daniedb

In looking at your list, you seem to have a couple of categories covered, but I don't see many (if any) musky, sultry fragrances. They're my least fave, so I've had a hard time with them, too, but they sell great! I love these for that category: -Tibetan Black Tea from WYW at BCN -Tuscan Nights from Peak (not so much sultry, but nice and deep and round) -Asian Sandalwood from Peak I'll pop in as I think of more... OH! I just noticed too that you don't have a Cranberry Spice or something like that - that is my best seller year-round, and I think that most people also do well with it. It's pretty basic, but it's a very attractive scent, and it would probably do well for you selling-wise. I get mine from BCN, but Millcreek also has a terrific one.

That's what I was going to suggest, LOL! Our Walmart even has them, it's Scunci brand in case you go hunting for them there.

6,000 people?!?!??!?!?! Okay, now I'm really going to fall over. Okay, I can do this *deep breath*... They will be coming to the workshop - I don't have a storefront, I was tempted for a while, but I think I've found my niche in selling to boutiques. It'll be a lot of different things - it's one of those "in this hour, we'll be checking in with Jane Smith, who's on location with Danielle P., owner of Henry & Co. in Seguin..." and then I get like 1 minute, 3 each of 2 minutes and one 4 minute segment. So, I get to do a demo of lotion and/or soapmaking (yeah, right, I've made ONE batch of soap), get to talk about the genesis of the biz and then I get do to some pimpin'. You better believe I'll be taping, and so will my mom, and my grandmother, and my aunt and my neighbor and my best friend.... I don't know about online, that's a really good question - I'll have to check it out. The fun thing is that it won't be live, although it will look that way, so I get to sit and watch as it debuts (eeeeek!). I used to have a personal chef biz, when I lived in Phoenix, and I was on the AZ morning show about 4-5 times, so the good news is that I have a little under my belt, so at least I kind of know a smidge of what I'm getting into, KWIM? I'll update y'all when it's going to air! Thanks again for all the well wishes, this community is so incredibly encouraging!

Thanks so much, guys! Y'all are so encouraging! I hope that I do see some increased business with this - I'd love to attract another one or two boutiques!

How fun - that was really quick! Ditto Michi about the holding up over time thing. I always do weird things to mine, to see how much abuse it can take. I leave it in extreme temperatures, I put it in direct sunlight, in the dark, leave it outside in the rain in a bottle, whatever I can do to randomly abuse the poor ingredients. It gives me a good idea about how stable it is.

I contacted a San Antonio morning show, and they're going to come out to my shop and do a couple of segments with me - they'll be taping on the 16th, and I'm so excited! I'm getting over 10 minutes of total airtime, and they want to talk all about how I started the biz, what products I make and how, etc, etc. Isn't that great advertising? Not to mention free. Send me lots of don't-fall-on-your-face prayers or vibes or whatever you send to people, if you would be so kind.

It's like you people WANT me to go bankrupt. Are you getting a kickback from my favorite suppliers?!

Argh, I wonder if I'm doing something wrong. I did one each of 14, 16, 18 and 20, and the 14 and 16, after four, three-hour burns had about 1/2 inch of hangup on the sides - I *never* got a full MP, and it was just ugly. Even the 18, after 15 hours total, wouldn't catch up on the sides. Huh.

I *heart* SC's Yuzu.

www.scent-works.com has the heat sealed little packets that just hold a gram or two.

Oh, I think that the vast majority of us are just thrilled to get a sample at all, in any stretch of time. Y'all have said it well - if people are getting antsy, that's just unreasonable. I also have to brag about Brenda's C/S - I sent an email on a Sunday afternoon asking about candle containers, not even something that would be lucrative for their company, and within about an hour, on a *Sunday afternoon*, she had already replied. The woman is working her patootie off, and we should be (and I think most of us are) labeling them as generous and responsive. Thanks again, Brenda, and I look forward to getting my yummy sample!

Exactly. This is a great chance to use a basic recipe to check out what feel you like of the oils. Popular lotion oils are grapeseed, SAO, olive, jojoba, FCO, and more. If you want to start with basics, you can pick up some grapeseed and olive and SAO at the store (as well as some others like sunflower and safflower) and check out how you like it. Break the 100 g into any increments you want. It helps if you do some reading first on what properties the oils have (light, heavy, cleansing, drying, etc) so you can at least start with some oils that have what you want in the finished product. Good links for that: http://www.oilsbynature.com/product-category/oils.htm http://www.soapnuts.com/snspecialoils.html

Is it a bad sign that I'm starting to think like you people?! I was just thinking about Bunny's mayo soap, and thought, "Hey! I can soap homemade yogurt!" How much did you add, if you don't mind sharing? And was it full-fat? That's all I have - full-fat plain.

Meh, unfortunately, I think you got caught out on a day where people are already a little touchy about too many people slapping crap in jars and selling it, be it candles or B&B. If you notice the craziness on the general candle board, I think CTers are just a little wary of over-enthusastic newbies trying to sell untested items. At my playgroup this morning, the kids were all (six total, all under 3) NUTS, just touchy and cranky and fussy. You would have thought it was a full moon, or they were all sick or something...maybe it's an epidemic that everyone's feeling, and we all just need to take a nap like Henry's about to do! I hope you continue to have fun testing and playing, and just try not to take this all personally.

Ahhhhhhh...maybe I'm in the minority, but go for it, girl! As long as you're not selling anything, and you're having a ball ordering and testing a playing, I say package away! For me, that was always so much of the fun (and still is!) - coming up with a fun label, checking out new packaging ideas...I spend just as much time getting the packaging right as I do the products! Like I said, as long as you aren't just plopping crap into a bottle and charging for it, go to town. **Opinions expressed here are not representative of the rest of CandleTech, and perhaps not even representative of my actual opinion, depending on the mood I'm in when I'm typing.**

Any news yet? I'm dying to see if anyone's tried it since last night. Or maybe not everyone is completely obsessive like me, and y'all can actually control yourselves for five minutes until you have extra time to make a new product.

Personally, I wouldn't use SAO at all in that - it's just so heavy that it takes forever to sink in when you don't have it emulsified. I would def. try it with FCO or only grapeseed and see if that helps at all.

SHUT UP! You're successfully SINGLE wicking with a CD14?! That's crazy talk. I'm so jealous, I've been trying to single wick these babies for a month, and I'm still vacillating between an 18 and 20. I must be way overwicking.

It all depends on the diameter of your jar - which apothecaries are you using, and what's the diameter?

Wow, very disappointing. What a nice woman. I hope that she finds much success and joy in whatever she does next.

Okay, dustpuuppy...you almost made me spit my water onto the keyboard. You are sooooo lucky I didn't have to sue your ass for a new computer. LMBO! That reminds me of a girl that I went to college with - my freshman year (1994), we had one room on each floor of the dorms that had these ancient computers that wouldn't do much besides word process and check email, so that's all we did, check our email in there. I kid you NOT, every single time I went in there, EVERY TIME, there was this chick in there at the same computer. At 9 am. At 9 pm. At 3:12 in the afternoon, the girl was ALWAYS THERE. You probably would never have noticed her, except that she thought email reading was a contact sport. This is her..."Hahahahahahaha! <pause> ahahahahahahahaha! <pause pause pause> hAHAHAHAHAHAHAHa!" I called her ALG (annoying laughing girl) and every single email I sent that year to my parents and sister started, "Yes, ALG is here. Again." Anyhoo.

LOL, now you have me all weirded out about getting the last drops out...I made a 2 gallon batch of lotion tonight (holy crap, that's a lot of lotion, let me tell you!) and I was all obsessively scraping the vit e and preservative out of the ramekin, it was sad. And then I would wipe the spatula against the side of the bowl, to get the residue off the spatula, then I was all, "How am I going to get it off the side of the bowl?!" So I'd scrape, then wipe then scrape then wipe. Finally, I just had to bring the madness to an end and force myself to step away from the spatula. So, thanks. Thanks a lot.

It can be squeezable, but I would tend toward putting it in a pump, it's not at all runny when it sets up, so while you could put it in like a malibu, it might just be a little more trouble to get out. I've only used it in a pump, so I can only offer my opinion without having tested Okay, directions (and here's my disclaimer, I'm going to tell you what I do, and that's NOT necessarily what's right, hopefully enough experienced lotionmakers will correct any mistakes): Makes approx. 16 ounces (plus a little extra for spillage, LOL!) PHASE A: 300 g water Heat water to 180* and hold for 20 minutes. PHASE B: 100 g oils 50 g shea 30 g e-wax 10 g beeswax 10 g glycerin Combine in a heat-resistant container and melt until liquid. I melt in the microwave, and this small of a batch should be totally melted in 2-3 minutes on high in a Pyrex measuring cup. Allow both Phases A and B to cool to 100-120. Using a stick blender or a hand beater, add Phase B to Phase A, in a steady stream, beating constantly. If you are close to 100* when you combine, the mixture should set up fairly quickly. It's obvious, it starts to thicken and looks more like cream than water, then like whipped cream. Before the lotion gets too thick, add: PHASE C -FO -Vitamin E -preservative -any other additives (silk fibers, exfoliants, etc) Mix until fully incorporated. Once lotion has thickened to the consistency of barely-whipped cream, it should not separate and is okay to parcel into bottles. I actually pour mine while it's still very thin, and rarely have a separation problem. I tend to shake them a few times over the course of 24 hours in order to make sure it stays incorporated as it cools. Leave the lotion uncapped overnight (but not in the mixing bowl, or you'll get a yucky skin) in order to allow condensation to escape. If you cap it while still warm, the condensation will collect inside and look ugly, and can also compromise your preservative. As for the beeswax question, the e-wax serves to bind the oils and water together. It does provide a bit of hardness to the lotion, but if you throw in a little b/w (or soy wax, which is actually what I use instead of b/w), it gives a nice feel to the lotion and it also provides a barrier on the skin from moisture escaping. It also thickens the lotion a little so you can avoid using chemical or synthetic thickeners. Like I mentioned, I love the feel of soy wax in my lotion, but it's totally a personal thing. You can omit it completely, and it will be thinner, but still as moisturizing. Again, ask if I've been unclear in any way!

This is a generic guide to start with - it's in grams, that's what I use because it's easier for me to measure in g for some strange reason. It's a fairly thick lotion, but the consistency is great, and it sinks in nicely. It's just a basic recipe to start with, you can omit the beeswax if you want to, and sub your goat's milk for the water, some or all. 300 g water 100 g oils 50 g shea (or another softish) butter 30 g e-wax 10 g beeswax 10 g glycerin 5 g Vitamin e ~1 tsp. FO or 1/2-3/4 tsp EO preservative (I don't know what you use, so I can't give you an amount) Sub away, with whatever you have on hand, or add a different kind of butter and decrease/increase based on softness. I just spent a straight month figuring out lotion, and it took me at least another 2 to get a recipe down that I love. Start basic, because you ARE going to mess up a few times! Are you also looking for directions, or do you have those? Ask away if I didn't clarify enough for you - you know how it is, you forget all the little steps that are so confusing in the very beginning!

I have one meeeeeeellion plastic ramekins from my defunct personal chef biz, and I usually put the Vit E, FO and preservative in that, then I use one of those plastic spatulas (like the nice silicone kind, but they're not silicone, they're just cheap-o plastic) to scrape out every last bit. Plus, I mix it all together, so it thins the preservative some, and it's much easier to get out.