Jadryga

Ok, just tested on Photoshop & Illustrator to be sure. You can't edit text from a .pdf file, but you can definitely import the file into Photoshop to edit as an image. It'll be treated like a photo instead of a text file. Same with Illustrator.

Try Photoshop or Illustrator? They'll allow you to import .pdf files for editing, though you might find Photoshop easier for quick changes.

PA's site works for me... There are tons of EOs, and a lot of things to consider (sensitization, irritation, toxicity, photosensitization, and the finer lines like pregnancy contraindications, etc) though there are only a few you should absolutely avoid. Some of the staples are like lavender, rosemary, peppermint, sweet orange, geranium, tea tree, cedarwood, tea tree... then you have the ultra-expensive ones like german/roman chamomiles, ylang ylang, rose... With some research you'll eventually be familiar with what EOs do for the skin There are so many skin types it's difficult to narrow it down to "best for". This is a good list of essential oils you may want to think twice about, though some are only toxic orally. http://www.essentialoils.co.za/toxic-oils.htm That site also has good descriptions for essential oils, you may want to browse around further there Another interesting site is http://www.aromaweb.com/essentialoils/default.asp

Gorgeous soaps, and beautiful photography! The yuzu soaps actually look like yummy slices of cake... I just had dinner without dessert, and that pic made me think of banana walnut bread... The chocolate-vanilla-orange one is my favorite of the lot. The pearly mica on top adds a very nice touch! I have to agree with the others, they don't look like first-time soaps at all!

I hope you don't mind, but I played around with some of your pictures on Photoshop. Maybe she meant something like this? Originals: Edited: I took them from your site, so they're not high-res, and this was reduced further when I saved the pictures for web, but it should give you a rough idea.

If you're using IE instead of Firefox, I've found that lowering the security setting from medium to medium-low makes a huge difference when loading sites. Firefox screwed up at my office computer, and while I was re-dloading it, I used IE. Medium wouldn't let me even load Etsy!

If you want something easy to start with, try making some whipped shea. No preservatives or emulsification to mess with. A true body butter (not emulsified) or lotion bar would also be easier than lotion. Well, whatever you choose, have fun!

Don't feel that way! I was so scared to start, I researched like a madwoman before I started anything! On the bright side, I learned a lot over the years Maybe try narrowing down your "must-haves" for lotions and butters. Well, MMS has tons of awesome oils at good prices, so that's a good place to start. I'm thinking of ordering in some red raspberry seed oil

Sorry to hear about your back, Sandra Menthol! That's pretty awesome stuff. I have this gel-cream that has eucalyptus and niaouli eos as well as menthol. Works like a charm, especially on stiff, sore muscles. Maybe some palmarosa, just dug this little nugget up (http://www.essentialoils.co.za/essential-oils/palmarosa.htm): This particular essential oil is fast becoming a firm favorite in essential oil therapy and aromatherapy, as it has excellent skin care properties and is also used to relieve stiff and sore muscles, while calming the mind and uplifting and invigorating the spirits and clearing muddled thinking. Another site recommends black pepper, basil, marjoram, birch, wintergreen, and peppermint. http://naturalmedicine.suite101.com/article.cfm/pain_relief_with_essential_oils I'd stay away from the wintergreen, but maybe black pepper? I remember seeing that in a lot of sore muscle blends. I've found some references to rosemary oil being good for sore muscles too. I think some people recommend emu oil as well. Helps with sore muscles and active ingredient penetration. You could probably use just the EOs you have for a simple balm, then later on if you want something stronger, maybe add some black pepper, palmarosa, menthol, ginger (for circulation) and emu oil? Hope this helps and hope you get well soon!

If you're intending to start from scratch, you could try Majestic Mountain Sage (MMS) at http://thesage.com. TONS of stuff, great prices! They're in UT if I remember right. For the basics, I'd go with MMS. I think Lotioncrafter's also on the west coast? http://www.lotioncrafter.com. A little more advanced goodies, but droolworthy all the same. Fast shipping, good service too! If you'd like to start with a base, Lindsay (Soaper's Workshop) has some awesome ones, and can do custom bases too! Reasonable prices, great customer service and she ships them concentrated. http://www.soapersworkshop.com/store/ A really helpful site would be http://www.suppliersbystate.com Hope this helps!

It may take a day or two for the scent to kick in. When I made my first batch from Lindsay's (Soaper's Workshop) mac & jojoba lip balm kit, I could barely smell the flavor oil (Pomegranate) after I'd finished pouring. I thought I hadn't used enough. 48 hours later.... WHOA! My friend used some while sitting in the back seat of my car, and I smelled him smearing it on before I saw it. Give it some time, if the scent still doesn't pop, then you can consider upping it slightly for the next batch. Some flavor oils are weaker, some are really strong. I love Lindsay's... that Pomegranate flavor oil I mentioned... only used it at 1% and it's... wow! I'm actually considering lowering it to about 0.7%, or even 0.5% for the next batch. Some flavor oils you may need to use at 2% to get a good kick. As for taste, flavor oils don't really have flavor. They're basically lip-safe fragrance oils. You can add a sweetener like Sugar Kisses from MMS or honey or stevia powder or use a pre-sweetened flavor oil. Smell and taste are connected, so the theory is that when you add a sweetener you're tricking your mind into thinking that you're tasting the flavor, even though it's just flavor oil and sweetener. Hope this helps!

Actually, the menus should be essentially the same for Macs and PCs, but Photoshop varies widely from version to version. I've used about 3-4 versions of PS over several years, and I always need a "break-in" period to familiarize myself with the menus when I get newer versions. They're pretty happy-go-lucky when it comes to changing their layouts and they seem to like coming up with new versions every other year or so. That's a good tutorial, and the features mentioned (layers, curves, resizing) are standard features in every PS version but you may need a moment to locate them in your menus if you're using a different version. Paintshop Pro should be fine for photos. I've seen some beautiful artwork done on Paintshop, though I've never used it myself. It's much better for digital art... comes much closer to actual brush strokes than Photoshop does.

Sad but true

Actually, that would be a bigger consideration for the hotel. See, since they're not reselling and making a profit directly from your product, they'll be even more careful about how much they buy it at since they'll have to figure it into their room cost. Also, if they're a proper hotel they'll be buying in MUCH, MUCH larger quantities and on a more regular basis. For example, assuming you're talking about supplying for rooms, if I charge $50 for a room, I have to figure in the cost of electricity, water, towels, toothbrushes, housekeeper salaries, etc. If I pay $5 for a candle, and $20 for the rest, I make about $25. This may seem alright, until you talk about large numbers. 150 rooms is somewhat small for a proper hotel, and they'll probably have to change the candle for every new guest. So say... 75% occupancy for 1 month... that's about 112 rooms. 112 rooms X 30 days = 3360 units per month Now, 3360 X $5 = $16800 per month for you. At those quantities, you could probably work at a lower profit margin and make enough to satisfy you and the hotel as well. So say you sell to them at $4, you'd still make $13440. The hotel would save $3360. The bigger the quantity, the lower you can afford to go - assuming you can handle the workload. But if it gets bigger, be careful not to compromise too much! Think about ALL the costs including LABOR. If the quantities get really huge, you may have to hire help and rent space for storage. Will your wholesale cost cover this? You don't want to have to suddenly raise your prices to cover labor and storage fees. Also make sure you pay yourself a nice salary! If you haven't considered all this in your costing, Lindsay (Soaper's Workshop) has a great Product Pricing Guide on her site. http://www.soapersworkshop.com/store/index.php?page=Business%20Resources Let's say a shop buys about 500 candles a month. 500 X $4 = $2000. If your cost is $1.50... At $4 per candle, you'd make $8400 compared to $1250 from the shop. At $3 per candle to the hotel and $4 to the shop, you'd make $5040 and $1250 respectively. At bigger quantities, you could probably buy your ingredients on larger scales, save on shipping and do larger batches at once, which will bring your costs down slightly too. As for shops not profiting, if you can justify the cost, it shouldn't be a problem for shops to double it. Why can they charge higher? Pretty packaging? Cleaner burn? Handmade? Packaging is key in this area. You could also work with them on other fronts that may benefit them (for example, if you have a website, maybe you could feature the shop, etc). Don't go TOO low. If your product deserves the higher price tag, don't compromise it by giving it a lower price tag. If you offer someone a free sample of a $5 cream and a $50 cream, even though the $50 is inferior (they won't know that of course) the average customer is more likely to pick the $50 one because of perceived worth. It's usually assumed that the more expensive the product, the better it is. Of course, people who research these things will know better, but Average Joe won't, especially if the $50 cream is packaged very prettily. You should respect your wholesale terms, and so should they. Sorry if this is somewhat long, hope this helps! EDIT: I just realized that English isn't your native language, so if I'm being a little complicated and you need me to clarify anything, just let me know

You could go with staggered price breaks? For staggered, you could go by price or quantity. For example, above $100 they get 10% off, above $200 they get 20% off... above $350 they get 40% off, that sort of thing. Or quantity, from 50-149 units, they get 20% off, from 150-499 units, they get 30% off. Only after 500 units can they get 50% off. It's really up to you. What quantity do you think they should buy for the price break to be worth it? Staggered price breaks are good for accommodating both small and big buyers. If it's a hotel, even 1000 should be a breeze, but they'll worry more about costs, so be wary. Calculate for yourself how much you'll be earning per item and see if it comes up to a decent profit for you. Some people also do a smaller discount for the first purchase, then bigger discounts for subsequent purchases. One important thing though, is to stick to your terms (provided they're reasonable). Otherwise, good luck, Sabrina!

Absolutely gorgeous! It looks professional, is easy to navigate, and the pictures are simply stunning. The soaps are beautiful, and I'm thinking of getting some of that glucosamine cream for my mom... she's got osteoarthritis on both knees. Do you ship internationally?

Yes, lotion bases should already include preservative. All lotions need preservative, because of the water content. Bath salts, massage oils, massage/lotion bars, lip balm, bath bombs and fizzies, dry scrubs (customers add liquids on their end), dry facial masques, bath teas, hair oil treatments, facial serums without water-based ingredients, cyclo/fco based body sprays, syndet/soap solid shampoo, solid conditioners, body powders, whipped butters (NOT emulsified), hair wax, CP/HP/MP soaps of course... I'm sure I'll add more to that list later Hope this helps for now!

True, point conceded

To each his or her own Criticism that's unbiased, given for constructive purposes and with good intentions is a very valuable asset that may not be immediately appreciated by a lot of people (though I have to admit, sincere praise is a fabulous asset as well), but I do agree with you. Some people can be catty. Shame on catty people.

Okay.. going to be honest... it's a lovely webset, but I agree somewhat with the earlier critical comment. The logo does somewhat blend in with the whole thing. Maybe it's different on different monitors, I know it's a frequent pain for me to design something and see it look completely different on another monitor, but it doesn't pop. Secondly, the CANDLES bit pops out to me, more than the Chocoholic bit. I'm not sure if this was intentional, just an observation. Maybe try making the Candles a tad smaller? Also, was wondering how Chocoholic would look with a capital 'C'. Otherwise, looking good!

Congrats, Sabrina!

Yay! I've been looking for this info, so this came at just the right time! Thanks, Robin!

For some reason, I can't stand the scent of VCO... maybe I could for about 2 minutes, but then it just lingers and lingers and I smell like coconuts all day long after all my EOs have dissipated...

Mmm... a little OT, but I've always wanted to try vanilla infused oil. Time to get some FCO!

Gimme some of that, Donna!