LuminousBoutique

so bright!!! pretty!

Im sorry these are huge.. i dont know how to resize them since I took them right off my etsy Awapuhi Seaberry (omg delicious) PlumBerry Tall Grass and some bars White Tea and Berries Matcha/Green Tea Sap Moss (damn line didnt turn out as hoped but I'm still happy with it) Ginger Peach Yay soaping!! I've been having alot of fun testing 1ozers, its been awhile since I did it. My goal is one batch per day - I have over 200 to get through if I test them all.

heres my list (very similar to katshe) plastic measuring cups (Ikea, .99c- I have 20, they will hold about 24 oz) glass pyrex measuring cups (I have 10) Dixie cups for measuring out FO, small amounds of liquid oils very accurate scale gram scale (I got mine from tkb trading, it can measure fractions of a gram) silicone scraping spatulas (high heat) cheap spatulas (dollar store, 5 for a buck) metal rolling cart (of course totally optional, but stainless, to me, is the best surface for making lotions/scrubs on) clorox wipes spray bottle of bleach solution paper towels (lots) pipettes magic bullet or coffee grinder stick blender used microwave (its nice to have your own) mini crock pot (mine holds about 1lb of oils) storage containers for lids/jars

it totally depends on your customers and area. I sell quite alot of tarts to scentsy customers, looking for cheaper, better tarts they can use in the warmers they already own. Scentsy is huge here, there are hundreds of consultants in my 50 mile radius. But I still clean up on tarts because people really do want handmade over mass produced. I also live just miles from candlewarmers.com, so of course I'm fond of their warmers, since they are in alot of local stores and customers know and trust them. OBI is also popular with alot of us. I personally use electric and tealight warmers in my house.. heck even the dollar tree has an awesome tealight warmer that works great for me. Throws like a dream!

I'm just out of both coconut and castor too. Three months ago I put off ordering another 50lbs because I was certain I wouldnt work through it by then... kicking myself now.

Hi Daisy - steve summed it up pretty well, there are thousands upon thousands of threads here, so not that people are trying to be rude.. its just we've answered the questions before (or asked them ourselves ) many times, and it gets really old really fast. Before you even think about selling, I'd do as everyone said. Test, burn. Test, burn. Test, burn. so for me, that means picking a new container, picking the wicks I think will work best based on the container, my wax, and charts, test pouring a scent with these wicks, and curing. Once my candles are cured, I'll burn all 4 (usually I test 4 wicks. Two of one type (like HTP) and two of another (like cotton core) same jar, same wax, same fragrane. Burn all 4 equally, same time, off and on or power burn all the way to the bottom. Check your jar for tunneling (wick is burning straight down, not consuming all the wax on the sides), smoking/mushrooming of the wick (some is acceptable to some chandlers, to others its not), overheating of the glass... Then, you can narrow it down. X wick got the glass way too hot- overwicked. X wick tunneled and went out.. not big enough to consume the wax. X wick was perfect X wick smoked/shroomed.. so on and so forth. Now you have an idea of what wick works best for your container. Move on to fragrance testing. Make a candle, with that wick, for every fragrance you are planning on offering. I'm sorry if this sounds harsh but in my opinion its irresponsible and lazy to sell an untested candle (not suggesting you would, but we've seen it...). Some fragrances will require wicking up, so you can figure that out pretty quick with a test burn. Some just wont throw worth a damn.. weak, or require a longer cure.. or whatever it is. But you wont know until you test. You will get candle nose- so here is where the family/friends come in- they can help you test. Once you are sure your candle is safe (not going to burn them, not overwicked/smoking/fire hazard) they can test scents with you, to help you determine which throws best! Some fragrances you'll immediately love and have no problems with, others are the biggest pain in the ass you'll ever find and you might just decide they arent worth it, lol! Steve wasnt kidding when he said we go through cases of wax testing.. thats 50lb cases.. not to mention all the jars, wicks, and fragrance you burn through. This is an expensive hobby - think THOUSANDS of dollars, not hundreds - and an even more expensive business... but when you get it right, and you make that perfect candle, all the hard work is worth it. But just an example.. I've been testing a new container for 4 weeks now, I pour and burn almost everyday, and I'm only 18 scents in. I still have over 100 fragrances to test in this jar if I want to sell them.. now, of course I have notes that say "x fragrance required wicking up in z jar, a jar, and x jar" but unless I test it in this jar, I cant be CERTAIN. if I wick up, and sell it as is- I could be selling a candle that will burn too fast and get too hot.. know what I'm saying? So while testing is frustrating and long and expensive.. its incredibly important and its something you'll have with you always. Keep notes, back them up somewhere (computer crashes wiping out notes will make you crumple into a ball and sob!) and dont be afraid to ask questions but always use search first because chances are it has been asked.. if not, people are glad to help. Have fun and welcome to your new obsession!!

yep scentsy is paraffin. As they like to claim "the same kind sprayed on apples!!" :rolleyes2

another vote for Asian Sandalwood peaks from me, my husband who is a sandalwood snob loves it.

I did that with Euphoria! told my husband I loved the sample, he bought a bottle.. i wasnt so in love, lol. Its nice, but not what I had expected. Yeah the poppy i smelled in store, I wish I had taken a sample home to smell so I could really sit and pick the scents apart but its really beautiful, if I wasnt so broke I'd buy a bottle today!

Its what I started with, its what I battled with, its still what I use But keep in mind I only have a fraction of the experience some of these ladies (and gents) have with candles, and every time I choose a new container its a new battle. GB464 to me is a snap to work with, cheap to ship, and easy to find. I've not tested other waxes in large batches because I didnt see the need.. it worked for me. In a different climate it might not work so well. Really, the wax that works for so and so is 100% for their own reasons, thatswhy we all use different ones

whats funny is I almost tried to use it myself! I dont do alot of M&P, I'm just learning.. and I only use micas in my CP so I reached for the liquid dye drawer and pulled it out.. if I hadnt re-read i would have tried it lol:laugh2:

yeah I have that - but its for wax not soap But I got it worked out with cedars help!! Cedar:

that is GENIUS! never once thought of that!

I dont hate consignment... I'm just very careful. Good luck Steve, I hope it turns out to be a great experience!! I've had both good and bad, and I think sometimes it can be great

GOT IT!! 4 drops red 3 drops green 1 drop blue 1 drop yellow... its perfect in my water test! Hope it comes out as good in the soap, but its a nice start Thanks cedar!

thanks cedar I'll do some test batches using what I have... anyone know of a good brown already mixed up?

Yes its true its a private UPS store they will ALWAYS try and repackage for you and upcharge. You just have to say no. I use USPS flat rate as much as possible, because hardly any candles weigh less than 13oz, and once you top that you cant use first class, so it hops to priority which is very costly... The best way to do it is try and convince buyers to fill themselves a medium flat rate box. $10.70, and they can get up to six candles in there generally.

looking to get a beer bottle brown out of some clear M&P- anyone have any dye reccomendations? I've been using Peaks liquid colorant - but they dont have a brown... so... looking for any suggestions!! http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-14433058-beer-bottle-blend-and-gradient-only.html I got the green down by doing some super blending, yay!!

it does have palm (crisco) but not enough to make up for ALL that soybean... imo... if you're using MOSTLY crisco. Shortning could be so many thing.. animal/veg mix.. all veg... veg and palm... what brand are you using Miba? Is your soap gelling? You absolutely need a scale, and to run your recipe through a soap calculator, to make proper soap. Once you get that, you will be alright!! And you have your process down... so it should be a snap from here

I cant believe you've only been soaping 3 years.. I say only because hot damn Barbara, I couldnt get those swirls if I made a deal with the devil! You just kick butt.

man did what I say make any sense? but something like this.... http://www.soapequipment.com/bathbomb/ but larger, so it could handle a 4-5oz bar of soap?

B&M- brick and mortar, aka a real storefront Its a dream!! Those are cool! I like the rustic look of them. I wonder if a better tool could be developed that could press down even harder, like an adaption tool? I have a wine bottle capper I bought to use for a bath bomb press but never did.. its basically a giant can crusher, lol.. but it can compress things very tightly, which might be ideal for something like this.. would be alot of work to create the "cup" and "depresser" though, likely something you'd need a machine shop for and so= expensive! I love the idea though, and I think people would like it at a market too. How cool to get to create their own soap bars! Good luck with it, I think you should do it! I can just see it.. maybe 10-15 different colors/kids of soap shreds! Its something kids could do too, safely, no heat or lye involved.

well, we might think its mundane but customers love it I bet they'd notice if we stopped :laugh2:The christmas music is such a lovely idea!

OK I guess my question is have you tried it without the poly? I dont use bases but my inclination is to try it without any additives (aside from the FO) first, then go from there

its totally fine, I used to let my lye water sit out all night. If it freezes, you have to let it come back to room temp- but lots of people let it cool all day. Personally, I just use it right away. Cold/room temp oils, and lye water thats cooled 10-15 minutes. You can also freeze distilled water and use ice cubes as half the water, that cools it too. I totally advocate safety but just FYI I soap around my toddlers all the time I do baby gate them out of my work room (they can knock it down but wont) I just let them know mommy is doing "danger stuff" and they need to let me work.. sometimes they leave me alone, sometimes they dont, but they dont come in the room after letting them know its danger, burn, ouch.. so on so forth. Its hard hard hard trying to get it all figured out with kids, enough to drive you batty, but you can do it!! have fun!!!