Search Results for: candle

Off Center Wick

February 4, 2008 Filed Under: Home Crafts

Thank you to Joyce in Connecticut for sending this helpful wick placement tip for The Soap Queen readers:

A suggestion for wicks. I have used cotter pins that are around 4 inches long to hold wicks in the center while candles are hardening/setting up. I have also used the long bobby pins. I put candle wick pinched in either of these and then I put some masking tape on the both ends and to the glass containers to hold in place. This leaves enough room on either side of the candle to pour in your wax and you can adjust the wick easily if it shifts when you pour the wax in.

The photo on the right is of a candle with a poorly placed wick. The wick was about 20% off center. Because of the centering issue as well as a too-small wick choice, there was a lot of extra wax left after a full burn. As a consumer who spent over $11 for this candle, I was a little bummed about the extra hours of wax left sitting in the candle.

Meeting the Quintessential Soccer Mom

January 26, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Last week, I met Senator Patty Murray. I was so excited to meet her, I practically hyperventilated. Senator Murray ran for office in 1992, as a “Soccer Mom in Tennis Shoes” and has slowly risen to a position of prominence and respect in congressional leadership roles.

Senator Murray spoke to the Bellingham Herald Editorial Board. I’m lucky enough to be on the board and found her smart, funny and poised. She answered all the questions of the Board questions quickly, with a clear grasp on a wide range of issues.

I was inspired by her grace, humor and brains and came away more educated on a wide range of issues.

On a more soapy note, I apologize for not posting the photos of the Red Lychee Teasoap yet. I’m traveling this weekend and the photos are locked up in my computer at work. I will do my best to post them Sunday and also start the Massage Candle Tutorial.

Unmolding Lychee Red Tea Soap – Video

January 25, 2008 Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

Notice the air lock releasing during the unmold; you can tell by the white color that moves up the side of the soap. If the air lock hasn’t been broken, you can push and push with all of your might and the soap won’t release. Before attempting to unmold any soap, be sure to gently pull back on all of the sides of the mold prior to pushing to break the air lock.

The nice thing about this flexible silicone mold is the ease of unmolding. We have a lot more testing to do to ensure that it will hold up to the rigors of regular use. I already notice just a little bit of “bowing” in the plastic. A little bowing is to be expected. If the mold is flexible enough to release the soap easily, it’s a fairly soft material that won’t maintain a completely rigid line.

FeedBlitz Email Subscribers: I’m sorry you won’t be able to see this video in your Email Daily Digest. But, if you click on the link and go to the Soap Queen site, you can see this video and the humorous Mandles Candles video from earlier today.

Valentines, less than 30 days away

January 20, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

The Manufactured Day of Love is approaching fast! Do you have your present picked out yet? I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t but I’m getting some ideas with all the massage candles I’ve been making this week!

From Etsy, how about some Heart Felted Soap? $6.50 at AmeliaMakesArt in Portland, OR. The wool acts like a wash cloth with gentle exfoliating action.

Soap is always a perfect gift so this Garden Party Soap from SoapyLove tfor $4.00 scened with Tomato Leaf fragrance is certainly Valentine-Worthy.

This is a flexible soap mold for the bargain price of $12.00 (silicone molds normally run pricier).

And, this might not be a gift for your sweetie but awwwww, isn’t it cute? And for $9, it’s a bargain! Get it here for the little munchkin in your life.

Finishing out the Valentine’s Inspriation collection is Conversation Soap Heart Cupcakes! A perfect meld of my favorite treat (cupcakes) plus my favorite art (soap), these topical pieces are just $4 per smile. Get yours here.

With only 20% reporting …

January 15, 2008 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

I went on a wee bit of a shopping spree this morning on Etsy. I bought this creative soap from the MagicHands Workshop in California. The soap is using our very own Winter Grapefruit.

and this:

I couldn’t justify yet another Letterpress card set so soon after my last binge. But …. I did. In my mind, the fact that I sent out two “Congratulations” cards yesterday and two “Thank You” cards today means that I am almost out of cards and need more. It’s not a legitimate justification but PistacioPress‘s beautiful work tipped me right over the edge.

In other news, the Blog Direction Survey has been completed by about 20% of our active daily readers. Right now, over 80% of you are asking for more soap projects and only 16% want more candle tutorials. I wish I would have had this information before I knocked myself out with massage candles this weekend (ha ha). But, if you’re reading this and thinking, “Hey! But I really want to learn about candles!” and don’t want just 20% of the readers to decide the direction of the blog – make sure to fill out the two-question survey located here.

Finally, Playing with Soap has a great tutorial on making soap with Beet Juice. Notice the before and after colors?

Click here to go see her experience in using this natural colorant in soap.

Determining Wick Size

January 8, 2008 Filed Under: Home Crafts

Phew! I just got back from a full day of Otion Location Scouting in Seattle. There are lots of options for us to open a second store and I’m excited to go scouting again next week.

The post on Wick Size got a few comments wondering how to determine appropriate wick size. If a few souls were brave enough to ask, I’m thinking that there might be others out there curious as well.

Here is a brief overview of how to pick out wick sizing:

Wicks size can be tricky. Picking a wick depends on your candle size and how big you want your wax pool. The wax pool is the area of melted, liquid wax around the wick.

If the wax pool is to big on a pillar candle then it may smoke and wick up fuel (wax) too quickly. When the candle burns too fast, the wax will drip down the sides of your candle. Too small of a wick in any candle will get you the problem I had in the original picture (suffocating your wick!). We have a chart below that will help you in choosing the correct size.

For pillar candles you want to make sure that that you have a nice buffer zone of unmelted wax around the edges of your candles, to keep the melted wax from dripping down the sides of the candle (and onto your tablecloth and finery). Using the table referenced above, for a candle that is 2.5 inches across, I would go with the CD-12 wick. This gives you an area of melted wax that is 1.93,” leaving you a nice buffer zone of still-hard wax to save all available counters.

For container candles, the “too big of a wax pool” is not as big of a concern because any melted wax just stays safely in your container. The main concern is that the wick is not too small. The chart, again, works wonderfully for this. If you have say, a 3 inch container candle, using the chart, it is clear that you can use either the CD-12 or the CD-16. Both will work, one just gives you a slightly larger wax pool. You can decide which one you think looks and burns best.

Remember, wicks that are too large in container candles will smoke and provide excess soot on walls and ceilings so while a fully melted wax pool is something to strive for – too much of a good thing can be, well… sooty.

I hope this helps! Feel free to post any follow-up questions below and I will do my best to answer.

Wick Size

January 3, 2008 Filed Under: Home Crafts

The above photo is what happens if you accidentally choose the wrong wick size. The candle above was made with Palm Stearic Acid, giving it a mottled and unique look.

Over time, the core of the candle will burn straight down, eventually suffocating the weak candle flame.

If you missed the Beeswax Candle Tutorial, click here

Saturday Round-Up

December 29, 2007 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Today was a relaxing Saturday. I was able to finish the new John Grisham book, “Playing for Pizza.” It’s a sweetly sentimental story about a so-so football player, struggling to find personal joy and fulfilment in life. He travels to Italy to find success. The story centers around his journey and travelling, Italy and food.

Then, while my hubby outfitted my new skis (a Christmas present from my generous brother), I went to Otion to help with the last of the inventory. Erik, Sarah and I had a jolly time counting droppers, bottles and stray candle colorants.

Finally, we ended the day in a bowling alley. Here’s Erik (generous brother and Otion store manager), getting ready to bowl with his brand new bowling ball (our Christmas gift to him). He chose a scented 14-pound ball (yes, it’s really scented – it smells like Lime) called “Tropical Storm.” He totally smoked the entire group, at one point getting 3 strikes in a row.

We’re getting up early tomorrow to go skiing at Mt. Baker with Erik, his fiance Cheriss, and my brother-in-law, Weston. It should be exhausting but hopefully in a challenging way, as opposed to a broken-bones-kind-of-way. It’s my first time skiing in two years and I have new skis, bindings and poles to get used to. Wish me luck!

While lusting over new kitchen designs tonight, I came across some free label templates from Kitchen and Bath Ideas magazine. The label templates seem particularly cute for one-off toiletry products that just require a quick and easy handwritten label. Click here to go see them.

We’re ending our day by folding laundry and laying out our ski equipment for tomorrow. All in all, it’s been a delightfully rewarding day.

Anti-Talc – Day Two – Fragrance and Color

November 27, 2007 Filed Under: Home Crafts

Click here for Day One – set up & explanation of ingredients

Making body powder is surprisingly easy. For an item with high margins, one would think that there is more skill involved. It’s more a matter of patience than levels of knowledge or dexterity (see below for sifting and sifting and sifting).

Step One: Measure out your dry powders.

I tried many different combinations of Arrowroot, Tapioca Powder and Rice Flour. Ultimately, the mixture I ended up settling on was the easiest of the bunch. I measured with volume rather than weight (usually a no-no), justifying it by telling myself that many of the Soap Queen Blog readers might not have scales.

Most of the powders are lighter than air so they poof up when pouring. Be prepared for this and either (a) wear a mask or (b) don’t breathe. You will be dismayed to find Arrowroot Powder in crevices you never expected. The powder travels.

Step Two: Add color

You can use mica (body safe – no craft store glitters, please) and water based colorants such as Labcolors or True Tones. In my experience, most glitters are too large to fit through the teensy powder shaker holes and don’t stick well on skin. Also, pigments do not work well. While they provide adequate color, they tend to stick and turn into clay on sweaty skin. Ewwww …

Usage rate is to preference. Most micas tend to dust the skin with a glorious sprinkling of color when used at 6% quantities or greater. Labcolors and True Tones will dye the skin if used too freely (anything above .5% is too free with these concentrated colors). Test batches are advised.

Step Three: Add fragrance

As with color, please use body safe and skin safe products only. This means no candle fragrances, potpourri fragrances or random leftovers that have dubious origins. Usage rate varies based on what you want (subtle or perfumey) but I recommend .1 oz to .25 oz. of fragrance oil or essential oil (maximum) per 16 oz. of dry powders. If you use much more, you’ll end up with a perfume and not a lovely, subtle addition to your person.

One additional word of caution: Peppermint, Spearmint and Eucalyptus Essential Oils all have a natural component of menthol. Menthol gives a cooling sensation. Powders put in um, sensitive areas, will burn, sting and be uncomfortable with those essential oils.

Step Four: Sift, Sift, Sift

A large sifter is good for the first few strainings but when you’re down to the teensy knitty grit, a smaller sifter is better. Push, shove, and rub through the strainer until the last of your fragrance balls are evenly dispersed.

Check back tomorrow for more information on using Labcolors and True Tones to make your powders colorful and unique.

Anti-Talc Powder – Day One – Set-Up

November 26, 2007 Filed Under: Home Crafts

Recently, one of our favorite Bramble Berry customers wrote us with some concerns about the talc powder that Bramble Berry sells. Intrigued, I looked into her concerns. After research, I decided that our cosmetic grade talc powder was a product that is safe under normal conditions of use. But, if she’s thinking it, maybe other customers are.

So, the Anti Talc Powder project was born.

Set up:

Arrowroot Powder
Tapioca Starch Powder
Labcolors or True Tones
Mica
Fragrance or Essential Oil
Powder Containers
Note: Rice Flour is pictured but doesn’t work very well
Mixing utensils
Bowls
Sifters

These plastic talc containers are affordable (just $1.38 per bottle) and easy to operate. They’re on sale for the month of December for just $.75 here. One side of the lid pops open with gentle pressure. Other options are wide mouthed jars with a powder puff or the sophisticated aluminum powder shakers.

Why Tapioca Starch Powder? Tapioca Powder is a modified tapioca starch that has been designed to be free-flowing and non-clumping. It is unique because to is aluminum free and because it has been modified with a silicone. It is velvety smooth and imparts a soft after-feel to the skin. It is great in body powders and can also be used in lotions and body massage bars to help cut down on a greasy feel.

Arrowroot Powder is a natural starch typically from the West Indies. It’s commonly used to thicken food sauces and imparts a light silky feel for body powders. It is free flowing and non- clumping for easy use with body powder containers.

It’s important to only use skin safe fragrances and colorants. No candle or potpourri fragrances and colors for this project, please.

Click here for Day Two instructions on fragrance and color.

Scent Trend Alert

November 20, 2007 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

The trends for 2008 are out and they are a puzzling mix – exotic yet also homebound. Apparently, we’re all craving yummy food-like scents such as hot chocolate, S’Mores and blueberry muffin. Yet, we’re also predicted to be desiring exotic and healthy fragrances like acacia, pomegranate and banana plant. Odd. We have schizophrenic taste buds in 2008 and 2009. When you open up your fridge next year and find yourself craving a Cucumber Basil Cilantro Wasabi Smoothie, don’t be surprised; after all, the trend reports predicted it. Supposedly, 2008 and 2009 are the year for exotic fragrances.

We put 15 of our favorite latest trend fragrances into candles to test their throw and elicit opinions of Otion customers, friends and family. Over the next six weeks, we will burn all of the candles and rate them for smell, throw and saleability.

I already have a favorite – Green Zuccinni with White Truffle Oil. I don’t dare buy it yet though. It won’t sell until 2009 – or so, that’s what the trend report tells me!

Scraping Wax

November 9, 2007 Filed Under: Home Crafts

As promised two weeks ago, here are two short videos of the long (thirty minutes plus!) scraping process to get the beeswax spill off our kitchen table. The hand in the video belongs to my father.

Scraping Wax

November 9, 2007 Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

As promised two weeks ago, here are two short videos of the long (thirty minutes plus!) scraping process to get the beeswax spill off our kitchen table. The hand in the video belongs to my father.

New Contest! New Contest! New Contest!

October 30, 2007 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

We are busily shipping out orders and dreaming of fun projects to experiment with when the holiday rush is over.

The new contest for the week is easy – post a comment *in this thread* with the dream project you’d like to see us tackle. Not much is out of bounds so suggest the wildest, most difficult, exotic project or just keep it simple – either way, you’ll get an entry into the fabulous random drawing for the goodies photographed below.

Among the loot is a Sweet Pea candle (the pink one in the back) from Full Moon Candles, two of the Choco Balm Experimental Lip Balms and a Banana Nut Bread Beeswax candle and more!