The Christmas rush, candle making ombre christmas trees and Valentines?

Hello candle friends.  I hope you're having a wonderful December. 

Our lights are finally up outside and the tree is trimmed.  Christmas shopping is nearly done, it just wouldn't be the holidays with out last minute gift buying, right?  Although to be fair I did most of the shopping from the couch with a lot of help from amazon.

The Christmas season is a sneaky one at times, isn't it?  Once Halloween is over I find myself sitting down to a turkey dinner, I no more than clear the dishes away from that and we're wading through a sea of wrapping paper and ribbons.

All my fun christmas candle project lists lay buried and forgotten under layers of invoices, which are vastly more important.  I did get at a few sets of green ombre christmas trees made before the rush came in swinging, but only to give out as gifts. Perhaps next year I'll have them available on the sites.

In the all too strange world of retail, all the holiday candle molds are neatly stored away till next year and my pour tables are being consumed by hearts and cupids and pinks. Pink EVERYWHERE! Because if it doesn't get made now there won't be time for Valentine's Day shipping.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season.

ps.  did I mention that I have finally got my instagram account back.  It had been lost to the internet gods for a few years but it's back and I'm attempting to use it more.

Woodland mushroom candles

I love Fridays..not that I have anything against the other days of the week but when Friday morning commences my rejuvenation begins too.

Fridays are filled long coffee breaks while I mull over what to work on for the next week. Its also the day where I do a bit of tidying up, need to make room for new messes!

Sometimes ideas form while I'm cleaning up the weeks clutter.  Like these woodland mushroom candles. I've had the mold for a while and I originally only poured them in beeswax but they never seemed all that interesting, until a bit of scrap wax accidentally blended in to some soy wax I was working with.  I love when oops turn out to be pretty surprises. 

Glowing Eyes Skull Candle

Happy Friday the 13th candle friends.  Does anyone know why Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day?  After a quick net search I'm still unclear on what makes this superstitious date combination frightening.

anyway...

I spent a few months trying to make a bleeding skull candle; you know the ones right, the skull that has a black outer shell of wax and the inside is a deep blood red and as it burns the waxy blood drips over the skull. Gross but so cool looking and I just had to try my hand at making some!

It was a head banging candle making experience full of filthy words and curses.

1.  It is very difficult to get a thin enough black shell so that the red interior wax doesn't show through causing the black wax to take on a purple tinge.
2. As my tests burned, the black wax mixed with the red and dribbled grayish purple down the candle
3.  If it dripped at all.
4.  I changed wick placement so often that one of my skull molds looks like Pin Head now.

I decided to shelve the whole project back in August, since I wasn't coming close to the effect I wanted..

But as I scrolling through photos on my phone this afternoon something caught my eye.   Sure, I didn't get that awesome drippy blood but I did get a pretty cool effect that was totally on accident and I didn't even notice it at the time. 

As much as I like the glowing red eyes I do really want a drippy blood candle.  If anyone has had success or has any helpful advise or tips, please share.   It's definitely a project I'll return too in the future so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Have a wonderful day.