jackie

Just a few more candles on my journey to learning cut and curl. I'm limiting the colors because I just melt it back down and reuse it. I'm way too slow though. Now that the ambient temp in my basement is cooler, the candles often cool before I'm done. I haven't had as much time to devote as I had hoped so my progress is very slow. But it's a hobby so there's no time limits.

I was wondering about the plastic too. My soapmaking book says as long as it's microwave-safe, it should be fine. Since this will be my first batch, I'll follow instructions exactly. I have a laundry sink in my basement, just no windows around it and I was concerned about how much fumes would be hanging around. I make my candles down there too. First I have to find a place around here that sells lye. This is a rural area--if walmart or our small lowe's doesn't have it, I'm out of luck.

alloccasionsgiftware.com has gold ballontin boxes. Don't know if that's what you want. I can't really tell from the photo. Have you tried asking the retailer that uses the box you want?

thanks for the suggestions.

Thanks. The list by state is great. NB looks pretty good for me.

thanks (and thanks for the tip of not having to let everything cool).

thanks. Yes I just noticed they were in OH which is fine locatin-wise but it looks like they sell one lotion base and several MP soap bases but not indiv butters/oils, as far I can tell anyway.

Most of the supplier sites I've seen are on the west coast. For a southerner, that racks up shipping cost alot. I'd like to find one main supplier for lotion bases (wsp has a great selection and s/h is priced in but I'd like to compare their prices) and soap supplies (butters and soft oils etc). Any suppliers that you could recommend? I'm in a rural area of TN so I order everything. This will be a hobby for me (and gifts for my family/friends) so I don't need huge quantities. Till things change, I save the sales tax to help offset s/h cost buying outside TN but other southern states should have better rates than the west coast. Multiple small orders add up on s/h so one main supplier where I could make a larger order would help too. I made a small (4lb) order from BCN and the shipping was $14. The cost of shipping can cost as much as the item you're ordering on small order. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Just realized I posted in wrong section but i don't see any way to move it.

I'm just at the gathering info stage; haven't made any soap yet. If you want to mix the lye outside, do you need to consider the ambient temperature? Was wondering if I can do this in winter (I'm in TN so we don't have super cold winters). Seems like it would help with the cooldown but I was wondering if it would affect how well the lye mixes with the water. I'm just trying to figure out what might go wrong ahead of time and address it now. I've printed the tutorial and have a small soapmaking book (I thought the book would cover CP and HP but it's CP only). My main workspace would be in my walkout basement--not great ventilation there. From a newbie standpoint, is there any benefit to starting with MP first rather than jumping right into CP?

I love the crinkle look. Does the beer soap have any beer in it? same ques on the wine soap. I make beer and wine but soap isn't anything I had considered adding it to.

Do lotion bases normally contain a preservative or do you need to add one (or does it vary alot according to the base you're using?). I haven't even tried one yet so pardon my ignorance. I'm at the first level of learning phase. I was thinking only if you added water but I noticed suppliers sell preservatives for non-water based products so that got me to wondering.

thanks for the directions.

Thanks jeanie. I'll have to try that. What proportions on the apple cider vinegar do you recommend (I assume it's not straight vinegar)? I grow rosemary in my herb garden, though I must admit I hate the smell of rosemary.

Thanks for the replies. I just ordered BCN's lip balm base--I got their starter kit so it has flavoring and tubes in there too which I also wanted. I also ordered sample sizes of their body lotion and aloe body wash and a sample size of clean cotton fragrance. I'm excited. Something new to play with.

thanks for the reply. I've bookmarked that link; very helpful. I know everything is here somewhere and it's aggravating for folks to see questions on info already avail but sometimes I have a hard time finding stuff. thanks again.

What is BCN?

I'd love to find a good lip balm that I could flavor. Most commercial brands just don't work for me. I have to keep putting it on all through the day and night or my lips get real dry and crack. The best I've tried is Burt's Bees but my husband complains it tastes awful and it doesn't work as well as I'd like. I'm just not sure where to start to know what ingredients I need. I assume beeswax but after that I'm lost. How do you learn which indiv ingredients you need--is it all just trial and error? The lip balm bases I saw on Wholesale Supplies Plus (I assume that's the WSP I see referred to on the forum) seem more like for lip gloss or lipstick. I don't have any allergies or sensitivities that I'm aware of.

I'm trying different ones, the first was Head and Shoulders for itchy scalp, then Pantene . Next I'm trying the cheaper ones like Suave. I always used conditioner after shampooing to detangle (I have thick hair) but this way saves me money. thanks for the info.

I have really dry hair and itchy scalp (not flakey, just itchy). I recently tried just using conditioner instead of shampoo and so far it's working. Hair looks clean and no itching. I don't understand why though. I really wasn't expecting the conditioner to cleanse--I don't see any ingredient I recognize as a cleansing agent but then I'm no chemist. Thought I'd tap the knowledge base here. I was thinking of trying to make a non-sulfate shampoo.

Maybe I missed it but I didn't see any newbie info on B&B. I'm just interested in making things for my own use--hand lotion, facial moisturizer, facial scrub, etc. Do they normally start with bases instead of making from scratch? Any recipes posted here somewhere?

I'm always looking to try new things. Never made soap. Is it easy/difficult? Expensive to get going? What made you try it in the first place--trying to get certain fragrances or because you know what's in it, or just looking for possible business venture, ???? Is there a good intro book? I'm relatively new at candles but I'm mainly interested in the artistic side which is why I'm mainly trying my hand at cut/carve. I rarely ever burn candles (I have 2 cats--cats and fire is a disaster waiting to happen). I also make wine, beer, roast coffee, make preserves, sausages, etc. I make cleaning stuff too but that's mainly cause it saves me money. The others I enjoy and think I can make better, for my taste, that what I can buy and it's usually cheaper to do so. Was wondering why people make soap?

I'm doing cut and curl so I'm using pigments for dipping wax anyway. I'm not concerned about wick clogging--just the easiest/cheapest way to whiten wax.

Can you just add titanium dioxide directly to wax or does it require any special handling? I have some of the "white" pigment from candlechem and it does fine but I was thinking the straght titanium dioxide would be more economical in the long run (I imagine that's what's in the pigment I have).

Thanks for the replies. I got lucky this time and they came out (they were star pillar molds). I'm keeping your ideas Stella for future reference--I know myself too well to think it won't ever happen again. Maybe I'll try going ahead and spraying after cleaning them up just in case. thanks again.

I just realized I forgot to spray my molds before pouring. Any chance the candles will come back out or should I just go ahead and try to start over before they completely cool--it's been about 3 hrs Dumb Dumb Dumb