Source: Marvin (PA)

David Fisher points out that there are 3 areas of danger which need to be considered when making candles.

• Dealing with hot wax
• Accidents & Spills
• Using fragrances etc that can irritate skin. Be careful of what you use.

Preperation

Like with most things preparation is essential when taking on a candle making project. You should start by selecting an appropriate location to make your candles. It should be somewhere with plenty of space and is not near anything that could catch fire or cause harm to yourselves. It would also be useful to have a fire distinguisher and wipes on hand to clean up spillages and put out live flames.

Follow A Method

People often find following a method harder than they first thing so the golden rule is to take your time. Don’t rush it as you will only make mistakes. Follow your chosen guide carefully.

I think Cajun probably have some of the best candle making guides and they are well worth the look.

http://www.cajuncandles.com/beginnersguide.html

Ingredients

Be careful with the ingredients you use. Some can be toxic so be careful with your hands. I would recommend using gloves. Also colouring can be very powerful and can ruin clothes if splashed on them. Wear sensible clothes that you don’t mind ruining.

Melt Your Wax Safely

Wax does not look like much but when your heating it to extreme temperatures it can become extremely dangerous.

Keep an eye on the temperature. You don’t want your wax to get to hot.

Never leave hot wax unattended. It is probably the stage where you should take over from your children. Don’t even leave it to answer the phone or for any other distraction. Monitor it carefully.

These are all common sense rules but very much worth sticking to and the main thing is to enjoy the experience.

The National Candle Association also gives some great general advice on candle safety.

Image By: Teon

When we think about candles we think about festivities, prayer, freedom, warmth, romance and tranquility. This amazing range of associations makes us at Candles To You think why aren’t the general public using them more frequently? It’s certainly a strange one and we are hoping in 2009 this will change.

Ideas

The great thing about candles is the variety of places you can use them in. They sit comfortably in the garden, in the dining room, in the lounge, in the bedroom and even in the bathroom. There are literally candles available for every room.

Candles have come along way since the 50’s and even if we say it ourselves there are some seriously cool designs around. The image of a traditional candle will resonate in many people’s mind in reality candles today differ in shape, size thickness and style. Candles these days can even be shaped as stars or as a sphere.

If you like to do things your own way the development in candle accessories has come on significantly. Candle holders are available in a range of odd shapes and you can now even make candles yourself with wax beads.

So now you know whats out there why not take a look around and find what you need to decorate your home in 2009.

Property expert recently gave an interview to the Times discussing the use of scented candles for decoration. Other property experts also went on to say that you should even change your candles to keep in with the seasons. We think this is a great idea and loved the thought of using exotic scented candles in the winter while using cool and refreshing scents in the summer.

The article also discussed the notion that we should be using decorations around candles. By this they mean make the candle the centre piece while wrapping or putting things around it.

To answer this question you really have to look at what is available on the hight street. Numerous stores on the high street sell candles but what ranges do they actually sell. Most of them sell very limited ranges and compete solely on price. They tend to stock tea light candles and candle sticks. They are also often presented in unattractive boxes and no care to attention or detail is given. This is where companies like us make a real difference.

At Candles To You we really care about the products we sell so we look closely at what our suppliers are doing and where they are heading. We also look for the finest scented candles and candles that stand out. Candles on the web should be exciting and be a place where people can get candles that are simply not available anywhere else. So essentially you are getting a wider product range and in essence better quality products online.

We hope you enjoy finding candles on the web as much as we do.

Green news site Natural News even goes on to say that scented candles are beautiful whether lit or unlit and make wonderful accents to centrepieces, window sills, lanterns and other decorations. They also go onto say that scented candles can bring the festive smell to a home if carefully selected.

The great thing about candles is that they are also extremely cost effective decorations. You can also customise candles with ideas of your own. We think that wrapping green holly leaves around a candle arrangement looks great.

Send us your great christmas decoration ideas.

• English Country Garden Candle Tin – £4.49
• A Thousand Rose Petals Candle Tin – £4.49
• Leaf & Flower Gift Set – £4.49
• Butterfly Candle Gift Set – £4.49

Other artists have even featured candles heavily in their lyrics. The Crest’s of course had a famous song called sixteen candles. If you take a look at some of the lyrics from sixteen candles you will see how heavily candles feature.

Sixteen candles make a lovely light
But not as bright as your eyes tonight
(as your eyes tonight) (Oh)
Blow out the candles, make your wish come true
For I’ll be wishing that you love me, too
(that you love me, too)

We will hopefully have some pictures soon of the arrangement and will of course keep you updated. If you want to reminisce about the sixteen candles lyrics or know of any music concerts where candles have featured heavily then drop us a line.

Well the obvious reason would be the safety implications. Not having to use a live flame means people can live them on all night long and not have to worry them. Although this seems the obvious reason LED candles offer something else and that is a fantastic array of bright colours. Many of them in fact change colour to suit your mood. Common colours such as blue and yellow really stand out in a room. They have a mystical look to them and is quite breath taking at times.

Some LED candles go one step further and this feature will really appeal to the geeks out there. The LED candles not only have the appearance and look of a real candle but they also make use of a flickering type of light effect. What’s more you blow them on and off. The video below shows one in action.

LED Candle Demonstration

Although we were initially very taken by the LED candles it does have some major drawbacks. Firstly they are battery powered which means you have to replace the batteries every so often. More importantly the LED candles don’t give off any scent. Surely this is the whole point of candles. Candles are also supposed to be subtle and not illuminate everything in the room. There is no doubt that they are impressive however I think natural candles will always have a place in peoples living rooms.

When we think of soy we don’t usually think of candles as using soy in candles is a new thing. Soy has been in use for many years now in numerous different products but the soy candle has really court on. This is because it is a much cheaper alternative to other natural candles. Beeswax candles for example are much more expensive.

The availability and variety of soy candles has also increased significantly and you can freely find soy candles on the high street. Originally there were only a few styles and scents so it has certainly been interesting to watch the change. I mean who thought that soy candles would become a major player in the candle industry.

Despite the increase in the variety of soy candles we cant help but feel there are a few styles they haven’t tried yet. One of the major ones is a freestanding soy candle. We keep expecting to see one and we have been pushing our manufacturers to bring one to the market place. You never know one might come out soon.

Using Your Soy Beauty
Burning soy candles is a little different to burning traditional candles. When you purchase a soy candle you should cut about a quarter of an inch off the top and then start burning it. You should repeat this step for every use of the candle. This is because you need to teach your candle a burning pattern. If you don’t the wick can end up all over the place and the scent doesn’t get released properly.

The other thing to bear in mind is how to put a soy candle out. Unlike a traditional candle you should dip the wick into the wax to put out the flame. Doing it the traditional way would leave soot on the wick which ruins future burns.

Anyway we hope you enjoy the delights of these new candles and lets hope a freestanding soy candle comes along.