PAgirl89

If pouring hotter, couldn't that burn off the FO and not give the throw when lit, if using a FO with low flashpoint?

I've noticed that too Eric. The hotter the pour the smoother the tops. I had been pouring at about 145-150, but the last few dozen I've poured at 165-170 and I like the results much better. Be careful when hotter pouring, watch your FO flashpoints. I noticed some of my FOs have flashpoints of 145-160. I try to buy higher flash points (175 and up) but I found a few today with lower than 160.

I've been following sales over the past couple weeks and have bought quite a few FO packs of 10 from various places. Peak has the best FOs, IMO. Some FOs work great in tart but not so much in a candle or B&B products. I've been weeding through the packs as I get them. I start with tarts and if it throws good in the warmer, then I use it in a candle. I have also gotten some great throws from Nature's Garden FOs, and those I can use in B&B products.

I haven't been making candles long, but out of a dozen candles I made yesterday 2 of them had cracking around the wick, the others were perfectly smooth and creamy tops. The combination I am working with now, throws well and burns well, I don't think I want to mess with what is working for me and try to fix little imperfections. These are handmade so they won't be perfect every time and each one won't look the same as the last one. That's what's so great about candles being made by hand, they aren't like the manufactured kind.

http://www.thecandlemakersstore.com/ The Candlemakers Store has some really good liquid dye. There are about 40 different colors to choose from. It's not made for soaps, just for candles. I've used these and it takes only a drop for a nice color in my candles. They have liquid or block dyes.

I use GB464 for my containers, votives or jars. If I'm making free standing votives and tarts, I use the Ecosoya Pillar Blend. I've had very good results with both of these waxes.

Thanks everybody! I love experimenting with mp soap!

I purchased 3 pint sized crocks from Aromatic Supplies and I'm wanting to wick them for candles. They hold about 16oz of wax and are 4 1/2" in diameter. I'll be using GB464 wax and an ECO 10 wick from CS. Should I double wick them? If so, this will be my first double wicked candle, so any advice or suggestions would be appreciated. TIA

Here are some pics of the embedded soap loaf I made today with clear soap base, white soap base shavings, red soap dye and Candy Cane scent. Not quite how I wanted it to turn out, but pretty cool nonetheless.

I tried my hand today with embedding clear base soap by making a soap loaf with white soap slivers in a clear base. I was reading in another thread about adding toys and such as embeds. I went to WSP website and bought some rubber duckies for Christmas and the silicon muffin pan. My question is how do you package an embedded soap with the duckie sitting on top? Box it? Cellophane bag? I don't do shrink wrapping and the soap slices/bars I have been making, I've been packaging them in muslin bags. TIA

I have. It's okay, it's pretty simple to set up. It gives you options for prices and sizes for your products and adding shipping costs. It's nice for just a taste of what you sell and then direct the customer to a larger product line on your website.

Something I found out this past weekend, make sure you have bags or boxes for your products. It depends on the venue or the show, but sometimes people don't come prepared to buy things so plastic or paper bags with handles is a necessity. Definitely take change. 5's, 10's, dollar bills and lots of quarters. Maybe take along a calculator, pen, scissors, tape, sharpie, stapler ..etc. Expect the unexpected. If you have an outside display, wear your clothes in layers. Morning hours are normally cooler than in the afternoon. Don't get discouraged, display your product with your customer in mind and above all .... have fun! Good Luck!!

I was a seller of items (not soap or candles) a couple years ago, but quickly left it because of the fees incurred from Ebay and PayPal. I was contemplating using Etsy, but once I read the fees they take for listings, that's like working with Ebay. No thanks. The competition alone has really kept me away from signing up. I'm working with DIY and I'm evening re-considering. One reason I went with DIY was because of their shopping cart feature and other special features I'm not able to get with my other server (Yahoo Business).

Beautiful weather, a bit chilly, but a lot less wind than yesterday. Nice weather but not a lot of people. Outside vendors even stayed home today. I'd say at least half of them stayed home. I spent more money today than I made. LOL I had a nice chat with a gentleman who has been attending the craft show for the last 20 years, he and his wife live about 10 miles from the market grounds, and he was telling me how the craft show has seen less and less vendors. And the vendors that do set up aren't selling HANDMADE items but they bought the items to resell. I didn't take the time to walk through the main building but the outside vendors from what I could see, very few of them were selling handmade products. I definitely will be going to the next one in March, they usually have it the week or two before Easter. At least this weekend, I got my name out there and sold a few items. My time wasn't wasted.

Thanks Ecco!

OBI? Do you have a link? I should have had some warmers today at the craft show, I could have sold a couple.

Thanks for the suggestions! Candles and Supplies had some really cute snowman and santa warmers, so I ordered a couple of those. I have a few coming from Bitter Creek this week, but since it's a Christmas open house, I was looking for Christmasy warmers. Found them and not at a bad price either.

I'm having an open house in a couple weeks, just family and friends, but I wanted to have a couple tart warmers on hand to use and also to sell. I also make wickless candles, so I was looking for some candle warmers too. Christmas themed warmers would be a great product to have on hand. Anyone having any suggestions as to where to buy, relatively inexpensive, though good quality warmers? TIA

So I took some things out to a craft show today. My parents have a permanent display at the farmer's market where the craft show is held, so I just set up a small table with some items for the show today. I took with me an assortment of sample tarts as giveaways, corn cob fresheners, clam shell tarts, soy drops in tins, smellie jellies, waxed/scented pinecones and a couple 4oz wickless candles. I didn't too bad with about $30 in sales considering the items I had on the table ranged from $2 to $4.75 and in about 2 hours. I should have had some tart warmers, I could have sold a few of them today! The craft show is tomorrow too, so I'll see what I can sell tomorrow. We have an outside display, so if the weather would have been better, I probably would have stayed a lot longer. But ... it was a good day!

Did you add FOs? or just colored the layers?

Thanks Stella! Much appreciated!

Making layered votives easier in votive molds or in glass containers? And how long should I wait before adding the next layer? I'm using Ecosoya PB for free standing votives and GB464 for containers. TIA

What size heat gun would you suggest? I can get a 1200watt with temp control for about $13. Is this a good size?

Thanks for the warning. I just bought my Presto about 2 weeks ago and it's been going since the first day I bought it. I put it on warm, sometimes 200 just to get it hot, then I turn it back to warm. The warm setting will heat to about 145 degrees. Once my wax is melted I turn it up a little to get it to about 175 degrees, then I turn it back down after I ladle out the amount of wax I need. I don't add FO or color to the wax until it's in my pour container. I haven't had any problems with it. It works like a charm! But I will definitely keep an eye on it.

So my family had their traditional turkey day dinner and I packed a small box of my candles, some homemade soap, and smellie jellies to show and tell afterwards. As I am showing my niece's mother-in-law some of the soy candles I made and answering her questions, MY mother, who is listening to the conversation I am having, blurts out, "Oh they should come to the open house you're having." Completely taken off guard by this comment, because I had mentioned it to my mother in passing that I was thinking of having an open house after I get some inventory, and told her that I was thinking of having it after the new year. The mother-in-law who I was talking to, comes back with "Oh you should have one before Christmas, I'm sure you'd get lots of sales for Christmas gifts." Needless to say, I've been snookered into having an open house at MY home in 2 weeks, a week before Christmas! So instead of going to a craft show this weekend, I'm using the product I made for that display, for a full blown display at an open house for Christmas. I'll have to make more product over the next two weeks, but just from tonight's take on things, I should sell a nice amount of product at the open house. Happy Turkey Day to all of you!