Hand-Dipped Beeswax Tapers

Isn't this beautiful! I stopped in my favorite bee-inspired store, Bedazzled (in Benzie County) this Summer and behind the counter was this display.  Except it isn't a display at all, this is simply a rack that allows candles to set/cure after making them. 

The shop girl had just finished dipping these outstanding beeswax tapers.  The scent was heavenly and I bought some (that were packaged and ready) on the spot.  When I asked her if I could take this photo, she quickly and casually blurted out, "Sure!"  To her, this display represented a job well done.  To me, it was as beautiful as art.

For this third day of the 12 Days of Valentine's Day, why don't you delight in candlelight this evening.

Candlelight on New Year's Eve

I am so happy with these beautiful gold-painted votives!  I bought a pack of glass (wax filled) votive candles at Michaels and painted the bottom half of the glass with Liquid Leaf paint in "Classic Gold."  

There are hardly any instructions to give: wear plastic gloves, use a 1" brush to paint each glass with gold leaf paint up to the wax line, allow to dry.  When painting, keep the paint away from bottom lip (base) of the votive; just in case the heat of the candle causes the paint to stick to the surface it is sitting on.  Better safe than sorry.

In the end it became one of my favorite additions to the house.  It gave a lovely glow to the kitchen and made doing the evening dishes much more glamorous. 

Happy New Year!     

Easter Candle

Look at this sweet Easter candle that I made for the kitchen!   

Many years ago, I bought a beautiful white pillar candle (similar in shape, but covered with old letters) made and decorated by Anna Corba at a shop in Savannah.  I have been on the lookout for plain wax-filled glass pillar candles ever since, so that I could design my own candle with layered images. 

So you can imagine how happy I was when I found this plain pink wax-filled glass pillar candle at Jungle Jim's in Ohio.  I immediately "knew" that I would make an Easter candle to light in the kitchen.  I went to my Dover Holiday Clip Art book, flipped to the Easter section and chose a "girl with a lamb" for one side and and a "small bunny" for the other.  I put a tangle of lilacs to decorate the base.  I printed out all of these images with my color printer onto plain white paper and then cut out and decoupaged the images onto the glass with Mod Podge.  Once the images had dried, I coated the entire glass with Mod Podge 5 times - allowing dry time between each coat.  Love it!

A little girl in an Easter dress - that is delight.

Resting Your Eyes

It is time to rest our eyes.  To "calm down" your living space this January, why not strip the room of excess color and introduce a few layers of white & cream.  You can try softening the room with the glow of candlelight.  The votives shown above were cooling on a tray after being filled with melted beeswax.  Have you ever smelled beeswax?  Heaven!

Maybe you could add a fleece throw in the palest shade of pink.  Change the lampshade to a neutral cream or white.  Remove the extra items from the room to give your eyes a rest.  Instead of stacks of newspapers and magazines, place the one book you are reading on a side table.

Now breathe. A little less visual "noise" will do us all a some good as we welcome the new year.

Ribbon Wrapped Votives

You know how I feel about the beautiful ribbons of the world.  I wanted to show you another way to maximize the impact of ribbon, while minimizing the expense.

I purchased a yard of this gorgeous multi-dimensional tobacco-colored ribbon and have wondered how to "make the most of it."

At $17/yard (before my coupon), I didn't want a bit of it to go to waste.  
A few beads of Sobo glue was all I needed to transform these inexpensive poured glass votive candles into something you would find at the loveliest boutique.

Have company coming for Thanksgiving?  Maybe you'd like to make these simple ribbon-wrapped votives to add a decorator's touch to your living room.

There is nothing like the soft-glow of candlelight to calm everyone down.

Wine Cork Candles

There is nothing quite like candlelight in the living room. I wanted to show you one of my favorite things right now - wine cork candles!

Putting a candle in an empty wine bottle has been a tradition for ages. It memorializes a special bottle (and the associated event) and is a simple and romantic way to add ambiance to a room.

But to have a candle that looks like a cork is a very fun play on the idea. I've started mine in a bottle of 45 North, a winery that references the 45th Parallel.

What luck that the labeling matches the room so perfectly.

Epitome of Delight

Today we are going to take a moment to reflect on the magnificent
"Raspberry Sundae" peony.

The giant cream petals represent a scoop of vanilla ice cream, while the pink petals are the sauce on top, as well as some pooling in the saucer below. Have you ever heard of anything so cool?

This variety is the epitome of what I try to blog about: things that are both beautiful and interesting.

In this photograph, you can also see that I converted a Lorina sparkling lemonade bottle into a candle (!) using a ceramic bottle candle with wick. So pretty and romantic. It is my kind of repurposing.

Candlelight

I think that candlelight is so pretty on a Winter evening. I have been lighting a candle every night to add a little something extra to dinner or coffee on the couch.

That being said, I have also been wanting to try making candles. Not a production line of pillars or anything. Just a few.

What could be better than transforming a favorite item into something that glows?

Do you remember this "dishes by the pound" treasure that I bought last June? I have breathed new life into it with pale pink wax. A "Soy Candle Kit" from Michael's included everything I needed: wax, candle-making thermometer, wicks and even scent & color cubes. It was easy and I must confess that not long after it set, I was trolling the house looking for other items to convert. Do you like candlelight?