Candle mishaps....

So I have been getting really heavy in this candle making business... 

Learning as I go along... 

The first thing I really learned was well... here is a picture to show the mishap...

First of all it sort of shrank at the bottom... 

Then the color got funky... 

I found out it is NOT good to use a liquid candle dye AND liquid scent... 

The oils in it caused it to get a funky color. 

So I decided I was going to take the candle out since it had shrank and start over... 

Well my boyfriend helped pull it out and it shattered and he sliced his thumb open... 

Oops. 

So the new candle I used the same liquid scent but I used Crayola crayons for the coloring... 

I think it turned out much better. 

Still waiting to see the finished product when it is dried. 

It always changed when it dries... 

But I have really learned that candle making is not as easy as I thought it would be... 

And me being a perfectionist makes it even more frustrating... 

But we shall see how it all turns out :)

New Mosaics

So I have been really into making the mosaic candles... Here are a few that are finished..

Here it is lit up...

This one I used a new grouting for that was more water based... I don't really like the look of it as much as I do the other grout... and it was VERY hard to clean up... 

Here is one before i did the grouting... 

Grouting is finished... I like this grout a lot better. It is more of a sand based.... 

And all lit up... 

I just love these... 

Now I need to start working on some more regular candles. :)

This is too fun. 

New Candles

So I have been working on a couple of projects... One of them is of course candles.

Today I worked on a few so i will put the pictures up...

Here are 2 mosaic candles i have done (yet to be grouted)

I thought about doing white grouting but then I didn't want to mess up the white pieces in the tiles...

Here they are finished...

I think they turned out really good. Love it. 

Up for sale... :)

Rainbow colored candles I made for a friend...

Here they are finished... 

I didnt let them set long enough before moving them so it caused some of the colors to run together and i tried moving wax from one candle to the other which I will never do again :)

Learning along the way. 

Oh well... For a newbie I think I am doing pretty well... 

Already have 3 orders :)

Great Christmas presents.... 

Feeling Spring today...

I just had to take a picture of these...

Maybe it is the creative mood I have been in lately...

Here is another candle I made today. 

Of course I had to make a candle for my team... 

Go Canes!

Well looks like this will be something I will need to continue doing... 

I bought a huge brick of wax and already have an "order" for a rainbow candle. 

That will be fun :)

Candle Making

So today i got started on making my candles. 

I had a lot of left over wax around the house and decided it was time to stop buying candles and put some old ones to use. 

So I dug all the candles out and separated them to have the same colors in the jars. 

This was my original intent. 

So I started burning the first candle. Well I didn't have as much wax as I thought I did so I let it harden a little. While it was hardening I was melting the other colors to add on top... 

I had to make my own double boiler so I just used a larger can and filled it with water and put a smaller pot so that it was sitting half in the water and half out. I boiled the water so it got mostly steam to melt. 

I then put the wax in the bottoms of the holders using a tacky wax. It worked well but one of them came out so I had to make sure I pushed them in pretty hard. 

I forgot to find sticks to tie the wicks on so I had to use pens :) Just to make sure the wax stood up straight. 

I made about 6 candles and did 2 different colors in all of them. 

Some of them are in fogged glasses so you can't really tell the colors... 

 This is purple wax on bottom, light blue on top. 

 Same color different lighting

 This one is light blue on bottom and green on top. 

                                                    You really can't see in this picture, foggy glass. 

Here you can see it better in a clear glass. 

 This is the blue and green dried. 

 Same picture as above, just looks darker. 

Then just for some grins and giggles... 

This is how my son dressed himself this morning... all on his own... He sure has good taste, must get it from his mama :)

 Cheesing away....

 Making a goofy face. 

And this is how he dressed himself this afternoon, again all on his own... 

He likes to take pictures by the stairs so he can put his arm out ;-)

(Oooh look at that messy basket... it is a show basket and my son threw that bag in...  So sweet of him )

Well I am done for tonight. 

Going to get some more stuff to make my own candles and some more mosaic candles. 

:)

New Moon Release

This has been interesting trying to change my background and all of that jazz... 


So yesterday I had my wisdom tooth removed. So I have been a little incapacitated... 
Well The New Moon DVD came out at midnight and a friend of mine went and picked me up a copy of it from Walmart. Well we then found out it had none of the extra's such as deleted scenes. 
So we found one at Target since they ALL offer different versions of the movies, so I ordered it on there. 
Come to find out my boyfriend had been planning on going to Walmart and buying it for me... but since I had someone else do it, it saved him the trouble :)
I am just amazed every day at how very blessed I am. 
I have an amazing boyfriend who treats me like a queen. 
He lets me do all my silly crafts even if I give up and leave a huge mess. 
He doesn't complain when I sing loudly in his ear in the car like a goof. Or when I sing in the shower. 
Not that it is bad but I like to goof off and be loud and goofy. And he loves it. 
Perfect. 

From A-Z about me.

A. AGE: 22... Still young but since having a baby it is crazy to me...

B. BED SIZE: California King! Love it, couldn't live without it.

C. CHORE YOU HATE: Dishes...

D. DOG'S NAME: No puppies... I do have a son whose name is Tristan... He is 3 years old and the light of my life.

E. ESSENTIAL "START THE DAY!" ITEM: Shower or if I did the night before, wash my face...

F. FAVORITE COLOR: Soft Pink and brown. (polka dots are the fave:))

G. GOLD OR SILVER: Silver or white gold...  Although make up I would prefer gold :)

H. HEIGHT: 5'5".

I. INSTRUMENTS YOU PLAY: no instruments, just my voice. I would love to learn guitar and piano so I could write my own songs.

J. JOB TITLE: Stay at home mother, student.

K. KIDS: Just my 3 year old son.

L. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: Apartment with my son and boyfriend.

M. MOM'S NAME: Linda (biological), Brenda (adoptive)

N. NICKNAME: Niki or mommy...

O. OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAY: When I had my son. . .

P. PET PEEVE:  People who start unnecessary drama. I am a grown woman and I do not want to deal with childish drama. Girls who should be acting like women acting like spoiled brats...

Q. QUOTE FROM A MOVIE: Ooooh right off the top of my head would have to be "You had me at hello"...
 It is just truly how I feel about my boyfriend... we have been together for a year and it just feels wonderful every single day...

R. RIGHTY OR LEFTY?: Righty

S. SIBLINGS: One half sister, adoptive sister and brohter"

T. TIME YOU WAKE UP: When my son walks in my room and asks for gummies or juice.

U. UNDERWEAR: Well I am about to go to sleep and have PJ's on.... so none. Sorry... TMI

V. VEGGIE YOU DISLIKE: Spinach... not a big fan.

W. There was no w on here... and I can;t think of something to add in here...

X. XRAYS YOU'VE HAD: Knee. stomach. ankle, elbow... I used to get hurt a lot... as a kid. Hee hee.

Y. YUMMY FOOD YOU MAKE: Chicken Broccoli braid. Amazing. And I can make a mean pot roast. Hee hee

Z. ZOO ANIMALS YOU LIKE: I feel terrible for the animals in the zoo... But I love White Tigers.
We recently went to a zoo and found out that all of the animals there were animals that had been hurt in the wild and they were rescued.  So that was good to know they weren't just captured for attention... But it is a little sad, we use these poor wounded, some once wounded, animals for entertainment and profit. 


I do love aquariums and sorry I just love them. Seeing the sharks and the different kinds of animals... Seals, otters even stingray. 


Ok it is really time for bed now... 

Mosaic candles-Updated!

Here they are finished. 

Here is how they look lit up :)

I thought I would have a preference to the orange one but I really like the blue one...

I was cleaning house and I found so many half full candles that the wick had burned out in... So I decided instead of throwing it away I would Recycle my candles. 

So I cut them out of the glasses they were in and have them waiting to be melted down. 

While at Michael's Craft Store getting the wicks for the candles I got the bright idea to do 

mosaic candle holders... So I bought the supplies to make mosaic votive candles. 

So I got some wick and wax to hold it in the candle holder. 

glue and mosaic pieces and the grouting

I had to hammer the mosaic pieces myself... 

Then I started gluing the pieces onto the candle holder. 

This is what I have so far. 

Next I will have to do the grouting, polishing and finishing. 

So I have finished the grouting. 

This is what it looks like right now. 

Next I have to let it dry about 15 minutes and then wipe the grout off of the tiles. 

So here it is once I wiped the grout off. I am excited to see what it will look like when dry! 

I probably wiped a little too much grout off but I still think it looks amazing... 

I will have one more picture to share once it is finished with a candle in it :)

I am going to do a second candle with the bluish and aqua colors. 

(I think I may like the look of the orange one better... )

I am really excited and think this is something I will continue doing....

I am just planning on melting the wax from my old candles in a pan on the stove. Then poring the way into the candles. I think I am also going to mix the colors... maybe stack the colors. 

I think it will be a lot of fun. Can't wait to see how it all turns out. 

I will post more pictures as I go. 

If these turn out good I may even do more of the gold and garnet color... 

and of course I will have to make a Miami mosaic candle for the house!!! Go Canes! 

This could be a good idea... Maybe make game day mosaic candles... 

Hmmm.... *rubs chin*

Ta-Da!

To sleep I go. Dentist appt to get a wisdom tooth pulled... While I might add my boyfriend will be jumping out of a plane... Grrr... But I am very nervous so it is time to go to sleep now. 

By the way, 

If anyone has any good ideas for candles... I am looking to use the existing candles I have so if you have any good ideas on how to spruce up old candles, let me know. 

Thanks,

Good night. 

Classes are out for 2 weeks.

So I FINALLY finished my classes for this quarter so now I have a nice 2 week break. Phew. I was going crazy with these classes. It was really starting to wear me down. But now I have changed my major so I will be a lot happier. . . I was doing Accounting financial management but I knew if I went through with this I would never go with my real dream. Psychology. 


Right now the school I am at does not have a Psychology so for my Associate's degree I am going to be doing Criminal Justice specialization in Psychology. Then for my Bachelor's I will go for straight psychology specialization in child's psychology. 


So anyways now that I will have a few weeks of time on my hands I have decided to start doing more in the house.  Laundry and all that jazz. Also we have so many candles in the house that are done but still have lots of wax left so I am going to go and buy some wicks and make my own candles. Maybe I will try to make them all different colors... not sure if that will work though:) 
So that will be my little home project for this week. 


I will need some ideas for something new next week.