Well...unless you're in the Southern Hemisphere (which some of our readers are) you, like me, are experiencing some amazingly HOT weather! Here in Texas, it hardly cools off at night before it heats up again. It was one of these muggy mornings that I remembered a batch of Peppermint Ice Soap that I had made several months ago. It was the winter version of my Morning Mint Soap, which had more of a summer feel to it. Both of them, though, have the cooling qualities of mint essential oil...and both of them will leave you feeling just a bit cooler when you get out of the shower. Not quite as good as air conditioning...or moving to Canada...but might just help a bit.

I love summer parties when friends come over, if for no other reason than I can put out my Iced Tea gel candle and have people wonder if it's a real glass of tea or not. While most of the candles I make are out of paraffin or soy wax, I do enjoy playing around with gel candle "wax" every now and then. But did you know that gel wax isn't really wax at all? How is it different? What fragrances can you use? What wicks or containers can you use? How do you get that darned gel out of the bucket? And is it going to explode if you light it?
Well I've compiled the top questions, answers and basic instructions into a FAQ (frequently asked questions) area dedicated to Gel Candle Making. Check it out. And if you have a question I didn't answer, email it to me at candleandsoap.guide@about.com and I'll add it to the FAQ!

Are you starting your own small soap or candle business, or just want to professionally label the soaps and candles you are giving away? Are you stumped for ideas on your labels? I have a number of resources for soap and candle making labels here on this site, including World Label which is now offering free fillable labels in PDF label templates for U.S. letter-size label sheets. There are two starter label designs to choose from. Each design has 10 different sized labels in rectangular shapes, oval and round labels. Go to their blog for the Free Soap & Candle Labels Biz Starter Kit.

One of the great things about soap making is that there are so many people out there (me included, I suppose) that are there to help you get started. We'll share our tips, help you do things correctly, and even share a recipe now and then. But even better than that is the feeling you get when you create your own recipe from scratch. You understand the qualities of the oils, and you customize your own special recipe. It's suddenly not just soap...it's your soap.