Can I Candle?

The end of the blog, but not the end of candle making. This week I made three candles. I think I have finally figured out a method that is efficient, I can make multiple at a time, and the wick stays in place! I haven't added pictures since week 2 probably, so here is a picture of my set up. It looks weird, but it works!  As far as continuing with my new occupation, I have some more holiday fragrance oils on hand and some more wax, so I will make a few more before Christmas. Once I am out of my shaved wax, I will probably re-use the wax from some of my candles that didn't turn out much of a scent. After that, I will probably take a break from candle making, since the supplies are a little bit expensive. Though I kind of like the idea of getting to a point where I have good looking and good smelling candles that I could try to sell. I don't think I would do it all the time, but maybe do some in the spring and some in fall/holiday seasons. It could at the very least help cove...

  This week I decided to buy some new fragrance oil, since I used up my fancy all natural kind. But instead of getting the cheaper Walmart brand I got the Better Homes & Garden brand, hoping that it wouldn't smell as cheap. Of course I couldn't decide which scents to buy, so I bought about 6 different ones, including some Christmas scents. This week I just made one candle with a "Honeysuckle & Mint" fragrance oil. I lit the vanilla and cinnamon candle from a few weeks ago and it has no scent. So far my homemade fragrances are pretty pathetic. But that's okay, because Walmart sells some good smells.  Many of my blog posts have told the story of this occupation and other aspects of my life. My story goes back to my childhood, where I grew up doing all sorts of crafty/creative things with my mom. I am the only girl in my family, and even though my mom also taught my brothers how to sew and things, sewing and crafting was a special time for me and my mom. I al...

 This week I made a pine scented candle. This was my last scent on hand, and I don't really want to buy more fragrance oil, so I think I'm going to find new things to experiment with instead of different fragrances. For starters, I haven't lit all of the candles yet, so I need to do that and compare the different scents. I lit my trader joe candle once, and from that it seems like the strength is comparable to my homemade candles, but for all of them it is pretty low. I think I prefer larger candles with a stronger scent, like the ones from Bath and Body works.  It is kind of fun to apply these concepts we are learning about in our own lives. If I were to just pick a new hobby, I would not be stopping to think about what it means and how it influences my life, etc. In terms of starting a new occupation, I didn't have complete autonomy since it was required for school, and school continues to be an external motivation to continue this new occupation. However, compared to...