sockmonkey

That's cool. It made me think of the mountains and desert of Nevada.

Can anybody make a recomendation for which one is better than the other? Thanks.

You would probably be better off doing craft shows instead of flea markets. People expect yard sale prices at many flea markets. Not only that, but at the flea markets I go to, there is always someone selling AVON or Home Interiors, so it is very difficult to compete with them, especially when people think they can get "brand name" stuff, they won't want to pay what your handmade items are worth.

You want honest, I'll give you honest, but you might not like it. Here is something I have a problem with: "Soy candles come from a vegetable. They are non-toxic and they do not produce soot! They are 100% biodegradable. They also burn 50% longer and burn at lower tempertures than paraffin (wax that are used in normal candles.) Paraffin candles give off a petroleum soot and toxin aromatic hydrocarbons. Something you do not want yourself or family to inhale. (second hand smoke)" To me, it doesn't sound like you know what you're talking about. You've read information somewhere and are trying to make it work for you, without researching what any of it means. "Soy candles" do not "come from a vegetable". They are created by using a wax manufactured using SOYBEAN OIL. The way you have it phrased makes it sound like you can go out and harvest a bunch of candles growing out in a field. They burn at lower "tempertures" than paraffin (wax that "are" used in "normal" candles). I think you mean to say that they burn at lower temperatures than most common non-soy candles, such as paraffin. By calling paraffin candles "normal" you are essentially saying yours are abnormal. Do you even know anything about chemistry and hydrocarbons? It's apparent that you don't since you reference "toxin aromatic hydrocarbons." Unless you are prepared to give a lesson on what aromatic hydrocarbons are on your website, you shouldn't even mention it. To me your website is only showing ignorance and not doing anything to promote your candles. You seem more like a puppet for the soybean industry, rather than someone selling handcrafted items. You are definitely not the only person who does this. I've seen the second hand smoke comment so many times I could puke. It's so amature--using scare tactics to try and sell soy candles. You should just focus on what YOUR candles do. Not someone elses. If YOUR candles are clean burning, long lasting and come in an abundance of delightful fragrances, then that's what you need to say. There's no need to trash any other type or brand. All your doing by making negative comments about other products is showing that you don't have enough confidence for your products to stand on their own. Sorry if it sounds brutal, but I hope you would rather read advice here and make changes, than to sit around and wonder why you're not getting any orders on your website.

I'm just trying to help, so please don't take it personally or think I'm trying to bash your website. I'm not. First of all, I would consider re-phrasing some of your information because you promote the fact that you make custom items, then you turn around and tell people they can't get custom items. You identify a lot of items for sale, then you say you are not selling them right now. Do you have a schedule for when the items will be available? Maybe I don't understand how it works, but if I don't, then there could be others wondering some of the same things. I know it can be hard to word things perfectly, because you know your products so well and know exactly what you mean, that it may be difficult to imagine that someone else wouldn't understand it. Believe me, I know how it is! Now, back to your name...when I hear "nature's necessities," I'm thinking of camping supplies. For the products you are offering, and they type of people you would like to cater to, I think you would be much better off switching to the word "pioneer", or "prairie." Pioneer Necessities Prairie Days Supplies Pioneer Essentials Pioneer Candle and Clothing Company Pioneer Craft and Candle Supply Prairie Bath and Taylor Pioneer Natural Candle & Clothing Prairie Bonnet, Candle & Bath See what I'm getting at? The name will give a much more descriptive idea of the products you offer. If someone is doing a search for a bonnet, they propably aren't going to type in "nature" or "necessities."

Pink Sugar, Baby Grace

A bleed is when you extend the ink coverage beyond the finished size of your product. For example, if you are working with a 2" round label, you design the artwork so that the main portion of it (text or pictures) fits withing the 2" area, but create a border around the artwork that extends beyond 2", to 2.25" instead. I use Illustrator and am able to do that. I guess it might work the same way for other programs, but I've never used some of the other ones mentioned here. Is that all clear as mud?

I think it would be impossible for you to make any money trying to re-sell CandleWarmers to other wholesalers. You would be just as well off bying those warming plates from Walmart of Michael's, since you can buy them for less than $4 there, plus you won't have to pay shipping. Candle Warmers told me once themselves that they can't even make their warmers as cheap as Walmart sells theirs for at retail!

I used a template from onlinelabels.com for 2.5" round labels. It was WAY off. I made my own template and had better luck, but I still needed to fudge things to get it to work. I made a bleed to ensure ink coverage around the entire label, even if the printer would be off a smidge.

I used Nashville Wraps to get my bags printed and found that they did a good job. I believe they have a 2 case minimum for custom printing. I have since found another source, but I've never used them, so I don't have pricing anfo. They might be worth checking out: http://www.flowercitytissue.com/products.asp?cat=58

Thank you for that link.

Scootch is what I call it when a dog rubs his but along the floor!

I found some at a wholesale store a while back and I think they were about $.50 a piece. They were the ones with a trigger and a big long metal barrel. I didn't buy any, because I had already bought them somehwhere else for $1 a piece! Would something like that work, or do you only want the giant match lighter?

That's what I do--list the ingredients as they appear on the base, include fragrance oil, and then list the specific dyes (Red #30, Yellow #5, etc.).

I would call them back and ask them how they will correct the situation. Most people usually won't say they will not do anything. If you never want to use them again you might try this company instead: http://www.oilsbynature.com/product-category/butters.htm

Check this out, they've got 4.5 oz balmorals with wood lids. I've never seen balmorals with wood before. http://www.glassware4gellin.com/woodlid.html I've never ordered from this company before, so I can't vouch for them. Candlemakersstore.com also has jars with wood lids, but I see that they are currently out of stock.

When establishing your price, I think it's also a good thing to consider if you think you will ever consider running a sale on your lotions. I figure the cost of my lotion base per oz., fragrance per oz, label per unit, add a few cents in for dyes, and then add the cost of the container. (Don't forget to further break down the cost of your fragrance, since you will be bottling in 1 oz containers, you won't be using a full oz of FO, so if you calculate a full oz, you will be getting an inflated cost.) You should keep in mind when structuring your prices that people will compare the value of a 4 oz bottle to your 1 oz bottle. You could price them at the same rate, or your could make the 1 oz "trial size" a little bit more expensive. For example, if you sell your 4 oz bottles for $5 ea, that would average $1.25 per oz. You could sell your 1 oz bottles for that much, or you might price them at $1.50 ea, or 3 for $4.

They look nice and springy. What kind of colors did you use to get such a vibrant appearance, if you don't mind me asking.

That is lovely soap. What kind is it?

I found The Sage's calculator helpful. It will let you calculate oz to ml. http://thesage.com/calcs/measures.html

I wonder if the forms ever made it over to the bingo hall. I would guess that a bingo hall might not be the best place to try and do a fundraiser anyway. Look at what you've got there...people with a stash of cash they are hoping to turn into big bucks. They are there to have a little fun and are trying to "help themselves." Bingo halls have their regulars, but they've also got some people who might stop in once and never return. If you don't collect money up front, who knows if you would ever see it.

There was a recent post about adding oils to m&p. What I gather is that the amount of oils that people add are minimal so it does not leave the soap slimy. It would be something you would need to experiment with if you felt the need to add oils. I bought those 2lb soap pre-scored soap blocks that are generic and don't ever say what brand they are. I thought that was fine, until I started using other brands. I asked for recommendations and it seemed like most people praised SFIC, so I broke down, bought a sample of it, along with Stephenson's and WSP. Once I tried those other brands I could see how crappy my pre-scored generic soap was. It had a strong odor of alcohol and could only muster a pawltry lather at best. I found out that the brand I was using was made by a canadian company, Quality Cosmetica. There are a LOT of suppliers who sell this brand because it is c-h-e-a-p. After I found out what I was using I contacted them and got a copy of their price list to buy wholesale. It's price, not quality why suppliers offer this soap. It was a very difficult decision between the Stephenson's goat's milk and SFIC. I thought they were both great, but I wound up making a bulk purchase of SFIC for a number of reasons. It had a good lather, no offensive odor, and I liked that it was non-comedogenic, plus if I needed to sell off a few pounds I knew that most people preferred SFIC. If you want to try Stephenson's you can get it from chemistrystore.com. For SFIC try http://www.kycandlewaxsupply.com/bathandbody.htm Once you try these, I doubt you will ever go back to the craft store again!

I don't think 25 candles sounds bad. What sounds bad is that she would ask for 150 order forms. My god, how many kids are in that daycare center? People who are doing fundraising need to keep in mind that there is so much competition out there that unless you already have established your business and have a loyal clientele, it's gonna be tough! Yankee Candle even offers candles for fundraisers for Christ's sake. When you're a working mom going to pick up the kids, run to the grocery, rush home and make dinner, take care of the house, take care of finances, an order from for a fundraiser is probably the last thing you're gonna spend your time looking at. Who knows how the daycare center distributed them anyway. Don't be depressed about 25 candles. I think it's impressive considering what you have to go up against! If you offer to do a fundraiser again, you might see the numbers go up because people loved your candles and will order twice as many the next go around.

I don't use "multi base" per se, but I use lotion base, which is essential ly the same thing. Fortunately, no one has asked me what ingredients are for, but they do ask what's in it. Of course, I don't divulge stuff like stearic acid, methyl/propyl parabens, etc., because all of that stuff is on the label anyway. I tell them stuff that is all hyped up--honey, shea butter, goat's milk extract, etc. I have done some research on the other components though, because I know at some point someone will ask. I want to be able to tell them what the ingredients do. You should be prepared to identify the preservatives, thickeners, emollients, etc. in your base. There are a lot of tongue twister ingredients in some bases, so it might make it easy on you to prepare a printed list of ingredients and what they do that you could hand to a customer if they should inquire.

If she's making excuses about the treasurer, I would tell her, "Give me a phone number and I will call her myself, or you can give me her address and I will pay her a visit. Apparently, she must not be getting your messages and I need to collect this money from her, as it is quite past due." She will probably realize her goose is cooked, after she's tried to pin everything on the treasurer, who may not even be aware of the situation. I wouldn't hesitate to let her know that I would contact the school to obtain information about the "treasurer" if she pretends she doen't have her phone number on her or something like that. If she tries to pull that, tell her "well, I will just try to get that from the school. I'm sure they aren't going to be very happy to learn this is going on."