Moms Indulgence.com

Archive for the ‘Candles’ Category

I love candles. Bet that hasn’t come across. lol But not only do I love candles, I love yummy candles that I know someone handmade. I honestly LOVE helping a fellow woman in her quest to stay home and still provide for her family. I’m always on the lookout for homemade candles, but it is a difficult topic to use on the search engines. There are so many searches that come up and so many of them are quite spammy looking.

Out of the Box samplers are a dream come true for me. Homemade candles, bath and body products all sent to my house. Incredibly creative products and just the yummiest combination of scents.

Sample boxes sell out quickly so it’s a very good idea to get on the priority mailing list so you know the second the boxes go on sale and also any discounts offered.

So about each box. Here are just a few of the samples included in my box.

These are just a few of the items included in a sampler box I received. Further reviews of each product will be forthcoming. Each box includes an average of 13-15 generously sized samples. These are not all going to be tiny slivers of soap that are unusable or tarts so tiny you don’t smell them in the burner. In fact the mini-muffin tart I burned smelled up my house for three straight days of burning!

I was impressed by the quality of products and the sizes. I loved that these are sizes that I would be purchasing when I go to the website. Be ware though, the box sells out fast. The next box goes on sale April 10th, but again I encourage you to join the email list so you know it went live. The boxes won’t last long and there are limited quantities because of the quality of products.

Sample many etailers at once at Out of the Box, so you can find your favorites!

Everyone knows candles are decorative, can smell great, and can function as a source of light and heat. However, most people aren’t aware that you can use candles to get certain results in your own life.

Colors play a huge role in this. For example, if you want a hot, romantic, passionate night with your partner, you will want to use red or orange candles, which are the colors of passion, to enhance the mood. Lighting a blue candle in the room would still provide some ambiance, but not as passionately as a red or orange candle would!

Pink is the color of love, and if you want to attract love in your life, you should burn pink candles. Pink is also the color of femininity and motherhood.

Yellow candles are great for energizing yourself! Yellow is a bright, happy color that encourages you to focus and energize.

Green candles symbolize money, and financial stability, as well as the home and hearth. If you want to bring money into your life, burning green candles will allow you to focus on this. They also are wonderful just for burning around the home to encourage a feeling of warmth and security.

Blue candles are wonderful for relaxation, serenity, healing, and emotional well-being. When you want to relax, light up a blue candle to encourage a feeling of wellness.

Purple is the color of intuition, prayer, and devotion. If you wish to meditate, or to use a candle when praying, the color purple is a good choice.

White candles are a symbol of purity (as when used in wedding ceremonies, etc.) and are good all-occasion candles. Black candles are good for ridding yourself of negativity, and bad habits.

Of course, scent plays a role in the use of candles for changes in your life as well. If you are a person who is highly sensitive or allergic to scents, an unscented candle is of course best. If you are not, however, fragrance can be a true enhancement to any candle, whether used symbolically or for aromatherapy purposes.

Fragrances that go well with red or orange candles, and enhance passion and energy are Jasmine, Cardamon, Cinnamon, Ylang-Ylang, Ginger, and Rose.

Great scents to go with pink candles for love are rose, jasmine, hyacinth, hibiscus, and rosewood.

Fragrances that work with yellow candles for energy are ginger, citrus scents (orange, lemon, grapefruit, etc.), and peppermint.

Scents to go with green candles for money or the home are basil, patchouli, and juniper, and many other “green” scents.

Fragrances used for serenity or healing to go with blue candles are very wide and varied. Some of those are lavender, chamomile, sandalwood, frankincense, lemongrass, cedarwood, and sage.

Scents for prayer and intuition really should depend on the individual, however many widely accepted fragrances for these are dragon’s blood, frankincense & myrrh, sandalwood, cypress and spruce.

Now that you know what colors can encourage, and what fragrances can help with, your life you can use any combination of these to bring about changes in your life for the better!

Stephanie Davies is a 27 year old Missourian with a loving husband and an 8 year old son. She currently owns her own business, Mystickal Incense & More, and sells handmade candles, incense, bath & body products and more at http://www.mystickalincense.com

You may have heard stories recently about the benefits of soy wax, or about how paraffin wax is unhealthy or not good for you. In this article we will examine the myths and rumors and give the straight facts on both soy and paraffin wax candles and allow you to see what the truth and fuss is all about.

Before we start, it is important for you to know what the actual difference is between soy and paraffin waxes, and to see how each are produced. Let’s start with paraffin wax, the most common wax to create candles with today. If you purchase a candle that isn’t marked as soy, beeswax, or any other special blend of wax, chances are that you have purchased a candle that is made from a paraffin blend of wax.

Paraffin wax is a heavy hydrocarbon that comes from crude oil. Paraffin waxes are produced by refining or separating the waxes out of crude mineral oils. Obtained from the ground, crude oil is a compositionally varied product, consisting of a mixture of hydrocarbons. Another name for crude oil is fossil fuel. Crude oil is transported to refineries where it is refined into finished products by complex processes. One of the many products derived from refining is lubricating oil. It is from the lube oil refining process that petroleum waxes are derived. There are three general categories of petroleum wax that are obtained from lube oil refining. They include paraffin, microcrystalline and petrolatum. Paraffin waxes are derived from the light lubricating oil distillates. Paraffin waxes contain predominantly straight-chain hydrocarbons with an average chain length of 20 to 30 carbon atoms.

Soy wax, on the other hand is made from vegetable matter. Soy wax is a vegetable wax made from the oil of soybeans. After harvesting, the beans are cleaned, cracked, de-hulled, and rolled into flakes. The oil is then extracted from the flakes and hydrogenated. The hydrogenation process converts some of the fatty acids in the oil from unsaturated to saturated. This process dramatically alters the melting point of the oil, making it a solid at room temperature. The leftover bean husks are commonly used as animal feed. The U.S. grows the vast majority of the world’s soybeans, primarily in Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana.

So now that you know how both soy and paraffin candles are made, let’s take a look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of both types.

There are a lot of myths surrounding soy candles. Most of these are designed to sell soy candles better, and have very little truth in them. A great example is the great “no soot” myth. Sites that sell soy candles love to say that there is absolutely no soot produced with a soy candle. However, there is no truth and all hype to that claim. Absolutely, positively, and most importantly, scientifically, all organic compounds when burned will emit some carbon (soot) due to incomplete combustion. Sooting is primarily a factor of wick length and disturbance of the flame’s steady teardrop shape. There is no such thing as a soot-free candle. Further, while soy wax is all-natural and will not produce the thick black soot that you see on some paraffin containers, it does produce soot. An important fact to remember is that not all soot is black. Soot can be a “white soot” that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Soy wax will produce little black soot – unless the candle is improperly wicked, made, or burnt, but it may produce white soot.

But before you get scared of soot, let me tell you, that soot is in fact not harmful to you. Candle soot is composed primarily of elemental carbon particles, and is similar to the soot given off by kitchen toasters and cooking oils. These everyday household sources of soot are not considered a health concern, and are chemically different from the soot formed by the burning of diesel fuel, coal, gasoline, etc. So the myth of “soot free soy candles” is not only inaccurate, but simply an effort by some companies to scare the general public into buying their candles.

With that being said, there are some benefits to purchasing soy wax candles. While petroleum based paraffin wax is a limited resource, soy wax is a renewable resource that is limited only by how many soybeans we can grow. It is also beneficial to farmers who sell soybean crops, as well as lasting almost twice as long as paraffin wax.

However, soy wax is naturally a “soft” wax. While container candles, tealights, and small tarts may be made entirely of soy, it is extremely difficult to make good pillar candles and votives out of 100% pure soy wax. Additives are used to make them better, but in most cases, paraffin wax is still a much better solution for those types of candles. In my own company, Mystickal Incense & More, we use a blend of 50% soy wax and 50% paraffin wax for our free-standing candles.

In the end, both paraffin wax and soy wax are both good choices for candle wax. Neither is more “environmentally friendly” than the other, as there has never been scientific evidence that paraffin wax is harmful to your health in any way at all. It is a personal choice of which type you prefer to use, and both types hold scent and dye just as well. The only benefit that there is in all reality, is that container candles using soy wax do burn longer. And it does benefit the farmers of the Mid-western United States. However, most other claims regarding soy wax are false and/or misleading.

Stephanie Davies is a 28 year old work at home mom to a 9 year old boy in Mid-Missouri. Her hosting company, Hosting WAHMs offers premium webhosting from $2 per month and up, with an easy to use sitebuilder! She also loves to knit, build websites, and talk to people.

Oh my, these are egg candles so adorable. And you can choose the color and scent you want filled.

There are a lot of choices for scents and no reason to choose just one. Order your favorite Spring scents and alternate between them or combine scents as they burn to create your own Spring melody.

Color choices are blue, green, pink, purple, white and yellow.  A perfect menagerie of Spring colors for your table tops.

When purchasing scented items online, such as candles, incense, or bath and body products, it is hard to know what to expect from the fragrance you choose. Especially when computer screens are unfortunately not scratch and sniff (wonderful idea though, isn’t it?). This is especially true when it comes to the fragrance of vanilla.

The first reason there is such a varied amount of vanilla scents available (and this is true of lavender as well), is because each fragrance oil manufacturing company is different, and has a different way of making each fragrance. While you might order Vanilla fragrance oil from one company, you could order plain Vanilla from another company and get a completely different smell. This is simply due to the difference in manufacturers.

Another thing that makes a huge difference is what you expect the vanilla to smell like. Vanilla on it’s own is not a very descriptive term. When I say vanilla, do you think of the scent of vanilla extract? Or vanilla ice cream? Or possibly even real vanilla beans?

Vanilla can be very sugary smelling, or have a faint alcoholic-type scent that is more reminiscent of vanilla extract. It is also used as a base for a ton of other completely different scents, such as Lavender Vanilla, Jasmine Vanilla, Sandalwood Vanilla, Vanilla Musk, French Vanilla, and many others. If the company does not have a fragrance descriptions page that gives a clear idea of what their vanilla smells like, I would recommend writing to the company and asking what their vanilla does smell like before purchasing.

So why so many variations on such a simple fragrance? Psychologists and medical researchers were aware of our positive reactions to the scent of vanilla long before perfume makers recognized it’s potential. In experiments where an odor universally regarded as pleasant is required, vanilla has been a standard choice for decades.

Medical experiments have shown that vanilla fragrance reduces stress and anxiety. Cancer patients undergoing Magnetic Resonance Imaging – a diagnostic procedure known to be stressful – reported a massive 63% less anxiety when heliotropin (a vanilla fragrance) was administered during the procedure.

Vanilla fragrance also makes you calmer. A study at Tubingen University in Germany showed that vanilla fragrance reduced the startle-reflex in both humans and animals. The animal results indicate that the calming effects of vanilla may be due to some more essential property of the fragrance than the positive childhood associations usually invoked to explain its universal popularity with humans.

So not only are there dozens of types of vanilla fragrance, it is also one of the most calming fragrances as well as being a highly popular fragrance among many people. So when looking for that right vanilla fragrance, keep these tips in mind, and make sure that you are looking for what vanilla makes you happy.

Stephanie Davies is a 27 year old Missourian with a loving husband and an 8 year old son. She currently owns her own business, Mystickal Incense & More, and sells handmade candles, incense, bath & body products and more at http://www.mystickalincense.com

Candle tarts or “melts” are all the rage these days! Usually they are single packaged solid fragranced chunks of wax that you melt in a tealight potpourri burner or in an electric tart burner. Because there is no flame and the wax melts all at one time, you get more scent which lasts up to ten times longer than a regular candle of the same size.

Candle melts are available in many places, both online and offline, however you can even make them yourself in your own home by recycling old candles. This serves the purpose of using old candle wax instead of throwing it out, while at the same time scenting your home with delightful fragrances. Here are the items you will need to get started:

*Old used candles or candle wax

*Two old stove pans, one larger than the other

*A candy thermometer

*A mold for your melts – this can be a metal mini-muffin pan, thick plastic ice cube try, or any other small metal seamless container that won’t leak.

*A fire extinguisher (NEVER make candles without having a fire extinguisher handy in case of accidents!!)

*A few drops of the essential or fragrance oil of your choice (optional)

Once you have gathered the above items, begin by adding your chunks and pieces of used wax to the smaller pot. Be sure to remove the wick, by cutting the wax away from the wick if necessary, and remove all foreign objects.

Next fill the larger pot about 1/4 full with water, and place it on the stove. Set the smaller pot inside the larger pot to form a double boiler. IMPORTANT: Never, ever, heat wax directly on the stove – always use the double boiler method as wax can reach flash points very rapidly.

Turn your stove onto medium heat, and allow the water to heat up and melt the wax bits inside the smaller pan. This process takes about 15 minutes or so. During the time it is melting, stir the wax frequently and continue to check the temperature of the wax, which should never go higher than 180 degrees.

Once the wax is entirely melted, add a few drops of essential or fragrance oil of your choice to the melted wax and stir it well. Make sure you only use essential oils or fragrance oils (fragrance oils that are made especially for candle making). Potpourri oils, lamp ring oils and other products are not suitable for use in candle products.

As soon as you have mixed in the fragrance or essential oils, immediately pour the melted wax into your molds. You can use just about any type of metal mold as long as it is seamless and doesn’t leak, however mini-muffin pans are ideal! Make sure that the mold is small enough so that the finished product will fit inside of a potpourri warmer.

After pouring your wax, allow the melts to cool completely which takes up to 12 hours. You can speed this process up by placing the melts in the freezer for about 30 minutes after they have hardened a bit at room temperature.

Once they are completely cooled, remove them from the molds by turning the mold upside down and tapping on it. And there you have your finished candle melts which you can use at any time!

Stephanie Davies is a 28 year old work at home mom to a 9 year old boy in Mid-Missouri. Her hosting company, Hosting WAHMs offers premium webhosting from $2 per month and up, with an easy to use sitebuilder! She also loves to knit, build websites, and talk to people.

Hmm, did Kara mark my bday on her calendar? lol This weeks scent is Birthday Cake and it was my and my son’s bday this last week. How timely. You can bring the scent of a rich, creamy birthday cake to your home every day. Once again, something yummy to smell with no extra calories. Those are my favorite kind of candles. I lean towards the yummy bakery scented candles. I love to bake cakes because they are quick to make and the house smells so good. But heaven knows I don’t need a cake. lol

Have the best of both world’s with this week’s scent.

So you are tired and stressed out day after day. You’ve had thoughts of yoga, meditation, and soothing spa experiences, but you either don’t have the time to do those things, or it is beyond your reach right now. Let me show you a few very simple, simple relaxation techniques that you can use at any time, without any effort or previous knowledge to accomplish – using candles! That’s right, using candles. Almost everyone has a candle in the house, most of us have several, and if you don’t have one, the nearest store is sure to have a grand selection.

To begin, you don’t need to have any certain type of candle. Almost any candle will work, big or small, soy candles, paraffin candles, beeswax candles, scented or unscented! Of course, scents will help with the relaxation, so I will give you a few ideas on which fragrances to use to help you to fully enjoy the benefits of candle relaxation.

Lavender is the fragrance most renowned for it’s relaxation benefits in aromatherapy. It’s a common ingredient in products aimed at relaxation and stress relief, such as pillows, bath oils, soaps and lotions. However it may not be the right fragrance for you. Some people find particular scents relaxing while others do not. For instance, the fragrance of warm cinnamon buns may smell like heaven to me, but may make you want to run to higher ground! Other fragrances may have bad memories attached to them in your own mind. For that reason, I recommend that you take into account your own personal preferences in choosing the scented products that are right for you. Other fragrances that have a strong reputation for relaxation are: chamomile, vanilla, ylang ylang, clary sage, bergamot, frankincense, and sandalwood. Although if you have strong allergies or are highly sensitive to scented items, we recommend going with an unscented candle for your own relaxation.

The color of the candle you use is very important when you are using candles for relaxation purposes. Use calming, muted colors to relax, such as pale blues, greens, white, or violet. Bright colors such as reds, oranges, and yellows can be stimulating to the mind and might make it harder to fully relax. I personally recommend candles of a blue color to relax, but if you personally really hate the color blue, you may use any light color that pleases your eye.

The first way to use candles in relaxation and stress relief is a very simple, yet utterly effective method. Simply take a deep breath, and stare at the flame of the candle while it is lit. Focus in on the area at the base of the wick where the flames color is blue. Watch how the colors subtly change as you stare into the flame. Take deep, calming breaths while relaxing and simply focusing on the candle flame. It helps if this is done in a darkened room, however the exercise is effective even while in a brightly lit space.

Another simple method for candle relaxation is to take your candle and a small pin or other object to “write” on the candle, and write the word “Relax” vertically on the surface of the candle. As the candle burns, on each letter, meditate on a single thought. It can be anything you want as long as it is a positive thought. As the candle burns to a new letter, change to a different meditative thought. This is a way of meditating while having a “timer” (the candle) to set a slow but relaxing pace while giving you a focus for your meditation.

Finally, candles and water can be an extremely effective combination. I recommend using floating candles in a combination with the first technique, or alternatively to place a candle in a bowl and place small attractive rocks or crystals around the base to anchor it, then placing a small amount of water in the bottom of the bowl. This is not only helpful for relaxation, but is also very decorative and in itself holds many ideas for decorating your home.

Of course, the act of simply having lit candles is very relaxing in itself. Whether simply around the house, in the bathtub, or during intimate moments, candles can enhance and bring peacefulness to our hectic lives. So the next time you are looking for a quick way to de-stress and ground yourself, look no further than the wax and wick!

Stephanie Davies is a 27 year old Missourian with a loving husband and an 8 year old son. She currently owns her own business, Mystickal Incense & More, and sells handmade candles, incense, bath & body products and more at http://www.mystickalincense.com

Without the guilt. OMG, I’m so excited. I love cheesecake and it’s the new scent at Prairie Soy Candles. It’s available in every size candle and why not fill your house with the rich creamy scent of cheesecake? As I have kick started my fitness and nutrition routine (with everyone else, lol) it is heavenly to get the scent all the time and no that I’m not gaining an inch.

It’s the new year and many have goals they are trying to hit hard. We may need a pick-me-up to help boost us through some days as we get over the holidays..

Prairie Soy Candles heard that call and came out with a new aromatherapy candle aptly called Energizing.

Energizing is made with both essential oils and fragrance oils. It’s a blend of spearmint, peppermint, wintergreen, aroma with a faint base tone of citrus. I can actually see lighting this up in my bathroom in the morning as soon as I get up. What better way to start your day, than a hot shower and yummy candle.