Pastime of the Moment

A favorite pastime of mine is to go on a smelling tour. A smelling tour may include perfume samples, scented candles, soaps, lotions, and other such fragrant non-edibles. I amble from isle to isle, store to store, conveying consecutive jars and bottles past my nose. I've always preferred scent over the more practical senses, which I'm sure I grossly take for granted. In my college dorm, instead of my RA, I had a go-to candle (eucalyptus-spearmint) and a go-to bar of soap (patchouli) for stress relief. I didn't burn the candle or wash with the soap since neither belonged to me—just took them to a corner and breathed them in till I felt better. So of course, more recently, when I attended an essential oils party where they got out the charts and samples to show how smells help my well-being, I had no choice but to drink the therapeutic-grade Kool-Aid.

My pastime of the moment may come as no surprise then, to be candle-making. It started as an idea for Christmas presents using the wax from left-over wedding tea lights, mason jars, and my modest collection of essential oils. I thought I would move on to something else once we ran out of wax, but then I recalled how the restaurant where I work has to throw out candle ends from every table at the end of every night. After my next night shift, I grabbed as many as I could fit in a discreet to-go container on my way out. When my husband saw my stash, he knew I wouldn't be over this for a while. The following week I got the closers to save all the candle ends for me. They loved the idea.

I picked this box up the following morning, and so my next candle-making adventure began!

This kettle is never used for tea, as the wax residue is impossible to completely eradicate. Since coming home from a garage sale, the kettle became a watering can for the backyard, so this actually expands its use around our house. I've tried different concoctions and amounts of essential oils each time around. Lavender and lemon with a little rosemary and tea tree went into this one with very pleasing results.

The silver swirl crayons are from grade school...one of those things I don't know why I've kept so long, but now I'm betting they'll only last another month.

The wick holders from the tea candles are actually reusable. I push a darning needle through them to open the middle for a new wick. Making a good wick takes time, but I happened to have  a swirly birthday candle which I threw into the pot of melted wax and fished out the wick. 

 The length was more than enough for what I needed. I threaded it through the wick holder and clamped the opening closed with pliers to keep it secure. 

The next step was to dip the wick holder in the melted wax, quickly secure it to the bottom of the candle holder as it dried and then balance the wick upright in the center of the jar, for which a clothespin worked best.

Bottom right is the first pour, top right is an hour after the first pour, top left is twelve hours after the first pour, and bottom left is the second pour. 

Sink holes are inevitable, so a good tip I read is to save wax from the first pour in order to fill it in.

Trimming the wick is a most satisfying final step. Did I not mention scissors are my favorite invention?

What is your pastime of the moment?