DIY Beeswax Tart Candles

I've been working on some craft ideas that would make cute little gifts lately (you know, wedding season is fast approaching). These cute little candles fit the bill! I used mini tart pans from the kitchen goods store in my neighborhood (about 50-60 cents a piece) as the containers for my candles. The wicks, wax and honey almond scent are from Bulk Apothecary, they aren't paying me for saying that- I just really like ordering my candle making/lotion making supplies from them, they have all kinds of awesome stuff.

To make these candles at home you will need:

Beeswax (If you can find it in the tiny pellets, I recommend it. Grating whole blocks of wax is tedious)
candle wicks
containers (I used mini tart shells)
Fragrance oil (optional) Beeswax does have a subtle scent on its own, and you certainly don't need to scent your candles if you prefer them to be more plain
Glass bowl* (to create a double boiler)
stirring utensil* (I use a plastic spoon)

*I always recommend that you use a bowl and spoon for making candles/beauty products that you do not eat with. I got a pack of plastic spoons as well as a glass bowl at the dollar store. I always hand wash these items and keep them separate from the dishes we eat with.

To start, I measure out my wax pellets. I wanted my tart shells to be pretty much full, so I filled each tarts hell I was using so it was heaping with pellets and dumped them into my glass bowl. I then added a couple extra Tablespoons of pellets just in case any got spilled when filling my candles.

I had ordered a large quantity of 3" long wicks, so I trimmed them a bit before placing them in the tart pans (to about 1.5"). Once the candles are done, you can trim the wicks further if needed.

Place your glass bowl of wax over a pot of simmering water. This will slowly melt the wax. You will want to stir the wax until it is all melted and then add any fragrance if you wish to do so. I added about 12 drops of fragrance for my 3 small tart candles, but if you like a stronger fragrance you can add more.

Once the wax is melted and the fragrance has been stirred in, you can start to fill your candles. I always place the objects I am filling on top of some freezer paper and/or an old towel in case I spill any wax while pouring. Cleaning wax off a table or counter top is a huge hassle. If your candle mold is small, like mine, you may want to use a spoon to spoon the hot wax into your mold (I also found some measuring cups that have a little spout on one side that work well for pouring the wax--again, I do not use these for any other cooking). I always fill my molds up to the top, as the wax settles just a tiny bit when cooling.

Once the wax has cooled and hardened, I trim my wicks so they are about 1/4" long. You are ready to wrap these up as a gift or use them around the house! These would be a great wedding or baby shower favor, and the materials can be bought in bulk online.

What are your favorite little gifts to make yourself?

Washi Tape Tea Lights

I was feeling like "making" something tonight but wasn't really feeling like an all night project. Luckily I had some tea lights sitting around and just found this Halloween color schemed Washi Tape I bought last year. The two were fast friends.

I used some pretty standard small tea lights from IKEA, these have a yummy sort of vanilla/baked goods kinda scent to them so I like them a lot.

I used Washi Tape in 3 different widths, so not all of the original tea light container is covered in all my tea lights, but I kind of like that. It also gives you some wiggle room on where to place your washi tape. Just tape around the tea light container and you're done! Festive little tea lights with very little effort. As always, keep an eye on the candles when they are burning so you don't have any fire mishaps :)

What are your favorite washi tape projects?

Diamond Candles Giveaway (closed)

I am super excited to announce this giveaway from Diamond Candles! Diamond Candles creates great smelling all natural soy candles that each contain a surprise ring (ring values vary). I think this is such a cute idea, who doesn't love getting a surprise? The rings range in value from $10 costume jewelry up to $5000! Wouldn't it be amazing to win a candle in this giveaway and end up with a fancy new piece of jewelry to boot?

The good people at Diamond Candles offered me a candle for review and I couldn't pass up the chance. I had a hard time choosing my scent, I love the smell of baked goods (and they have a few varieties in that category), but I was also really intrigued by the Fresh Cut Grass scent. In the end, the Cupcake candle won out-- my husband is a little annoyed when I light it because it smells exactly like cupcakes (and he is sad that there are then no cupcakes in my house for him to snack on). The candle itself is larger than I originally expected (they burn for up to 140 hours!).

My candle burned for about 7 hours before I got out my surprise ring (I used a tweezers to fish it out of the wax). The rings are generally pretty high up in the candle, so you have plenty of your yummy candle left to enjoy after you get your ring. They put each ring in a plastic bag and then wrap that in foil to protect your ring. No wax coating to have to clean off the ring itself!

I ended up with this cute flower shaped cubic zirconia ring. My fingers are pretty tiny (my wedding ring is a size 5) but this one fit my pointer finger pretty well and is a neat little piece of costume jewelry.

Anyway, on to the giveaway...

One winner will receive a coupon code good for their choice of one diamond candle with free shipping! To check out some of the rings people have found, you can check out the Diamond Candle boards on Pinterest or like Diamond Candle on facebook.

Contest is now Closed

Congratulations to Anna Pruitt, the giveaway winner!
This contest is sponsored by Diamond Candles. After a winner is selected I will contact the winner with their coupon code via email. Please make sure to give an active email address when entering!

Dollar Store Harvest Centerpiece

If my Caramel Apple Dip wasn't enough to get you in the Fall spirit, here is a cheap and easy centerpiece that may help you out. All of the materials for this centerpiece were purchased at my local Dollar Tree store, so the grand total for this centerpiece was $6 (and I had a bunch of leftover leaves and flowers for another project coming this week).

I love the smell of vanilla in my home, it brings to mind holiday baking. So I started my centerpiece by finding this candle and a holder.

Next up: how to make it more festive? I could easily have gotten out my enamel paints and just painted the holder, but what fun is that? I found a great willow wreath, and bunches of fake flowers and glittery leaves!

To make this project, it is helpful to have a wire cutters, as the fake flowers come on wire stems (which is great for bending them into place on your wreath!). Just cut your stems a few inches below your flowers so you have some wire stem to work with, and start weaving it into your wreath. Bend the ends to secure them, or use glue if you prefer. You could also get a foam wreath and really fill it up with flowers, but since I found a great natural willow wreath, I wanted you to be able to see the wood in my end project.

I arranged my leaves with a red flower in the center of each bundle, this covers up the bare stem of the leaves with bright flower petals.

After spacing out three bunches of leaves with daisies, I added in a couple sprigs of yellow pom pom type flowers. All that is left is to add in your candle in the center. Having a candle holder is important here so you don't risk setting your centerpiece on fire (though my Dollar Store also had some flameless candles in stock, if you went that route you could save the extra dollar for the handle holder and just use a flameless candle).

What do you think?

Dia De Los Muertos Votives

Here is a quick little votive holder project for Dia De Los Muertos. I used some ceramic paints to make a skull and some embellishments on this votive holder. Sadly, the paint is a little streaky. I have been meaning to get some ceramic paint pens and try those out. I think for detailed things like this they would probably be best.

Here is a shot with done with a flash so you can see the details a little better:

Also, don't forget to go to my Sugar Skull Masks post and enter in the awesome book giveaway!