wildangel112

Burnt sugar cane

Yep, that's starting to look like my only option. It's what I've been using till now. Was just hoping to get away from it, but no luck :undecided . Thanks for the thought, Cindy!

Rena

Great save! Those look wonderful.

I've been pulling my hair out trying to find a label for the 16oz. Melting Pot jars from The Jar Store. I'm in love with the jars but am finding that labelling them is going to be a PITA . Anyone use these? I'd so appreciate any tips or suggestions. TIA!

Rena

I love candles burning around the house and have an awful habit of lighting a number of different ones at once. Right now it's a combination of BCN's Melonade & Peace of Mind, Peak's Green Clover & Aloe, and OM's Vanilla Grapefruit. An interesting combo of scents to say the least .

Some of the herbs I grow for soaping are peppermint, spearmint, patchouli, comfrey, lemongrass, sage and lemon verbena. As with all my herbs, I use no pesticides or chemicals. I went to one of our local herb festivals today and found some vetiver which I'll be looking into possibly incorporating into one of my soaps. Love my herbs!

Rena

That Cantaloupe Lily is gorgeous!

Those look great. Your colors are awesome!.:highfive:

Peaks

Peak's also has an awesome honeysuckle. It was suggested to me a while back and I'm forever grateful. It's been a huge seller!

I have to disagree, that brand is the worst for drying out my hands.

But like anything else, we each have our own likes & dislikes and each person can have different reactions to this product.

This is so true. I've never had problems with Germ X drying out my hands whereas my Mom's hands get horribly dry from using it. She won't give it up though, just slathers on my lotion, butter or Monoi mousse afterwards. .

Since we only do this for personal use, we usually scent about 8oz. at a time, at the same ratio we would lotion base. About 30-40 drops fo's, depending on the scent, half that for eo's.

I use BCN's Honey Coco Mango in Germ X and it's yummy . I carry it everywhere with me.

Rena

I've used them from BCN, they worked great. Now I use the ones from The Candlemakers Store and they also work great. I've never really had any issues with them coming loose from either of these suppliers.

Like other people have said though, I've tried them from other suppliers that did cause issues.

I've used some that have been complete and utter garbage. The ones I tried from BCN gave me little to occasional problems. The ones I've been using for the past year from The Candlemakers Store have given no trouble at all, so far.

Rena

OMG, that is so cute and I'm loving Meltdowns!

I smelled it and was not very impressed.

Lime Basil Mandarin~ Solas

Wildberry Zinger Tea~ BCN

Creme Brulee~ Peaks

Mountain Lake~ BCN

Frosted Pink Cupcake~ Old Mill

Peaks!

Trying to get everything finished up before our big Spring show of the season. Packaging, signs.... all that god stuff. Maybe toss in another batch of soap or two. Peach & Lotus Blossom, Olive Blossom and Honeysuckle, probably.

Oatmeal Milk & Honey (Old Mill)

Love Spell

Coconut Lime Verbena

Emu Comfrey

Triple Chamomile

Rosemary Mint

Once you get the hang of it, you can get surprisingly smooth tops. I only do HP and when I first started, my tops were hideous. After a lot of 'trial & error', not to mention reading through the boards, I've come up with a process that gives me very nice looking soaps. I do get the ocassional batch that wants to act up, but now, I find myself having to rough up the tops, just a bit, as my customers like that 'homemade' look.

Rena

I do my salt bars HP, unmold and cut after about an hour. No problem. Salt added just before dumping in the mold.

Rena

I've used EcoSoya 135 for 5 years now. Tried the Advanced when it came out, but the scent throw didn't begin to compare.

Rena

Peach & Lotus Blossom (Old Mill)

Oatmeal Milk & Honey (Old Mill)

Olive Blossom (BnL)

Love these, especially in soap!

vicky, funny you should bring this up. I am at a make or break point with my business, and I am truly cosidering tossing in the towel. Not because sales are bad, they are fantastic, I have cornered a great market here where I live, It just doesn't seem fun anymore. I constantly feel under pressure, I feel a lot of isolation from the outside world and I would love to be able to do it just for myself somedays. I am also finding that the bigger companies are catching on to what the small businesses are doing and offering products that look more handmade. Also I am at a point where I just don't have the room to do the production I need to do, so if I am pouring all day, or soaping all day, before I go to bed at night, I have to rearrange everything for what is on the plan for the next day. And yet I am not at all feeling like dolling out a ton of money , to rent a space, and all the stuff that goes along with it. Just what I have been feeling

lately.

I can sympathize, Cindy. I finally told DH that something has got to give. I love what I do and am very proud of the response to our products. Even though we're not huge by any means, word is getting around and business is definitely picking up. There's no competition where we live so that's a huge plus. But the stress and pressure has really been weighing on me lately. I had to force myself to take a step back and set aside some me-time, enjoying my spring planting and such. My shop had started feeling like a prison to the point where I seriously considered shutting down the whole thing. Making time for "me" has made all the difference. I am in the process of weeding out anything un-necessary or inconsequential, one of which was the website. I was the only one who worked at it and there just wasn't time with everything else. DH didn't want to lose it but didn't want to work at it either.

Like Bev's, it was more of a catalog thing, accounting for less than 1% of our sales, and has never paid for itself. I get better response from brochures and newsletters. I know this is a little off topic :embarasse but Cindy's response kinda hit home when I read it.

Rena