becomingkate

Duh, I should be titling my candle entries so I can go back and find what I did for a certain color or scent.

I ordered a bunch of stuff from candlescience.com and I think I found my new one-stop candle supply website.  They have stuff in bulk, including scents. I know I was going to use EO but that is going to prove very expensive because they come in teeny bottles that only have enough for a few candles.  The stuff on this site is said to be very high quality and they have premixed combination scents and everything.

So, I kind of flaked out on a couple things when I made these.  First of all I wanted a sort of yellow-green color.  So why would I use equal parts yellow and green if I wanted it more yellow?  Because I suck at logic, that's why.  I still think it's a nice color.

I bought these votive molds and I remembered to spray them this time.  I also bought wick pins, which are essentially metal wicks that have a big base that fits the votive mold perfectly so they are centered right.  You put them in first and then pour the wax. When the candles are completely hard you remove them from the molds, slide out the wick pin and slide in a tabbed wick.  I tried it with the small candle and it worked pretty well.

Remember I said I sprayed the molds?  It didn't work.  I am doing freezer candles again :(  My can of Pam sucks, apparently.  

I heated the wax to the max temp, 185.  They came out a lot smoother looking than the previous ones.  I love how shiny they look on top.  Also, I was pouring water into my makeshift double boiler and I got some water in the wax in the pouring pot.  That's why there are some air bubbles.

I don't really like the double boiler system.  The pouring pot is very lightweight and it just kind of floats on the pot of water underneath it (you're not supposed to put wax directly on heat or it will burn).  There is some kind of crock pot style thing that everyone recommends; I'm going to look it up and ask for it for Christmas.

When I added the scent that was all I could smell all day.  I hope it's not too strong when I burn it.


So anyway, I kept the wax at the max temp (185) for the whole process and that seemed to help.  But again, some chipped edges.  I also forgot to do the second pour (I didn't have enough wax left over--I shouldn't have made that tiny candle).
 

 I just ordered a bunch of candle stuff. I couldn't find any tealights or other holders in bulk, which is weird, I mean they've got to be out there, right? but the stuff is going to take a few days to come in so in the next couple days I'll just go to the craft store and see if they have any.  I guess I will start with tealights since they'll be the cheapest to buy.

I went to Target to pick up a few things.  I bought mostly warmer clothes and a jacket for my son, but I picked up some bacon and tomatoes.  As I was about to cash out I noticed I left my card at home! Arg.  So I asked the girl to hold the stuff and she said they couldn't hold the bacon because it was cold food, even when I said I'd be back in 10 minutes.  Cold food is good out of the fridge for up to 4 hours.  And since I have bought food from Target that has turned out to be expired, I thought being picky over the bacon that was still cold when I came back was a bit silly.  I mean I have walked around Target with bacon in my cart longer than it took me to go home, get my card and come back.  I would have fought it but I just didn't have the energy, but they also held the tomatoes too, which didn't make sense because tomatoes are on the shelf, not in the cooler section. 

I was going to make a BLT lettuce wrap out of said bacon and tomatoes so that idea was shot.  So on the way home I went to Taco Bell and got a quesadilla with shredded chicken.  This is what I resort to when I'm hungry and out of ideas.  Never mind that I could have made a tuna salad or something else at home.

I mentioned that when I start getting into making candles that I wanted to make a skull that has red wax in it so that when you burn it, the wax melts out of the eyes. Like this one:


So we went to a Halloween store today and I caught my husband checking out the skulls :D He has made resin models before so he said he could help me make something like this.  I guess I could make the skull from wax and cut out a space for the red wax? I don't know.  I'm sure there's a tutorial online somewhere of how to make them.  All we need now is some money...Dang it, I'm never going to get this thing rolling before all the awesome fall/winter holidays!

Happy fall equinox everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying their pumpkin, cinnamon, apple, squash, etc. flavored things.  I've been doing some stuff with candles and trying to teach myself how to meditate.  My problem is I can't get my mind to shut up and I haven't liked any of the guided meditations I found online.  I found one woman who does a lot, but she sounds like the minister at the UU church I left.  LOL.

I made stuffed peppers for my mother when she came down yesterday and they came out great.  I was worried, as I always am when I cook for others.  But they were delicious if I say so myself.  The best recipe that works for me is the same recipe I use for my meatballs.  Basically a lb. of meat, rice (as much as you like but I think I start with one cup raw rice, cook it and add all or most of it) one egg, a piece of bread soaked in milk, garlic, salt and pepper and Italian seasonings.  I cook that mixture together and I stuff the peppers and top them with a litte tomato sauce.  Cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes at 350 and top with cheese--I used fresh mozz, but you can use anything you like.  Broil it for a few minutes to melt the cheese and that's it.  I made a nice salad with the rest of the cherry tomatoes from the garden, the rest of the fresh mozz and some basil, on top of a lettuce mix and with an apple cider vinaigrette.  

 Round one of candles are done! I was kind of disappointed with how quick it is.  LOL.  The scent is called Pearberry and they are turning sort of a light seafoam green as they are drying (but a pretty emerald green when melted, I'm sad they didn't stay that way)

They'll be ready tomorrow.

I'm probably going to keep the first couple batches for myself, but once I get going I would love to have some test subjects to try my candles and let me know what you think (and donate if possible!).  Do they smell good, are they good quality, do the wicks work well, etc. and as I get better I look forward to doing layered candles, molds, etc.

 So excited to read more about paganism.  I also can't wait to get to the ren fest (this weekend it rained so we didn't go) and look for some stones and things and maybe even talk to some people.  I don't know.

I mentioned I wanted to try making candles, and then later my husband lamented, "I wish we had more to do together."  I joked "We can make candles together" and he thought I was serious.  Oh crap! I kind of wanted it to be my own thing.  Well luckily, I'm home by myself most of the week and I might just have to get through one or two days of him wanting to try it with me on the weekend...and then my son will want to try...who knows, maybe they'll love it!  My husband is kind of sensitive to scents though, so it might be too much for him.  In the future I might make custom candles, with different colors and scents and maybe some crystals embedded into them or whatever else I learn how to do.  I might start by buying one of those cheap kits at the craft store and then move up to making them from scratch.  Everybody loves candles, right?

Do any of you make candles?

I'm going with this..it's weird but since the pagan thing seemed to catch on quick for me, I'm going with my gut for this too.  I'm just not going to dive in too deep with the candles or the paganism.  Usually when I start something new I want to learn all the things really fast and I get overwhelmed and give up.  I'm taking my time this time.