jenn624

I prefer the Pumpkin Souffle from CS, I agree about the Pumpkin Pie - too light.

Paradise is wonderful, very strong!

The one from Lone Star is very good, extremely strong, smells like a saddle shop.

huh.... my bro-in-law has been pestering me to make him stuff that smells like doe urine (I have always , um, regretfully declined). Maybe I'll just buy him a bottle of this FO and give it to him for Christmas lol

I never put mine in the oven, they get nice a toasty all by themselves. I also cut within a few hours after molding, wait much longer than that and they are almost impossible to cut!

Be sure to include your website link on everything - email signature, all printed material (flyers, brochures, business cards, etc) and then have plenty on hand at shows (have business cards on you at all times, you never know when you'll need to hand someone a business card!), have a car magnet and/or bumper sticker made up, put it on all your vehicles. Do you utilize social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter? if not, you should be. Consider adding a frequently updated blog to your website. Make sure you've optimized your website for search engines. Hope this helps a little.

I've been a freelance website/graphic designer for about 13 years now. I charge $10 per month (or $110 per year) for website hosting and $15 per year for domain name. Each hosting account comes with a backend control panel with options to install WordPress or open source CMS like joomla or drupal.

Most CMS (content management systems) offer shopping cart plug ins and are fairly simple to set up. Wordpress has countless free or inexpensive templates you can use with it, and an easy to use shopping cart plug-in, or there's always the option of a PayPal shopping cart.

With WordPress it is very easy to edit content yourself, unless you're needing drastic changes to the layout or design of the template.

Peaks has an Amish Harvest, I don't know how similar the two are though. I've only smelled Peaks.

Lone Star has a nice strong leather scent. Does well in my parasoy.

Candle Science has one, it's very nice.

I do no formal presentations, I simply set up my products, have testers, let people test and sniff and hang out.

No orders, they buy from the stock I have already made up. Everyone preferred it that way.

No games, everyone hates games (at least the girls at my home parties always said they did), they were all very relieved that there were no games. I did draw a random name, and that person won a little basket of freebies.

Tipsy people spend money more freely.

Yup, I got one of those emails too. I deleted it.

The "send us free samples so we can sell them to people" thing really got to me.

I've been a web designer for about 13 years now, plus I offer hosting starting at $10 per month, PM me if you'd like to chat

I don't heat, just add FO and color and gently stir till blended (if you stir too quickly, it'll suds). I mix in a pyrex cup with a pour spout, and put a funnel in my bottles in case my aim is crappy (it usually is). HTH

Daystar has a Havana dupe, smells pretty close to the real thing, maybe a little sweeter, less tobacco

I've done 2 small home parties (about 10 guests each), and set up a table similar to my craft show table, same pricing, etc. I brought my stock, and they purchased from what I had on hand, I didn't offer an order form, and I stayed for the party and took the money.

I gave the hostess freebies (of course, both times the hostess was my little sister, so...)

I had testers on hand if anyone wanted to try something out. I didn't do any games (everyone there there said they hated them with a passion anyway), but I did have a drawing for a little basket with some products in it at the end of the party.

Hope that helps

I've been hovering around, looking at them... maybe after the madness of Christmas is over I will just go ahead load up my cart lol. I'm needing to make more beer soap anyway, I'm currently all sold out!

WSP has an Oakmoss & Sandalwood that is just wonderful. I've only CP soaped it, though, never tried it in candles or anything else.

Chocolate Milk from CS is very nice.

Mill Creek has the best price I've found: http://www.mcsoywax.com

edited to add: they seem to be on back order right now though....

have you checked out Sunshine Container? They have some votive display boxes around those dimensions that might work for you.

http://www.tealightboxes.com/category_s/6.htm

CS's new Christmas Hearth fo, it smells just like Christmas at my parent's house.

yup, wick pins all the way!

I get my lye at the local hardware store, most of the guys who work there know who I am and what I need as soon as I walk in, but there's an older guy who waited on me last time who kept eyein' me like I was up to no good. It didn't help when I asked him if they carried potassium hydroxide, he was like "no, I don't even know what that is, what's that used for?" I told him liquid soap, and he said, "well, try the amish, they make their own soap" ...er yeah...ok... so do I... so I just nodded, said ok, and went on my merry way.

thanks for the welcome everyone!