Beeswax Candles

        

Whoa. Let's all be honest, this hasn't happened for a while. Well, I'm here to change that.
                                
We're quickly running out of our (Christmas present) candle supply. Matt and I have about two candles and/or an incense stick burning at all times. Incase you haven't noticed, it's been a little snowy in Missouri this year. ([(Snow+dogs= wet dogs)=smelly house]=candles are necessary).
                                
A while ago, I had bought some beeswax at the Tower Grove Farmer's Market (it's the best one to go to in STL- it's as local as possible). Beeswax comes in 1 pound bricks. You can also order beeswax on Amazon. There are all different shades of yellow, so pick the color you like the most because that will be the color of your candle. 

         

Ingredients: 

- 1 lb. beeswax

- 1/2 cup coconut oil

- 3 small Jars 

- Old sauce pan (don't use one that you cook food in, 

unless you enjoy beeswax in your food)

- Double boiler 

- Candle wick

- Pencil 

- Essential oil of choice

1. First, you'll need to use a double boiler to melt your wax.

2. When the wax is melted, add the 1/2 C. coconut oil. Beeswax can get very hot, so you'll need to use coconut oil to stabilize it. 

3. As you wait for the coconut oil to melt, place your one wick in each candle jar. Use a pencil to stabilize the wick and keep it up right. 

4. Next, pour a small amount of wax/oil into the bottom of each jar. Press the wick bottom into the hardening wax. 

                           

5. Once the wax is hardened, poor the remaining wax just shy of the lip of each jar, leaving about 1/2 inch of space. 

6. Pour a few drops of preferred essential oil into each jar. I used lavender (duh).  

7. Let the candle harden. Cleaning off any spill on the outside of the jar- you don't want it to melt onto your counter tops!

Enjoy! 

Xx, 

Alex 

Lavender and seasame pillow

Winter is coming (sorry, I just couldn't resist). 

Like most young newlyweds, we're trying to save $$$. Sure, sure we do indulge on a few splurges. But day to day we try to stay cheap. This means eating at home (which, this is a perk of living together if you ask me... home cooked meals!), using Netflix instead of cable, and skimping on the A/C and heat! The last one is the biggest deal for me. As long as I'm bundled up, it's no big deal. But the worst thing on Earth is getting into a bed with freezing cold sheets. Well, maybe getting out of bed is actually the worst. But, you understand what I'm saying.  

Having my microwavable pillow has been an absolute life saver! You can buy these almost anywhere, but it really is sentimental if you make it yourself (or give a homemade one as a Christmas gift!!). 

Here's how to stay warm without your heat :) 

Ingredients: 

- 1/2 yard of material

- Sewing machine- unless you are dying to hand stitch it

- Scissors

- Sesame seeds- about 2 pounds

- Dried lavender buds- optional

- Pencil- creating your pattern

- Ruler 

First, cut your material. I created a pattern which consisted of 4 separate pieces. The pattern was about 1 foot long. It looked like this: <--->. I enjoy this pattern because it fits around my neck nicely. You can see measurements below: 

Next it's time to sew. This seems like an obvious point to make, but make sure the front of your material is facing inwards. (So you're sewing on the wrong side of the material.) Align your first piece with another and sew along the edge. Leaving about 1/8 of an inch raw. Once you've pieced together all four, you'll sew the remaining open edges together. However, you must leave a hole! 

Using the hole, turn the piece right side in. Next, using a funnel fill your pillow with sesame seeds and lavender buds. You're almost done! 

Finally, you'll need to either hand stitch the hole together or you can just use the sewing machine again. 

I decided I wanted to make a little pillow case with an old tea towel my mom had given me. Tea towels are great to use because they've been washed 1,000,000 times- so their dyes won't run at all. Plus they're super soft. 

Microwave instructions:

Simple place in microwave for 4 minutes. This will insure it stays warm for about 4 hours. Place under your bedding 10 minutes before you climb in... you won't regret it! 

Xx,

Alex