A Trip Down Memory Lane-Part II

I was looking for some Christmas graphics on my 'puter when I stumbled across an old folder. I completely forgot that I used to make candles and I mean all kinds of candles! The picture quality is horrible (I was just starting out, so cut me a break:D), but the candles are so cute. I still do a few of these around the holidays for friends and co-workers, but for the most part, I've hung up my chandler gloves. Here a few pics:

Apple pies and tarts

A La Mode Pies

Fruit Bowls

Candy Jars

Cinnamon Roll Votives

"Piegasms"

Misc. Jar Candles

Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Tarts

Cola and Strawberry Lemonade Gel Candles

Bananaberry and Strawberry Shortcakes

Cheesecakes

It's The Little Things...

that make me happy like winning giveaways! Peep this gorgeous candle I received from Erica of The Bonnie Bath Co. The packaging, the candle, the scent...all lovely. I don't want to burn it! It's scented in Farmhouse Cider. Thanks Erica for the lovely candle!

An Old Friend Revisited

I don't know why I stopped making candles. Oh yeah, I do know why: They weren't selling, lol! I love to burn candles-especially when I'm being super trifling by letting the garbage pile up or not changing the yip's litter box like I should. When I first started making candles, I used only paraffin wax. Mainly because it was cheap, but also because I didn't know anything about soy wax. Now I've read all the debates between the soy joys and the paraffiners, and I have to admit that I prefer soy wax. I've found that it really does burn cleaner, and to me, it holds scent much stronger than paraffin. I love how my candle burns "down" with no wax stuck to the walls of the jar. I don't have to preheat my jars with soy wax like I did with paraffin.

So, I've decided to reintroduce my soy candles, and I call them Happy Endings, and yes, they are dessert-inspired. They're made with 100% soy wax, and they're dye-free. Some may have a slight tint due to the color of the fragrance oil. I plan to introduce one new fragrance a month. First up is Oh Cherry. This is a very strong scent. It smells of fluffy, whipped meringue topped with a bunch of maraschino cherries. So, naturally, I had to top this candle with a maraschino cherry.

Flame Porn: Candle Confections

It's Monday, so I'm doing my regular, weekly feature. This week's Queen of Flame is the owner of Candle Confections. I met Sherry months ago thru an Etsy convo, and we've sort of lost touch, but I've never forgotten her or her scrumptious-looking flames. I told her how in awe of work I was, and that I was insanely jealous of her talent. Look at this delicious Strawberry Covered Chocolate Cake in a jar. Don't you just want to grab a spoon and dig in? Oh how I long for smell-o-vision! One day I'll try to make my own version of this decadent candle. Look for a tutorial soon. I think this would make a nice gift for the person who has it all

Flame Porn

No I aint talkin' about gay porn you pervs (smile), I'm talking about candles! Everyone in the soaping circle knows that soap porn is a popular feature, but dangit, I want some candle porn! I love candles, and I want to spread the love! First up, someone I consider the queen of flame, Misty-owner of Burnt Mill Candles and Soap. This gal's got skills! Check these candles out! I am so jealous right now I could scream! Look at the craftmanship and the color. These are awesome. I actually ordered some from her that are waiting for me at the post office (can't leave work earlier enough to pick them up-will get them this weekend for sure!)

I'm gonna make this a weekly feature. Chandlers need love too!

Like A Moth To A Flame...

burned by the fire. I love my candles, can't you see my desire? Okay, I stole that from Janet Jackson, but I've been on a candle kick lately. I made this strawberry shortcake one that I just listed on Etsy. I've been neglecting my flames, and I need to get back on track. I've been so consumed with soap lately, that I actually forgot how to make this friggin candle. Can you believe it? It's not rocket science, but I have my ways of doing things. The strawberries are made wax made just for embedding. I don't use soy wax for my embeds because its too soft, and I can't get it out of my molds. I just don't recommend soy wax for embedding. If you know of how to use soy wax to make embeds, let me know.

I'm off to make more candles. We're having a gift exchange next week, and I'm making a gift basket of my different offerings.

I'm A Busy, Crafty Chick!

Hello Decadent Subjects,

I usually go through periods of extreme creativtiy and low crafter's block. So what's my latest obsession? It's pillar candles! I've always been intimidated by them for some reason, but as anyone who wants to learn how to do something, you study, and you study hard. One of my favorite candle suppliers, Cierra Candles, sadly closed shop a few months ago, and everything was going at rock bottom prices, so I scooped up a few pillar molds to test the waters. My one beef with aluminum pillar molds: the hard, metal edges. I've cut myself numerous times on those damn things, but they make gorgeous candles!

I made a few pillars today, and I don't think they look bad for a first effort. I love heart-shaped molds. I've sort of adopted hearts as my signature theme. Hearts mean so much to me for so many reasons (another day, another post.) Here are two that I've made-Pumpkin Mousse and Cherry Cola. I don't have any pillar wax right now (I've ordered some from Candle Science today) so I'm using palm wax that's actually formulated for containers. These didn't turn out too badly. I used a cool water bath to give them a shiny-like finish. Palm wax really holds scent nicely. It also gives a slightly mottled or crackled appearance which I really like. The two candles above are scented in Pumpkin Mousse and Cherry Cola (an actual mix of cherry and cola). I got those from Candles and Supplies. I'm going to give these to a couple of friends to test because they really aren't fit to sell.

The Big Reveal! Ok, Maybe Not So Big

Hey Ya'll,

My "alkie" candles are finished, and while I'm not completely happy with the results, I'm not unhappy either. I know I'm going to catch HELL for this, but I'm not a big fan of pure soy and that's what these candles are made of. Yes, soy is cleaner and supposedly better for the environment, yadda, yadda, but I can't get past the pastel colors they produce no matter how much dye or color chips I use. If any soy experts out there know of a way for me to produce a richer, bolder color in soy wax, please let me know. Also, when the soy hardens, it's still really soft, and they make a little crease around my wick. Ok, I'm being picky, but I like paraffin. There, I said it. I LIKE PARAFFIN!!!! Enough of my bitching, here's the finished product. I'm going to next make a batch with a soy/paraffin blend to see if I notice any difference. Oh, the fragrances I used for my alkie candles: the pink one is called Daiquiri Luxe, the brownish-gray one is called Flaming Black Russian, the brownish-yellow one is called Southern Iced Tea (for those who don't imbibe), and lastly, the mint colored one is called Watermelon Martini.

Something New

Hey My Lovelies,

Most of my candles, as you've seen, have been shaped like some kind of cake or pastry or scrumptious dessert item. I've decided to try making a "regular" container candle. I've done them before, but it's been a good 5 or 6 months. To keep my theme going, all the scents of course, will be "edible," but with a twist. I haven't decided on a name for this line yet, but all the scents will be based on either some of my favorite drinks or those of my friends. But there's one more catch: All the scents will be "alcoholic." I found these cool jars over at Candles and Supplies. I think they're elegant without breaking my budget. I've got a few tasty cordials I'm preparing now. I'll have some pics tomorrow. Oh, guess what I'm watching? The Lost Boys. Oh my goodness, I'm really old now:-D Smooches!

New Product Alert and Candle Making Tutorial

Good Afternoon Everyone,

As I stated in my previous post, I was going to be making either soap or candles, and I decided on candles since I haven't talked about them much since I started blogging. Candles in themselves are pretty simple to make, but I'm having difficulties personally with choosing the right wick size. Why is that important you may ask? The wick really is the most important part of the candle. It will ultimately determine the performance of your candle in terms of burn time, burn capacity, flame capacity, and scent throw to name a few. If the wick is too small, the melted wax around the wick will extinguish the flame. If the wick is too large on the other hand, then it will shorten your burn time, create a really high and dangerous flame, and you'll get that ugly black soot around your candle container. Okay, that's your quick tip of the day, now on to the good stuff. My beverage candles which I currently sell on Etsy inspired me to make a new candle with the same jars. I call these Decadent Sundaes, and yes, I will be selling these on Etsy.


Decadent Sundaes are just that: I took strawberry scented gel wax and hot fudge scented soy/paraffin wax and drizzled them along the insides of a 7 oz fountain soda jar. Then I heated some soy/paraffin blend wax (it's not too hard and not too soft), scented with either Strawberry Jam fragrance or Vanilla Bean fragrance then let cool for about 15 minutes until it formed a slight skin. I next took my battery-operated drink mixer and whipped the wax for about five minutes until it began to appear whipped in texture and appearance. I did not want the wax to harden, but stay pourable. Once I poured the whipped concoction, I set a waxed ice cream scoop on top. For the Strawberry Sundae, I placed two waxed strawberries on the side, then I drizzled some more gel wax over the ice cream and the strawberries to set them. For the Hot Fudge Sundae, I placed a wax cherry on top of the ice cream scoop, then drizzled more hot fudge wax over them. Check out the set up through the finish.

Flaming Special Monday!!!

Hello to all out there in blogger land! Today is Monday, and if you didn't know, now you know! It's time for the weekly Flaming Special at my Etsy site. I call it the Pie-ro-maniac. It's an assortment of my pie candles all for $20.00-a $27.50 value. It's an opportunity to try something new and different in candles. They're whimsical and untraditional, yet fully functional and loaded with lots of scent. My co-workers buy them and set them all over their houses. I tell them all the time to light them. That's how the scent travels. Besides, I can't make any money off of them if they don't burn them:-) Seriously, check out the Pie-ro-Maniac over at http://www.thedecadentflame.etsy.com/.