debratant

I use a lighter, like you would use to light a grill. You know...those long ones I keep one in my kitchen drawer.

I don't use your wax either but I have to third the Honey Gingerbread fo. AWESOME fragrance. I'm burning this one in my house now. Love it.

Not sure about it sucking out the scent. I sure do love that stuff though LOL.

here ya go gb http://www.candletech.com/techniques-and-ideas/tilted-layer-candles/

Not as crackly as that cracklin birch...but it still crackled a bit. I think I know the secret. Room temperature beer....opened the day before and left out on counter in a plastic cup is what I did. I soaped around 90-100. The lye water did get really dark....and I'm assuming it's because the beer heated up so much. But the soap is fine...not burnt smelling or lye pockets. I didn't have any volcano issues to speak of...it bubbled a bit, but I use a tall plastic pitcher so wasn't worried. Whether this is a good way to make beer soap...not sure since the liquid should be cold. But this is a pretty cool effect. I think a heavier oil helps too. I have some TD in the bars that didn't dissolve right...darn it. Oh, and this is Sex on the Beach FO. Wanted something fruity.

Stunning Barbara. I love Black Irish also.

those are awesome. love the cranberry one especially.

Those are great!

nice soap ice. haven't tried making milk soaps yet. maybe someday

Welcome Alpha like your name AND your avatar lol

I like the glass...but I agree...if you are marketing for a country look, then the can is really cool too. What about both? The can just screams rustic country to me

Thanks again you guys. I was thinking about it last night...my beer was room temperature when I added the lye to it. It also had only been opened, poured into a plastic cup and sat overnight. There were obviously still bubbles to the beer, though it didn't really volcano or anything. The lye water did turn pretty brown. Could it have been a combination of room temperature beer and the fact that it still had fizz? I had forgotten to put the beer in the fridge because I've moved all my soaping stuff into our empty rental (we own a duplex) and there is no fridge there so I just plain forgot lol. I'm going to try this again in the next day or two and duplicate what I did. I'll let you know how it goes

Rae....I have no idea how the crackling happened. The only thing I can think of is I used beer as the liquid. Not sure why it happened. It looked nice and smooth going into the mold. I don't think my beer was as flat as it should have been. Only opened it the day before so I'm wondering if that was it? I don't know but I really like the way it turned out. I'm usually so disappointed in most of my soap as far as looks go. Never usually what I see in my head. Thanks everyone for looking.

I love them all, but that sandalwood vanilla is just stunning. Looks like pink marble. I have no idea how to hanger swirl or pencil either lol.

Not sure what is going on with this log...but I kinda thought the effect really matches the fragrance. I LOVE this FO and have been dying to make a batch of soap with it. The crackling is only on the inside...the outside of the bars are smooth.

Very pretty colors too. Thanks for sharing.

how long is it burning before the flame gets large and soots? trimming the wick seems to take care of that issue for me if it's been burning for over 4 hours.

WOW scented! Love them all...even ebony and ivory. Love that balsam and citrus. It's a favorite scent of mine all year.

I had a great picture on my old hard drive of some swirled m&p. If I can find it on my disc, I'll post a pic. But...what I do is use a colored Clear base and white. I pour the white into the clear....swirls MUCH better. You can color both....the white base seems to suspend alot better into the clear. I do it in multiple layers in a rectangular loaf mold. I pour a layer of clear colored base...wait a bit til it gets a light skin....then pour a bit of white....swirl a bit with a chopstick...let set up to form a skin...then pour clear...white, clear white..etc. It takes a LONG time, but the soap looks really cool Here you go....a great video tutorial I followed this video when I made my first batch

Citrus oils tend to be uplifting and stimulating. Actually diffusing EO's in the air is ok and as beneficial. They make diffusors for just that. My massage therapist diffuses hers with a unit in her massage room. Smells delightful. I have a diffusor I bought a few years back. You could also mix your EO with some sweet almond oil or water and burn it in a tart burner. Forget what the ratio is on eo/oil-water. You'd have to look that up Still....with BP like yours....standard meds may be the only thing to help. Welcome to craftserver

Yep... I have a rubbermaid container with rice in it. Works great and no mess I buy the rice in the big bags at the grocery store HTH

thank you so much carebear! that really helped. and I'm embarressed to admit I wasn't doing it that way at ALL when I tried with a straw a few months back LOL.

I'm trying to picture how you mean CareBear. I've seen that method mentioned...but can't for the life of me figure out how to hold my straw! Like Sharon...mine drips down the dang bottle. I came up with using my work towel to hold the bottle *near the top* which does cut down on dripping down the bottle.

Thanks for sharing that Mark. I've been using 1343 for rustics and adding stearic to it. Would be easier just to use the 4625 and pour cool. Still love my 1343 for mottles. How did you get that 4625 to mottle? Luci...I love pillars too. Much more exciting than containers and wicking seems easier.

Those are awesome looking Mark...thanks for sharing. You used 4625? I have a ton of that and didn't realize I could do rustics with it! Did you freeze your molds first? edited...isn't that rain water just an awesome fresh scent? love it. it's one of my favorites.