Blossom

triple ditto. However, I'll post the ones I buy from most often: CS BCN MMS LSC WSP GL DS SW I'm going to find a few new ones this year. Actually DS is rather new for me, but I'm loving everything that I've got from them.

thanks so much! I think I'll make a small one with wood from other projects and see how it goes (and how I like it) before investing in a professional mold. I've been eying those with silicone liners...and wanting one with my logo...

one thing that is working is that I no longer buy fragrances if they are also not skin/soap safe. Makes it much easier for me.

Organize them? huh? you mean you don't have to root through 150 bottles to find the ONE you need? And then find out that it might have looked full but had less than 10 grams in it. For a product that requires 20? Ummmm, LOL. Actually I only have one shelf dedicated to fo at the moment. But it is so stuffed that I have three plastic totes also full. And the 2oz or less 'sniffer' bottles in even more. I seriously want one of those cabinets with doors so that I can keep them organized better and out of sunlight. They are in a cabinet, right now, that gets no direct sunlight.

PrintShop Pro Publisher. I've been using this program for 8 years, so obviously mine is 8 years old. Works wonderfully. My only 'beef' is that the images provided are Broderbund copyright, which means you cannot use them for labels. But it is easy to import your photos and mess around with them. I have done all of my labels with it for years. HTH

I've been making cp in individual molds. I love how they feel in the hand, but obviously, it is not easy to do anything creative/swirly in them. I do an itp swirl that is nice, but whenever I see the gorgeous swirls possible, I want to try THAT, too. Yes, I'm aware that this is an addiction (not aware of any 12 step, however...LOL). If you were buying a mold and wanted to get one that would provide the best swirls...would you get a slab or a log? I've seen good swirls done with both, but would like to make one and see how it goes before investing in something custom/professional/expensive. Thanks!

did want to add a few of my favorites: BCN: Jasmine (utterly lovely) CS: Violet Lime Daystar: Buttermilk & Honey LSC: Lavender I buy almost all of my fo's from the above suppliers and was rather surprised not to see any of them on your list!

that is just the prettiest, delicate swirls! I don't do swirls (yet) but rely on an itp swirl for my soaps. Every time I see a lovely slab of soap like this, though, I want to get a flat mold and do it! Absolutely lovely.

gonna third the 'mask' comment. The first time I used it, I had a huge cloud of white stuff floating in the air. I have a skylight in my kitchen (where I was working) and the stuff floated about 18' into the air! (vaulted kitchen). My eyes watered and I started sneezing. Yup, mask is a VERY good idea. Also goggles (like when doing cp) and finally....move VERY slowly (LOL).

those are very fun and happy looking. I'm sure the girls will love them!

that is one vibrant, fabulous cp! did your colors remain true? Or have they faded at all? I have used the pop mica because I wanted some bright color and each of the faded significantly within the first week or so. I do a 100% veggie cp recipe, and I soap cool, but I am just gobsmacked at how much they faded. How I'd love to have some bright color like that? Also, did it stain a washcloth or towel? I did a batch with UM that was horrid....never again.

add to the 'oh too bad it browned' list MMS Honey Harvest. I love that scent, but after opening one that was about 3 months old and gazing at the brown and tan dots over it, I decided to drop that fragrance from my lineup.

well, we were told that 'change' would come. I don't think most people expected it to arrive in this outfit, however.

Elements is a top notch supplier. Never a single problem and you'll love doing biz with them.

I've not used pop mica in mp but just in cp. In my 100% veggie cp recipe, the colors start out vibrant and then die considerably 'down'. The yellow is just to a light yellow. And the pink, barely shows at all. Has anyone see that happen in MP? So far I use the gel colorants from BCN for all mp products.

I'm totally rebranding this year. When I began using my name about 9 years ago, there was no one that I could find via google using it or anything close. Flash forward to last fall, when I began getting inquiries from customers asking me if I'd moved! Nope. So I did a search and was astounded at the number of folks using a variation (and I was trying for a tm...) so I decided to do this. Not fun, but it does allow me to purge stuff. And I am. I'm deleting votives (unless I open another store again). I'm also going to seriously downsize the number of travel candles, only offering them in my core scents (that match my B& for gift sets. Gone are my Texas themed candles, uber large lip balms and about 1/3 of the scents I have offered all of the time. I'll still have the scents, but now they are divided into everyday and seasonal. I did away with my lotion, even though I love it, it never has really sold. And it is a 'from scratch' recipe, not a base. Keeping, for right now, both rollon and solid perfumes. Downsized the number of lipbalm flavors, too. My new lineup will hopefully premiere at my Etsy and Artfire shops (also new named) next month.

I've tried boxes and those are nice. I really do not like having to double package my soap (ie shrink or wrap and then box) so I've done just plain boxes without cutouts. Issue, is that you can't see the soap. And that is what sells it. Shrink wrapping tends to sag and not look nice. MP is one of my favorite things to do, but such an effort to package! I'm starting to gift wrap mine (ie wrap in paper like a gift).

I don't do anything product wise without weighing it. So I have no clue what a teaspoon 'weighs' in product. I know it wouldn't be much, but as I never use anything but a scale... anything less than 1% by weight can be listed in any order. But if the ingredients in the ls (and I don't use the doctor's...) combine with the ingredients previously used, it could change the order. See what I mean? I guess you could go 'may contain up to 3% liquid soap' and then list the liquid soap ingredients. But wow, that works in quite a label, doesn't it? Maybe I'm the only person who worries about such, LOL.

while I realize that soap does not have to be labeled, I still label. And though I've done this for my personal use, I've never sold any soap with ls added, as I have no clue how to label the finished product. To avoid putting the info about the ls 'on' is wrong. Yet figuring out where the different %'s will factor would be near impossible. Am I the only one caught in this ethical issue?

new fragrances are something I am sure everyone enjoys! I get tired of the 'same ole' too. One issue, though, is that what is 'new' depends on what you already have. I have over 85 fos that are 'available' to me (ie they are in my cabinet) and sometimes, I just play with a few, by mixing a few grams of this with that and seeing if I like it. I've created a few of my most popular blends that way. It also depends on how you are going to use the scent. Candles? Soap? other stuff? Because sometimes a scent I'd love in a candle, would not even be close to a 'body' product fragrance. KWIM? lately, folks are crazy for citrus scents, my honey scent sells extremely well and pomegranate is rockin'. And none of those particularly make ME crazy. But then again, make only what you love and you might be your only customer. JMO. HTH

can't speak for soy, as I don't do it. but for shipping, they are reasonably quick. They package well. And their prices are in line with everyone else. I've never had to use their customer service, but once, and they were FAST with a return email. HTH

I've been making and selling these for about 5 years now. I've NEVER had any clumping like you've mentioned. All I can figure is a substandard aroma bead. I have bought beads from BCN, WSP and GL. All of provided excellent fragrance retention. I don't make onries, so I have no idea if any of them 'melt' differently. regarding fragrances, I've found that using 1/3 of the amount of fragrance per quantity of beads works out about perfectly every time. So if I'm using 12oz of beads, I use 4oz of FO. I do add colorant to the fo (and mix it well) before adding the beads. In this manner, some of the beads will be darker than others, but I love the multilayered color effect. HTH

those are very nice! I moved all wax into my garage years ago. About 12 years ago, I was still 'doing it' in my kitchen. Had a small two burner thing to use with double boilers to melt wax. Some of the wax tipped...and the resultant flash fire taught me a valuable lesson. I went into the garage with presto pots and have never regretted it! One thing you can do for a quickie table, for those who need a work space. Go to Home Depot or Lowes and get two of their unfinished base cabinets (less than $30 each as I recall) and then get a prefab formica countertop piece (same department). Lay the countertop over the base cabinets. Put up standards to hold shelving, and voila! you have a nice stable work area. I have updated mine a bit from that, but with 8' of work space and space beneath to store everything, it works out great. HTH

I did write them, too. I haven't heard back yet. I'm hoping to get a box already stock...but black is a hard color to find. Thanks so much!

thank you very much, Chris. I appreciate it! That is one of my favorite suppliers but I haven't used their soapboxes. Will take a look. if anyone else has a link, I would so appreciate it. I'm on dialup and somedays it seems even slower...like minutes between page changes.