annareeb

I don't have a HUGE business or the space to have too many...

I carry 15 scents year round.. and have about 5 additonal scents for every SEASON.. if I add a new one.. as per trend , I do retire one that isnt selling as well.

red clove

spiced cranberry

juicy pineapple

amish harvest

sage and lemongrass

I continued to make candles through my entire pregnacy with no problems at all. the smells didn't bother me and fragrance oils are a lot less harsh then half the cleaning agents I used daily..

My weekend is basically shot. Have not had time to do anything candle related all week. I work for the county E-911 service, and we have been getting the command post set up for our annual Bridge Day festival. Basically my day starts at around 6a, and wont end until around 5 or 6p. Sunday is hopefully gonna be spent makin more ornies for an upcoming craft show. I did get my first batch of ornies done, and they came out surprisingly well..lol.. anyway... thats what is simmering in my pot this weekend:cheesy2:

WSP = Wholesale Supplies Plus

and this is the first I've heard of 3 separate stores, but am going to have to check it out. I only use 2 of their FOs but their so closeby that I order most of my raw soap oils from them.

Will be interested to hear others input.

I was just there and didnt notice any separate stores.. looked the same as always to me..?? I am clicking the same link I always click too.. I added closeout sale products to my cart and wasn't told anything ws sold out either..

not sure if postage would be bad to your state but carolina candle has 12 for 20$

http://www.carolinacandlesupplies.com

your poured the J223 way too cold...

I never add anything to this wax.. and it works great, provided I pour right temp.. and I rarely have wet spots if my jars are hot..

Yikes. That acually sounds kinda scary. If it does that to fingernails, imagine what it could do to eyes. Yikes.

I knew its was a bit caustic.. in the beginning, I tried to use medicine cups to measure FO.. and they ate through them.. I was like..OK, maybe I should wear gloves!

no candles.. only bath and body

I have confetti soaps to make, playing detective I have about a dozen FO bottles that came in mail that got wet and labels damaged.. I HAVE NO CLUE what scents are.. so I have to put my sniffer to work.

I also have to test bath cookies... the old crappy recipe.. I made it my mission to create one that WORKS.. so I think I have it.. not I have to test the 2 recipes I fiddled with to see which is best

you soap like me!!! BAHAAA

I have also used honey, brown sugar and powdered milk in mp ,lotion as well..still havent had a "bad" batch

Okay here's the PM I sent to Maryann LMAO! (plus a few things I thought of after the fact)

I have tried lots of MP bases, and have added things to every single one of them. This is what I have determined:

They are almost all the same, and you can add stuff to any of them even if they say not to LOL!!

Adding Castor oil definately improves lather, and I use it at 2tbs or so per pound...I confess, I'm not much of a measurer when it comes to my soaps and baking, but I do keep it close. I add cocoa butter, shea butter and mango butter to my soap, and I have used as much as 1- 1 1/2 cups of butters in a 3 or 4 pound batch of soap! (I have no recipe in front of me here LOL, this is just off the top of my head)

Adding goats milk will improve lather, not really bubbles though. Your lather will feel much creamier..and also adding Cream @ 2-3 TBS pp will also make your lather feel like lotion! But Goats milk will always turn your soaps a little bit brown and make it harder to get a bright color of soap. I've added honey too. Straight from the jar. I've used up to 3 TBS pp of soap. I love the smell of it, but find that it's best to use it in light quantity. I typically add 2 TBS pp.

I also always add vitamin E oil to my batches of MP. I usually add about 1-2 TBS per pound. I have added so many things to my soaps, and so far the only things that have turned out crappy are FO's with vanilla in them...they always discolor it just like in CP soap. So...Happy ADDING!! Let me know how things work for you, and if you have any more questions, I'd love to answer them

yes, i have. the base is harsh on skin and is rubbery when melted. online base is so much better, and not that much more (even with shipping) than that sale price.

cheryl

the brand is Life of the Party.

normally michaels MP is 8.99 for a 2 lb block!!( why I never bought it)

they had the 2 lb blocks clearanced today for 3.00, thought I would give them a shot, they had clear and white glycerin,olive oil,and suspension base..

cool.. will give it a shot, so far the ones I have tried.. are too vanilla and not enough raspberry:cry2:

I had a large spill, after wiping it all up, I noticed all my nail polish was gone...

so if ya need some remover in a pinch.. FO works great.. too great(I had just gotten them done:cry2: )

I've only so far used WPS's bases, has anyone used them and can compare them to another company's base. I would like to start putting additives in my M&P soaps and WSP advises not too w/ their bases.

So I was wondering what bases people use and like PLUS use additives w/ successfully without decrease the lather. Is there anything that can be added to increase the lather?

Also has anyone used stearic acid to make a "stronger bar" - I have read lots of debates where that decreases the lather. TIA for any help given - I appreciate it

I did only make candles! I did not put soap or b&b in baskets. Now I am expanding with soap. Lotion is next! It is a disease I am telling you. It is like a virus. A really bad infection that won't go away!

yes , yes it is...

I like the liquid dyes. They color great and are easy to use. I only buy the ones with a medicine-dropper type of cap. That way, there aren't any spills. I get mine from Lonestar.

was I ever glad when WSP went to these caps... the other ones they had STUNK and leaked everywhere even seeped out of being wrapped in papertowels and ziplocked!!, ask me about the 500 or so dark blue wicks I own:cry2:

could one of you guys share a basic recipe that is Ok for severe eczema?? my neice has it very severe..so much that her mom is worried about facial scarring and such:cry2: , I would love to be able to make her a safe formula to use on her, right now she pretty much uses no creams or lotions of any kind.. they all irriate her..

I just got a pound of Warm Vanilla Sugar from candles and supplies and I am kinda disappointed. It doesn't seem to be very strong even oob so I am wondering if it will smell at all once I put it in something. After I got this one I also ordered WVS from BNL so hopefully I will like that one better. Does anyone else here use WSP fo's and what is your opinion on them? I think I remember someone saying that they had a good WVS too, maybe I will have to see if that is one in the co-op! Thanks

I liked most all I have bought from WSP, I think they are a tad high and shipping stinks..(they used to discount shipping or a % from your order.. they should have never stopped!) their warm van sugar smells awesome in J223 and in my scrubs

I know it's a pH balancer, right? My problem is that I'm trying to create an absolutely natural lotion to market to moms whose babies have eczema, and I've found a few wonderful oils and butters that I think are going to work really well. I think I've finally accomplished the basics of lotion making, in keeping it emulsified with e-wax, but I want to leave the citric acid or anything else but water, oils, butters, e-wax and EOs. Am I dreaming, or is it a possibility?

I do not add citric acid to any of my lotions.

I've never tried them either, I'm new to all this, but, I was looking at their site and noticed if you look on the lower righthand side, you'll see wholesale oils uncut. You have to place an order for $35.00 or more. All their oils that are retail have been diluted they say. They do have some neat sounding scents tho!

My experience with votives at fairs wasn't good. I don't know if it was the mix of products or what (didn't have jars at the time, just pillars and melts), but I found more people just going for the votives and not the other candles. So I think they hurt my overall sales. I packaged them singly, then there was a 6 fer deal if they bought multiples.

Definately figure out a way to get people to buy so they're dropping at least $5 at a time before they leave your tent.

this is an excellant point...

years before I started making candles.. I was a candle shopping addict..

in high end candles shops.. I would go for votives over higher priced containers or pillars.. it ws more affordable to grab the votives... if they had none.. well then I would get something else..

I am finding now tarts can hurt sales of the bigger stuff sometimes too:cry2:

I love the Spruce Christmas Tree and I'm going to pour the Cinnamon Balsam today, have never tried it. For those of you that have used this one, what color do you make it?? Cinnamon color or green color? I just dont' know. Thanks.

Since I dont sell a regular red cinnamon, I do this one red.

I have ordered from there a couple times.. personally Iwasnt real impressed for the price.. just my own experience.

right now I am making my own... I love making it from scratch.. its just real satisfying.