blondiee

I just got some Shampoo base from SFIC and it thinned out terribly when I added FO. So I tried the Crothix (I believe I got it from WSP some time ago). Nothing scientific...just squirted some in the bottle (cold), shook it and let it sit. The next morning, it was great! I've always thought I had to heat it first...and I guess I thought that would be a PIA so I've never tried it that way. There wasn't a lot of head room left in the bottle, so I know I didn't add a whole lot, maybe a "squeeze" or two.

While I do like the Status Jars, I tend to think along the same lines as Candleman in that they will be too pricey to ship for this small timer! I like these, too: The band around the bottom looks classy to me. I've only found one supplier of these so far,and they're a little pricey...compared to my plain-Jane canning jars, anyway!

Hint, hint, nudge, nudge some more

Check these out: Precision cutting at its finest! This pair of unique, high-quality scissors features a laser beam that will help you cut a clean, perfectly straight line through paper and fabric every time. No household should be without them—they’re a real must-have item I saw them in a flyer for my Book Club (huh?)...and I thought hey, that might make cutting labels a little easier. Anyone have them? The price is $19.99 but it also says the ship date is "currently unavailable" so who knows what that means!

I always thought DPG was not body safe, too. Then I read this: http://www.snowdriftfarm.com/dpg.html Now I'm even more confused cuz I've never seen it listed as "Fragrance Grade" anywhere before this.

I'm having a little trouble with hot throw in 6006 and thinking about making a change to JS 50/50. I did some searching and found some input but I'm looking for anything new anyone would like to share. I have a sample bag of the votive wax which I haven't tried yet...hopefully today. Becky's got a sale on the container wax and the price seems pretty good...given soaring wax prices and all. So any input from you guys (on either one) would be very helpful!

I just got some...it arrived on Tuesday. I almost hate to admit it, but whatever it is, it seems to work pretty well. I mixed it 50/50 with Sunkissed Currant from JS and left it on my kitchen table. My kitchen is sort of the central room in my house, open and pretty large. I could smell it as soon as I walked in the door 2-nite. My sister was with me and (dear that she is) she even commented that I must finally have gotten my candle "thing" figured out cuz it sure smelled good! I almost didn't want to admit that it wasn't a candle! So my 1st experment with it has me mostly impressed.

You can also get them here:http://www.brownkraftlabels.com/Browse_Item_Details.asp/Item_ID/831054/categ_id/160/parent_ids/0,160/Name/Round_Customized_Candle_Warning_LabelBRSTARTER_PACKAGEBRBUSUALLY_SHIPS_WITHIN_24_HRSb $50 for 200 personalized labels seems pretty reasonable to me! I haven't tried them yet, but I've ordered labels from her a few times and have been very impressed with the service.

I just got some and OOB it's nice but IMO, it's not very true to it's namesake. I'm making some air fresheners out of it right now but I haven't put it to use in anything else yet. I think when I label these air fresheners, they'll be called just "April Fresh" (no reference to Downey)

OOB it's very nice...but to my nose, it's nothing like the real thing. It's very fresh & clean...but it's just not Downey. I think I might rename it to just "April Fresh" (lack of creativity going on) or something.

I soooooo understand your pain! I haven't given up yet, but the last few months I've spent much more time discovering the "dark" side of B&B than I have making candles. I still have 'tester' candles all over the place and everytime I test one...it fails miserably. I sorta vowed there would be no new wax poured until I figured out the problem(s) with what I already have done.

I just made some last weekend and used 15%Candelilla Wax with 5% Soy Wax and I really liked the "firmness." I put it in a push-up tube.

I got mine from saveonscents.com. http://www.saveonscents.com/index.php/cPath/19_20_57

I, too, made this same mistake. I tried it without thinking about the logic (hydrogenated soybean oil = Crisco). I made one batch and haven't decided what to do with the rest. I think I dumped a huge amount of dry flow or natrasorb in just to make it useable for myself. I hate wasting stuff!!

SW has them in cranberry, orange and (I think) a light amber. I also got some purple ones from MMS.

:laugh2:

This site doesn't classify oils but it does have some sort of number classification of butters and their "softness rating" http://www.oilsbynature.com/product-category/butters.htm I thought it would be helpful but it makes things more confusing when what you *think* is a fairly hard butter turns out to have the same softness rating as unrefined shea!

There is actually a scent called "Clean." It's a dupe of a very expensive womens' fragrance that I adore. Both NG and SW carry it. SW also carries a version called "Clean Sweet Layer" that I actually think I like better. It's hard to describe, but I make air fresheners out of the original one and they go over pretty well. On the more neutral, non-gender related side, I absolutely LOVE Eucalyptus Spearmint. It's not at all what you would think and I find it very fresh and clean...usually labled as a BBW dupe. Cucumber Melon is one of my standby "clean" scents. NG has Honeydew Pear which is my mom's new favorite of mine. She's always been the Cuke-Melon type but is begging for this new one from NG in anything I give her!

I may be dating myself, but I remember a perfume from my pre-teen days called "Musky Jasmine" and it was in the prettiest lavender/purple colored bottle. Same people who made Love's Baby Soft, i.e., same shape bottle, just different color. I lean towards a pinkish-lavender sort of color for my candles because of it.

I've been thinking about this, too. I was going to use those little watchmaker tins but not too excited about them losing their scent. How 'bout little lip balm jars (1/4 oz.)? Lip balm is poured hot so they can take the heat and I think they are polypro so they shouldn't lose the scent.

You are a fantastic saleswoman...very ingenious!

Thanx guys...vinegar was the other thing. I didn't know about the hot water, either, so I'm glad I asked. I try to be careful and yes, I dump my double boiler water in my neighbor's not-so-nice weeds, too! I wanted to do this strictly as maintenance cuz I think no matter how careful you are, there has to be some residual greasy "stuff" getting down there. For example, FO's, etc. are oil-based and I wash my little measuring cups out all the time. And some of my "tester" candles get melted down and the glass washed and re-used (for my use only!). I try to wipe out all the wax with paper towel and baby wipes first, but there is always a little residual film left no matter what. Same with oils & butters now that I'm venturing into the B&B thing a little bit.

I remember reading a post about periodically dumping something down the kitchen sink to prevent any residual wax or oils from becoming a problem. I think it was baking soda but not sure if there was something else, too. I even printed it so I'd remember to do it...but of course I can't find it now. The person who posted it commented on how the sink bubbles and how her grandchildren thought it was so funny...does anyone remember this ?

I still don't think there's been one really great formula that works for everyone. I felt a little redeemed for coming up with this idea all on my own a few months ago when I came across this info on the Lotioncrafter site: "Our new and improved kit is now shipping with IPM as the Fragrance Cutting Oil. Why? Plain and simply, it works better! IPM improves the spreading co-efficient of your fragrance -- the scent wicks up the reeds efficiently, without the flipping necessary with DPG. Unlike DPG, IPM will not clog the reeds, so your scent throw remains stronger week in and week out. Try it, you'll smell the difference!" I've had better luck with this than the PA but I don't have the percentages down yet...haven't really been playing with it lately,either!

Try Carmen... http://wholesalesoylotion.com