Behind the Curtain – Candle Making
Today I’m going to give you a little peek behind the curtain and share a little about the process of making my candles. Before I begin though, I will say that candle making is one of those things that is infinitely more fun with a friend. I’m super fortunate to have one who doesn’t mind giving me an entire day for candle making. We split the tasks between us and it makes for a fun day. Plus, the house smells AMAZING when we are done.
In a previous post , I introduced you to one of my favorite scents , Northwoods Bonfire. My candle partner took a candle making class with me a year or so ago, and we’ve both been hooked ever since. Actually, I may be a tad more hooked than her if you consider how much wax, fragrance and wicks I have on hand. Yeah. It’s a lot. Of course, that means I can whip up a batch whenever I want to and (spoiler alert) add new fragrances to my shop from time to time too! Like, say near the end of August perhaps? Hint, Hint…More on that in a bit.
The process for making a single batch takes us roughly an hour. Most of that is spent stirring wax and waiting on the temperature to either come up or go down. In between, we’ve been known to chat, drink wine, and discuss French. I’ve been actively learning the language (well, re-learning actually) for the last 2 years, and as she is a French teacher, I shamelessly use her for clarification and speaking practice. I’m sure she LOVES spending her summer teaching! LOL! If you don’t have access to a French teacher willing to explain all the ins and outs of the use of “de” I highly recommend Duolingo. I’ve been using the app for two years now and love it. If you’re interested in learning a language, there are lots to choose from and the app makes it fun and easy. Apparently for me, re-learning what I’ve forgotten since high school requires a cartoon owl and lessons that come in bite sized pieces. C’est vrai! {It’s true!}
So, back to the candles. The scents that my French-speaking candle pal and I come up with are often a blend of different fragrances with an occasional single fragrance thrown in. Sometimes a fragrance all on its own is so delicious we can’t imagine mixing it with anything else. Take for example Plain Jane. Anyone who knows me will tell you I do not like the smell of vanilla, but this is the exception! If you don’t care for a lot of fuss, Plain Jane is the perfect pick. I actually landed on that scent when my sister indicated that her allergies gave her fits with certain fragrances but vanilla tended to be fine. I needed her for my candle testing so…enter Plain Jane!
The other scents currently in my store are a bit more diverse. There’s a couple floral options (Indigo Island or Hello Sunshine) it that’s your preference, Happy Housewarming if you like lemon pound cake and lavender, or Streusel & Joe if you like the idea of warm streusel and coffee. Well really, who doesn’t?!? in the coming months, I will be adding new scents. Just wait ’til you see what I have for the Christmas season!
In the meantime, if you’re searching for some yummy Autumn scents, here’s a sneak preview of coming attractions. Later this month, I will be releasing four new Autumn-y scents that I guarantee you will love. (I can say that because I’ve tested them on my family and friends with lots of great responses) These four scents will only be available for a limited time so be sure to get on my newsletter list so you hear about when they land in the store first! Hop on over to my contact page, scroll to the bottom and sign up for a little love from the heartland. Plus, right now there’s that 10% off birthday coupon just waiting to land in your inbox! Don’t miss out on that either!
Happy Wednesday all!
