ribbons and such? It all looks great!!!

Very pretty and I love the bright colors.

I purchased some diffuser base from the classy's (I won't mention the brand) but it has a very strong odor of alcohol to it. Is it supposed to smell this way? I haven't tried using it yet, just thought I would ask. TIA

Tamtam where do you get your Dr. Bronners? I've never heard of it. Thanks.

Just a thought but how about some plumbers putty or some sort of clay?????

Scrubzz I know what you mean. I've been making candles for the past 3 years and I'm just kind of burnt out and have been trying to decide what to do next. I will still do candles since I have so much invested, but I am going to go more for wickless (except my carved candles). I am so excited about getting into the m&p and would like to venture into using more eo's & herbs instead of the fo's. With m&p, it sounds like you can make it as simple or complex as you want...the decision is yours and I like that aspect of it. PA you might want to talk to Bill about putting you on the payroll!!!! You'd be a perfect PR rep for them. I'll be placing my order tomorrow and then anxiously awaiting it's arrival. When you get a reply about the mix & match question, please post. I am very interested in that as well.

After the heads up from Bill about the sale, I've been watching for it all day. Was glad when it finally arrived. What a great sale!!!!! Has anyone tried the new Natural base yet? It sounds really nice but trying to decide if I can afford to get it AND the white AND the clear all at one time. I sure wish there was someone nearby that would like to split a 40# order of the natural with me. Oh well, I'll probably at least get 20# of it. PA did you say the white is the best to get for adding goodies to it? Thanks Nancy

I'm sure down the road we could probably do a co-op with him when he's not running a sale. I'm just thrilled that we can actually get it cheaper from him, and if PA is right, it's a better product. I can hardly wait to see the sale. Eileen I'm glad you mentioned having to call in an order to get the USPS shipping. I had forgotten about him saying that (although I would have called mine in anyway). PA are you going to make addicts out of all of us??????

I've got great news!!!! I just talked with Bill at EBC and they are going to run a sale on their m&p soap probably this week end or the first of the week!!!!! I was asking about shipping price and I was surprised it was reasonable. USPS to anywhere in US is like $19.95 for 40#...I didn't think that was bad at all. If you go with UPS, it was going to be like $34 to me. When I started telling him that I was interested in their m&p, he quickly advised me to wait for the sale. I thought that was very nice of him to give me a head's up. Also, they have bought out the manufacturer they got their soaps from and are making it all themselves and can afford to pass along the savings to the customers. I asked if he mided my sharing all this with you and he was happy to have me do it. I was ready to order today but now I'm going to wait. The way I figure it, buying 40# makes the white soap $1.75 per pound, plus $.50 per pound shipping....I'm still just paying $2.25 per pound...that's better than the free shipping at SS on their SFIC. Anyway, if you have any questions, I would recommend you call them as they are VERY helpful. Sorry to take so much space but I just had to share!!!!! Nancy

I keep reading about using velveeta cheese boxes but are you talking about the regular cardboard box or the plastic one that it sometimes comes in? Do you line the box? Use a mold release spray? Just curious.