DIY: Let's give Candles another shot.

Oh hey! Remember that time that I tried to make my own candles and shortly afterward I realized that I actually spent more money making the candles then it would have cost me to go to Anthropologie and buy some? Yeah, that was awkward. I had great intentions. It is always fun to make things yourself. 1. You get the satisfaction of saying that you made it. 2. You get he creative fulfillment and experience of making it.  3. It can usually be a cheaper way.

Although the candles I made last January were cute <who doesn't love a candle in a tea cup or a mason jar> , clean burning and not very difficult to make, I made some rookie mistakes that ending up costing me.  Determined that I could do a better job, I set out to make another batch.

This time was better.

Not the best. But better.

This is why this attempt was better:
1. I dumbed down the recipe.
    It is so annoying to me to go online to try to find an easy way to do something only to be inundated with a thousand very detailed articles over. Can someone just give me a step 1, 2, 3 article, please? Thanks.

2. I cut my cost per candle by more than half by using fragrance grade oils instead of medicinal quality essential oils. <Major rookie mistake>

3. It was easier. <Mostly because I had done it before and decided not to stress over it so much.

So, let's get this party started. Although you can read the full DIY article here for my original candle making experience, I have modified and simplified it ALOT and listed it again below.

It's not that hard. Here's what you do.

1. Buy your wax.
I would suggest starting with a 5lb bag of soy wax. It burns cleanly and cleans up well in the candle-making process. For me, the best place to buy this quantity of wax is Amazon. You should pay between $15-20 for this amount of wax.

2. Buy your oils.
Fragrance grade oils are the way to go. They cost around $1 per ounce and you will need about 2 ounces per pound of wax.

3. Buy your wicks-- also best on Amazon.

4. Get your containers. <You can pretty much use anything as long as it has a large opening and is obviously made of something that wont burn. Thrift stores are the Mecca for this.>

5. Set your wicks in the containers.
   Easiest way: Use a glue gun to put a dot on the bottom of the wick. Set it inside and stabilize it with some shiskabobs taped together. <Super fancylike.>

6. Melt your wax in a double boiler.
  For me, take my spaghetti pan and put water in it to boil. Set my glass salad bowl inside. <It cleans up well, don't worry, you can still eat salad at my house>

7. Pour in your wax. Depending on the size of your container, an easy amount to manage per load for me is 2-3 lbs of wax.

8. Let the water boil and melt the wax completely. Stirring occasionally. This take some time.

9. Pour in your fragrance oils. **One of the mistakes I made this go around is not using enough fragrance oil. The bottle said 1 ounce per pound, so naturally I used 1.5 ounces per pound but I actually think it should be more like 2 ounces per pound. I'll be honest,  if I could do it over, I would maybe even use 3 ounces per pound because I like a strong candle. So, you decide for yourself.**
Example: If you melt 2 lbs of wax, then use 4-6 ounces of fragrance oil.

10. Let it cool down for a few mins, then pour into your containers.

Let them sit in a cool dry area for about 24 hours before burning.

See, wasn't that much easier this time?
These candles smell significantly better <although I still wish they were stronger and will use more oils next time> and were significantly cheaper. <Around $3-4 per candle instead of the $7-8 before>
I chose lavender again and also a vanilla cookie--which doesn't really smell like a vanilla cookie at all, but it smells really delicious, so who cares.

Maybe the third time is the charm and it will really be good then. Progress over perfection, my friends.

DIY Mason Jar & Tea cup Candles

As you may know, I love a good DIY. 

1. Because it is so much fun when people compliment something and ask where I got it and I can say "Oh, I made it." <----- This doesn't exactly happen much, but it's fun when it actually does.

2. There is a sense of excitement when you make something for yourself instead of buying it. It's so Martha Stewart meets Laura Ingles Wilder.

3. It's fun.

Making candles has been on my to-do list for quite a while, so I began researching on some blogs and found some great advice and resources.  Like where to buy soy wax flakes.  (about $15 on Amazon- see link.) Also, where to buy wicks. (About $9 on Amazon- see link.) But the #1 thing I learned is that making candles is easy done when you just do it--- you can drive yourself crazy researching and reading blog after blog about what temperature to add your fragrance, what temperature to pour into your container, what containers to use, etc. Just do it-- it's really incredibly simple and the only way to screw it up is to overthink it.

That being said, here is how I did it:

Supplies:

1. Soy Wax Flakes- 5lbs

2. Wicks - these come in large quantities so save them for next time.

3. Containers -you can use anything and everything. I like Mason Jars and Tea cups, but next time I am hoping to venture into some fun tins.

4. Fragrance Oils - Yes, you can use essential oils, but I learned this can get very expensive. More details below.

5. Double Boiler- The wax comes off of the glass container very easily so don't be afraid to use a good piece of cookware.

6. Thermometer- more comments on this below.

7. Hot Glue Gun or a substitute to keep the wicks stuck to be bottom of the container.

8. Shishkabob sticks or something similar.

9. Tape

Lets get started. 

Put about 2 lbs of wax in your double boiler.

Stir until it melts and is completely clear.

Once it is clear, remove from the double boiler with a potholder.

Let it sit and cool. (Now, my research says that it needs to be 120 degrees before you add the oils, Other research says 160 degrees. Im 99% sure my thermometer didn't even work properly, so I just used my own judgement and once it started to not look 100% clear, I added the oils.

**While it is cooling, get your containers ready.

Put a dab of hot glue on the bottom of the wick.

Set it in the middle of the bottom of the container.

Put shiskabob sticks on either side of the wicks and tape them together to keep it stable.

Once your wax has cooled, put in your oil. Here is where I learned my lesson. You really need about 5 table spoons of pure essential oils PER POUND. If you know anything about essential oils, you know they can be pricy and five tablespoons is about a half of a small bottle. So do yourself a favor and use all natural oils that was not as high grade- often referenced as fragrance oils. (I got Lavender and Lemon from Young Living which smell fantastic, but I ended up using about $45 dollars worth of oil for my 5lb of wax. You can get a lower grade oil at a health food store or Kroger for about 1/4 of the price. I wouldn't suggest a cheaper oil EVER for diffusing or other medicinal purposes, but for candles, it is totally ok and saves alot of money. Amazon has some really inexpensive options for this as well.)

After you mix in your oils, pour into your containers.

Let sit 8-12 hours until completely solid.

Enjoy.

A few great things about soy wax:

Again, I am not a fan at all of soy in my diet, but with candles, it is fabulous. Soy wax is such a clean burn. They don't create the smoke like other waxes.

It is naturally a beautiful beige color so it matches everything.

It burns longer.

This was a really fun DIY project and super easy.

My number one advice would be to keep it simple.

That's all, folks. Light em up and happy burning.

"Haste Makes Waste"

When I was in college I worked for a local judge and court of judiciary leader, J.S. Daniel. I worked for him for a few years and have many fond memories of him and my work there. I would sometimes make a mistake in some paperwork or filing he asked me to do and when he reviewed it he would always say, "Anna, haste makes waste." I do tend to be in a hurry in alot of things in life. I have a strong "get it done" attitude and always try to be as efficient as possible. This can sometimes get me in trouble. 


When we first started to renovate the house, my "get it done attitude" caused a little trouble. Trying to get things done quickly when renovating is never a good idea. Instead, it requires alot of patience. ( I have the patience of a four year old... so this can sometimes pose a problem.) Needless to say, as cheesy as it may sound, this house project has really changed me in alot of ways. It has taught me patience, understanding and that everything is not always going to be perfect.


Doing things hastily in the house caused for alot of things to have to be re-done, which is frustrating and expensive. Lesson learned, Judge Daniel. ;)


Below is the new upstairs bathroom. I won't put up a before picture because its right after breakfast and I don't want you guys to puke. (Also, because I can't find one off hand ; )

This is what all was done: Tiled the floor, painted the cabinets, new light, new mirror and paint. (painted twice now..hehe)