Different types of candle - Guest Post by Sweet Aroma's

If you have ever been in your local supermarket and looked at the candles on the shelves or walked into a candle shop (do these exist anymore?) or even visited a craft fair or market and seen the different candles they have on display you will have seen many different kinds let alone smells! To be honest with you, really there are a few different types. Many shapes and sizes yes but really on a few actual different types.

All candles fall into one of these categories: Pillar, Container, Votive, Floating or Melts. Lets explore each of these individually because there is a lot of confusion about these categories.

1.Pillar Candles: This is a varied category that many candles can fall into. When you think of a pillar candle, the first thing that normally springs to mind is the image of the tall candles often found in a church. This is understandable because they are very well known. 

However, that kind of candle is not the only type of pillar candle. Confused? I'm not surprised because it is what many people associate a pillar candle with as looking. If you have dinner parties or even birthday parties for your family or friends and you have those long, tall candles often called “tapered candles” those candles are also pillar candles. The little candles on your child's birthday cake are also, in fact, pillar candles. Now I hope you can see why so many people get confused with the words “pillar candles”

2. Container Candles: This category is really for all those candles in some kind of tin or jar. It does not matter what shape it is or what size it is. If its in a container of some kind, whether it be jar or tin, it is a container candle.

3. Votive Candles: This category is for all those smaller candles that do not normally fit into either of the two categories above. Now votive candles can be container candles but because of their small size they are often referred to as votive candles. This next link is from Wikipedia about votive candles: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Votive_candle.  As you can see from that article that votives are also referred to as prayer candles.

4. Floating Candles: Essentially this category is for any kind of candle that will float in

water. The only kind of candle that cannot be considered a floating candle is the

container candle. If you look on youtube for floating candle videos you will find a few.

The main ones on youtube are about using a tapered candle as a floating candle. It is different but essentially can be called a floating candle. It is actually possible to make floating candles using only some wax, a wick and a mould. Very, very simple to make and can be quite effective as a display. When I first started experimenting in making floating candles, the one thing that sprang to mind (and I have been asked this question by some-one else) was “when it burns low, wont it go out?” Strangely enough I have found that the candle actually does not go out. It actually burns away almost completely! Pretty good eh?

5. Melts: Last, but no means least, category is your humble melt. It is often referred to as a tart by some chandlers. Hang on a second I hear you ask, what is a chandler?

Well really all a chandler is, is a person who makes candles. An old term that I do not think is used very much anymore in society today but basically that is what a chandler is. Anyway back to melts or tarts if you like. Simply all a melt is, is a candle without a wick. Often they are used in oil burners to make a room smell nice. The process in making one is exactly the same as making a candle but without a wick. I guess you are wondering “how it can burn if it has no wick?” The answer is very simple: It does not burn! You simply put 1 or 2 (depending on melt size and burner cup) into your oil burner, light a tealight, or if you have an electric oil burner you turn it on, pop the tealight into the base and the heat of the tealight melts the wax and releases the fragrance. Hence the name “ melt”. Melts can come in many shapes and sizes so really let your imagination run wild! Unlike candles, you will be left with wax in the burner cup. This isnt an issue at all because its very easy to clean out the burner cup and you can either re-use the wax or simply throw it away in the bin.

To find out more about Candle Making or even to buy some unusual candles, why not visit www.sweetaromas.co.uk today and start your journey enjoying scented candles.

Til next time......Stay Crafty Folks and Enjoy your Crafting

Jim

Jim Laver is the Owner and Main Crafter at Sweet Aroma’s

Review: Shall We See

SIMPLE ELEGANCE

By Katy Handley
The Big Little Homemade Gift Bible


Katy Handley believes that parenthood goes beyond raising children. Its everything in between that we often find most challenging, such as the perfect teacher present or the perfect way to say 'thank you'.

Katy has found a way to show that with a little time and imagination, you can being a little sunshine in to the lives of all of your friends and family.

This delightful book spans a very wide selection of things ranging from various craft projects, cooking and recipes (right down to stocks and preserves), pet delights and gift hampers.

In the introduction of the book we meet Katy herself and learn about her family and her reasons for writing it. A couple of lines immediately struck a cord with me:

‘What better way is there for a child of family to say 'thank you' or 'Happy Birthday to something; than with something made by them?

'Watching your child hand over their figt that they made is one of the most magival moment you will ever find'


Now we launch ourselves straight into the book after a brief explanation from Katy about all of the projects and recipes being simple to do and not complicated. And she’s spot on! Most, if not all of the creations in the book could be easily done with your children and don’t seem scary at all!

There is also quite a vast selection so there should be no trouble finding something to suit your mood or budget. I will certainly be trying some of these myself with my own children. Here is a quick taster from the contents:

Crafts
Dried Fruit Charms
Felt Stitched Hearts
Beaded Key Holder
Homemade Gift Book
Summer Sweet Bag

Recipes
Chicken Pie with a secret
Savoury Muffins
Peppermint Droplets
Biscotti
Super charged Spiced Raisins

Hampers
The Birthday Emergency Hamper
The Get Well Soon Treats
The Never Too Old Hamper
Child’s Birthday Hamper
Dinner Party Kit


So my verdict on this book?

I really like it. One of the best bits for me is that at the end of every item whether it is a craft project or a recipe there are ideas for how to turn it into a gift. If I had to find one thing to complain about it would be the fact that there are no images in this book! As many of the pages have blank spots on them after the text I do feel a bit let down by this but I’m still very pleased to have it in my collection.

Reviewed by Anna (Editor of Creative Crafting)

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Interview : Beadwork and Coe.

Tell us about yourself

Well, I am in my mid thirties *cough* and a stay at home mum of two - my son is 6 and my daughter is 4.
I was born and grew up in Germany with a little sister that is 14 years younger than me. All women in my family are very crafty and love DIY. My grandmother knitted, crocheted, painted and wallpapered amongst other things and my mother's ambition was to become a mechanic. She didn't make it as it was just not the thing to do for a young woman in that time, but times change and I actually trained as a Vehicle Electrician. After completing my apprenticeship I went to university for a degree as Technical Author and worked for Volkswagen and Bosch. Still in Germany I met my husband who served there with the army and as we moved around from posting to posting our little family grew. After my son was born I was a bit lost at what to do with the time I had at hand and went into a craft shop, hoping to find something interesting to do. They had seed beads and some free instructions to make a bead woven necklace. People that know me can confirm that I usually jump right in with both feet and my way of thinking is "How hard can it be?", so I took the instruction leaflet and bought the needed beads ... In 2011 my husbands time in Germany ended and we relocated to the Midlands where he is originally from. To give the children and us enough time to settle in I decided to stay at home and because my beading skills had developed quite nicely I got registered as self employed and opened my Etsy shop www.BeadworkAndCoe.etsy.com

So here I am now.

Your work looks very intricate, does it take a long time to create?The time varies a lot really. Of course it depends on the size of the piece and the detail, but especially the unique designs can be very time consuming. When I start I have a picture in my head of how I want it to look finished and then it usually develops a life of it's own. Sometimes a new piece is nearly finished and I decide “ That other bead colour would have been much better there!”. At that point I'll take it all apart again. It's a luxury I take for myself to not care too much about the making time and if I consider it necessary to get a
more satisfying result I will start over again.

What is it that you enjoy about your work?
I find it very relaxing, almost meditative and I forget everything around me. Sometimes my husband will touch my shoulder after the fifth attempt to talk to me and I jump. Also I am absolutely hooked on the endless possibilities of beads. With the same beads and the same thread I can either make a really romantic design with lots of flowers and fringe or they can become a minimalistic geometric shape – which is definitely more my style. The choice in colours of beads available is another thing that keeps amazing me. Just a change of
colours can make such a difference to the overall feel of a piece. You see, there are so many reasons to love and enjoy what I do ...

What is your biggest crafting achievement and why?
I don't think I have a specific achievement. In general it makes me feel really good when I try something new and after a lot of effort and work it turns out well. I made this dinosaur costume for my son a few years back. To see his face when he went into school with it and the pride in his voice when he said his mum made it was just THE BEST. Or my first venture into sugar craft because he had to have a Nemo cake for his birthday and I thought “How hard can it be?” It wasn't quite what he expected in the end, but he loved it anyway. I learned that spending the money to buy a cake is probably the much easier option, but
the experience still was priceless :)

Other than crafting what else do you like to do?
I do enjoy a good book, the thicker the better. That does not mean I don't read thin books, I just really enjoy the elaborate descriptions and details which you usually just get in the thick books. At the moment I am working my way through the “Outlander” series by Diana Gabaldon again or another one worth reading is the Avalon series by Marion Zimmer My husband is a Scout leader and a keen hiker and geocacher, so we do spend a good amount of time outdoors, either hiking or now that the kids are a bit older on the bikes.

If you had to choose a favourite from your creations which one would it be?
Ohhh, I hate this question. It is like asking which one of my children I love the most – impossible to answer. If you insist though, I think the one I am working on is kind of my favourite at the time, because until it is finished every piece is so full of possibilities and it is almost a shame to do the last stitch. Then it has the final form and is done with – closure is not always a good thing.

What advice would you give to someone starting out in the craft world?
Think it through thoroughly, what you want to sell, where you want to sell, how much competition there is, what you can charge, what you need to charge and of course all the legal stuff. Then decide whether you want to do it as a hobby to just cover cost or as a business to make a profit. Both is perfectly fine, but stick to your plan. Stepping up and turning that hobby-business into a professional business can be tricky and a lot of work without return can be frustrating - even if you start like that intentionally.

If you could change one thing about what you do, what would it be?
I wish my hands could bead faster – lol So many beads and so many ideas, but so little time.

What do you think has helped your buisness the most?
Even though I still find it difficult, networking is key. May it be in the Etsy- teams, following others on facebook etc. or reading good business tips on blogs. I intentionally don't mention any names (I'm aware that most people hope to discover the holy grail in posts like this), because I believe you have to find the ones that suit you yourself. I have followed and unfollowed many pages/people/blogs since I started and some of them are quite popular amongst other crafters. First, my time is too valuable to spend it reading every rubbish people write and sometimes even a good tip or approach that works for someone else might just not be how I want to handle my business. So I only have a few that I “connect” with and really enjoy – that makes the networking much easier too :)

Where do you get your inspiration for your work?
Everywhere! My husband took our old computer apart before scrapping it and it had some really interesting parts. I didn't know what to do with them straight away, but as I liked them somehow they went in my box with odd bits and bobs. That box is usually my place of inspiration and I dug those pieces out again when I started experimenting with bead- embroidery. So I put them on center stage and then let the creative juices
flow to find an appropriate setting.

Tell us a random fact about yourself
I cant whistle for my life! Many people have tried to teach me, but it just doesn't work

www.BeadworkAndCoe.etsy.com

www.facebook.com/BeadworkAndCoe

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Feature: I had a stall at the 2013 Handmade Christmas Market at the 02!

It was summer 2013 and I was wiling away some time in twitterland. I chanced upon a tweet from I Love Markets (ILM) that mentioned the Handmade Market at the O2 in December and invited crafters to register their interest in a stall.

So I did!
I followed the instructions and sent an email stating what I did and that I was interested. I received a reply via email requesting my website address and was very pleased when I received a further email offering me a place.

At first I found communication with ILM to be slow and a few times I had to send the same email twice before a received a reply. This was frustrating, but then, the person I was dealing with at I Love Markets changed and I met the lovely Hollye, and communication was suddenly quicker.

There was a lot of work to be done, designing my display and creating my collection.

The event at the O2 was being run by Peninsula Exhibitions with I Love Markets working with them, having a number of stalls with which to fill. The event itself was over 3 days,

Friday 13th, Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th December. ILM had to balance stall holders who wanted to

have a stall for either, 1, 2 or all 3 days. Not an easy task, whilst working with Peninsula Exhibitions. During the months leading up to the event a lot of information was sent out to the stall holders, some from Peninsula Exhibitions, including an exhibitors manual and some from I Love Markets.

Hollye from ILM kept us as informed as possible, stall numbers, a layout of the stalls so we knew where we were and even photographs of the stalls as they were being constructed. Invaluable information and allowing us to make adjustments to our display before the day.

My experience as an exhibitor at the O2 was not a particularly pleasant one, however, before I proceed to
explain why, I would like to let you know that the issues faced were in no way the fault of Hollye or ILM, the blame lies with Peninsula Exhibitions.

Walking into the entrance of the O2, myself and a friend who had volunteered to help me, began looking around for signposts or directions to guide us to where we needed to go.

There were none.

However, luckily, security guards were present and they provided the required directions. It was quite a long walk and we were worried that perhaps we hadn't fully understood the directions given. Then, thankfully we spotted a sign, though a rather discreet one.

There was much still being done and metal fences were ringed around the stalls giving no obvious way
through. Again we had to ask. Then we had to ask where our stall was. The stall layouts and locations we had originally been given had been changed. Instead of the ILM stall holders being given a nice location, we were placed at the back. In fact my particular stall was facing the back wall and the row was inset so that
approaching from the entrance you were unaware that those stalls even existed.

For a Christmas market, set indoors there was no music, no atmosphere and promises had not been
kept regarding an appearance from Father Christmas and activities for children. The estimated footfall of 20K people compared to actual footfall fell so short of estimations to be a complete joke and a charge of £8 entry put off many potential customers wishing to browse.

The highlights of the event were meeting Hollye from ILM who chatted with all the stall holders booked

through I Love Markets and photographs were taken and placed on facebook. Then of course there was the opportunity to walk around the stalls, meeting the very talented crafters, enjoying the great mix of
products and styles.

In summary, would I book an event through I Love Markets again? Answer- yes! But I would not make a booking if Peninsula Exhibitions had any involvement.

Written by Tina Cook from Shinyies www.shinyies.co.uk

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Valentines Day Craft Ideas

Written by Sarah at www.craftymagpie.co.uk
 
Valentine’s Day should be a day of fun and romance, so I’ve had a look at my favourite inspiration site – Pinterest and chosen some of my favourite ideas to make your own gifts.

1. Spooning

I absolutely love this idea, such a simple yet effective present, all you need is a frame, spoons, paint, glue and letter stencils. I had a thought….if your partner is a keen baker you could use a mini wooden spoon to reflect their character!

Picture Link: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/21603273186372286/

2. Love Heart Sweet Tree

Yet another simple but great idea, and the tip would be to use your partner’s favourite sweets. All you need is a foam ball, sweets (remember you will need to fill the pot too), cocktail sticks or edible glue (depending on the type of sweets you are using), a strong stick, ribbon and a pot.

Picture Link: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/21603273186372279/

Tutorial Link: http://blog.tinyprints.com/diy/diy-valentines-day-candy-topiary/

3. DIY Man Mug

What would you say about your man? – It would be easy to get carried away and design a set of personalised mugs!

Picture Link: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/21603273186372284/

Tips Link: http://acupofgatsby.com/2013/02/14/diy-man-mug/

4. Felt Fortune Cookies

If you’re feeling extra creative and have plenty of time, these fortune cookies may be a great idea….and you can create your own fortunes…maybe a proposal?

Picture Link: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/21603273186372269/

Tutorial Link: http://www.marthastewart.com/266523/felt-fortune-cookies-from-the-martha-ste?backto=true

5. Heart Cake Pops

I do enjoy a cake pop, and with these you could also personalise them – If you have a steady hand!

Picture Link: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/21603273186372359/

Tutorial Link: http://littledelightscakes.com/heart-cake-pops/

If you’d like to see more ideas, take a look at the Crafty Magpie Valentine’s Day Crafts Board on Pinterest