RobinInOR

Here's one of the lists on the web - http://soapnuts.com/shelf.html You can probably google more. The more double or triple bonds in the fatty acids, the shorter the shelf life. Linoleic is one - grapeseed is 68% linoleic acid.

Wow, what an experience. You got all the hard-to-deal-with-weather all in one day - humid, sun, rain, and a bath!

I'd assume it would be like wooden clothespins - soak them in a bit of FO - put them in a mason jar or something you can cap - roll it around for a couple of days until the FO is absorbed.

All I can say is good luck, http://www.candletech.com/basicinstructions.htm , read your old threads http://www.candletech.com/forums/search.php?searchid=739571 and boy are you in trouble

I only bevel with my fingernail to take off the sharp edge. I go for the rough rustic look, not the smooth beveled look. Unless I get a lot of ash - then it's time to scrape and bevel and do whatever I have to

I just love 'short' weeks, when there's only 4 days of the day job Gets me energized for the weekend. Which is good, because I'm so low on stock it's not funny. This weekend will be linden gardenia lavender sage lavender lip balms - lots of them lemon verbena What's up at your place? Have a great weekend!

Bulk Foods.com has a few powders as well.

Try a Ross Dress for Less, or maybe a TJ Maxx if you have those around. They usually have lots of wrought iron and you might find something that will blend. JoAnns usually has some stuff too.

I use RBO in high percentage, no olive, yuck I dislike olive. I know a lot of people who get horrible DOS with RBO. I rarely do, and I figure they're living in much more humid/hot areas than I am. Plus I *never* have my soap stored in plastic as it cures - they're in cardboard boxes so the moisture can evaporate and they can 'breathe'

Heat always speeds up chemical reactions, so it would make sense that an increase in heat would help along any oxidation that is taking place. I rarely get DOS, living in a nice dry area, but I can tell that after a summer of markets, a few of my soaps are getting small spots of DOS. Heat, lots of UV.. This is an interesting article from a chemist who is also a soaper. http://cavemanchemistry.com/HsmgDos2006.pdf

Looky what I found via google - a description of lye and aspirin http://www.chemheritage.org/EducationalServices/pharm/asp/acid03.htm

These are the egg cartons I use http://www.eggcartons.com/product-exec/product_id/390/nm/Sodesa_trade_4_Egg_Tri_Pack_Egg_Cartons_PLEG_4 They still have an opening at the sides, and the bombs touch top and bottom, but there are little bumps on the side that do lock it closed.

You buy a manual machines - you place the card in the space for it, put the credit card slip over it, and then when you move the arm over it, it puts the impression of the card on the paper. That's why they call them knucklebusters, cuz they hurt like the dickens when you slide them. This is an example of one.. (not endorsing the company, just the first one I found googling) http://www.usamerchantsolutions.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?search=action&category=ikit&search=action The 4850 is close to the one I've got - most of the machines are pretty standard. The forms are 2 part - one for the customer, one for me to use at night to input the info into Propay.

You can get the manual 'knucklebusters' on ebay or at many different places online - they'll run $20-$60. The plate with your company name would be about another $15, and the forms are pretty cheap. You don't *have* to have one, but I know I wouldn't use my card unless someone had a proper terminal, either electronic with direct hookup or a manual one using "real" credit card forms. I use Propay - at night I run the numbers through, haven't had a bad one yet. All you need to enter is the cc number, expire date, amount, and zip code. You can input name/addy/cvs code if you want

Good job! Isn't it nice to have the first one behind you?

Yes, candles are under the FPLA - here's a good description of the requirements http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/laws/fpla.html

The only state that has similar requirements to the EU and Canada is Florida. They've got to have special permits and have their products registered and sites inspected (even if they're using bases). Not quite as sticky as the EU but more regulations than other states.

Is everyone going to be taking a break on the long weekend and actually *not* doing anything with candles or b&b? Didn't think so lol... Three day fair this weekend, setting up tonight. Nice thunderstorm cleared the air last night so hopefully it won't be 100F. 85F I can deal with. Never did get my lip balms made, and a few other products will be missing, but I should have enough to fill my shelves. Got new ones last week, and they work great - can put lots more product in them and keep the tables clear. What's in your pot? Have a great long, back-to-school, relaxing weekend!

If it were my recipe I'd say it was the castor oil at 9%. When I use that much castor I get mush. But I know others have used it at 10%.

Another thing you could do is bring one jar of each of your other scents (or as many of the scents that you're able to do). Put them all together with a "Also Available to Order" sign, and maybe you could get some additional orders.

Yup, you got it.

Depends on what you want, mostly patch, or mostly lavender. Since I always found patch hard to wick, I'd start my testing with more lavender than patch - like 3/4 - 1/4. If you've already done your wick testing for both of those scents separately, and they take similar wicks, then you'll have a bit more flexibility.

I mix the cocoa powder in with a little oil or water to make a paste out of it (and no fair tasting it ), then add that to however much soap you want. If you mix it in dry, you'll get speckles and clumps. Which can look OK but might not be the look you're going for.

It's fine, that's a great resource for EO blends. The direct link is http://www.rainbowmeadow.com/infocenter/calc_eoblend/blendselect.php

It's the strength of your lye solution. It's another way to look at water discount - instead of saying you discount your water by 12% (discount from what?), you are saying that lye is 33% of the lye/water solution. There's a FAQ about it http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1978