Soy Candles

A friend of mine received  a candle for her birthday. I jokingly asked, if it was soy. She said no, but it is so pretty. Well it was, with sequins and painted design , along with lace on top, with ribbons streaming. Wow, and it smelled o.k., if you like strong perfume. Beside the fact that it was a paraffin blend candle, and shockingly expensive, I would much prefer the fresh and clean soy candles I have. I thought the purpose , for the most part, of burning candles, were for the calming, pleasant aroma.  I like these clean burning candles so much, I have begun to learn how to make them. My first batch was o.k., since I had my 10 year old granddaughter helping me, which she thoroughly enjoyed. Now, I’m looking forward to making some more. This time, I want to try some decorative tricks.

I have watched a few videos as to some of the things you can do. The  videos are available on this page,.

I plan to become more expertise. in order to share with friends and family, and have candle making  times  with the grandchildren.  The trickiest part is placing the wick, so that it will stay on the bottom, and not float.  I have ordered my candle making kit, which has everything you need except a ruler,  and your candle thermometer. I just use a candy thermometer which works just as well. Another factor, is that you can use old candle containers, and even purchase some candle containers from the craft stores. Be sure to use only containers made for candles♠♠

I hope you’ll join me in making some candles with our soy candle making kits.. The decorative items are available in craft stores.

If anyone has some ideas, for decorating candle containers, I would love to hear from you. Send pictures if you like. There is some great information out there, as well as tips on making candles, such as how to place the wick, which in my opinion is the trickiest part. Another consideration  is choosing the container.

For now, have a great week.. I am looking forward to hearing from you. Let’s have some fun making soy candles, while it’s cold outside, and maybe even snowing. Get your family involved. Kids love to learn new stuff . There is nothing like seeing a child learn a new skill that they can show off.

Check out this very short video about decorating candle jars below.

How to♠ decorate soy candle jars

How to decorate soy candle jars

This next video shows the best way to place the wick.

How to Pick Soy Candle Jars — powered by eHow.com

ore expertise. in order to share with friends and family, and have candle making  times  with the grandchildren.  The trickiest part is placing the wick, so that it will stay on the bottom, and not float.  I have ordered my candle making kit, which has everything you need except a ruler,  and your candle thermometer. I just use a candy thermometer which works just as well. Another factor, is that you can use old candle containers, and even purchase some candle containers from the craft stores. Be sure to use only containers made for candles♠♠

I hope you’ll join me in making some candles with our soy candle making kits.. The decorative items are available in craft stores.

If anyone has some ideas, for decorating candle containers, I would love to hear from you. Send pictures if you like. There is some great information out there, as well as tips on making candles, such as how to place the wick, which in my opinion is the trickiest part. Another consideration  is choosing the container.

For now, have a great week.. I am looking forward to hearing from you. Let’s have some fun making soy candles, while it’s cold outside, and maybe even snowing. Get your family involved. Kids love to learn new stuff . There is nothing like seeing a child learn a new skill that they can show off.

Check out this very short video about decorating candle jars below.

How to♠ decorate soy candle jars

How to decorate soy candle jars

This next video shows the best way to place the wick.

How to Pick Soy Candle Jars — powered by eHow.com

As a single mom doing my best to raise two teenage boys, I’ve had my share of joys and frustrations. I have a sneaking suspicion that my home would be a bit quieter and tidier if I had two girls instead, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. When the boys come home from football practice in the fall, their gear is soaked in sweat and all of the equipment stinks to high heaven. It’s all I can do to keep from gagging.

When offensive odors begin to filter through the household, I immediately turn on a pair of electric candle warmers. Plug-in air fresheners and deodorizers mount an attack on the senses, overpowering all other smells but becoming overwhelming in their own right. Tart warmers are much more subtle, and they come in a wide variety of appealing scents. Until the boys grow up and move away to college, I’ll be sticking with these trusty tart warmers.

Home decorations tend to be geared first and foremost toward the eye. It’s no secret that visual appeal makes a huge difference from the moment one enters a room. A large couch or chair might catch your eye as the centerpiece of the space, or perhaps a hearth or entertainment center draws the most attention. Then there are the small touches – the vases, paintings, books and figurines that serve as stylish accents, complementing the whole.

Few people take the time to consider a room’s aural appeal. Just think of all the pleasant, reassuring sounds you might associate with a safe, secure home. Maybe it’s the barely noticeable drone of chirping crickets or the occasional car passing on a distant highway. Near the beach, gentle waves sooth families to sleep. Table chimes allow you to add a charming contribution to the home’s natural array of sounds.

When I was young, my grandmother was active on the local craft fair circuit. As a cute kid with missing front teeth, I would come along as a means to sell more crafts and also as the person who would help her to pitch the tent. I can still remember so many of the specifics of those works of art, most of which were made painstakingly in grandma’s garage. The hand-painted wooden snowmen were big sellers in the fall.

But above all I remember the sonorous tones of her handcrafted wind chimes, which were fashioned out of dining utensils. The forks, spoons and knives each made a distinctive sound as they clattered together in the summer breeze. These days I’ve found a way to replicate that nostalgic sound: a solarchime that works year round and even indoors. It doesn’t even need any wind to function perfectly.

When you look at them in the grand scheme of things, soy candles are still a relatively new invention. They were originally brought to market as an alternative to beeswax, which has always been on the expensive side. Soy wax is also all-natural; it’s not derived from petroleum, which would raise carbon dioxide levels in the Earth’s atmosphere. And soy candles last much longer than their traditional paraffin wax counterparts.

For those who prefer a flameless alternative, the soy tart is a sensible solution. It can be used in any standard electric tart warmer, and the pleasant odor permeates through the room in record time as the wax melts. Soy wax boasts a lower boiling point, which means that the tart’s essential oils are dispersed throughout the area quickly and efficiently.

My research on solar power has certainly been educational.  The sun is a natural marvel that we are just beginning to appreciate. Although, many cultures have embraced the sun as their God, over centuries. In the 1890’s, solar water heaters were being used in the more sunny areas of the U.S.

 Then , in the 1920’s, large supplies of coal and oil were discovered, becoming the choice of many, with their low cost. Of course, we know today, these resources are not renewable. It is because of that we are now faced with how to best utilize our natural renewable resources for energy. There is still much more to be researched before we can rely on these sources of power. As we wait for this, we can still do our best to preserve what we have left.

As I listen to my sweet solar chimes sitting on the bookcase in my office, I will be reminded of all the research and hard work that is going on to bring the power of our sun to heat our homes and water, and provide us with enough solar power for all our needs.

Live Well! Enjoy More!

If you’re planning your wedding and wondering how to decorate tables at the reception, consider adding romantic ambiance with candles. A dim room that’s glowing with candles seems extra special and will carry over the romance from the wedding ceremony to the wedding reception. You can also supplement the scent of your decorative flowers with scented candles that smell like flowers or spices, like Lily of the Valley or sage. For a green wedding, be sure to use soy candles rather than paraffin wax candles.

Soy candles are made from all-natural soy wax, which is hydrogenated soybean oil. Paraffin candles are made with petroleum and increase the level of CO2 in the atmosphere. Soy candles are clean-burning, produce less soot and can last up to 50% longer than paraffin. Aside from using them to decorate your wedding, consider giving them out as “thank you” gifts to your guests. A scented soy candle makes a great little keepsake for your guests to remember your wedding and create a relaxing environment in their homes.

Well, we finally got around to making our soy candles. I never knew this could be so much fun, and so much mess!! .

As it turns out, my granddaughter that is 10 came to stay with me for about 4 days. So, we got into the thick of it. We read and re-read the instructions after watching the video.

We had our candle making kit and other supplies,  covered the Island with newspaper for catching the mess. Then we put the water on to boil, as we chose which fragrance and color to start with. And we began very methodically, reviewing all the steps as we went along.

Well, we forgot that we would be on the other side of the kitchen with the double boiler,(no newspaper) so had a grand mess to clean up.  Then we couldn’t get the wicks to stay put. We dipped the ends with the little metal things in the wax, and let them stand for about 30 seconds. They still wouldn’t sit still, and when we poured the wax into the jar, they swam all around. We stood there for a while, holding the wicks, until we couldn’t anymore. We laid two pencils across the jar and went out to lunch.

When the first one dried, it was perfect, although the wicks were too close together the fragrance was yummy too.  It was Fresh Cut Grass. The next two had little craters in them,. I called my supplier, and asked about the problems I was having. We decided that my thermometer didn’t work right, because he said the wax was too hot, so bought another one today. Remember you have to cool it down to 120 degrees to pour. That is what is so critical for a perfect candle.

I really enjoyed myself, though, and so glad to have worked out some of the mistakes. Can’t wait to do this again with one of the grandchildren.

Oh! also, to cure the crater attack, I melted the top of the candles with a hair dryer on low heat,  For those who will be trying this for the first time, don’t try using the dryer on high, unless you want wax all over the place. I should know, cause I did that too. The candles turned out beautiful. One candle fragrance was Mom’s Lilac Bush in our version of purple, and the other was Annie’s Spring Rain, in sort of blue-green, some of my favorites.

As soon as I get the wax off the counter, I’ll be even happier. I’m just kidding. Thank Heaven this was soy, and not paraffin. It was so easy to clean up. Just use really hot water. Oh, and put hot pads between you and the hot water. You said it, I did that without hot pads. It’s o.k. My burns are much better, now.

Have Fun out there!!

When I moved my family into a new neighborhood, I noticed that our next-door neighbor had an incredible collection of wind chimes hanging on his front porch. There were wind chimes of every size, shape, color and sound. The sound of them all chiming in the wind was incredible, but a little too much for my taste. Luckily, his house is far enough away from ours that we only hear them chiming while we are outside doing yard work. Some people enjoy the sound of many chimes at once, but I prefer the beautiful sound of a single wind chime swaying in the wind.

One day not long after we first moved in, I came home from work to find a gift-wrapped box on my front porch. A note attached to the gift read, “Welcome to the neighborhood!” It was from the neighbor next door with the impressive wind chime collection. Lo and behold, the gift turned out to be beautiful, unique wind chimes. I went next door to thank my neighbor, then hung the wind chimes on my back porch. That was several years ago, and now I am used to the peaceful sound of wind chimes while I garden or just relax. They really do make great housewarming gifts, as my very nice neighbor proved.