Saturday 17 January 2015

Four candles*

http://enversdudecor.tumblr.com/post/96421930370

My husband used to get very posh yoghurts as part of his lunch at work. They were so posh they came in their own little glass pots, he mentioned this to me one evening and I promptly asked him to bring them back home after he had eaten the yoghurt as I could use those little pots for a myriad of things. He must have brought back at least twenty of the little glass vessels and apart from a brief sojourn as tea light holders they have been languishing in a wooden chest for a few years.

Then, as I was idly browsing Pinterest, inspiration struck. Someone had refilled their own glass jars with wax and made their own candles! Such a simple idea, why had I not thought of it before? A quick scout around on eBay led to the purchase of some soy wax and perfume oils (apparently essential oils are not potent enough on their own for use in scented candles). I tried to find the most natural ones and bought Lavender and Night Scented Stock (inspired by some lovely little plants in my Dad's garden earlier this year).


Last weekend, our kitchen became alchemy centre with wax slowly melting away in a bain marie, the kitchen work tops littered with glass pots, wicks and perfume oils. I had bought a kilo of wax and decided to start with 6 candles which have all come out quite successfully, although I think I might have been too cautious with my perfume oil as they are very very subtle!
I have plans to make some of the other pots into citronella candles for use in the garden come the summer. And I also think that they would make lovely gifts tied with a ribbon and given to a friend when popping round to their for dinner!


*The title for this post is taken from the classic Two Ronnies sketch (it's only loosely based on the post as I actually made six candles but I couldn't resist!)

10 comments:

  1. Your candles look wonderful and they would make sweet little gifts. I've never seen yogurt in such cute glass pots!

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  2. Well done Charlotte! My daughter's friend is making her own soy wax candles in jars and she also needed to add more perfumed oil. They are lovely as gifts.

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  3. Great idea. The glass jars are perfect.
    Rosezeeta.

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  4. Oh, thanks so much for the Two Ronnies. Haven't seen them for years. What a delight! So are the candles. (four candles…fork handles…heeheehee)

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  5. Hi,did you use all of your wax for the 6 candles?They are lovely and such a good idea to use up the little glass jars.Love that sketch,God bless Ronnie Barker,genius!!

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  6. Lovely.Here in France there are several different desserts and yoghurts that come in glass pots of various sizes and I hate throwing them away!

    Penny
    x

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  7. What a bright idea!!! They look so cute and make a very cozy atmosphere! Wonderful pictures, my dear!
    All my best
    Elisabeth

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  8. OH I laffed so hard at the performance, I love English humor. Did you ever watch Benny Hill, maybe too risqué or too early for you have seen his show, lots of slap stick and so funny. Your little candles are so wonderful, and how smart of you to use the containers the yogurt came in. What a waster to throw them away. Our son in law laffs at me how I keep things that would be trash. Plastic containers are not safe from me. When we moved from KY I had bags of used containers we had to get rid of. They're so wonderful for so many crafting needs and it's great recycling, always had containers to put paint in or store things. You could sell some of those.
    Your candles sound and look so pretty to use. Will you keep making candles? Would be fun to experiment with different little things to put in candles while making and the scents for them.
    I am of English heritage (maiden name was Scofield) so always wanted to visit England and surrounding areas. My paternal Grandmother was French Canadian. My brother did a geneology search and traced our name back to early 1800's had an uncle that was in parliament and was some kind of Lord or something. Have you ever read any of Rosamunde Pilchers books? Or Maeve Binchy's books?
    Time for our dinner so must go, Hope you will write back.
    If you care to reply please do so to email address: FurryKidzPaperworx@gmail. com THanks

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  9. I dont know about candles............ but oh I do remember the smell of night scented stock in my dads garden. Thanks for the memory of summer evenings filled with fragrance when the windows would always be open.
    Janice

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