IndulgentCreations

Some times you'll get this. I always chalk it up to the soap faries! I just let it be and as long as the oil seems to absorb back into the batch they have always been fine. Did you use a different FO?

April

???

How's about comparing sizes using a distributor's sizing guide? Here's a link to nearly every wick under the sun and the recommendations for its use - perhaps you should bookmark it... it's been posted at least 30 times in this forum!

http://www.wickit.net/products.html#s_cd

HTH

Being a newbie, I'm glad you posted that link. Just starting out with candles and have yet to come across that link...at least I don't think I have...been doing a aweful lot of reading and searching though, LOL. Anyways, thanks!

April

I must be the lone man out because I didn't have good luck with Select Shades. However, I love oxides & ultrmarines in my CP. Also I like some of the Neons.

Neons are next on my list! Been soaping for a few years now and have yet to try them.

April

I have Select Shades too but got tired of guessing what color my soap might end up being. Many times a beautiful shade of gray....blech! I've never tried micas, I know several that use them (mainly golds, silvers, metallic colors) but the oxides and ultramaines are awesome because you can get so many different shades. I use a lot of green, blue and purple. Still use the SS occasionally.

April

Actually you will have that problem with FD&C colorants period. If you want your colors to stay true, use oxides and ultramarines. I think they're cheaper anyways and I use a whole lot less to achieve the same color (or at least what I was trying to achieve). HTH

April

PS. The green in my avitar is chrom. green oxide and black clay.

Mike & Columbus Foods are the best! I'm not sure how much my UPS guy likes me since it's usually 300-500lbs at a time, I'm sure he grumbles some, LOL.

Try putting a heating pad down, towel on top, then mold, then a piece of cardboard and a towel over the whole thing. This should help with the gelling issues. For releasing them, pop them in the freezer overnight, they slide right out the next day. Can you tell I started with molds like these, LOL? HTH

April

I decided to go ahead and order the wick samplers from candlescience. They recommended the LX as the 1st, so I got LX, RRD, HTP and ECO. Using the 8oz tins I poured 1 of each going with their recommendation on each, same FO in each. I'll let them sit and begin test burn once cured.

You'll have to play around with it but I use a small measuring spoon add a little, mix, add a little more if it's not to my shade desired. But just mix a little in at a time or too much and you'll have colored bubbles!

April

I tested the soy whip for a while(& was going to market it as a soy butter) & although I just love the texture & testers loved it too, I am not going to end up using this product because it turns brown with the majority of the fo's. I can understand if it just turned with a few, but it is with most. I'm bummed, because we all really liked this base alot. I usually make myself a tester & then my "testers" get a tester. Well, 2 people(friends) loved this stuff so much, that they just had me make products for themselves to use, before my testing was complete! Now, months later, they are finally fessing up to me, that they all turned brown!!!! They didn't want to tell me because they didn't want me to feel bad! (I'm glad they aren't testers!). So, that's just my story. Very sad because it is quite a nice product.

I have been using the whip for 2 years now. The only time I have had it turn brown is FO's with vanilla in it. My Love Spell, OMH, Blue Sugar (which is weird because it does turn brown in CP) has always stayed the color I have made it....pink, blue or left white. My vanilla and my Pink Sugar do turn brown after a while but many that have bought it keep coming back for more and I've not had any complaint or even people asking about it. I sell mine in 2 ounce jars so maybe the majority are using it up before it has a chance to turn.

April

Did you do them all at once? Many split mixing their batch so that they can wait for one to completely harden before adding the next layer. I'm too impatient to wait so I never end up with perfect layers. There's one of them in my avitar.

I like the 8oz low profile because it's a lot easier to scoop across and into the jar than to dig into the straight sided jars--especially if someone has large hands.

Low profile jars are the way to go, you are so right.

I also use the whip and love it! Just got a sample of the glaze and it seems like it'd be nice for something lighter in the summer.

All I add to mine is the FO and sometimes a bit of color. You can use oxides & ultramarines...they do mix in well.

I wish they offered it in 5 gallon pails instead of the gallon jugs. It's a pain to get the whip out of the jugs once you start getting down to the bottom not to mention that I order 3 or 4 of them at a time.

April

Oxides and ultramarines are mineral colors. You can do it a couple of different ways.

1. You can mix with a bit of glycerin to make a concentrated liquid and then add to your batch. This is how I started. Or..

2. You can seperate out the batter you plan to color (in a pyrex or bowl) and add in small amount...hit it with a stick blender. This is what I do now. As long as you use the SB you shouldn't have any problems getting it mixed in. HTH

April

Here's another vote for Kelly at SS. BB is great too but SS has some fantastic FO's! Never had one I didn't like. You won't be disappointed.

April

My favorite molds are the ones my dad used to make. He stopped and dh and I picked it up. I don't use anything else but Tony's.

Very cool, anhoki! Those are very close to the molds & cutter my DH makes for me and I love them! They just make everything so simple.

April

My slab molds are made by my DH and they have worked great for me, inexpensive too! I never have to trim ends or do anything to the bars once cut. I use Select Shades from Tradewinds and like them when they behave but have some people balk at FD&C colorants. So many people into the natural thing. I use a lot of oxides and ultramarines that I buy from Southern Soapers or Kangaroo Blue (they're at ISOCAN so it's cash & carry) and clays that I got from NDA. HTH

April

My husband also makes my molds, they are slab molds. He cut slots in it so I can slip my cutter (he also made this) into the slots and cut uniform bars out of each mold. I have 7, 14 and 28 bar molds and the final bar ends up being about 5 ounces (I pour mine pretty thick). I line them with waxed paper and they have worked great for me. Easy to make and low cost. Haven't got him around to trying his hand with a log mold yet, it's next on the list!

April

I had read that about the gb415 and from what I picked up on the soy/cottonseed wax was that it's gw435, correct? It the same as what KY carries and I've ordered from them a lot with my soaping supplies but they were $10 a case higher. I'll keep searching for a supplier of the gw435 in IL, haven't come across one yet though. Thanks for the luck, I'm sure I'll need it

I'll keep am eye on this for more info. I can't access the co-op section yet, haven't been a member long enough. I'd love to get some of these, hopefully by the time the next co-op runs on them, I'll be fully active.

April

I finally made the leap last night and ordered my wax. I've been doing a ton of reading on suggestions for the results I was wanting and decided on Bluegrass Soy soy/cottonseed blend. They only show HTP wicks on their website so I checked out candlescience. Here's my question....should I get the HTP, LX, ECO and RRD trial packs (the one with 5 or so of each size) and test each of the different wicks to see which one I like the best or am I better to pick 2 and start there? I'm only going to be making tins, starting with the 8oz and the adding the 4 and 16oz sizes. I don't want to complicate things too much as I often have the tendency to do. Thanks in advance for any input!

April

Tins are the direction I'm leaning to. I'm a soap maker currently researching candles to add to my line up. I think for me the tins will be easier for transpo to my shows and not as heavy. I've already got the entire back of my truck loaded with soaps and B&B when I go, I'm thinking they won't take up as much space.

April

...had written a lot down many mango seasons ago.

Doesn't Soap Calc have a percent screen? I think the 9 WP sceen you can do percentages and it'll put it into ouces for you. HTH

April

Oh maggie, this is a great idea, thanks sooooo much!!!!! Where do you find the shrink wrap tubes at if I may ask.

Here's where I get mine.

http://www.uline.com/Browse_Listing_2406.asp?desc=Uline+Shrink+Tubing

April