sjconner

I am testing palm pillars and have started selling palm tarts. I discovered that my palm tarts needed at least a 48 hour cure time and pillars did much better after at least a week cure time. Because votives have a small melt pool, you may not get tons of scent from them (especially in large room). Don't forget chandler's nose. Susan

I have been using BCN's feather palm. I add 1 oz per pound at about 200*. I have been pouring in clamshells at about 157*. All of the clamshells have good feathering on all sides (although not as good a pattern as a couple pillars I poured at 200*). The length of time these last vary by scent and by warmer type. Hotter warmers burn off the scent quicker than cooler ones. Susan

They don't have to gel - that is my personal preference. Some soap makers keep their soap from gelling by putting is the fridge, etc. Susan

I have been testing feather palm tarts. So far I have found only a couple scents that didn't rock in it. I have been pulling my hair out trying to test different waxes for tarts. I finally quit testing them in my house. My parents have almost finished building a house behind ours. I have been testing them in their house. For some reason, I cant' smell the tarts in my house (literally the same warmer, tart batch, etc) but I can in their house. Go figure. After I started being able to smell them in their house, I was finally confident enough to give some out to friends to test. They all like everything I have handed out!

To prevent ash, I have covered the surface of my soap with plastic wrap (before I cover for gelling). Barbara Al (spelling?) suggested spraying the exposed surface with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I tried it and so far it seems to work. 99% isopropyl is available at my local supermarket. Susan

I have spent the last 3 weeks reading everything I can on palm wax. I plan on making votives, clamshell melts, and 3" pillars. I have read so much info and some of the posts I have read over and over. I just want to clarify. Yes, I am a control freak who has to have all the info! I purchased my feather palm from BCN and every size of the RRD wicks. I chose RRD because that is what most people on their board seem to use. I also have most of the LX sizes. I don't have CSN because I am desperately trying not to add another supplier. Other than CSN are there other wicks I should consider? From what I read: Melt to just over 200 and add FO at 200. Pour close to 200 for best pattern. I poured at 157 in a plastic clamshell and did get a good pattern. :smiley2: Pour into heated aluminum molds and cool slowly. Tap, tap, tap for air bubbles. Once a skin starts to form - wreck the tops to get rid of more air bubbles. Questions: For votives - I poured two. Is it better to pour to tippy top and wreck and then repour or better to pour to 1/4" or so below top and then wreck and repour? I did a test burn of a votive within 36 hours. It does burn wierd (a good wierd). I think my RRD 29 is too big or am I testing too soon? I am trying to make myself wait week before I burn the other one. For pillars - I poured one. Should I heat gun the bottom after wrecking and cooling? I am trying to make myself wait week before I burn it. Cure Time - Does palm need to cure for scent and hardness? I read so much I am confused. Thanks a million! Susan

I have been reading and testing and reading and testing. How much wax should a customer put in their warmer? There appear to be basically 3 warmer sizes - a small plug in, a medium warmer, and a large warmer. I put one of my .8 oz (mini cupcake size) melts in my large warmer. Once it melted, there was only about 1/8" to maybe 1/4" of wax in the large warmer bowl. Many warning labels I have seen posted on this forum say at least 1/2" of wax. I assume this is for fire hazard reasons. Does it also help with the scent strength? I plan on eventually selling 3 oz clamshells. Should I advise customers to put at least 3 to 4 cubes of wax in a medium to large melter? Susan

Scentsy now has a solid perfume line - five scents I think. They are $18!!! Anyone know how big they are? I have considered this and tested them and decided not to. Maybe I should try selling these. Susan

I have some palm tarts I received in a swap ... they are really pretty and seem to scent well. I bought some feather palm (pillar wax) from BCN. I just poured a few a couple days ago. I will test them this weekend and see how they work. Susan

To even out the rough edges ... I bake the first side and take them out of the cookie cutters. I turn them over (rough side down) and bake for a little bit more. This gives me a nice smooth edge. I have tried trimming them and could never get it to look right (might have been the trauma shears I was trying to use). Susan

I have been searching the forum for pricing trends for these. All the pricing posts on this board are several years old. What are these selling for these days? I have been using them in our wood stove for a couple of years and I have been asked to sell them. I make mine pretty big - just over 3 ounces each. (I have issues with keeping a newly started fire going. My DH thinks I am challenged!) Thanks, Susan

I have Brambleberry's birch molds. They are slab molds with dividers. I love that I get consistent bar sizes - no cutting. I could never get anything cut right. Lining molds is a piece of cake with either plastic or freezer paper. Susan

I got an email from Prairie Harvest Mercantile ... "Yes you read that right, Celestial Colors is under new ownership and open for business! The Prairie Harvest Mercantile, Inc of Piedmont, SD is the new owner of these awesome soap & skincare colorants! We have used these colorants for years in our own soap & skincare formulations so when they suddenly disappeared off the market we decided we just couldn't let that happen! We loved these colorants and wanted them back. And the only way to accomplish it would be to buy the company and all the formulations. So that is just what we did! We are so excited to be able to offer these colorants to you! Please visit our website at www.celestialcolors.com " Susan

I soap this a lot ... it is perfect! No discoloration, no acceleration, and it is strong at 1 oz per pound! I have also used in M&P. Susan

If you want to sub out palm - lard seems to be a good choice. I tinkered with getting rid of the palm in my recipe. I replaced all the palm with lard and had the same results. With prices the way they are, I'll probably switch to lard when I run out of palm. Columbus Foods has lard at $.80/lb for 50 lbs. In the spring, I buy a years worth of my oils and store them in the basement (think refrigerator). I live in Southwest Montana (nearest Wally World is an hour away) and buying in bulk and paying shipping once saves me money. I really can't buy any ingredients locally except canola (olive is cheaper to ship). Susan