aswan01

In your opinions, which do you prefer - salt scrubs or sugar scrubs? What are the benefits/drawbacks of each?

I'm SO glad you asked that, Hibiscus. I've been wondering the same thing about salt bars, scrubs, etc. I hope we can get an answer and get educated on the benefits/non-benefits of salt products.

LOL Well, thank goodness I did, otherwise I may not have been able to track down the maker of this soap. You were right, it was carolm. Isn't it just great - looks good, smells good, feels good. She told me this was a hot process soap and that she was a beginner soap maker. Hard to believe, huh? LOL

I've ordered lots of things off the CT classifieds the past month or so & in one of my packages some kind soul put in a bonus bar of soap. It is in a kraft box and says "Colossal-Scent Luxury Body Bar with four skin loving butters and natural viatmin e Posh Petals". The soap is an off white with kind of swirls in blue, green, yellow & pinkand is crinkle cut and it smells wonderful. Whoever made this please contact me. I love it and want more!

I think I own your son's twin brother.

Beer & sugar salt bar makes the "skin feel GNARLY" - is that a GOOD thing? Sorry, guess I'm getting old, I'm not familiar with that word. Is that like when you say something is 'BAD' it really means GOOD?

Thank goodness, it was beginning to look like I would be at Holiday Inn all alone.

You obviously do cake decorating, because these soaps look just like they came from an upscale bakery. I took a cake decorating class one time that taught the swirlys and borders and leaves and roses just like, but I never quite it down. Could never make a rose that the petals didn't flop and separate. Easier said than done. I know from experience that it takes real skill to do decorating like that & I also know from experience that I, unfortunately, do NOT have that skill or talent. You should be very proud of your works of art.

I have 2 godaddy accounts, neither of which I have done a darn thing with. I chose godaddy because a friend of mine makes a living with websites and most of hers are through godaddy, so I figured it was the best deal or she wouldn't be using it so much. Now if I only get time to do SOMETHING with my 2 not yet even 'under construction' sites. There's tutorials on the godaddy site. Have you looked for one on shopping carts, merchant accounts, etc.?

6. aswan01 (Ann) Holiday Inn

Gray to me, too. I guess we are the only ones that have our monitors adjusted correctly, Michael. *LOL* They look like a real marble countertop. Wish I could do that.

I did a heart embed soap just like this one, except the clear was in a round mold. I colored my heart embed red with Wilkins paste color. That's right, Wilkins, the company that makes cake decorating stuff. This is the same coloring used for cake icings and works great in soap. I just used a little bit of the paste on a toothpick and while it isn't a bright fire engine red, it is a true red with no pinky undertones. I would post a pic of the soap, but it's been used quite a few times and is no long 'picture quality'.

Looks great! WAY too much work for me - just give me a jar to pour wax in. :rolleyes2

Yep, that's weird, lbtddr, but no weirder than the warnings from major manufacturers of proucts, ie. hairdryer: do not use in bathtub, meat grinder: do not insert fingers, bug spray: do not spray in eyes, super glue: do not put on skin, toaster: do not insert metal objects. Well, duh!

Are all ya'll staying at Comfort Inn? I made my reservations several weeks ago at Holiday Inn since it was the cheapest of the 3 listed as having special conference rates for us (I 'think' it's real close to Comfort Inn, though). I just made them for Friday night, though. Figured I would drive home the hour and a half Saturday evening after the conference. This will be my first conference & I didn't know it was a weekend party. What's the deal on Friday night? I didn't see anything about it on the Texas Candle Conference site. Are most of the non-conference festivities going to be Fri. or Sat. night? I have a room with 2 double beds booked if anyone wants to share & I will be driving alone if ya wanna ride (I'm in Cleveland, about 20-25 minutes from IAH airport in Houston). If anyone's coming north on 59 from Houston & wants to ride or caravan to Lufkin, just holla.

Good Lord, no, not San Antonio! That would be a 5-6 hour drive to Lufkin. Houston IAH will be the closest major airport, about 2 hours away. Dallas a little bit farther.

All I can say, Candybee, is WOW! You have the unanimous praise and envy of everyone on the board - 5 pages of high praise so far! That's almost unheard of! You seem to be a great chandler and it's obvious you are an exceptionally talented photographer. There's a magnetism to your pics that draws one back to them again & again. You have a definite winning combination there! I'm VERY impressed - and I don't impress easily.

Candles look great, especially the lit ones. They look just like a nightime landscape. Good job! :highfive:

I NEVER get EXACTLY what I was shooting for (be it candles or life).

alhughes, if candlelvr helped you so much that your first marbled pillars turned out so fantastic I'd like to know what she said. Was it public help that's posted on this board somewhere? P.S. I saw the remelt marble pics and they look great, too. I like them ALL.

lady sj, I haven't tried this heart container, but after 10 hours burn time you know this isn't working, so I'd melt the remaining wax out for a repour and not waste any more testing time with these wicks. I would go with larger wicks (sorry I'm unable to suggest exactly which ones since I have no experience with this container & don't know what wax you're using) and I would think that putting the wicks closer together would make the wax hangup problem worse instead of better. Good luck and keep us informed of your progress.

That helps a lot, Carrie, and thanks for adding the tip about where to buy the scraper and about putting it & the pie plate in a baggie in the wax box. That is the kind of details that are so helpful to those of us that are not so organized. The bench scraper is also a good idea, Wick'd, but I think the longer handle on the putty/paint scraper and the wider blade would work better when trying to cut the big block of wax. The bench scraper looks like a soap cutting blade. Could it be used for that? It would probably be less expensive than buying something that says 'soap cutter' on it. Where do you get a bench scraper - hardware? tools?

Monica, How did you do your pink ribbons? It looks like you cut thin strips and bent them into shape while still warm? But that doesn't explain the wick through the middle of it. I would think you could get quite a few major accounts with this candle alone. There's lots of cancer treatment centers and oncologist offices in every city in the country. I love anything with a pink ribbon, too. In fact, I just bought several pink geranium plants I didn't really need just because they had a pink ribbon stake in them.

'Hugging' is when you gently push the outer edges of wax slightly inward (while still warm) so they will melt evenly with the rest of the candle. This is especially important in a large pillar like a 6" 3 wick. All sides will never melt down at the same rate or as much as the middle of the candle, so hugging the edges is necessary to have a more even candle.

Okay, the majority has ruled the hammer is the best way to break up a paraffin slab of wax, so give me some suggestions on the least time consuming and messy way of handling a very soft wax, like 4627, that comes in a 25# block. I've tried a big spoon, but that took forever. I've tried a big spatula, that was a little better, but not much. What is the best way to handle this wax if your melter won't hold the entire 25# block? I really like the results of this wax, but gosh, it's a big mess to get into the presto pot. I end up with wax all over me! :rolleyes2 At least my hands & arms are soft and waterproof until the wax wears off.