TallTayl

I found every size and style here. http://www.saltworks.us/shop/product.asp?idProduct=135 Though, the locally sourced solar salt is unbeatable for $5 per 50 lb bag.

And i can guarantee you it is not the Bulgarian varietal. 40/42 maybe, which is standardized, available for about $35 or less a lb online.When it comes to EO, i really like buying closest to the source, like Liberty Naturals, Essential Oil University, etc. loads of great e-tailers provide great quality EOs at reasonable prices.

Welcome to the addiction of chandlery! Fellow dog person here (typos are when they help me. That's my story and i'm sticking to it!)

I had trouble with my first teflon presto after making soapy things and syndets. Teflon is weakened by sodium (soap is sodium salt as are all the surfactants i was melting in mine). I really want to blast that coating on out of the pot. Whatta pain. If only they would bring back a stainless version in a good size.

I strain through felt to catch them. Coffee filters work in a pinch. Wotta pain though.

My original presto started flaking within a year. I got a stainless one to stop that problem. Too bad those are not around any more. They're super.

Congrats! So glad it went well for you

Trappeur, that is SO true. A particular batch of wax, wicks, containers, fragrance, colors, etc. all change how someone else's perfect wick burns. Even someone's perceived perfect burn may not match my own idea of perfect... We have all learned the lesson that the same wick name may be very different depending on the actual supplier. Chances are someone posted the same wick on this board somewhere. Why the secrecy?

i pack fragile items individually (in bubble wrap as needed) inside a small box, then that small box goes in the bigger box loaded with dunnage. Peanuts need to be crammed in super tight to work with fragile items. Any shifting at all will ruin your good bubble wrapping intentions. If loose the items inside roam around and end up banging into each other. Tightly wadded paper works well. Wadded paper betwen peanuts can actually work better. Expect your packages to drop several feet at a time on the sorting belts. So, drop your packages off your counter top to a concrete floor. Then do it again, repeat several times, that will simulate the treatment in the journey to the final addressee. If anything shifts, stuff more dunnage inside til nothing even jiggles.

I have it, but don't see, to need it for room salt

I would give any soap you like a try there is only one way to find out if it works on your project and if you like it.

You can also take a fruit zester or cheese grater to any soap bar to DIY shreds. This way you can use colors from some bars you really like. =)

Depends. If making a lot of candles and the big vat is heating a lot of wax, then while liquid. If making only a few, i weigh cold wax, then melt. The weight is always the same whether solid or melted. The volume is different, of course. You always measure wax by weight, not volume.

Or starch.

I saw a recent IFRA on a dupe of you crack the whip. The usage rate across the board was incredibly low, like less than .5%. Is the one you had made better? I worry about dupes when no IFRAs are available.

BeScented on Facebook also dupes. Generally, you send an ounce of your FO to her, she has it duped. Not sure if it is still the case, but you used to get the first lb free. The rest she sells on her site.

Teas: They all turn brown. Some quicker than others. Purples go grey. Not even a pretty grey.

I used paint as a reference when learning . If wanting to mix a Robins Egg Blue, for instance, google the color and many sites will tell the basic proportions. It takes a little getting used to with your wax and individual brands of dye, but now with only three bottles of color i can match just about any color in wax. Wax chips may be a wee bit easier to measure out for consistent results. A tiny gram scale will help ensure equal measurements each time.

Are you talking about mixing primary colors (red, yellow and blue) to make orange, green, brown, purple, etc?

Have you smelled the BB grass stain for the fresh note?

SwiftCraftyMonkey.blogspot.com has a slew of formulas with great instructions.

Red santal smells nothing of sandalwood. Soapalooza hawaiian sandalwood is about the best coconut scent on the market (weird!) Try BB Sensuous Sandalwood blended with AH/RE Hawaiian Sandalwood. If you have amyris essential oil, add a couple drops of that too. If not, no big deal. A drop or two of cedar helps boost the woody tones, but not necessary.

I always use a silicone release spray. Always. The sticking and thin layer of wax can be caused by temperature problems as it is poured and the cool rate. Beeswax does not need to be heated much beyond melt point to mold. Too hot and it does not shrink away from the metal molds correctly. The only time I have major sticking even with release spray is when I am not paying attention and the wax is too hot. The sticking can also happen when filling voids in the mold, as some liquid wax can spill into the gap between the candle and the mold. Makes them a bugger to release. You mentioned cracking around the wick. That tells me you're probably pouring a bit hot and not poking enough relief holes or big enough relief holes.

Where I live humidity can run in the 90% all summer. Never had any differences pouring pillars. What problems are you having?

Zomg OG. Lololol