The Zen of Testing

Mac’s MANdles is taking a big step forward… but leaving a smaller footprint.

We are testing the heat-proof-ness (new word!) of some of the bottles father and son are cutting. Hopes are to use these cut bottles as candle jars! It is a learning process that has not yet been perfected, but we thought we’d give you a glimpse of what may yet come! Ideally, this would be a beer candle in a beer bottle (without ripped label).

We are enjoying looking at bottles differently. We never noticed how elegant some water bottles are once cut! Others, we notice little niches, waves, and other details typically overlooked. It is always a good thing to look at the world around us a bit differently, yes?

Now if only the recycling center would let us rummage through their glass…

New Website!

Okay, so I finally did it. I took the time and cost to make a simple, clean website. Our hope is that this will make it easier for you to order your candles, easier for us to fill those orders.

I am finding I am less computer savvy than I once was. This blog has been sassing me (MANdles page is a mess in spite of deleting and starting over twice!). Even the website dumped my photos once today. So… let us keep up the hope that this will indeed be a good choice.

I must follow my “Wick Woes” with a short “Soy Sorry”:

I purchased a new box of 100% soy wax before making candles for the Opp Fair. It came – looking different (box, flakes, etc) – but they swore it was what I ordered. In melting, I noticed bubbles coming up. I have never seen such effervescent wax (good in personality, not in wax!). I worked hard to sift the bubbles out and thought I did a good job. Now that I am burning some of those candles, I see most of them are bubbling as they melt! Wow! I have never seen such a thing!  I apologize if anyone purchased bubbling candles. I have not seen anything like it before, and the cause is out of my control.  I have thrown out the rest of that wax and ordered a new bunch from my old supplier.  All new candles will be made with the new wax. As for the existing bubbling candles, if I have something you want in stock already made, I will sell it to you for half off! (Not the aromatherapy ones, though.)  You will have to email me, or call me, or stop me when you see me, and ask for this price. (It is not worth playing around with this blog to make the difference.)

Now for the good news? Our website! Let’s see if it is as I made it… PrairieLightsCandles.com

Website

Heart Day

Valentine's gift set for my kidlets

My favorite holiday of the year is almost here! As the Queen of Hearts, I LOVE Valentine’s Day. It gives me an excuse to embellish everything with hearts!

With candy out of our diets (for the most part) this year requires more creative thinking. I made pillow spray, bath salts, and these classy square votives, put them in a Chinese takeout box with a bit of paper sizzle in it, and voile! I hope they will like it. I chose “Joy” for the red and “Peace” for the frosted white votives. Delicious!

(Thank you Gail for helping test all of the new wicks in all of the containers!!!)

Here is my recipe for pillow spray:

Take a small spray bottle. Fill it with 1 ounce of distilled water, 1 ounce of cheap vodka, and 40 drops of essential oils of your choice. Shake, spray, and you have pillow spray (or air freshener) that is safe to breathe!

For bath salts, I use epsom salts. For one cup I add about 1 teaspoon of essential oils and mix well with my hands.  The instructions are to use 1/4 C. in bath water – making sure they are completely dissolved before entering the tub.

I’d share with you my secret blends, but then they would not be secret. However, if you post a comment and ask me, or email me, about what my research has shown to benefit specific target symptoms, I will do my best to answer you. OR, you can browse the web and check it out for yourself!

ANNOUNCEMENT

Prairie Lights is proud to announce the addition of Mac’s MANdles to its line of premium soy candles.

Check out the link at the top of our blog.

Wick woes…

If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it…

It seems to be my motto lately. I was happy with the wicks I used. They self-trimmed, did not smoke a lot, melted the wax edge to edge.

But then I heard about “better” wicks, “better” wicking. I bought in to it all (literally). I candled with my new wicks, confident they would make my heart pitter patter. Instead… thud.

I am mortified to realize I broke the cardinal rule – I did not test them all. Burning my own candles with new wicks, I found them to mushroom tremendously, not always burn edge to edge, and just plain bum me out.

To make matters worse, 2 websites touted throwing out the wick stickers (little white sticky tab on bottom on wick that holds it in place) and using a hot glue gun. “Great!” I thought. It would end up burning 1/16″ more wax, and I am all about being frugal. I didn’t break the cardinal rule this time. I tested it. It worked wonderfully. So I candled a few orders up in this way. Fast forward a few weeks and I noticed one of my candles looked funny as it was burning. I walked closer and saw the wicks floating around the container!!! The glue had melted and released the wicks! BOO! Once again I am mortified to think there are candles out there that may also get hot enough to release its glue! It means wasting wax since floating wicks do not allow for the burning of the candle all the way down. (Always leave 1/4″ wax at least in the bottom to prevent breaking the glass or burning surfaces.)

SO, if you are one of those out there who are having wick problems with one of my candles, please please please let me know. I will do my best to remedy it.

In the meantime, I am back to my lovely HTP wicks (which, by the way, are the most eco-friendly). I spent an entire Saturday researching all about wicks. Fun stuff. (not). I had no idea wicks could be so finicky.

Well, the moral of the story is as it began – If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

It’s that time again! Yes, the time when I am reminded how challenged I am when it comes to wrapping paper, tape, and scissors. Bows? Don’t get me started! Shouldn’t wrapping be the fun part?! Well, I have discovered a few secrets… like wired ribbon… and -

Use alternative wrapping! I just LOVE wrapping my candles up in organdy. The sheen and shimmer, the simplicity, the many colors…  Add a coordinating hanging tag and the look is complete!

But you can see through it? Well if total surprise is what you are going for, put it in a gift bag with tissue.

I have seen adorable wrapping using newspaper, fabric, and child-decorated paper (buy a plain roll of white butcher paper and let the kids paint, draw, stamp, or glue away!)

Any other ideas? Post them here! We can all use fresh, new ideas for wrapping (or is it just I, the wrapping-challenged, who is looking for new ideas?)

By the way, all sales between now and December 18 (no orders taken between December 19 – December 26), the proceeds will be going as cash to a dear close friend battling cancer, so that her children may celebrate the holidays like the rest of us will.

I take paypal and checks. Just email or FB me with your request and I will invoice you.

May God bless you with remembrance as to what these holidays represent.

 

 

Aromatherapeutic candle scents

More research validates the health benefits of aromatherapy every day!

Our aromatherapy blend choices are backed by scientific research. We mix our scents using only pure fragrance oils and essential oils. We are pleased to announce the release of the following proprietary blends:

Peace – calms and relieves stress, relaxes the body and the mind, blends of lavender and chamomile (2 Thes. 3:16)

Joy – uplifts, cheers, and enhances well-being, blends of bergamot and ylang (Ro. 15:13)

Hope – uplifts, inspires, and soothes, blended with cancer warriors in mind, using bergamot, lemon, ylang, and peppermint (Ps. 31:24)

Strength – uplifts, inspires, revitalizes, blends of peppermint & lemon (Isaiah 40:31)

Aware – refreshes the mind, improves recollection, retention, and focus, blends of peppermint, and rosemary (Isaiah 43:19)

Breath – soothes, calms, and gently balances irritated air passages, cleans the air of harmful microorganisms, blends of eucalyptus, lavender, and peppermint (Genesis 2:7)

Relief – eases headache pain, restores balance, blends of lemon, lavender, and peppermint (2 Thes. 1: 6-7)

To ensure freshness, these are made to order only. Cost is an additional 25 cents per ounce. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Aromatherapy

What exactly is aromatherapy?

It is the practice of using natural oils from plants (flowers, leaves, roots, bark…) to enhance psychological and physiological well-being.  Inhalation of the aroma of these oils is believed to stimulate the coordinating brain function. (For more a physiological explanation, see quote at bottom)  Scientific studies are increasing in this area, and depending on the scent, the research corroborates with thousands of years of practice.

Aromatherapy is used for pain relief, mood support, mood enhancement, increased cognitive function, and for overall health for centuries.

I don’t believe in reinventing the wheel, so here is a clip from the best physiological description I found:

“

Of the five senses, only our sense of smell is linked directly to the limbic lobe of the brain, our emotional control center. Fear, anxiety, depression, anger, and joy all emanate from this region of the brain. A particular scent or fragrance can evoke memories and emotions before we are even consciously aware of them. Our senses of touch, taste, hearing, and sight, are all routed through the thalamus, which serves as a switchboard for the brain, passing stimuli onto the cerebral cortex and to other parts of the brain. The limbic lobe, which encompasses a group of brain structures including the hippocampus, can also directly activate the hypothalamus, one of the most important parts of the brain, which serves as our hormonal control center. The hypothalamus is responsible for the production of growth hormones, sex hormones, thyroid hormones, and neurotransmitters such as serotonin. The hypothalamus has earned the designation of “master gland” due to its many important functions. (6)

The limbic lobe and hypothalamus can be directly stimulated through the fragrance and unique molecular structure of essential oils, which can exert a profound effect on the body and mind. Inhalation of essential oils can be used to reduce stress and emotional trauma, and to stimulate the production of hormones from the hypothalamus that can result in increased thyroid hormone responsible for our energy levels, among other things, and growth hormone known as the youth and longevity hormone. (6)

Upon inhaling a particular scent, the odor travels through the nose to the limbic section of the brain that controls stress levels, heart rate, blood pressure and breathing. Fragrance chemicals easily alter the brain’s neurochemistry. Dr. Alan Hirsch of the Smell and Taste Treatment Center and Research Foundation in Chicago believes smells can change a mood state faster than anything else. Through the ages we have accumulated much information about the positive effects of essential oils on mood and general well being.” Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, April, 2004 by Rose Marie Williams

Why the information?  We are currently testing proprietary blends of aromatherapeutic scents.  We are excited about this direction we are taking with our candles and tarts!  We have spent many, many hours of research looking for the most effective scents and combinations.  We are working hard to keep the combinations as pure and un-muddied as possible.  It has been a challenge to find premium fragrance oil we can stand behind, and we are still working on improving and purifying, but we finally have candles and tarts made and ready for human testing!  So far we have only tested 2 and each has been “approved”.

Stay tuned for the official release of our new proprietary blends of healing, helpful, aromatherapy candles!

Need? …or want?

Candles.  They don’t seem to be a necessity, do they?  During these difficult economic times when we have to discern between our needs and our wants, candles just don’t seem to fall into the category of “need”.  I was thinking about the saying, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Following that guideline would have likely prevented this country from falling into these rough waters.  We have become a nation of consumers, not producers.  We were strong when we produced more than we consumed.  Now it is the opposite.  To produce more than we consume… to give rather than to receive… think of the ramifications of such an attitude…  Our history shows its benefits.

I sat and I thought – My candles are not falling into the category of producing much, necessary for consumption.  They are an option, a luxury, an extra………….

Perhaps.

I do keep my profit margin so low that I could never make a living off of selling my candles.  Take in the utility costs and time to make them, and I am surely at a loss.  I can never compete with Walmart’s paraffin candles.  I wouldn’t want to.  (Yuk, paraffin is disgusting! And it supports the oil moguls!) So I sit and wonder if my hobby is all in vain, in waste.  And yet…

There are so very many benefits to my soy candles.  Just ask me!  … supports American farmers!  …supports the green movement!  …supports small business!  On and on I can go.  But here is the bottom line: In this tight economy, where every dollar counts, my candles are an affordable and thoughtful gift – to yourself, your family, your loved ones, your friends, your co-workers.  They can be customized in such a way as to show forethought and intent.  Is your friend a honey bee keeper?  Use a hive pot and candle “honey butter” scented wax as a candle gift for him/her!  Does your friend have a passion for sewing? Find a cute tin pin holder and have it candled in an aromatherapeutic scent (coming soon!).  When the candles are fully burned out, they will have an additional gift in the container! Thinking outside the box will lead you to many creative ideas… and the cost will not break you.

And?  We all need emergency candles on hand! (Yes, I can make you unscented candles for less.)

Think outside the box…

…or in this case, the candle jar.

I prefer to recycle, and jars for candles have been a particular joy for me.  In my home you will not commonly find any of my candle jars in use that I feature or sell – unless I am testing wicks, wax, or scent.  What you might find is an adorable jar that looks like a mini milk jug (salad dressing)!  Or a straight-sided jar with an elegant decorative border (organic peanut butter)!  In our classroom you will likely see a hexagon jar that glows impressively when lit (fruit spread)!  Or you might see in the cat room a crystal-clear, soft,  curvy jar (tahini)…  Are you getting the picture?  Candles are beautiful and their containers add to that beauty and elegance.  It is such a pleasant surprise for me to clean out a jar, remove its label, and see before me something new and different!  My sister and I have found so many exciting possibilities for candle jars over the years by following this routine.  I encourage you to “think outside the box” and open your eyes to the world around you for possibilities to candle via recycling jars.

Jars can be the most expensive part of candling for me.  If I can reduce my cost per candle by using my recycled jars, I am a happy candler.  Another idea for candle containers that is a different form of recycling is to use containers that are sitting around your house.  Crystal vase sitting empty?  Candle it!  Glass teacup leftover from a set?  Candle it!  Unmatched wine glass?  Candle it!  If you do not have any containers suitable for candling and still want to think outside the box, hit up your local second-hand store!  You can find gorgeous possibilities there!  If it can hold boiling water and can go through the dishwasher, it should make a fine candle container.  I have found breathtakingly painted tea cups, unusual glassware, whole sets of votive cups for pennies… the list goes on.

So, recycle, reduce, reuse…… by thinking outside of the candle jar!

Have FUN!

Paraffin wax verses soy wax…

Paraffin wax is a by-product of petroleum.  Burning it releases carbon monoxide into the air.  While it may be less expensive, it is toxic to your family and to the environment.  Paraffin candles support the oil industry.  They generally do not burn as long as soy candles, nor do they have as beautiful a scent throw as soy candles – cold and hot.

Soy wax, on the other hand, is a product of soybeans.  The soybeans are harvested, cleaned, cracked and de-hulled, and then rolled into flakes.  Then the oil is extracted from the flakes and hydrogenated. This process converts some of the fatty acids in the oil from unsaturated to saturated, which alters the melting point of the oil, making it a solid at room temperature. The rest of the bean is used in other useful products. The majority of the world’s soy beans are grown here in the United States, primarily in the Midwest.

While burning anything can release toxins into the air, burning soy candles greatly reduces the toxic load to your own body as well as to the environment.

The tranquility that a lit candle can bring to your inner sanctum is highly therapeutic.  It sets a tone of peace and calm to your home.  The scent you choose can link with memories, past or present, thereby supporting the atmosphere you are wishing to set.  But hey, that is another post.

“Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes…”