I am gradually listing all of the most common questions I have been asked while demonstrating my products. If you have a question for me, please do not hesitate to drop me a line.

 ---------- General Questions: Do your products fade in direct sunlight? What does it mean when a product is listed as 'Unscented' or 'Undyed'? How do I know what your products smell like? Why are some products only available at the Antigonish Farmers Market? Why are two of the same product slightly different colors? Why do you heat shrink your products? Why does it take so long for my review to show up online?  ---------- Shipping & Payment Questions: Will you ship to ... ? I live in Made-up-istan - do I have to pay in Canadian Dollars?  ---------- Soap Questions: Why does Glycerin Soap sweat? Are Glycerin Soaps safe for infants and small children?  ---------- Soy Wax Questions: How long do your candles last? How safe are Soy Candles? I spilled some hot Soy Wax - how do I clean it up? Why do your container candles say "single pour" or "two pours"? Are your Soy Votives and Tarts 100% Soy? Why do your Soy container candles have "wet spots" on the glass? Is there a proper way to burn Soy Candles?

General Questions:

You might have noticed that I have started adding some little symbols to my product listings. Since I don't use any additives in my soaps and candles - including UV blockers such as Titanium Dioxide - some of the Food Safe Dyes and Vegetable Based Pigments I use will fade after extended periods in direct sunlight. For the most part, testing has involved placing the product outdoors in direct sunlight for over four hours - the harshest possible place for exposure to UV rays.

Products marked with this symbol will show minimal to no fading after extended exposure to direct sunlight.

Products marked with this symbol will show fading after extended exposure to direct sunlight. This may mean everything from a slight loss of color vibrancy to a complete lack of color.

Without the use of compounds to prevent the candles or soap from fading (also known as UV blockers), it is perfectly natural for some of my products to fade in direct sunlight. As all of my items are designed to be either used on the skin (i.e. - soap) or burned in the home (i.e. - candles) I am not comfortable in adding compounds such as Titanium Dioxide (one of the more common UV blockers) to my products. I believe that by not using such compounds I am creating a healthier, safer product for you to enjoy.

As a rule, most of my products are scented. For those people who have extremely delicate skin, or are unfortunately very scent sensitive, I do make several different unscented products.

Any product with this symbol is unscented and is made without the use of either Fragrance or Essential Oils. It is safe for use by scent sensitive individuals.

Any product with this symbol is undyed and is made without the use of dyes or pigments of any kind. It is safe for use by individuals sensitive to coloring agents.

Some of my unscented products (such as the Honey & Beeswax Glycerin Soap) contain ingredients that may contain a natural scent (such as honey). If you have any questions about a particular product, please contact me.

Most of my products are scented and although I do my best to describe the nuances of many of the unique scents that I use, it is not always possible to describe in text what you should really experience with your nose. Some of the scents I use are fairly obvious - most people can imagine the scent of Baby Powder for example - but it can be difficult to explain the finer details of Sandalwood. To help my customers pick products for themselves (and others) I have made suggestions as to the gender the scents most appeal to.

Any product with this symbol is scented in a largely gender neutral scent that may appeal to either gender.

Any product with this symbol is scented in a generally feminine scent that may appeal to people of either gender.

Any product with this symbol is scented in a generally masculine scent that may appeal to people of either gender.

If you have any questions about a particular scent, please contact me.

There are many different products that I am working on that require some tinkering with before I am ready to sell them online or through any of the craft and gift stores that carry my products.

Often it is only after feedback from regular users that I can finally get a given color / scent combination to my satisfaction. For that reason I bring a small selection of new items to each Farmer's Market.

Some items, such as the three scented container candle pictured to the left, have proven to be very popular and will eventually be offered for sale on the website. Others, such as a Ladybug mold that looked more like a potato bug, will never see the light of day again.

If you happen to stop by my table at the Market, feel free to ask about what's new!

When it comes to coloring my various products I use two different coloring agents:

Vegetable Based Pigments: All of my Soy based products are colored with these dyes which come in a solid block. As it takes very little pigment to dye several pounds of Soy wax it can be tricky to shave the same amount off the block each time to produce consistent results when making smaller batches. The resulting variation is usually quite slight - below is an extreme example of color difference in my Ginger Soy Candle.

Food Safe Dyes: All of my Glycerin Soaps are colored with these dyes which come in liquid form making it much easier to accurately measure amounts for my recipes.

I shrink-wrap both my soap and candles primarily to protect them during storage and shipping. Besides the fact that both soap and wax are a relatively soft material and can scratch and dent quite easily, Glycerin Soap can be rather tricky to ship or store unsealed as its ability to draw moisture from the air can often lead to it 'sweating' while in a paper or cardboard container.

The other reason for sealing both my Soy and Glycerin products is out of concern and respect for those people who may be scent sensitive. Even those individuals who do not suffer from scent sensitivity have entered a shop or store isle at some point where there were so many scented products for sale that the combined scent was simply over whelming. Even my scented products, which are relatively mild taken individually, can be over powering for some people in high enough quantities.

Please recycle all packaging materials where possible. All of the plastic packaging I use is made of Low-density polyethylene and is the same accepted by any recycling program that allows you to recycle grocery bags.

Although I am delighted to receive comments and reviews from my customers about my products, sadly there are quite a few people out there who delight in "spamming" review forms and message boards whenever possible with advertising information - or sometimes some rather unsavory comments. Despite my best efforts at filtering, the odd bit of nastiness has in the past made in online. As a result I need to manually approve any comments that my filters flag as questionable. If you have written a review, please be patient - it will be online as soon as have a chance to review it!

If you were kind enough to fill out one of my comment cards at the Farmer's Market ( or any other sale I attend ) then you may see a slight delay in posting your review due to some problems in making out hurried or creative hand writing.

Shipping & Payment Questions:

Yes! I am more then happy to ship my product to you, wherever you may live. Unfortunately, Canada Post does not always share my enthusiasm for shipping to random corners of the world and can often charge some rather high fees for international shipping. Although I am always able to provide a shipping quote for international buyers, I do strongly suggest that they have a stiff drink and take a seat before viewing the quoted price.

All international customers should also take care to be certain that they are aware of any customs or duties that may be levied at their border. Any such fees are the responsibility of the customer. I strongly recommend insurance for overseas buyers and will not be held responsible should they fail to purchase insurance to protect against loss of damage during transit. Please note that some shipping methods (notably International Surface) do not always have insurance as an option.

Yes and no. As I use PayPal to handle all credit card transactions for my website, your Credit Card or Bank Account (depending on your payment method) will be billed in Canadian Dollars and the charge converted to your local currency based on the exchange rate at the time of billing. This rate is determined by your bank or credit card company based on the currently accepted currency exchange rate values.

Example:

You live in the United States and place an order totaling $54.00 (Canadian). You decide to pay by MasterCard. When you receive your credit card statement you notice you were billed for $51.97 (US Dollars). Your credit card provider used the exchange rate at the time (1 Cdn Dollar = 0.962550 US Dollar) and billed you accordingly.

If you are unsure of the current value of your local currency in Canadian Dollars, I might suggest using XE.com to find out the current exchange rate. Since banks and credit cards delight in skimming from every transaction, it is the rare institution that will resist the temptation to give you slightly less then the official rate as a service charge of some sort or another.

Soap Questions:

Although Glycerin Soap may at times appear to be sweating, it is actually acting as a humectant and drawing moisture from the air. This moisture will sometime bead on the surface of the soap in very humid conditions, giving it the appearance of sweating. This is much the same process that happens on the skin - hence the wonderful moisturizing properties of Glycerin Soap.

I have received many questions about exactly how safe Glycerin soaps are for children, babies, pets, and other critters who tend to eat things without thinking. In short - Glycerin soaps are very, very safe for use around children of all ages.

In order to understand why Glycerin soap is so safe for the tinier people in our life, it is necessary to first explain a little bit about lye based soaps. Lye itself is an extremely caustic base to deal with in its raw form - strong enough to score metals and seriously burn flesh. When carefully used to create soap, as it has been for literally thousands of years, it can make a very effective cleaning agent. Soap has been one of humankinds best friends for a long time - the process of emulsification that occurs when you mix lye soap with water allows us to remove most non-soluble materials from our skin, our hair, our clothes - or almost anything else for that matter. The very chemical reaction that allow lye based soap to be so effective at cleaning also means that it can be relatively harsh on new and delicate skin - leaving a stinging sensation on abraded or burned skin and removing natural oils and moisture. When consumed, lye soap is not only a diarrhetic, but a stomach irritant - resulting in nausea and sweating (or fever) in little ones.

By comparison, Glycerin Soap is made with Glycerol, which is composed of alcohols and sugars. Lacking the relatively strong chemical reaction present in lye soap, Glycerin soaps are often not as powerful a cleaning agent - they are not particularly effective against the very heavy oils and grease you might find in an automotive shop for example - but they are far, far gentler on delicate skin. As a humectant Glycerin soaps are very effective at keeping new skin moist and soft. When consumed, Glycerin soap is almost as bad tasting as lye soap (which discourages little ones from eating it), but is only a diarrhetic and rarely causes stomach irritation or other symptoms.

So yes, Glycerin soaps are completely safe around small infants and children.

Soy Wax Questions:

I am often asked how long my candles will last - and just as often I am met with a look of disbelief when I mention the incredibly long time that Soy candles last when compared to traditional paraffin candles. Although no one can ever guarantee the precise length of a candle, after repeated testing and extensive feedback from my crack team of valiant guinea pigs, I can at least state an average length of time that each candle will last.

Whenever I have been able to determine the approximate burn-time of my candle products, I will use this symbol to let my customers know how long the candle will last on average.

In order to get the most out of any Soy candle, it is very important to follow the proper procedure for using Soy candles.

From a health perspective Soy Candles are very safe. Unlike paraffin candles which are made of a petroleum base, natural Soy contains no hazardous compounds such as toluene and benzene. Although several studies over the past ten years have conclusively established that Soy is safer then paraffin when it comes to burning candles in the home, a recent study presented to the American Chemical Society in August 2009 has been both more thorough and specific about the differences in using the two types of candles.

- Study: Some types of candles may pollute indoor air

It is important to note that any candle should be treated with respect when burning. Never leave a lit candle unattended and always make sure that candles are kept out of the reach of pets and little ones who may become curious about the wonderful smell and color of Soy candles - not to mention the flame!

The good news is that Soy Wax is both bio-degradable and water soluble making it easy to clean up and safely dispose of.

First remove as much wax as possible from the item it spilled on. With carpets and other fabrics this means applying an ice cube to further harden the wax and then gently scraping as much off the surface as possible with a butter knife (never use anything sharp that might damage the thing you're trying to clean!). For hard smooth surfaces such as tiles or countertops you can skip the ice cube and go straight to gently scrapping the excess off.

Secondly wash the item in hot, soapy water. With carpets and other fabrics this means using a carpet cleaner or doing things the old fashioned way in a sink. Soy Wax will soften and dissolve at relatively low temperatures, please be careful to use water that is hot but not scalding!

Thirdly, place any excess wax scrapped off in the compost. Unlike petroleum based paraffin, Soy Wax is bio-degradable and should always be recycled whenever possible.

Alternately, if you spill Soy Wax on any smaller glass or metal objects, simply set them in the freezer for a short while (depending on the size of the spill) and gently chip the excess wax off before wiping the item clean with a hot, soapy dish cloth. Since Soy Wax becomes very brittle when frozen this is often the easiest way to clean up votive holders or tart burners.

Without the use of additives Soy Wax tends to contract as it cools. Some contraction in Soy Wax is perfectly normal and to be expected but too much contraction can lead to a cavity forming around the wick, just below the surface of an otherwise normal looking candle. These cavities are actually air pockets which can prevent a proper pool of melted wax from forming. This is a huge annoyance as you try to figure out why your perfectly good candle went out for apparently no reason.

The Soy Wax I use to make my various container candles is specially formulated to adhere to the sides of the container with a minimum of contracting as it cools. Despite this, there are some container shapes (especially those shaped like a plain cylinder with no flares or curves) that seem to encourage the formation of those pesky air pockets. To prevent this, I simply poke a small hole in the top of the candle as it is cooling. After everything has hardened I do a very small second pour to 'top the candle off' and fill in the air pocket.

You may notice that candles with two pours have a much flatter top without any puckering around the wick then single pour candles. Those made with a single pour tend to have a much more consistent color across the outside with no evidence of horizontal lines, or banding.

Both types of candles burn equally well.

Although the Soy I use to make my Soy products is 100% natural, I cannot claim that the end products are 100% Soy as both dye and scents have been added. If you would like a 100% natural Soy product (unscented and undyed), please feel free to contact me.

Without the use of additives to prevent Soy wax from contracting when it cools, container candles made with natural Soy wax tend to pull back slightly from the glass. This can result in 'wet spots' - areas where the wax still maintains contact with the glass. These spots can contract or spread during burning of the candle as the wax flexes during temperature changes. As I do not use additives in my Soy candles this is perfectly natural and to be expected.

Yes! Since Soy has a much lower melting temperature then traditional paraffin candles, it is very important that you only burn a soy candle for the recommended length of time during the first 'burn' - doing so will ensure that you get the most out of your soy candle. Without an initial burn Soy Candles are prone to 'tunneling' and will rapidly burn a narrow path down the wick straight to the bottom of the candle. After the initial burn feel free to enjoy your candle safely as much as you like!

The rule of thumb is to burn a candle for one hour for every inch in its diameter. Using this formula, we would burn a candle with a diameter (the width of the candle at the top) of 1.5" for 90 minutes.