TallTayl

It takes very little. 1% is plenty. No need to make the salt soaking wet http://www.craftserver.com/topic/104452-i-need-new-ideas-for-room-fresheners/?hl=%2Bsalt+%2Bscent#entry982743

Can't say i ever looked at the jumbo pack of crayons and though, yum, let's smear these fab colors on my lips! The smell alone was enough to make me say nuh uh. If someone wants to make it for themselves, knock yourself out. Expecting someone else to apply it to themselves, not so much. Not all crayons are made with the same quality of ingredients. Rose Art, for instance, melt into a weird grey color and separate. Crayola melt better, but when i looked up some of the pigments it was quickly clear many are not approved for lip application even if the crayon were made in accordance with cosmetic use in mind. Eating them in limited quantities probably won't make you sick, but when the pigments are no longer bound tightly in the wax the story may change. The Crayola legal team must cringe every time stuff like this is published onto some crazy blog.

Probably. So,e fragrances may etch the ornament, but it is worth a try

Just use some salt. Much safer and won't risk burning the evaporated FO inside the warming bowl.

Either a silicone round mold or a Really useful Box when making samples.

Hard to tell from the angle, but does it look like the one on the right is close to possible blowout?

Single bar batches here. Usually 10 - 20 scents at a time. No sense for me wasting soap oils on fo's that may misbehave, morph, discolor, fade or be otherwise objectionable.

Instead of a cross off list, how about a tag or card to "claim" an inventory item? Those tags get put into an envelope with their name and you're/they're done.

Some people have good luck with starches, like corn, tapioca or arrowroot. Too much can leave you feeling parched and really dry. Just the right amount can leave the butter smooth and wonderful.

One cool thing for thicker soap is a wooden spoon with a hole drilled in the spoon part. Drag that through the mold in a circle to To bottom of that makes sense, to distribute colors beautifully. Usually, though, i swirl in the pot. I used to use the handle of a long wooden spoon (made of plastic actually) to add more detail in the mold and texture the top.

This thread may help. http://www.craftserver.com/topic/104452-i-need-new-ideas-for-room-fresheners/?hl=%2Bscented+%2Bsalt#entry981021

I use the samebarbaranj. Plus, they are lined, so no discoloration with some fragrances that are prone to discoloration.

I do tins year round. They wick differently because of the nature of the material and the short, squatty dimensions. Like ay other container, test, test, test. ETA: i do the 8 oz, which hold about 6 weighed ounces.

"How much can evaporate" A really easy way to tell is to weigh your container, then make the lye solution. Then weigh it all just before you are ready to use it. The total weight of the container, water and lye on paper minus the actual weight will quickly give you an idea of the evaporation.

Answering candybees question in the <<<. >>> below. So, for example, if I masterbatch a 50/50 lye solution and make enough for a gallon (128oz) I would use: 64oz lye + 64oz water = 128 oz lye solution <<<yes>>> When I am ready to use the lye solution, if I need 8oz lye + 8oz water, I pour out 16 oz for my soap? <<<yes. All by weight, of course. The density of the water is different with the dissolved lye in there.>>> Or-- the masterbatch lye solution will give me enough to make 8 batches of soap for my recipe. <<<i don't know your formula, so just by the math if your formula needs 16 ounces combined weight of water and lye, then the 128 ounces divided by 16 total makes for 8 batches of soap. >>> Also, is this too much to masterbatch at one time? Will 64oz of lye get too hot? Maybe I need to make half that amount at a time. <<<i would use a heavy pail in the sink that is at least double the volume of what you need. So if you want to mix a gallon, then a 2 gallon pail to mix. Not too big or it will be hard to pour without difficulty. Stir often as it cools to ensure it all dissolves. To help cooling along, you can do an ice water bath in the sink. I do a gallon with no trouble this way. Let it cool then carefully transfer to the smaller jug with tight fitting lid. I would also suggest slightly more water than 50% exactly to allow for evaporation. Lye needs at least its own weight in liquid to dissolve. As water evaporates and the solution cools if the ratio falls too low some lye may precipitate out. >>> If you are unsure of the math, look carefully at the measurements on the batch formula/print out from the calculator of your choice. Make a batch the Old Fashioned Way and weigh the water and lye before pouring it into the oils. Weigh the whole pot of oils and lye solution, etc. if you know what everything "should" weigh you can double check yourself when you graduate to master batching.

In a 50% lye solution 8 oz is 4 oz of lye and 4 oz of water. If soapcalc says you need 8 oz of lye, you need 16 weighed ounces of the predissolved solution (8 oz lye plus 8 oz water).

I would use a bottle versus a pail for master batched lye. The pails are hard to seal well. Spillage, evaporation, etc are high risks with a pail. Nalgene is about the best, but The gallon HDPE jugs that soapers choice sends oils in work very well. I leave them in a deep pail when not in use to protect them further from accidental spillage. I make up a gallon at a time in a deep sink using a bowl to mix. It gets transferred into a jug once it is cool enough to handle.

I master batch just about everything. Or, better said, i make my own bases of all non-soap stuff, and master batch oils in single serve containers. My soap formula is heavy on hard oils, high in stearic. Unless i can votate it as it cools the stearic settles out too much. I make up 10 lb batches in pails so i can just grab a pail and go. My lye is used scorching hot to melt the oils. The pails are made up when i melt the new bucket of palm oil. I'd rather touch that stuff only once.

I get the cedar tips (ends of branches) from places like mountain rose herb, herbalcom.com, etc. I find that any opportunity i have to add a little essence helps. I would try the shavings and see if even a miniscule amount of dimension comes over into the product. There should be some volative oils in the shavings.

IIRC = if i remember correctly. CSN was made for CandleScience.com back when they were selling palm wax. CDN wick are similar to CSN as far as sizing. I found CSN burn a little hotter than CDN in my wax/containers.

How old is the case you're having trouble with?

I used that with a small (CDN12 IIRC) in glass glow scented with 3% lilac. I don't wick GG for FMP. It tunneled for a while, but then glowed as the wax forming the shell of the tunnel "weeped" into the small melt pool. But the end the whole candle was consumed cleanly. Burned for an insanely long time perfectly. That scent actually filled the house with a tiny melt pool.

That is some very "general" advice. Some interpret it as never burn a candle more than 1 hour per inch of diameter (safety warning). Who sets a timer to keep track tough? The guideline/rule of thumb does not take into account the type of wax or jar configuration. Many people do not wick for full melt pool during the first burn based on the inch per hour because by the time the wax burns to the middle of the container things will heat up more rapidly, meaning the candle will burn far too hot. By the bottom hotter still based on how convection changes the further down you get. To call your candle a success, you must burn it the entire way through, to the bitter end. You will end up making and burning more than one sample once you dial in the best wick combo, and observe them under different burning conditions. Your first tester can use the the inch per hour guideline to get a feel for how it behaves. Once you are pleased with the whole burn, extend burning times and even power burn future samples to ensure they stay within safe ranges for the average candle burner.

Gorgeous!!

Which cedar? Himalayan sticks better than virginiana in mine, but i can't stand himalayan (figures). Infusing cedar tips in oil and also making them into a tea with the lye water seems to help me.