Faerywren

The bottle volume is based on the volume of water. Water has the same volume as weight. For example, 8 ounces of water weighs 8 ounces and fills a one cup measuring cup exactly.

That isn't true with lotion. It is heavier than water so 8 ounces by weight doesn't fill a one cup measuring cup.

You need to weigh a container, then fill it and then weigh it again. Subtract the weight of the container and you have the weight of your product.

The small amount of FO that you're adding won't make much difference to the volume.

Wow! Thanks Carrie.

Bottles and jars are listed as to the "fluid ounces" they will hold. Unfortunately, when making soap and other products, one is taught to do everything in "weight ounces". For a heavy product like lotion or shower gel, 2oz in weight will occur before filling a 2oz bottle.

What I've found useful is to weigh a measuring cup, tare to zero, pour my product into the measuring cup to desired fluid ounces, check weight, add correct percentage of FO.

I don't go super strong or heavy on any of my FO, so it is a minimal increase in the volume. Most bottles will hold a smidge more than the advertised amount, also. I still get extra sometimes, but my daughters snatch it up quickly, or I use it.

I use a potato peeler. I bought a beveler off the classies here and don't like it. It's clunky and big and (I know it's not rocket science) can't really tell how to use it properly. The For Crafts Sake one looks nice, and I've considered buying that one many times over the years. I wish I would have instead of the one I have.

Backwoods' Black Irish. YUM. It's my husband's favorite. I like NG's Cucumber Wasabi Cilantro, too.

I bought some of this off the classies. It is wonderful.

Most crafters sell what they make because if gives them an excuse to make more. Because the joy comes from the making, formulating, experimenting. A lot of people see the popularity of candles or bath and body crafting and see nothing but dollar signs. They don't realize the years most of us put into making a quality consistent product. The testing process costs a lot in wax, wicks, fragrance oils (because different ones behave differently) etc. In the beginning of selling you're just going to be recouping your costs, not making a lot of profit.

I'm not saying this is you, but like Delphic said, if you don't love the experimentation now, you're really going to hate it when you HAVE to do it. :smiley2:

Faerywren, good to find out you're a fellow Alabamian. I, too, order fragrance and other items from lots of suppliers, but I try to get all my wax and jars from Alabaster--I wait until my stock is low and get a truckload--it usually saves me about $500 in shipping, so it's well worth taking a day trip to stock up for a few months. My business is small enough that I only have to get truckloads a few times a year. Candle Science's shipping price is the best I've found for wax, but shipping on jars is really bad everywhere I've checked.

That's great to know! I just started with candles/tarts so haven't ordered much wax or jars yet. I will definately make the drive when and if I get more into that hobby.

I noticed that to after I wrote it. Its not wrote that way on the actual label. You just have to over look my grammar in my posts sometimes. I use my BlackBerry Touch a lot. If I don't pay close attention to what I write it will get all scrambled up and add different letters and punctuation that was not intended.

I know how that is. I use a Droid with the new "swipe" text feature. If I don't double check, people have NO idea what I'm trying to say.

I live in Alabama, too. And still order from others besides Alabaster.

Sometimes I'd rather have something shipped and it's the same shipping from Peaks as it is from Alabaster! And Peaks always has what I need/want.

They really did love them. I got eight more orders for from other teachers with kids in school.

The poem says ; A good teacher is like a candle they consume there self's to light the way for others.

There self's? Should be their selves or their self.

Sorry, I'm a grammar and spelling snob.

I named my b&b business after my 2 oldest daughters, Willow and Fern. The name is versatile enough that it could be country, posh or contemporary,natural etc. I've gone through quite a bit of logo changes, trying to find my identity. :rolleyes2

I have debated having a separate "sub-brand" for candles called Autumn's Hue using my youngest daughter and a play on my only son's middle name (Hugh). His first name is Alec, which doesn't lend itself to much...lol.

I met Brenda at our local soapmaker and chandler meeting. She is just a doll, and very quick to help! Love Oak Court!

I make my shaving soaps from M&P and add 2 tablespoons of castor oil and 1 tablespoon of bentonite clay per pound of soap. It has a great slip and is a huge hit with my customers. I have one husband who buys his wife a gift basket of nothing but shaving soaps for her birthday every year 'cuz she loves them so much.

I bought a pound of the shaving soap base to try, but the ingredients were exactly the same as the other bases with the exception of some wheat protein added (and it was the last ingredient, so not sure how much is in there). I'm going to add my regular castor and clay to be sure.

Hope that helps!

My hubby's faves are:

bay rum and lime

green irish tweed

black irish

spirit of avalon (from moonworks...yummy! lime with white musk, so wonderful)

EBC is Essentials by Catalina.

WSP carries Crafter's Choice bases. Is there no one else that carries Crafter's Choice or did WSP have exclusive rights to their products? I love the Goat's Milk and Honey lotion, and it's a great seller for me, but I won't be paying exorbitant shipping fees to get it. Guess I'll shop around. That's too bad. I was always happy with WSP.

If you couldn't grind it fine enough you could just use it in bath salts. I have some customers who really like the big crystal salts, and they look very pretty when colored in jars. I've used rock/ice cream salt, kosher salt, sea salt, spa salt, you name it I've probably used it.

These are prepared fragranced body oils. They aren't meant to be used in candle or soap preparations. They are for re packaging as roll on perfumes or body oils.

Bramble Berry was one of my first suppliers. I still use them on occasion because their customer service is amazing, but their distance from me makes shipping so much.

That is the SFIC base. They don't put a lot of added "junk" to their bases and, IMO, is one of the more "natural" M&P bases you can find. Many suppliers carry SFIC, including Peak Candle, KY Candle and Southern Soapers to name a few.

I do mostly HP and they look very smooth. I don't discount water and I cook on low heat in the crock pot. At the end of the cook I add some glycerin with my FO.

There is a process to make "clear" soaps from traditional CP by adding high proof alcohol. Norma Coneys book tells how to do it.

Guam is US territory, and would be a good "halfway point" to other, further locations shipping-wise.

-Julia

I had a show this weekend and experienced scentsy reps. The reps were nice and were selling their clamshells for $5.00. Cold throw was not as good as mine, I might add. LOL.

But they were very nice girls and didn't have the bad Scentsy attitude that some have downplaying everyones else product.

They said they did not sell much and did not do well at this show.

I did good!! YEAH

I

Sliver...

China, Guam who knows where these are made??? :rolleyes2

Like you said, they do have a distributor center in Idaho but that's all I know.

Per the Founder :

As founder and CEO of Scentsy, Inc., Orville has guided the family-owned company to a national company growing 300 percent annually with more than 40,000 independent Consultants in North America, Puerto Rico and Guam.

Why would they have consultants in Guam unless they are marketing to tourists, or manufacturing there??

http://www.scentsy.net/en-us/newsroom/executives.aspx

My problem with questions like these, is the fact that the person is sitting at the computer and never gets a clue to "SEARCH"! Really? you're going to wait for me to answer you, when you could have been reading oodles of info on the internet!

:laugh2:I'm all for literary interpretation but REALLY??? I mean I know he glistens in the sun and all but . By the way, NG's bite me smells more like Cherry Kool Aid. I have people that ask for it in lotion.

hey, it wasn't my interpretation. The books say he smells like honey, sunshine and flowers. A point which my older kids, who've read the books, think is "lame". :tiptoe:

I agree with Abbie on the Ancient Incense.

Others from MW I would choose would be all of them!

I agree! I love ALL their FO's.

And for what it's worth, NG's Werewolf smells divine! Team Jacob or not it smells wonderful.

As long as everything was incorporated well and you had enough lye in the recipe for all the oils (even the ones you added late) it should be fine.

I think it depends on your idea of a vampire. Do you like the Twilight vamps or do you like the old school, crawl out of the crypt, talk with a sophisticated Eastern European accent vamps? In Twilight, Edward smells like honey, sunshine and flowers. I would imagine the traditional/old vampire smells more like dirt and incense *shrug*. Then you have to consider all the other literary vamps out there and their own nuances.

If it were me, I'd probably have to do a custom blend. I don't think I could buy what my mind conjures up...