chuck_35550

You know, there are some fos that tell you to only use a certain lower percentage because they are highly concentrated. There are those of us who feel like an fo ought to do its intended job with a 6 or 7% load and those who feel like 9 or 10% is acceptable. Some fos would probably seep at that level and some might incorporate with no problem. I would suggest testing at 6% and work your way up if it's needed. I'm not a chemist, so I couldn't tell you that dilution of one wax by another will result in an improvement on the one and reduction on the other. If you use high quality fos that are formulated for a particular effect (light floral, bakery, spa) at the recommended percentage; well that's half the battle won IMHO. There are wax blends that are very unforgiving with excessive fo percentages (6006) and perform best under optimal conditions. HTH Steve

Quit coloring candles years ago. Got tired of customers liking the fragrance but not the color. White works with all decors. Customers refused jelly jars too. My blueberry pancakes were golden brown but my blueberry muffins were blue...go figure. It was fun when using paraffin but pastel with soy. Bottom line is how good does it smell and how powerful is that fragrance. The rest is inconsequential IMHO. Steve

I cut mine within a 48 hour period. Pour the layers set up for 24 hours and then frost and decorate and set up 24 hours. It's pretty dang dense by that point. Steve

Your roses are very good and the cake is beautifully done. I have to make roses out of mp with a van yulay silicone mold. How will you change the execution on the next cake and did you use a non-discoloring fo? Is that a gm soap? I have oodles of questions. Well done. Steve

I soaped the Sweet Pea Rhubarb last night (probably another botched attempt at a mantra swirl) and that is one powerful fragrance. Wow! The rhubarb really adds great depth to the sweet pea and it soaped beautifully. I used a slow moving formula and had plenty of time to get my colors mixed and set up for the pour. I still overdo the sb but just can't help myself.

If you haven't tried this....IT WORKS! I have them in several rooms of the house and they are wowzer strong and have been going on second week. I used two teaspoons to 16 oz of distilled water and mixed some fos that were barfy in candles. You're gonna get more of the oob experience; so if it smelled better oob than in wax or soap then all is not lost. Steve

Bakery fragrances are tough to wick in any medium, much less soy. Cinnamon and vanilla are basically wicked ingredients that create chaos in a wick IMHO. You might try an eco wick but personally, I like cdn wicks the best. They burn a little hotter than cd wicks and they don't seem to clog as much. You can usually pin point system troubles to a clogged wick (think artery) or lack of oxygen from poor air circulation. So try two areas; change wick types and different amounts of fo. HTH Steve

Do you think the bars could be a little taller CB? It fits my hand just right but I thought they looked a tad small but maybe that's just me. They really are great molds. Steve

The Polar Express and Sweet Pea Rhubarb are outstanding....Cuban Coffee...oh nearly everything is first rate (I bought these oils from SS) and the vanilla formulations don't discolor. I have the soap safe cinnamon too but like Scented haven't used it yet...go figure. First rate oils IMHO. Steve

Not all canning jars are created equal. Use a wide mouthed jar with straight sides and not curved. I used the same wicking in 8 or 16 oz jars back in the day. The diameters are the same. Question #1: What kind of wax are you testing? Question #2: What fragrance oil and what percentage the same for both candles (are you using color) ? Question #3: Struggles in what area of the burn (beginning-middle-end) ? Not trying to be a smarty pants with you but more information helps for advice. This is the fun part of candle making....testing. HTH Steve

You can't fix stupid.

You can't get a bright "paraffin" red out of soy. It's always going to be pastel. Too much dye and you clog the wicking system IMHO. I always missed the bright neon colors you get with paraffin waxes.

I've always been curious about that fo and wondered if it is a light fragrance and how it soaps. Bite the bullet and let me know how it works out. Steve

That's why I bought three of them (not to mention the free cocoa butter) for that low price. I like that the molds are bottom heavy and heavier on the ends, which makes them very stable. I understand why they left the sides flexible for easy release and did not have any issues with bulging out while in the box. It's well thought out and modest in price IMHO. I just wished someone would figure out a good slab mold. My soap sticks like glue to my Kelsi and seems to get worse with age instead of better. If someone could coat the dividers with silicone that would be awesome. Steve

This recipe works really great with cocoa butter subbed for the shea. It moved pretty quick with gm but the lather is really great!

That's awesome CB. Does the lid slide onto the box? Have you made soap in the new liners yet? The liners seem to be well made and very professional in appearance. Steve

Thanks for your support and yes this was one of my new Essential Depot red silicone loaf molds. The soap just fell out of the mold with no problem and cleaned up easily. A reviewer stated they couldn't get more than 3 1/2 pounds of soap in the mold but it looks like the mold will hold over 4 pounds to me. I need to get one of those wood holders cb but for now the cardboard box is ok...hmmm don't guess that could go into the oven? Maybe I need to go ahead and order one of those anyway, lol. Steve

The salt bar bottom is a little crumbly (50% ratio was too much salt) but overall I thought it turned out ok. The soap did not gel as expected and next time will put the mold in the oven. The French green clay in the bottom may have something to do with the crumbly-ness but I think next time I will use my salt bar recipe for the bottom. I used 33 ounces of oils with full water (no milk) and soaped at a very cool 80 degrees. This mold can take more than 3 pounds of soap and I will increase the amount to have a larger bar but the size is very nice and manageable. The watermelon fragrance is very nice and I added a little pom to sweeten a bit. Thanks for looking. Steve

I save everything to Dropbox. You get 5 gigs of storage free of charge. I create a file name and store the info and retrieve it whenever I want. HTH Steve

I am so pleased with the molds (3 of them) and the fos are super good ob. I got a ton of organic cocoa butter for free and everything was packed just right. I made a watermelon soap last night, using Quiet Girl's recipe with cocoa butter subbed for the shea. The bottom layer is colored green with french clay and I added sea salt to make the bottom a salt bar and then a layer of pale green for the rind and finally red with poppy seeds for the melon. The watermelon is very nice and hopefully will stick. I'll probably unmold today and see what I got. Thanks. Steve

This is the main reason I closed my small part-time business but also because I was so burned out and tired. I would recommend that you consider a parasoy blend. I used (and still have on hand) Clarus wax, you can contact their rep mailto:bford@clarussp.com and get more information. I use cdn wicks with their 70/30 blend and 1oz pp of fo with great results. You still have to order in bulk to get free shipping and some companies are easy to work with on getting the shipping down while other companies include the price of shipping in the cost of the product. The candle industry has a lot of competition these days and you really have to be diversified if you want to stay afloat. I found wholesale private label to be the most lucrative but a lot of work. Fund raising would be my best advice. You can look at the competition and there are so many organizations trying to raise funds for their projects. HTH Steve

This has piqued my interest. Here's what I think you can do to create the crystal effect. Buy any brand of water absorbant polymer (water gel crystal) and do the following: Q - How much crystal gel will a 1 ounce package of the polymer make? A - Add a 1 ounce package (6 teaspoons) of the dry crystal polymer powder to a 1 gallon bottle of distilled water. Let it stand for about four hours (overnight is great). The crystals will swell up and increase their weight by approximately 400 times. Next, use a sieve to strain off any surplus water and allow the crystals to drain for 2 hours. Now you have a whole gallon of sparkling Gel Crystals. Now put the crystals into a container or bowl, add candles, flowers or some plants, finished! You will notice that even an ordinary glass turns into a small wonder at the touch of your hands. Store the unused gel back into the gallon jug, replace cap and retain until you need some more. Since you used distilled water, the crystals should remain usable for quite a while. Store in a dark area until ready to use. To make the Fragrance Jelly: 1) Fill a container with 16 oz. of distilled water. 2) Pinch of table salt (optional, see step 7 below) 3) Add 1 teaspoon of the Water-Gel Crystals (Medium Blend). 4) Stir in 2-4 teaspoons fragrance oil. Water based scents work just as well. Some fragrance oils suppliers will cause issues so test on a small sample first. 5) Add a few drops of food coloring for desired color. Food coloring is found at your local grocery store. Mix with liquid before adding crystals or stir in after gel has absorbed the liquid. Use which method that provides the best color effect that you desire. Another method to color the gel is with cake icing coloring which is found in most craft stores and is available in numerous colors – stir into your jelly until desired color is achieved. 6) Mix all ingredients and allow to sit for several hours. The crystals will soak up the water and expand into little gel-like pieces. (Makes enough to fill two 8 oz. Jelly Jar with Fragrance Jelly) 7) The addition of a pinch of salt has been said to help preservation and may help prevent the cloudy appearance that sometimes occur over time. 8) Fragrance Jelly jars look cute with lace, or thin material in the lids (using only the rim and leaving out the middle piece). This helps keep dust off your smelly jellies. Pick a material that goes with your product theme, such as country. Or you could pick a material to match the scents, like fruits, flowers, etc! 9) You can also use Fragrance Jelly in potpourri warmers for an even stronger scent! The gel can be easily colored (dyed) by just stirring in a few drops of food coloring or icing coloring.

Here you go. http://www.essentialsbycatalina.com/bulk-bath-sea-salts-unscented.asp

They are $12.99 a six pack on the Ball web site. I think $9.99 would be too costly and they are for a limited time anyway. Wal-Mart carries them in select stores and the prices differfrom storre to store. They do look cool and would make great personal gifts for Christmas or other occasions IMHO. The silver ring lids look really neat too. Steve

The first site listed on the post. They wound up buying the crystals at Home Depot. "So on he went to a Home Depot. He found 12oz plastic containers of "Schultz Moisture Plus Watering Crystals". The container looked really small and he wondered if this would be enough - he was expecting a big flour sack kind of container. Still, he figured one was good enough to experiment with. That 12oz was $7.97. " HTH Steve