bravo5

Ok, had to contact both Avery and Okidata, but finally got an answer. The Avery clear laser labels have a max fuser heat temp of 350 degrees F. Okidata said that they fuser can get up to 400-450 degrees F, so they wouldn't recommend it, as they may eventually melt. I guess I won't be trying the clear labels after all, unless I use them with my Epson inkjet. I'd still be willing to give you info on the other color lasers I looked into, so PM me if you're interested!

Ooh ooh- I actually can contribute on something for once! I just did a bunch of research into color laser printers, including the Konica Minolta ones. When you're looking at laser printers, you have to check out now only the large initial cost of the printer and the quality of prints, but a big factor is the toner life/cost. I ended up ruling out the Konica ones pretty quickly as they are really pricey for toner in the long run, especially since the toner life is only 1500 pages. After all my research, the printer I really liked was a Okidata 5200, but the initial cost was a bit out of my price range ($600-$700). So I was going to go with a HP model instead on sale for $500- and then when I went to buy it last week- the Oki one was on sale after rebates at OfficeMax for $400! So if you have an OfficeMax near you, I saw in the paper yesterday that it's still on sale, and also on sale at Office Depot for the same price. http://www.officemax.com/max/solutions/product/prodBlock.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&expansionOID=-536907412&prodBlockOID=1611242762 http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=714792&&An=browse This got me thinking about the clear labels though- I haven't tried them yet, but may want to in the future. So, I'm on hold right now to find out! I'll post more when I get the answer. I really can't rave enough about the quality of the output from this printer- it's definitely in the "professional" range. Feel free to PM me if you'd like more info- I'd be happy to share what I researched.

Interesting.... when I went to look up the Woodridge show at Craftlister, this is the message I get. "The promoter of this event has their account on hold until they contact us or has been banned from listing their events on EventLister.com and CraftLister.com. The details of this event will not be shown. Sorry." I guess there were quite a few ticked off vendors!!! vinnibeast - I'll PM you.

Tee hee, I live in Lisle! I am sorry that this was such a disaster! We were considering a show by this promoter, and glad that we didn't do it. They have another one in the spring that we were considering too, I think in Tinley Park- they sure do make the shows sound good to crafters! I will avoid them like the plague now.

Bumping this... Any word from NGI yet?

I contacted NGI awhile ago to find out if their waxes were organic and was told that they are NOT. I'd be interested if there is any new info now, though!

I get most of my bears from them, mainly because I really like the look of them and the price- and they are local to me, so I can pick up at the warehouse and not pay shipping. I usually have to wait a bit though to make the minimum order- I'll run out of one color of a particular bear, then have to say "out of stock" until I have enough to order to make the minimum. A few months back I was looking to see if anyone else was interested in splitting orders to make the minimums, but didn't really find anyone. I want to try their newer small scraggles instead of the scruffy bears the next time I order! Oh, and I had some trouble with ordering/customer service too when my old rep left the company. But they seem to have it straightened out now, and my new rep lets me know if they are out of stock on something. I ALWAYS call in my orders, so she can tell me right then about out of stocks.

I do a mailing list at shows too. I have a comment card type box, and have a drawing to win a free (something). On the slips, I have name, address, phone, email, comments, and a check box asking if they want to be on the mailing list. I have only ever had a couple that said no. Depending on the size of the show, I change what the free prize is- a dipped bear for big shows, a gift certificate or something else for smaller shows. I usually get a bunch of people sign up that way!

Per what I have read, it can be used as a natural preservative of sorts. It has antibiotic, antiseptic, disinfectant, etc. properties. It can be used as a natural disinfectant for cleaning, etc. I have 3 cats and they are on a homemade raw diet, and I have been considering using it as a disinfecting rinse for the meat. Now my curiosity is getting the better of me since I read about using it for soaps! I did a search for some articles online, and found conflicting info from soapmaking sites, so thought I'd get the expertise opinions on here. )

Anyone use Grapefruit Seed Extract in their soaps? Anyone know a good supplier for this? I have been considering using it for some other non-related uses, and then read about it in The Natural Soap and Soapmaker's Companion books, so I'm even more interested in it now. Thanks so much!

Thanks much!!! I just about have all my equipment then - now I just have to decide on a first recipe to try!

Slowly working on getting equipment and supplies to try CP soap. Saw a demo at the Chicago Conference, bought some books and am reading, reading, reading! I have been keeping my eye out for a big ol' soaping pot, and read that stainless steel or enamelware work best. My mother gave me a whole box of her old enamelware pots, and most are in good shape, but a couple have chips out of the enamel toward the top of the pot. Is this going to be a problem? I'm a little nervous about working with the lye, and am picturing horror stories in my head about my whole pot melting away... LOL Also, any ideas for a inexpensive (even disposable) small soap mold for about 8-10 bars? If I like it, I'll want to order some wooden molds and such, but want to wait until I try it first if possible. The demo was for CPOP, and I'd like to try that, but am worried about putting something like a cardboard box in the oven. Thanks so much! I have already read a ton on these forums, and am looking forward to getting started.

I use a combination of the baggie method and gallon bottle with pump method. I have such a hard time filling malibu tubes with the baggie method, and had a hard time mixing the FO, dye, etc in the gallon bottle, so I finally just came up with my new method! Hope I can explain this so it makes sense. I use a 2.5 gallon ziplock baggie, and dump the entire gallon bottle of base into the baggie (I don't use the pump for this, just dump it out). Shake the gallon a bit to get as much as you can in the baggie. What's left in the gallon just leave for now. Add your scent, dye, and any other additives to the baggie and mix, mix, shake, smoosh, etc to get it all mixed up. Once mixed, cut a small corner off the baggie, squeeze about 1/6 to 1/4 of the mixed lotion back to the gallon, and then shake, shake, shake the gallon bottle to get the lotion that's left in there mixed in with the mixed lotion. Add more, shake, add more, shake, until it's all back in the gallon bottle. Then just use the pump to fill bottles!

I had to give them my taxid to be able to order tax exempt, but that was the only reason. If you don't have a taxid you just have to pay sales tax.

I've been looking into getting a knuckebuster too, as I have heard that it's better to have an imprint of the card. But... what DO you do if you get a bad card at a show? If you are using propay/paypal/etc. to process cards once you are back home, but you already made the sale at the show? Is it your responsibility to track them down? Can you report them to someone? You have an imprint of the card, but how do you use the imprint? Thanks for any advice!

Cool, thanks! Any idea where to find a good starter recipe now to base it on?

ISO Lip Balm Recipe- without beeswax. I am working on my B&B product line, and want the entire line with no animal products. I have found a couple recipes, but all have beeswax. Can I sub a cosmetic grade soy wax in place of beeswax? Thanks much!

I don't have much experience with these yet. For those who make lipbalms/edible oils/anything else that requires flavoring, what type of flavor oils are used? What other things are flavor oils used in? Are "baking oils" considered the same thing? What about flavor extracts- what can they be used in? And info you could provide or point me to educate myself about flavor oils/extracts would be greatly appreciated! Thanks much!

So..... any plans set yet for tomorrow night? I may not be able to come, but I'm trying!!

I know WholesaleSuppliesPlus used to have some like that, but I don't think they carry them anymore.

Cool, I'll definitely check back in and see where everyone's meeting up! Are there other local people, or are most coming in for the conf? Anyone else in the west 'burbs? (Naperville area) Oh- and ebcandles- I've been to your website before- I recognize your logo. I absolutely LOVE it!!

Wow, you guys are up late just like me! I think I am really going to like this board!! LOL I didn't sign up for Friday night since I thought I already had something going on, and now it's too late. Looks like I'm going to be missing out on a lot of the fun! So... what can I expect at the conference?

Hi, I'm a newbie to candletech, but just wanted to say hi and that I'll be at the chicago conference. It'll be my first conference - can't wait!

I agree with Henryk. Cats lack the enzyme in their liver to metabolize terpenes, and they can build up to toxic levels with routine exposure. There are conflicting reports on what is/what is not safe to use around cats, but my advice (which is the same for dogs) is always to 1) Never use EOs or FOs directly on them. 2) Clean up any spills, etc. immediately since they can walk through them and then ingest it from cleaning themselves. 3) When making/burning/otherwise working with EO/FOs, always make sure they can get away from where you are working/burning. 4) Keep all EO/FOs out of the reach of pets! (Common sense one- but printed on all my labels- Keep out of the reach of chidren and pets.) Here are some links: http://www.cfainc.org/articles/potpourri.html http://www.thelavendercat.com/generic.html?pid=10 http://www.thelavendercat.bigstep.com/generic17.html http://www.holisticat.com/aromatherapy.html

Hi, newbie on CT but I have been making these for awhile. They are fun to make and you can get pretty creative with multi-colored ones and patterns and such. Or if time is a factor I just make them solid colored. I got the instructions at BC too, but I found that if I bake them at 350 degrees they smoke pretty bad, so I bake at 275-300 for about 6-8 minutes. Some FOs and colors bake quicker, so you have to keep an eye on them. They are great sellers, a nice low-priced item and most people buy at least 2. I get my cutters from www.foosecookiecutters.com they're about 80 cents to $1 each and have a GREAT variety. Just keep an eye on the sizes of the cutters- I've accidentally gotten a couple that were huge! They have flat rate shipping of $5.25 for up to 99 cutters. And I made a 3 color Texas one for the first time last week too! LOL I love the ones in the pic posted here with the cut-outs in the middle. I'm going to have to try that- I have a bunch on mini-cutters that I got in a lot on ebay and have been trying to figure out what to do with them!