blacktieaffair

....... What David said LOL! I could be in the shop last year, anywhere from 5 to 10 ( yea I know I said 10 lol ) days a week , anywhere from 8 to 12 hours or more. But to put that in perspective, I have a grown son living with me so I didnt have to go cook on a regular basis because he did ( we switched roles when season came around ) I also had no other job, and was a one woman operation out there ( He did all the labeling, packing, yadda yadda ) That 8 to 12 hours was broken down into testing, making final product, taking small breaks while something set up and got ready for the next step, and it did include some computer time for research. Edit : One thing I forgot to say. About the seriously long hours in the shop... You have to understand, with my back, it can "go" at any time, so I'd make up huge amounts of products at a time, ( I'm talking 150 different scents, 6 to 12 clams for each, 20 bears, 100 or more TPs, 100 floral tps, 10 gallons of lotion, 10 loaves of MP and also about 100 individually designed single mps in different shapes/scents than the loaves... all that kinda jazz... ) and I didn't have to go out there and do that sort of volume again, but maybe 3 times a year. I'd make up small orders to complete the inventory I already had) I was very blessed to not have all the things you guys have to deal with while working ( your outside home work, inside home work , small kids, husbands, pets, etc ) This year when I start back up, I'll be in KIND of the same position because my son and husband can look after my mother, shes about to have a heart attack wanting to help ( she's 71 and in tons better shape that I am) and I'm in the process now of getting this huge metal storage building cleaned out so I can be outside in it, and not have to mess up the house. All of you who do it on the kitchen table or in a bedroom.. you have NO idea how much I admire you. I make WAYYYY too much mess and I have so much stuff for my TP floral arrangements and other things I do , there's no way I could do it in the house and even see the floor LOL.

I just literally spewed my coffee laughing when I read this !!!!!!!! HookieBear, welcome to the Circus !!!! You'll find so many different people on here, and they all have wonderful experiences to share and help you with, but the best way to go about it til you get your feet wet is just start reading. Read ANYTHING you can even if you don't think that thread would be something you needed to know. We have a really bad ( or GOOD habit, depending on how you look at it ) of going OT ( off topic ) or elaborating on a topic once we're all up in that thread, so what you THINK the topic is about, it might take a turn and you can learn extremely valuable information by reading all the posts. This addiction ( and trust me, you'll see, it IS an addiction ) can be as expensive or as inexpensive as you want to go with it. It's not cheap by any means, to make a great sellable SAFE product. Don't be afraid to ask any question you might have, but also see if you can do a Search and find some of the answers up there at the top. You'd be shocked at how many of us have to ask questions, years and years, into doing this, that you might think of immediately. You just never ever know ! I will say this. We all try to answer a question ( even if it's to tell you, sorry , we don't know... just so you know we're not ignoring you lol ) as soon as we can, but right now, is the " busy season" for this industry and so many members are extremely busy right now so don't get discouraged if it takes a while to find something out. Myself? I'm not doing anything this year ( season ) so I'll be around... I'll let you know that I don't make candles in containers so wicks, glasses, container wax, all that is kinda foreign to me but I'll try to help all I can on other stuff ! Welcome to the madness!! BTA

Is it an indoor or outdoor show and how much room do you have at your booth, and in the vehicle you are transporting things in. Can you ( or someone else ) run to the car/truck and get more product if one sells out? If it's THAT big of a show usually, and it's a show YOU have personally had vendor experience with, I'd take 5 of each to sit out, 5 more of each to sit in boxes under the tables and probably 10 more of each in the vehicle / trailer if you have it. If you know a certain scent, in your area, sells really well, take a few more of that scent and something like it. But don't skimp on the other scents thinking they don't usually sell as fast as the others... A lot of us have found out the hard way that the ONE scent we thought would not move, was the ONE scent everybody and his brother wanted to buy that day. How far are you from the venue? Is it a weekend show or just a day show? Can someone run home to grab more stuff for you if you sell out and need it? If this is YOUR first time at the show, I don't think I'd take more than 15 of each scent in a particular product.. ( like 15 candles, 15 clams, 15 lotions, etc ).

It might just be me but there's no way in hell I'd use anything that came in that box. I am SO thankful all of you are ok. Lye is the reason I won't attempt CP because I'm terribly clumsy and know it can be very dangerous. JMO but uh I'd say a screaming NO on using that wax.

I just used QO oats , the regular kind. I didn't soak them, just put them in the soap. Undoubtedly it was hot enough not to make them scratchy because even before I had to rebatch them ( ( they layers fell apart is why I had to redo it , they were fine and not scratchy at all ) )

This is one of those questions where : 1. You're going to get a bunch of different ( some correct, some not as correct as need be ) answers from each person depending on their experience or experiences they've encountered. Sorry LOL 2. It can be a simple answer or it can ( and should ) get very detailed. First thing I would worry about it : A business plan. Do you work? How many hours will you devote to internet research ( forums, videos, etc ), how many hours and HOW MUCH MONEY will you devote to testing, do you work outside the home? How many home parties do you plan on doing a month? Do you have willing friends who can help you host them? Will you be there or just send brochures and product, you need a contract with those people to cover you both if you are leaving product in their possession. How many craft shows will you go to each year?( that in and of itself is a huge undertaking with the extra product you need and also the supplies like tables, business flyers, etc). What type of store do you want to sell to, or are you interested in consignment? What happens if your products start flying off the shelves, are you prepared and have the resources ( money , adequate room to make a huge order , TIME if you work outside the home, family/friends to help make the products AND are willing to understand this is a BUSINESS and that's why you didn't cook supper for a week and they had to eat TV dinners. ) Is where you are living, zoned for having a home business, ( whether you are selling out of it or not, it's still a manufacturing place according to SOME laws and zones), Will you get kicked out if you have an HOA and they don't allow it. Will you be bothering others with the smells, noise, deliveries, etc. Then check into insurance. That's key! Insurance for your home ( and they DO need to know what you are doing, some drop you if they find out ), you also need liability insurance to cover you in case someone tries to sue you for whatever reason. Some vehicle insurance will NOT cover your car and / or products if you are transporting them in a private vehicle , to a craft show or home party. Those are just a TINY few of the things I thought of I myself needed to check into and make sure THOSE ducks were lined up before I could reasonably start even taking to shows or selling to friends much less stores or home parties. There are so many wonderful posts on here from truly experienced ( whether small time operations or really large ones ) that you can search for , and I'm sure you'll be getting a lot of others chiming in and helping out. Good luck sweetie but just remember this.. it's a HUGE step even if you're doing it as a SMALL operation. Think it through first, and make sure you can truly handle it. You know how this economy is.. you could fall on your face no matter how great your products are or you may hit it just right and become a hell of a lot larger than you ever intended. Just make sure you are truly prepared, mentally , physically and MONETARILY for either one to happen.

I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work BUT I'm not near as experienced as most of the guys and gals are with MP. I made some OMH soap back in Feb and used even more goodies in it than that ( shea, jojoba, goats milk, cocoa and a little liquid soap for added kick) and it is holding up very well. That was even after I had to re-batch it. I was afraid the oatmeal would "cook" and become mushy with the reheating of the base but it held up find and is a wonderful soap. There's a thread in the MP section with AMAZING receipies if you want to check it out. The great thing about MP.... it takes REAL talent to screw it up LOL so I think you're safe !

LOL Your comments made me giggle LOL I make mine with a lot of grounds, strictly for the mechanics/fishermen and kitchen soap to get rid of odors, but for a body soap, I cut way back too.

With over 500 posts, I'm assuming you've made SOMETHING in the past, but your question isn't really informative on what information you are wanting to know. Could you please elaborate. Are you looking for the steps you might need to take to start a business on the OFFICE/BUSINESS side of it ( business plan, taxes, insurance, registering a name, what office supplies you might find handy to have on hand.. etc )... Marketing questions ?

find out what the max temp for your wax is. Don't go over that, but here's what I do. I can heat my wax to 220 but I stay at 200. I keep it in the Presto at that temp. By the time I add it to my pyrex, it drops just a little and I immediately add my FO which usually drops it a little more. Stir stir stir and keep checking the temp throughout. I can pour anywhere from 170 to 150 depending on the FO I'm using. I have my system down for me, but I know a lot of people who sit their pour pots on a griddle to keep them warm while they are mixing . I don't use a gun, just a regular cooking themometer that I got out of the kitchen section at wally world. ( it's stainless steel with a digital readout)

Ummmmmmmmmmmm................ not in this lifetime

"Try wax paper, because you could also use that to do your color test, too" Plus it's cheaper, lasts longer, is stronger, and you can peel any little dribbles right off of it LOL

I've heard of them but never tried any of their products. Thanks for the review.

I know what you mean Chuck. I drove by the exit the other day on the way to Tn thinking the same thing. They had a Lemon, ( can't remember the exact name ) that I got about 3 years ago ( going backwards it wasn't this owner, nor the previous but the original ). I can't find a lemon that can compare to it. They said they ran out and I tried for years and through different owners to track it down and never could.

They look fine. You might want to try what I do when making small batches like that.. just use a 4 cup glass measuring cup (pyrex kind, WalMart, 4 bucks). It's a lot easier to control. Also, with those two FO's you used, they smell REALLY good together. Very Christmas-y but I also carry them year round.

Run the FAMILY out of the house not the scents LOL ( hey, it's after 4am and it's all I got! )

Melts, lotion, body spray, linen spray, room spray, MP soaps, fire starters, and the occasional gift basket, and although I haven't in the past year, I do taper candles. ( I mostly do melts and TP )

How the HELL-o did you do that ?!?! It's SO CUTE !

Should be all go over there and type in " NOTHING... we want it for FREE ! " ?

Brenda, I think if I'd have 8 years of having to make massive amounts of it , I'd be sick of it too LOL Bless your heart !

I have heard about that "fee" , and personally, I have a huge problem with that whole set up. While I do see the merits of being able to get your order faster, ponder this. You make an order, it comes in at a time where there is a lot of orders coming in. Big and small. Someone ( quite a few ) are in fast need of their supplies and pay that fee. But because YOU didn't pay it, those 20 or so that paid it , get kicked up ahead of you even though your order actually came in at the same time or even before theirs. Your order now is kicked back, it's a Thursday, they don't get it all filled Friday or whatever day, you have two days before they are open again , then comes Monday, they're still shipping out the "fee paid" expediated orders, so it's Tuesday before yours gets filled (if then) , then it takes 5 or so days in shipping. I do realize that the above scenario could be somewhat far fetched, but considering their normal "fill "time, then shipping time, what I said up there could very easily happen,... and I personally just don't like that idea.

Sherry, so you DID do one without "opening " it? ( the second picture) I saw some others talking about wanting to try that and see how it looked !

I use it straight right out of the case LOL. At one time I regularly stocked over 150 scents at the same time, in melts, and out of that, there was only 5 that I had to up to 1.5 oz per pound. The rest were either less than an oz pp or at a 1:1 ratio. Not saying that EVERY fo will work, because just like with anything else, I've seen others try 4794 and it not work for what they wanted out of it, but as to me, as far as an all around, 1 stop shopping kinda wax that I can use in multiple applications, that has almost a 100% 1:1 ratio of FO to wax, and holds up to the seriously extreme southern heat, and for me has a great HT and a super CT, this was the wax I started with, and I've had nothing but success with it in melts, pine cones, fire starters, dipped animals and the multitude of dipped TPs I do.

Well shoot LOL I didn't realize it wasn't good at showing the "end" I guess I have no clue what's good and what's not when it comes to these instructions since I've not done either of them yet. I have six skeins in the bedroom, and just got my knitting needles the other day (I am working up the courage to start this .. eventually LOL )

Judy... I just saw your question.. I don't know if you found it yet or not but............ There are videos, on YouTube, for the crochet process. I was going to try that, because I've NEVER knitted nor crocheted a stitch in my life but my mother is a master crochet-er... Just type in Sashay Scarf Crochet.