Mason Jar Aroma Beads

[JeremyM]

I only sell aroma beads in sachets, but my friend works for a school and has asked if they can buy them in small mason jars instead to place on teachers' desks. Being a teacher myself, I'm all for this. I already have small mason jars and daisy lids, but the beads fall all over the place when you shake it. Any idea what I can use for a screen that lets the smell of the beads escape but keeps the beads inside the jar? 

Jeremy

[TallTayl]

A piece of tulle should do the trick. Comes in rolls at craft and hobby stores in the wedding sections. 

[Belinda]

I work at a school also and sell aroma bead fresheners to my co-workers. Have you tried making those? I sell more of those than I do wax tarts right now.

[Moonstar]

4 minutes ago, Belinda said:

I work at a school also and sell aroma bead fresheners to my co-workers. Have you tried making those? I sell more of those than I do wax tarts right now.

Can you send me a link for the fresheners, I can't seem to find them doing an internet search.

 

[TallTayl]

11 hours ago, Moonstar said:

Can you send me a link for the fresheners, I can't seem to find them doing an internet search.

 

I'd scent and color large grain salt and use that. Aroma beads can be finicky depending on where they come from and are more expensive than salt. A big 50 lb bag of solar salt at the local store is under $10 and can make small fresheners for decades.

 

i saw "crystal" air fresheners at a target for about $6 for a small zip top bag. It was just colored and scented salt. 

[Belinda]

11 hours ago, Moonstar said:

Can you send me a link for the fresheners, I can't seem to find them doing an internet search.

 

Do you mean what they look like? I make them using cookie cutters. Just pour the soaked beads into a cookie cutter and bake in the oven. Google aroma bead fresheners and you should pull up pictures of some.

[Belinda]

23 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

I'd scent and color large grain salt and use that. Aroma beads can be finicky depending on where they come from and are more expensive than salt. A big 50 lb bag of solar salt at the local store is under $10 and can make small fresheners for decades.

 

i saw "crystal" air fresheners at a target for about $6 for a small zip top bag. It was just colored and scented salt. 

Really, the salt absorbs the scent? How long does it take for that to happen? I'm going to try that!

[TallTayl]

13 minutes ago, Belinda said:

Really, the salt absorbs the scent? How long does it take for that to happen? I'm going to try that!

Super quick and last a long time! 

http://www.craftserver.com/topic/104452-i-need-new-ideas-for-room-fresheners

 

The corn cob bedding found in the pet aisle also works, but is not as pretty as salt. Combined they may be neat though.

 

gardening vermiculite is what I found inside of a pretty paper spendy packet from a boutique. 

 

Options are almost endless! 

[Belinda]

OH wow! Thank you! I'm going to get some salt and play around with that. I've had a couple of people ask for sachets so salt would be great for those along with the jars too. I'm guessing you couldn't bake the salt ones into shapes like the beads though.

Thanks again!

[TallTayl]

6 minutes ago, Belinda said:

OH wow! Thank you! I'm going to get some salt and play around with that. I've had a couple of people ask for sachets so salt would be great for those along with the jars too. I'm guessing you couldn't bake the salt ones into shapes like the beads though.

Thanks again!

Right, but you could add a little wax to make them stick a little. 

 

I love the salts in a pretty little bag with a stamped image (like my logo). So easy. Nice little gifts for people, add-ons to orders, etc. super for ornaments, car fresheners where that logo wil be seen for months and months. 

[Belinda]

11 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

Right, but you could add a little wax to make them stick a little. 

 

I love the salts in a pretty little bag with a stamped image (like my logo). So easy. Nice little gifts for people, add-ons to orders, etc. super for ornaments, car fresheners where that logo wil be seen for months and months. 

I was looking at some of the links you shared and the chunky salt that was colored (I think Old Glory had shared a picture) were so pretty! I think I'm going to try this because that's what a lot of people want in this area. They really like the ones they can hang in their vehicles but salt in a sachet bag under the seat or something would smell really good too. 

So, if you were to mix wax in there with it, you think you could mold it? Is that what you're saying? I'm not quite clear on how to do that.

 

And if I'm understanding what I'm reading, you can scent a 10 lb. bag with 1 ounce of FO? How long does it take to absorb? This is so interesting! 

[TallTayl]

I'd try a very high melt point paraffin for a molded product. Then experiment with adding salt in different proportions until it didn't hold. Of course test it in hot situations to make sure it does not make an unbearable mess. ?

 

An organza bag might solve the hole problem. Looks pretty and smells good. Or a fold of tulle fabric tied with a pretty or rustic ribbon. 

[TallTayl]

Oh, and it does not take long to soak the salt with oil. I usually get away with overnight if I don't overdo it. I toss micas around to color, but liquid colors with UV protection can work well too. 

 

The the only thing that did not get along with salt was lavender. Smelled like rotten eggs. Ultramarine colorants also can react with salt and stink.

[Belinda]

Thank you for this information! I'm going to get some large rock salt or something similar and play around with this. I can offer another option to put in closets, vehicles, etc.

[Clear Black]

On 6/30/2017 at 1:22 PM, TallTayl said:

Oh, and it does not take long to soak the salt with oil. I usually get away with overnight if I don't overdo it. I toss micas around to color, but liquid colors with UV protection can work well too. 

 

The the only thing that did not get along with salt was lavender. Smelled like rotten eggs. Ultramarine colorants also can react with salt and stink.

 

 

 

 

 

TT, so what is the difference between these fragrance salts and B&B Bath salts?  Id like to try and stay away from the BB scene as its over saturated, but "fragrance" salts to use in a car or warmers sounds interesting enough

Edited July 16, 2017 by Clear Black

[TallTayl]

Off the top of my tired head, We tend scent the room freshening fragrant salt at a much higher rate than bath salts.

 

Bath salt makers tend to go for salt blends with different mineral properties that make people feel good about dropping a wad of $ for therapeutic benefit. 

 

bath salts usually contain emulsifiers/surfactants like polysorbates to disperse the oils in the bath water. Without surfactants the fragrance would pool.

 

and,... bath salts sometimes/often contain other oils, butters, etc. to make people feel like their skin is softened.

 

but... I have seen solar salt (the water softener salt) scented, placed in jars at craft shows and sold as bath salts. I sure would not want to sit on those chunks of salt! They take a long time to melt.

[Clear Black]

35 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

Off the top of my tired head, We tend scent the room freshening fragrant salt at a much higher rate than bath salts.

 

Bath salt makers tend to go for salt blends with different mineral properties that make people feel good about dropping a wad of $ for therapeutic benefit. 

 

bath salts usually contain emulsifiers/surfactants like polysorbates to disperse the oils in the bath water. Without surfactants the fragrance would pool.

 

and,... bath salts sometimes/often contain other oils, butters, etc. to make people feel like their skin is softened.

 

but... I have seen solar salt (the water softener salt) scented, placed in jars at craft shows and sold as bath salts. I sure would not want to sit on those chunks of salt! They take a long time to melt.

Thanks TT, especially on a tired head

 

If I could ask one more thing of you...In that post you linked it was mentioned by another board member they use .25o of FO per lb of salts. As Ive never done salts and would like to at least try them, does that appear correct as a ratio of FO/Salt? Or better yet, what percentage of FO would you suggest when making these fragrance salts.

 

Thanks a bunch TT. If I could get a few of these made up for my fair in November I could place a few bottles on the table and see how they do. 

[TallTayl]

Most fragrance will act similarly. I don't remember off the top of my head how much i used. I think I just kept adding until the salt was saturated. Then I added a little more salt so it wasn't drippy. How's that for specific? ??

 

once your salt is saturated and no longer looking drippy it stays stable forever almost.

 

I think once you play with a little bit you'll see how easy this will be to make for your November show.

[Clear Black]

1 hour ago, TallTayl said:

Most fragrance will act similarly. I don't remember off the top of my head how much i used. I think I just kept adding until the salt was saturated. Then I added a little more salt so it wasn't drippy. How's that for specific? ??

 

once your salt is saturated and no longer looking drippy it stays stable forever almost.

 

I think once you play with a little bit you'll see how easy this will be to make for your November show.

 

Lol, about as specific as I was expecting  I will play with it a bit and see how it goes. Thanks TT!!!

[TallTayl]

For a starting point I would go 10% by weight. If it's a super strong powerful scent back off a little and save yourself some money.

[Clear Black]

1 hour ago, TallTayl said:

For a starting point I would go 10% by weight. If it's a super strong powerful scent back off a little and save yourself some money.

Thanks a bunch TT. And to add to my barrage of questions, did I read you stating you color yours with micas? 

 

Lol, I promise thats the last one for a bit  

[TallTayl]

Ask away it makes me think. I do use cosmetic micas.  I start with just like a quarter teaspoon or on the dry salt. Then add fo And mix them to make the colors pop

[Clear Black]

2 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Ask away it makes me think. I do use cosmetic micas.  I start with just like a quarter teaspoon or on the dry salt. Then add fo And mix them to make the colors pop

 

 

Thanks. Is there a local place that sells salts that are larger than table salt? I have an online wholesaler I can buy from but at 55lb bulk bags. I wanted to experiment without wasting a ton of money buying huge amounts of raw salt

[GoldieMN]

@Clear Black Aren't people using water softener salt pellets?  If so, you should be able to pick up a bag at any home improvement store, big box retailer, etc.  Thicker salt can also be found in grocery stores for pickling and ice cream makers. 

Goldie

Edited July 16, 2017 by GoldieMN

[TallTayl]

Goldie beat me to it ?

 

Solar salt for water softener has a nice variety of crystal sizes and is very pretty.