Lost For Words

Unusually, I do not have much to say at the moment.  My head is full but there are no words or pictures in it, just tasks and chores that must be done.  The cold weather continues.  My skin is the envy of all Night Dwellers; my hair has the texture of sheep's wool and the appearance of  a badly constructed jack daw's nest.  My dad remarked that I looked tired.  He never notices anything so for him to say that, I must look pretty bad.

My knight in shining armour has not yet come to claim my hand and whisk me away on his tractor to a rambling farmhouse on the edge of a woodland, and if he did, he would have to wait so long while I put on enough sensible clothing for the journey, he'd get bored and wander off.

I am so lucky to be able to work from home and be here when my children need me, (less and less as time goes on), but it feels a little lonely sometimes.  Puppy is being driven to destruction by his private parts; (a Very Special Operation next week should sort that out) and I am being driven to distraction by Puppy and his private parts.

I spend part of most days in my kitchen making candles and the rest of the time trying to come up with new ideas for candles.  I haven't yet sold anything, so I don't even know if anyone likes what I make.

People can be put off candles as many smell heavy and sickly and are headache-inducing.  The colours can be deep and strong and are mainly thought of as something we have only at Christmas time.  I want mine to be different.

I love pale pastel colours, so I make my candles in these shades.  I love lace, ribbons, papers and all manner of pretty things, so I use these ideas to adorn my candles.  And I love a potpourri kind of scent; delicate and clean, that lifts the air rather than hangs in it and a scent that reminds you it's there when you move around the room.  This is what I want from my candles, even when they are not burning, so that is how I make them.

Chandlery is a slow process, so any mistakes cannot be known until the candle has cooled completely.  I have been having problems with small container candles for a while now; they keep cracking about 1cm from the edge.  I have altered the pouring temperature and warmed my pots, but it doesn't make any difference.  I keep having to open the back door to let the dogs out and I'm wondering if the draught is causing the problem.  I will have to experiment with the colour and scent to see if either of them are responsible.  See, it's a slow process!  I love it when it works well though, and I get to burn the failures!

My aim is to change the way people think about candles.  They are for every day, every room and everybody.  They look pretty, smell wonderful and take on their own personality once lit.  Every candle will burn slightly differently depending where it is situated, the temperature of the room and how long it is left burning at one time.  I have read that burning a candle for no more than 3 hours at a time before extinguishing, leaving it to cool and solidify before lighting it again, can increase the length of time it will burn overall.  Worth a go!

They give tiny amounts of pleasure, don't make our hips expand (chocolate and cake!) nor cost a fortune and they don't have to be coloured or scented to be naturally beautiful.

Please, please, please let me know what you think about candles, they need your support!

Thank you for visiting my Windy Island and I hope you have a lovely day. xxx