DIY Citronella Candles

Hello All, its Saturday!

Ahhh, I love being off on Holiday Weekends!

Today, I have another Patriotic Fun DIY project!

I had so much fun making these candles!

My friend Bill @ Candlewic.com

 gave me the two 10 lbs bags of Soy Wax 

along with 10 wicks.

This all natural wax is a good wax to use for containers, tins and ceramic crocks.

It is all natural, biodegradable and 100 % soy. 

This wax is truly a one pour, with good adhesion to the glass and very good scent throw.

There are a lot of ways that you can make candles. I mean as far as the creation process. 
Here is a good site that will show the most accurate and safest way.
 http://www.letsmakecandles.com

I didn't want to have to buy a bunch of bowls, pouring cans, etc. So I just stuck with the basics. 
I did a lot of research and actually found that you can microwave. 
Who would have thought? 
I also read that it could dangerous. I heard some horror stories of bad burns. But I wanted to try it that way because once again I didn't want to buy any additional items to cook it.

I decided to get out my mason jars and cook it in there.

I also found out via pinterest that you can make color candles using crayons? Say what?

It totally works!

So I filled up my jar with the soy flakes then added a the crayon.

I put in the microwave and cooked for 30 seconds at a time.

Then I'd stir it, and cook it 30 seconds again, and stir, and then do it one more time for 30 seconds.

*When you remove it from the microwave 

each time, make sure to use a pot holder, it is extremely hot!

The color you see now is much darker. 

It will be a light blue when it dries.

My pictures are all out of order because some of the pictures didn't turn out that well. My kitchen pot lights don't make for very good pictures.

First get your wick and place hot glue on bottom

 of the metal wic holder.

Then place it into your jar, I used a pencil 

with an eraser to push it down good.

Ok, now lets start with the red color...

I did it just like the blue color, 

I added one crayon to about 2 cups of soy wax.

Then I filled an 8 ounce jar about 2/3 full.

Then I took a syringe, (could be done with a pipette), 

and filled it up with Tiki Citronella Torch Fuel.

You can also buy just lemongrass oil, where essential oils are sold.

I have tested these out with the fuel in there, and they burn fine, no problems at all!

I put about 4 drops per color layer.

Let the each color layer completely dry. 

If not the colors will run together.

I did it and the white color turned pink.

Then I melted just the soy wax, no crayon for the white layer.

and poured it onto the red layer after the red layer dried.

It's hard to tell by the picture because the white color is clear when hot.

And then again I added 4 drops of the Citronella Oil.

After that completely dries then add your blue layer, 

and add your citronella drops.

As the each layer of the candle is drying try and hold up the wic to the center. It won't stay, but will stay closer to the center. Once you get to your top layer make sure to keep coming back to every 5 minutes to straighten it back out so it won't lean like the picture above when the candle is all dried.

And here is the final result...

Cut your wic off leaving about 1/2 inch of the wic 

left above the candle.

I like this one the best!!!

For the pedestal candles I just added some E-6000

 and adhered a candlestick holder to the bottom of the jar.

I love how they turned out! They will be put to good use today as my sister and I stay out on the patio and enjoy some patriotic drinks. Stay tuned for the recipe to those!

I definitely recommend 

Bill is a sweet, and honest reliable seller.

Be sure to visit his latest crafting site

 http://www.clcs.com  

Want to really stay on top of candle making be sure to like CandleWic on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/Candlewic

He also have many auctions of close out products on eBay which can be found at:

http://stores.ebay.com/Candle-and-Soap-Corner

Thank You so much Bill for letting me try this out! I am addicted now!

WooHoo!

Thanks for tuning in guys! 

Until next time...

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Ruffled T-Shirt Skirt

Well, Hello All! I hope everyone's Week is going well!

As mentioned the other day, I LOVE a good 

T-shirt Upcycle, and I've got another one, already!

My daughter had her Yankee Doodle Musical Today, and she needed a Red, White, and Blue outfit. 

But well, we all know muah, I couldn't just let her wear ole any outfit; it had to be spectacular da-lyn,

I actually searched for red and blue t-shirts at home, and when I couldn't find any that were ready to be destroyed, 

I went to my good ole' Salvation Army.

I've been a regular Wednesday shopper these days, mainly because its down the street from my daughter's gymnastics gym. 

And while she's practicing I can sneak a quick trip in. But I also love to go on Wednesday's because its Customer Appreciation Day, and all their clothing, shoes, purses, and linens are 50% off. 

I am a sucker for clearance. Lately I've been buying my daughter a ton of clothes. I sniff out the newer ones. I never ever pay over $3, but most are 50 cents to $1.

She is all set for the summer with bathing suits, 

gymnastics leotards, tights, dresses, and shirts.

I also like to buy throw pillows, and silk linens.

I will occasionally buy dishes, and vases.

Ok, anyway, moving on. I bought two 50 cents t shirts last week.

I already had a white shirt on hand.

I cut two 5 inch strips of red, 

 two 5 inch strips of blue, 

and one 5 inch strip of white.

For the ruffles I used to bottom of the 

t-shirts so I wouldn't have to hem them. 

As you can see by the photo, I only ruffled 3 of the strips.

The strips in between are to attach to the ruffles.

Don't ask me why, but I attached the blue part to the white ruffle first, sewing the right sides together.

Then I sewed blue ruffle half way on top of the blue strip.

I just placed it right on top and sewed near the ruffle hem.

Next I took the red strip and sewed it onto white ruffle.

I sewed the back side of the ruffle to the front side of the red strip, sandwiching the white ruffle between the blue strip and red strip.

The strip will hang down below the white ruffle. 

This is what it would look like when you lift up the ruffles.

And then I sewed the red ruffle on top of the red strip.

This is what it looks like underneath the ruffles.

After trying it onto my daughter it was a 

little shorter than I anticipated. 

I measured the length against another skirt she had,

 but I think she may have grown taller since wearing that skirt, lol.

Not to worry, I just cut an extra white t-shirt strip about 6 1/2 inches, and attached it right sides together

 to the top of the blue strip, and then hemmed the top of the white strip and folded it down.

I was going to add an elastic waste band, but it worked out that

 it was just the right size and it stayed exactly 

where it needed to be when she tried it on. 

So Perfect... one less thing for me to have to sew!

Then I made her a matching

 red, white and blue t-shirt flower for her hair.

To see how I made it, click here.

The t-shirt she is wearing I bought at Salvation Army too, 

and then just added a sequenced patch I already had.

Total cost for the whole outfit $2.

You just can't beat that.

She was a hit in her musical!

 She got a lot of ooh's and awe's on her outfit too!

I think she was the cutest one up there, but sigh...

that's just me, a proud mama! 

And I guess an admirer of my own work too, lol!

But ssshhh... she really was the cutest and prettiest!

Thanks so much for tuning in guys.

Stay tuned for more patriotic ideas this weekend!

              

                                                        

This post has been featured at:

Worthwhile Wednesdays #18

Welcome, Welcome all to the 18th

Worthwhile Wednesdays Link Party!

I am so glad you could join me today!

Let me take a few moments first to thank...

Holly @

For guest blogging this Monday!

Would you like to Guest Blog???

If interested please contact me via email. It can be found on the contact page.

http://thecraftiestallie.blogspot.com/2014/05/quote-wood-art-decor-sign-giveaway.html Also I have two very awesome giveaways going on right now, so don't forget to stop by and enter to win these.

 Thank you to everyone who was able to link up last Wednesday! 

You guys are making it so hard to decide these days. I just couldn't make up mind, so I settled on 6 of my very favorite ones, but they we're all so awesome!

Buffalo Chicken Bite by

Almost Supermom

Goodwill Drab to Fab

by Our Mini Family

Custom Mason Jar Bathroom Decor by

Wood of Bells

Upcycle a dress that's too small in only 5 minutes 

by Home, Heart and Hands

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by Crafty Lumberjacks

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