sjconner

Weighing them before adding the lye is a great idea. I should start doing that. I can't believe I almost blew 2 batches of soap. I will be headed to the store to get oven bags. I wonder how much they will hold. Do I add the forgotten oils before or after I melt the "soap"? Susan

Ughhh! I got called away from my soaping by a friend for an emergency. I had just melted the hard oils. I quickly put everything in a place where the kiddo couldn't mess with it. When I came back I added the lye and EO and colored both batches. After they are in my divided molds, I realize that I forgot all of the liquid oils! It is too late to do much with them tonite. I will try to rebatch them tomorrow. I was wondering why the batches basically seized and there didn't seem to be nearly enough soap in the mold! I was missing about half the ingredients - I never do anything half way. Any thoughts on what extra goodies to add. I used WSP Euphoria and Sleepy Time. Could I add some cream to this? Susan

I did some more searching and found a site with pages and pages of cowboy slang. What do you think of Cattle Kate's Cream? ( A cattle Kate was a female rustler) Susan

Don't stop!!! The ideas are great - I am all out. I teach at-risk teens at a voluntary residential school. Graduation is 2 weeks away and my brain is FRIED!!! Susan

A place in San Antonio (back in the 80's) used to sell shaped wax chunks (smaller than most modern tarts). You picked the scents you wanted and put them in a jar. I think they sold wicks for them but am not sure. The cold throw on those things was incredible. My Dad would never go in the store with Mom because it bothered his allergies. It would make his eyes and his nose run and run and run. Susan

I am redoing my B&B line in a kitschy 1940's pin up style. I use the WSP Goat's Milk and Honey base. I don't want to call it Goat's Milk Lotion any longer. The only kitschy western type name I could think of was "Sure 'Nuf Salve". I don't like it for a bunch of reasons including the FDA cosmetics vs OTC stuff. Any suggestions? Thanks a million! Susan

I made Soapfreak's body frosting and really liked it. Follow regular lotion making practices. 8 oz. Virgin Coconut Oil 4.5 oz. Kokum Butter 2 oz. Unrefined Shea butter 5 oz. E-wax 32 oz. Distilled Water .5 oz. of Preservative or recommended from manufacturer. .7-1 oz. of Fragrance depending on strength I made mine with Hazelnut Coffee fo (YUM) I subbed coco butter for the kokum and 76 coconut oil for the fractionated. I used optiphen as a preservative. Last time I made it, I made a heavy cream (too impatient to let it become fluffy). If I wanted a slightly thinner texture would I add more water? If I add more water would I need to add more e-wax? i haven't experimented with lotion much and am not sure where to start on changing the thickness. Thanks! Susan

I order my oils from cibaria soap supplies. They are in CA. I live in MT. The shipping seems reasonable for large weights and they are super fast. Susan

Pink Papaya is a direct sales bath/body/make-up company. They are pricey $24 for 6.5 oz of scrub! Thanks for all the input I am changing the background to tan. I will post more when i get them done. Susan

This type of competition is what made me finally get off my butt and do something about my packaging and image. It will be a good change for me and I think it will pay off. Susan

Sure! I do a q-tip test to get an idea how well they will mix. Susan

Thanks for all the input ... I really love making soap. My friends think I am a mad chemist with a cauldron! I just need it to pay for itself and I have been barely breaking even. I know that my products are really good ... I just need my presentation to be way better than its been. Susan

We live a bit down the road from Rattlesnake Creek. That's where our water comes from. So I am RattleSnake Creek Scent Works. I do B&B and I use the tag line "Shed Your Snake Skin". I used to have a red and green snake on my label but am working on a kitschy western look. I am going to start testing candle tins after Christmas. Susan

Western soap label take 2 ... (although I didn't set up "the studio" for this picture and its a bit out of focus). The ingredients are on the short side and my contact info ends up on the back. IT is a 2x4 label. The 4 oz bars are 2x3x1.5. I have one of the new birch molds from Brambleberry. I like the narrower and deeper bar size ... I have small hands. Thanks, Susan

After my run in with the Pink Papaya gals. I decided I needed a new look. My company is RattleSnake Creek Scent Works. I live in SW Montana and decided to change to a kitschy western theme. I found some (apparently royalty free) pin up style cowgirls and got to work. I am renaming my scents too. What do you think so far? Thanks, Susan

I did a "home business" Christmas fair. I had the only handmade products - everyone else was was selling direct sales stuff. Pink Papaya, BeautiControl, Avon, and Mary Kay reps were there. The Pink Papaya scrubs sell for $24.00 for 6.5 oz! She sold several. I checked out the ingredient list for their scrubs and butters and it isn't anything special (water, shea, IPM, varius extracts, etc). I make a self-emulsifying sugar scrub (8 oz) that I sell for $9.00. I guess I need to charge more and ratchet up my packaging! Susan

I am thinking about making the whipped soap using the recipe at http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/coldprocesssoapmaking/ss/whippedsoap.htm I was thinking that cupcake soaps would be super cute. Do you think I could pipe these straight into the paper cups? Or should I pipe them into my silicone muffin cups and then package them in the paper ones? I am thinking that they would stick to the paper. Susan

Thank you for your replies. I thought about sprinkling mica on but was worrid the soap would fall apart there. I have a batch of cedar and saffron I used to mmuch oxide in. I shredded it to reuse in another batch. I am going to try this - I have nothing to lose with this batch! Thanks again! Susan

How do you do a pencil line? I have a couple soap/scent ideas I want to try but can't seem to wrap my head around how to do a pencil line. I think my teen aged students have sucked out all my brain cells. Thanks in advance, Susan

I have a bunch of 1343 wax I bought to learn to make pillars. My pillar making abilities - let's just say it was ugly. Could I use this for tarts? Has anyone tried it? I poured 1/2 pound with 1/4 oz FO (BCN Harvest Type). Thanks, Susan

I buy mine in bulk from Cibaria. Susan

I am going to make laundry soap with 100% lard cp. I am not coloring it or adding fragrance. How much of a water discount do you think I can get away with? I want a really fast cure time. I soap most of my regular soaps at 50% (water and lye being equal weights). Thanks! Susan

I thought about that but I have used lye from that particular can before without any problems. Susan

I spent part of last night trying to figure out what I did different. I scraped out the inside of my bucket when I filled the molds. I don't usually do that - I wonder if that was the problem. The batch I did with the loaf mold had a beautiful lye swirl in it. I can't swirl that beautiful on purpose! Susan

I made 2 batches of soap this weekend and both ended up with pockets of lye in them. I have been doing this for a while without any mishaps so I am sure that I am due for some! I am pretty sure that I made both batches the same way I always do. I have never had my soap zap when I have tried it. I guess I will have to chuck them. D@&% 7 pounds of soap ruined. Susan