Carol M

Their prices are so reasonable already that if they had much of a sale, they would be losing money. So, with their reasonable shipping, I still come out better buying from them at their regular prices.

I've seen $.99 sample sales a couple of times, but can't remember anything else.

I don't think I've ever seen a scale that measured in eighths. Most are based on the decimal system, so measure in tenths. But if you want .4 oz of oil, 3/8 ounce is pretty close at .375

I don't sell alot, just to friends and co-workers, but I package my body cream in the 8 oz low profile jars from SW. To me, that's a good amount for an all-over cream; it holds about 6.5 oz.

The trouble with the Colonial ones is that those have no lid; at least they didn't when I bought some a year or so ago. It's just the plastic shell and the label is the lid. So making a label/lid might be somewhat of a challenge; it would have to fit exactly and have some type of adhesive around the edges.

That film drives me nuts, too; but, as Henry said, sometimes it just won't go away. I am trying to use up some odds and ends of waxes that I have lying around here. Yesterday I was test-burning a jar I poured with 464 and 15% 4627. The jar looked great while burning, but when it cooled, looked like a glass someone had been drinking buttermilk from. That ugly, streaky white film was back:rolleyes2 I was using an Eco 10 (8 oz square mason) and the meltpool and scent throw were great, the jar never overheated even after marathon burning for 6 hours; everything great except that film. I figured if an Eco wouldn't clean it up, nothing would. Guess this wax combo will only be used in tins, if at all.

If you don't get the results you want with the Crisco, advertise on the classifieds for some 4627. Added at 50% (or even 60%) to 1343, it makes a very good container wax.

These are "fallish" scents, but Gembertaarts and Gramma's Zucchini Bread are not to be missed. Also, if you're looking for empty bottles for repackaging oils, his prices are the best I've found anywhere.

I get my clear labels from Labels by the Sheet. I don't put them over anything, though; they are stand-alone labels. When I was cutting my labels from plain paper, I bought a roll of the clear plastic with the peel-off backing from WalMart (in the shelf paper section) and just covered my printed sheet with that before cutting the labels apart. That gave them a nice gloss, as well as protecting them from moisture. I had forgotten about the 3M spray adhesive; I did try that. I should have done as Alan suggested, though, and cut the labels apart and then sprayed. I tried spraying the whole sheet, then cutting, and the scissors got all gummed up.:rolleyes2 Plus, when I did that, it was sort of awkward because I had to take a sheet of newspaper outside and lay the labels on that and spray them. When I tried to do it inside, I got that adhesive on everything, no matter how careful I was. Outside, you had to be careful of any wind, so you didn't get dust stuck to them. Trust me, the full sheet labels are alot simpler:)

You're welcome:cheesy2: I find that, by doing this, I make soap more often. Especially if I am late getting started, or already a little tired, it just seems like too much trouble to drag out 5-7 different containers of stuff to weigh. Much easier this way. Another good thing is that you can use the bucket oils and still have flexibility. Just use the premixed oil for 90% of your recipe and add other things for the last 10% to customize the batch. Of course you'd have to refigure the percentages and run each new batch through a lye calculator.

With the hard oils in there, the mixture isn't liquid enough to pour. It's a little softer than Crisco; I usually just use my large Pampered Chef spatula and scoop out big dollops. There's surprisingly little mess involved.

I premix my oils and store in a 5 gallon bucket with a snap-on lid. The bucket I'm working on now has been mixed since December and is still fine; I just store it in a cool area. You don't need to keep the hard oils and soft oils separate; just melt them all together gently, stir them periodically while they're cooling, and pour into the bucket. I do stir the oils in the bucket before weighing out my batch, though, to ensure I'm getting the correct proportions of everything. Saves quite a bit of time.

Those are beautiful! I love the color combination, finish, shapes, everything about them:cheesy2:

That's what I do too, Tiffany. I mostly use clear labels and just buy the whole sheets. I print labels with a good-sized border (and generous spacing in between) and cut them out carefully myself. It's just too hard to get everything lined up right with the precut labels, with my limited ability. At one time, I did try printing on plain paper and gluing the labels on. I had pretty good luck with certain glue sticks, but sometimes when the jar heated up, the edges would turn loose, and I never knew when it was going to happen. So I gave up on that and started using the full sheet labels. Of course if I made thousands of candles, I wouldn't have time for that; in that case, I'd probably have them professionally printed.

That is truly a top-notch set up! Very clean and inviting. Best of luck to you; you're off to a great start.

I can't keep up with them:cheesy2: They're supposed to deliver my order today containing the new Pineapple Coconut, and they've already added another one!

That's too bad:sad2: I loved BJ's crates. I got 4 different styles last fall and I think they were all $1.25 or less each. Very well crafted; I wondered at the time how they could make them for that.

Those look great! What did you use to get that gorgeous burgundy color in the T&B?

Got mine (Wagner) at Walmart for around $20. That's been about 3 years ago, though. When you get it, you will use it for everything and be amazed that you ever got along without it.

Your post seemed to indicate that you don't see the crater until after the candle starts burning, so a repour wouldn't help with that. I would go for the heat gun, also. Just melt the top layer to a depth of about 1/4" to uncover any hidden air pockets and they will fill in. I don't pour straight soy, but I do pour palm, which is notorious for craters, and that is the best way I've found to handle it.

Honey Graham Cracker is a must if you like spicy bakery scents. One of my very favorites out of the couple hundred I've tried from all over.

Those are gorgeous, Malinda! :smiley2: Very unique. Is the Salty Mariner from AGE?

I loved the Sunflower/English Ivy; a pricey oil, but wonderful. Especially in b&b.

Green Clover & Aloe, or BnL (BCN) Olive Blossom

I've had to start keeping my bread in the fridge because my husband says it tastes "like perfume". I don't like doing this, but after throwing away several new loaves, I decided it was the lesser of the two evils. It's not like I have the bread sitting on top of the candles, either; across the room. My nose is so burned out that I never noticed it; probably wouldn't notice it if I poured the oil directly on the bread, lol.