Mystic Incense

Incense is still one of my favorite things all these years later. As a kid, my mom used to burnt he infamous Nag Champa and sometimes Patchouli or Sandalwood. I guess that's what happens when you are the child of parents that grew up in the 60's!

Incense is cheap and easy to make. It's a great project for a beginner looking to make something for themselves or kids or something that is simple and not time consuming to add to your current product line for added impulse sales! 

Supplies List:
DPG (Incense Solvent)
Incense Sticks
Fragrance (consider some of our Closeout Fragrances!)
Bags or a Tube
A Glass or Metal Pan
An Empty Glass Jar

Directions

1. Mix 1 part fragrance oil to 2 or 3 parts solvent liquid (DPG), and stir well. Do not use straight fragrance oil as it will make excessively smoky incense! Any of our fragrance oils can be used for incense, regardless of flash point or soap/lotion safety, etc. Some popular incense scents are Patchouli, Nag Champa, Sandalwood, Lavender, China Rain, Butt Naked, Jasmine or Frankincense & Myrrh. Some other scent suggestions would be Drakkar type, Mountain Lake, Amber Musk, Cedar Wood, Cinnamon Stick, Sex on the Beach, and Smoke & Odor Eliminator. Or how about some Citronella bug repellant sticks for summer time!
2. Soak stick incense in scent mixture for 24 hours in a glass or HDPE plastic container. Soaking takes patience, but is necessary to allow the incense to fully absorb the oil. A shallow glass baking pan works well to lay sticks in and submerge in the oil (as shown). Or you can soak the sticks while still bundled in a tall glass vase or cylinder. After soaking, pour the leftover oil mixture into a glass or HDPE plastic bottle, such as our fragrance bottles, for storage. You can use this again to make more incense, it doesn't go to waste!
3. Lay the cones or sticks out on a screen or drying rack with a pan underneath to catch any drips. Or if your sticks are still bundled, you can hang them to dry on a hook with bowl or bucket underneath or place them incense side up fanned out in a glass jar (as shown). Be sure to put them where they will get air flow to help them dry (you may use a fan to speed the process). Do not bake the incense in an oven or microwave to dry it! Incense must be allowed to dry completely for at least 48 hours before burning. If incense is still wet or damp, it will not burn properly! Be patient and allow it to dry fully before using for best results. Note: It is also important that you make sure the incense is totally dry with no wet or damp spots before packaging in plastic bags or tubes, etc! Fragrance oils are very strong and can melt or eat through many types of plastic!

• 16 oz. of scent mixture should make approximately 500 or more sticks or cones. Properly made, fully dried incense should burn for approximately 45 minutes to over 1 hour.

As you can see, incense is one of the simplest projects you can make. They take little time to make, are a low cost start up option and a low price point item to sell making it a win/win for you and your customer!

Happy Incense Making!
Flicker

Layered Embed Soap

It's January and it's been colder than cold here in Minnesota. Every time it gets this cold, I think of spring and summer! This month it led me to one of my favorite scents at BCS which is the Dogwood. Dogwood is a floral unlike anything else I've ever smelled before and I typically am not much for floral scents at all. So once I had a scent I actually molded a project around it. Seems sort of backward in retrospect but sometimes I just work best like that. *smiles* For this month's blog, I am going to do what I always called "Stained Glass Soaps" when I sold them. I like making them and love the fact that no two will ever be exactly the same using this method.

Here is the supplies list:
Clear and White Melt and Pour Soap
FD&C Liquid Bath and Body Dye
Fragrance Oil
Mold Also available at BCN!
Rubbing Alcohol in a Fine Mist Spray Bottle

First, take your white soap and carve off some curls. It will take some practice but the good news is you can always melt it & re-mold it if you make a mistake. Use your imagination! Thinner or thicker, they all work as long as they stick together! (do not scent this part)

After you've made your curls pour a small amount of the melted clear soap base into the bottom of your mold (*Pour this a little cooler than normal so it does not melt the curls when you insert/pour over them) , spritz liberally with rubbing alcohol to prevent bubbles and aid in adhesion. Once you've done this, insert your curls into the soap and allow it to set up. Once set, re-melt the soap base again (This part I do not scent so it can be re-used) and allow to cool so it does not melt the curls and again liberally spritz with the rubbing alcohol and pour the soap into the mold to fill it.

Let the soap set, remove from mold, cut to size and spritz liberally with rubbing alcohol as you position it in the mold so it is adhered to the bottom (to avoid soap from slipping under it when you pour the next layer.

Next spritz liberally once again with rubbing alcohol & pour a layer clear colored melted soap half way up the embedded piece in the mold. Spritz with alcohol again after poured to pop any bubbles.

Finally melt your white layer (or you can skip the clear layer and do all opaque soap around the clear for more contrast) and pour over the soap. You can pour over the "embedded" area OR you can leave it open so light shines through, both look amazing! Be sure to once again spritz with alcohol to prevent bubbles! :)

I hope that you will try making this soap soon! It's a bit more creative than the average melt and pour and yet still simple enough to create, even in volume!

Happy Soaping!
Flicker