Chandlers In the Family

Chan-dler:

A person who makes or sells candles

 

 Chandler:

A cute little kid

With any luck at all we will soon have TWO Chandlers in the family : )

I've been busy with research and development - desperately trying to make my candles behave so they will fill your homes with the most exquisite aromas possible:

 

Let me tell you, it's no easy task!

Now who would think Monkey Farts would smell a lot better than Grandma's Buns?  It's true - Monkey Farts are a hit around here but Grandma's Buns just didn't make the cut.  And, believe it or not, I DID NOT come up with the name for "Monkey Farts" - that's exactly how the fragrance supplier has it listed!

The main reason this is taking so long is because I have made the decision to make my candles with soy wax - ALL NATURAL SOY WAX - not a "soy blend" - and all natural soy wax candles are pretty darn tricky to perfect.

When adding color to soy wax, it does funky things when you burn the candles - like "jump lines" - that's what the experts call it.  It creates a stripe of colorless wax and makes them look ugly.  Yuck. 

Without adding color to the wax, they are a bit blah looking, but as you can see, soy burns clean - no soot; melts evenly across the top - no wasted wax clinging to the sides of the jar; soy burns longer than paraffin; and soy wax is water soluble  - meaning you can clean up accidental spills with water!  

 

If all of that isn't enough reason to go soy,

I live in IOWA for crying out loud.

What kind of Baffoon would settle for paraffin wax when they live in the heart of soy country?

 

So, I'm learning to tweak.

A little creative labeling hides the hideousness of the jump lines in colored candles.

 

  Offering personalized labels is a great distraction too : )

 

Using re-usable containers allows for using no dye and is another advantage soy wax has over paraffin.  Since soy wax is water soluble, all it takes is a little soap and water to clean out the container (like this cute little sherbet dish I got at my favorite store in the whole world - Streck Sales [Hi Jolene!]).  

So, I've got the detailing down to a manageable level, now it's a matter of perfecting the top secret recipes.

Different fragrance oils call for different fragrance loads and wick sizes. 

 

So, I'll be monkeying around for awhile : )

Twenty-five Below

Baby, it's cold outside!  They're registering our wind chill at twenty-five degrees below zero today - so I'm really glad for those big snow drifts blocking our road.. it means I can't go out!  I guess I'll stay in the house where it's nice and warm and keep plugging away at making candles : )

I'm a bit candle crazy these days.... so many things to consider - and recipes to get "just right".  But I haven't forgotten about the sweet day approaching soon and I'm getting ready for it!

Everybody needs a pretty place to park their Valentines, don't they? 

I went to my scrap heap and found some material I thought would work well and started cutting out hearts.  I had no idea what they would become, so I just winged it.

Of course I had to "antique" the striped ticking material (that's become another obession!) because I just love the grubby, old look.  I simply layered the hearts and used crochet thread (I think that's what it's called) to sew them together creating two pockets.

I also made myself a little Valentine  - just in case I don't get any.

Now it's back to making candles - a nice occupation for a horribly cold day!