Pickles

Pickles. Great expression. It is, also, my daughter's nickname. For some reason, that just came to me. I guess it brings me to mind of whimsy, fun, and brightness. All the qualities my daughter, Jules, possesses. And making candles are all of those, too. Today, yesterday and the day before that were all about learning how to make the kind of candles I have wanted to do. I am developing some prototypes for a project, and I have a friend who wants me to put some products in her shop.

When I was a girl, candles were a fad, and my mom and I made some pillar candles. I remember it, but the details are somewhat fuzzy. Juliet wants to make some, but alas, schedules haven't permitted it yet. So I got the soy wax, the essential oils, wicks, wick holders, chopsticks (more on that in a sec), and brought my collection of jars and containers into the kitchen. Now the "fun" begins, I say, as I nurse my cut finger (also, more on that in a bit).

I have been drawn to making candles, and so I got everything in order, and realized, as I was wondering how to color them, that I could melt Crayons® in the wax, and it would color them fine! Bingo! I scooped out 4 cups of soy wax from Michaels®, (not sponsored, BTW). It melted down to 2 cups. I put in my thermometer, and melted a Crayon at 170°, then took the double boiler off the burner and let it cool. . . about 15 minutes. When it reached 120° F, I put in scented oils. The scented oils, according to the local herb shop, are better synthetic, as they are more potent smelling, and don't break down as quickly as organic. Not sure how I feel about that, yet. Not real happy, but I bought some lavender. I really want the smell noticeable, not overpowering. I mixed the scent in for at least 30 seconds, then I let it cool for five more minutes. I poured the colored liquid into the molds. The wicks had been wick-stickied onto the bottom with wick wax I got at Michaels. I took chopsticks, and wrapped the length of the wick left over, and placed the chopstick across the top, centering the wick. I let them cool.

A while ago, around 10 years, I bought an oval metal mold for candles. I thought I would use it. It didn't really work well, as the wax was not cooled enough, and I tried to pop it out, like the videos show. It broke the candle inside, and I gave up. As I was cleaning it, I shoved my fingers down in deep to clean the last of the wax out, and promptly cut between my pinky and ring finger, deep. I immediately screamed, and held it above my head to stop the bleeding. I put some ointment on it, and a bandage. (Writing this, it is amazing how many brands I refer to for common items....thesaurus, where are you?!).

Since I do Reiki (Japanese energy healing), and kept a bandage on it, it was better healed by Monday, and I did it on a Friday. Pretty good! Amazingly, didn't burn myself, significantly. Here are some photos of the process:

Molly, the pregnant cow, and the newly named Niño, the bull, are in the backyard now. Cupid was a little shocked when I fed them the first time. He wasn't too sure of them. . . looks pretty scared.