***Sweet Lights Burning Bright*** (Indoor and Outdoor Candles)

Member Name: katestuartuk

Product:	Indoor and Outdoor Candles
Date:	24/09/06 (631 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Make your home so welcoming with light and scent.

Disadvantages: Can be dangerous if not attended properly.

*****A Candle Burning in the Night*****


*****Indoor and Outdoor Candles For Your Home*****



It is better to try to light a candle than to curse the dark
Chinese Proverb



*****Introduction*****

Candles have been used throughout time as a guide in the dark, both actually and metaphorically, which religious groups across the world using the candle as a symbol of hope. Their makeup has changed dramatically over the years, from candles made of animal fat (mmm smell that lamb and bacon scent…!) and beeswax, to the ones we use now which are invariably highly scented, beautifully shaped and crafted, and a myriad of rainbow colours to please every sensibility. Candles now are not the necessity they once were, but are instead symbols of many things besides hope – they symbolize celebration, romance, new beginnings, and much more besides.
I use candles in my home because I am a through and through romantic. I find that they soften the light, they soothe my mind, and help me relax. I also use them for meditation, and find that the flame of a single candle can help me clear my mind during quiet times of focused thought.


*****My Candlelit Home*****

I imagine, upon entering my home, that the first thing your attention would be drawn to, besides the smell of incense and the calm and gentle atmosphere, would be the general abundance of candles. They are literally everywhere. My friends and family are never stuck for Christmas and Birthday presents – if they can’t think of anything else, there’s always CANDLES!!!! Every conceivable place in my home, every surface, every windowsill, ever dark nook and cranny, has a candle therein, and I really don’t think that is ever going to change.

Let me take you on a mini tour – I’ll open my front door (and the Chinese wind chimes will make gentle music to welcome you), and the first thing you’ll see is a wooden mirror with candles perched on the top of it. My hall window sill has a lovely lemon scented geranium, a candle, and an incense burner on it, and looking through to the kitchen, my kitchen windowsill has a salt pig, a box of matches, 2 baby aloe Vera plants I’m nurturing and….yes you’ve guessed it…a candle.

My front room, with open fire and soft cosy sofa, has a large collection of candles: tall green hand-dipped ones in a black candelabra, squat fat yellow and purple ones on pretty ceramic dishes, some home-made ones in glass jars, and a large collection of lanterns and tea light holders in beautiful stained glass colours.

In my dining room it is the same story - there are squat candles on the dining table, on the fireplace, on the bookshelves, on the antique wooden wash stand that came from my grandmother’s house. There is no colour scheme, no single scent, they all just meld together when lit to create a calm and soothing mood.

That same sense of a calm and soothing mood is created upstairs, where in my bedroom lilac and purple candles with a strong lavender scent are used frequently to encourage sleep.

In the bathroom, the same, though I must admit to having a huge pink three wick candles from the pier that I have never lit, as it matches my pink bathroom and I don’t want to spoil it! In the bathroom I also have floating candles – I fill the sink half up with water and pop them in – they send a beautiful, restful glow throughout the room, and are just the thing after a hard day at work.

Even my outside rooms, as I like to call them, have candles – my much loved garden. Here I really go to town with garden candles on sticks poked into pots and troughs and flower beds. I have tea-light lanterns hanging from the Buddleia, the Apple tree, and the back fence. I have jam jars with tea tights teetering on the brick borders of paths and flowerbeds, and I even put candles round the pond sometimes, and watch the lights reflecting across the dark lipid surface. There is nothing better in my mind, than sitting outside on a warm autumn evening, with a big jumper pulled over my pjs and a big mug of hot chocolate in my hands, listening to the night noises, watching the stars, and being surrounded by the hopeful lights of candles, sending their wishes for the new day to come skyward, and warming my soul with their calm and gentle flickering.


*****A Candle for Every Space in Your Home*****

I really think that different rooms require different scents, so if you are going for scented candles, here is my basic personal guideline for what to have and where.

***Lavender***
I think every home should have a lavender scented candle and my personal opinion is to put it in your bedroom. There have been lots of studies about sleep associations, and certainly for me, scented oils, creams and candles really help me to get off to sleep. Lavender is a very calming, gentle scent, and many people use it for this purpose. Position it somewhere close, like a bedside table, so that you can smell the scented wax as it starts to melt, and so that it’s close enough to blow out without having to get out of bed and ruin the mood.

***Citrus***
This is a great scent to have in the kitchen, or, surprisingly the loo, as it’s a fresh clean zesty smell. It’s also great for a study area, along with rosemary, as it will rejuvenate your senses and keep your mind clear and fresh.

***Vanilla***
For some reason, vanilla is the scent to use in your bedroom if you’re thinking of seducing that special someone. It’s a pretty sexy, musky smell in small doses, just don’t overdo it or it will make you feel a little nauseous! It’s also a great scent if you’re trying to sell a house. Presumably because sex sells? Not really sure about that, but tried and tested is the baked bread and vanilla candle routine. Who am I to judge?!!

***Honeysuckle***
I don’t know if this is just me, but I absolutely adore the scent of honeysuckle. I have a huge honeysuckle in my garden, and in the summer you can be at the top of my street, and still be able to smell it. So honeysuckle candles in the front room, where I like to read on rainy Sundays, makes me think of the long warm days of summer, and totally relaxes me!

***Citronella***
This is definitely a scent for the garden. Citronella candles are widely available now, and in the summer months, they are excellent for keeping bugs and wee biting beasties at bay!

***Cloves, Cinnamon, Pine***
These sorts of scents are great for Christmas time, and can flood your home with that special Christmas, mid-winter, cold-nose, rugs and blankets by the fire sort of smell. I use scented tea lights around this time and put them round the front step and in the front garden to welcome visitors on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. It’s so festive and so easy, and makes a romantic change to the bog-standard plug-‘em-in and run electric icicles. Give me a scented candle in a jam jar any day of the year!

*****How to Make Your Own Candles*****

There are lots of books and kits available if you want to have a go at making your own candles. It’s a very fulfilling practise, and I really enjoy making my own candles when time allows.

Here are some details of kits and books that are available on the high street:

http://www.candlemakingsupplies.co.uk
This is a great site which has loads of info on candles and candle making, plus buy supplies for making your own at home.

http://www.candlemaking.org.uk/greatpages.html
More details on candle making and supplies for use at home.

http://www.candlemakers.co.uk/cmproduct/candlekit s.html
This site has loads of candle making supplies to purchase, and this link is to a kit that you can use to make your own candles.

Other places to try:

WHSmiths have a selection of craft kits at their larger stores, as do John Lewis and Fenwick. If you are in Newcastle, there is a craft supply shop down by the Theatre Royal, called Gemini Crafts, and they sell candle supplies too.

Making your own candles is very easy and cheap, though you can spend loads of money in craft shops buying special candle dyes, wicks, moulds and all that jazz. If you want my opinion, make dipped candles or make your own moulds from cleaned out yoghurt pots, margarine tubs and washing up liquid bottles.


*****The Art of Recycling with Candles*****

As I mentioned above, I like to recycle old bits of used candles to make new ones, simply melting them down, pouring the melted wax into jam jars with wicks, or cleaned out margarine tubs. It’s so easy, and really environmentally friendly because it’s using something which otherwise would have to go in the bin (and therefore landfill.) There are loads of books available on this, and even the ones mentioned above can be used for ideas and methods, but by using recycled candle wax you’ll be saving money. You can also just use plain string for wicks, just make sure you soak it in melted wax and dry it straight before you use it in your candle.

I think the simplest and most effective candle recycling I do is to put tea lights into cleaned out jam jars and place them on the front step and drive. Seeing little lights glinting and shining and sparkling in the dark makes my home look so welcoming. I love putting my jam jar candles out on the front step for birthday evenings, for Halloween, for Christmas and New Year. For celebrations and holidays, and generally for that lovely feeling of lighting up the street, and welcoming people in.
Try it – it’s inexpensive, it’s recycling, it’s pretty much free (except your tea-lights) and it is such a simple decorative touch that in my opinion is much nicer than anything you can buy in a shop and pay good hard-earned money for.


*****Safety Advice*****

I know it’s the old adage, but it’s important. NEVER leave a burning candle unattended. Certainly don’t go to sleep with candles burning – blow them out before you go to bed. Don’t put burning candles near curtains or blinds. Don’t put burning candles on top of your Telly Box, or any other electrical equipment. In short, be careful.

*****Final Thoughts*****

Candles are the simplest way I know to chill out and feel calm and gentle inside. Using candles for meditation is to be highly recommended, as is using scented candles for sleep association. Since I was a teenager, I have loved candles, and wherever I have lived, they have featured heavily in my home decorations! For me they really do represent hope, and simplicity, and all the possibilities of new beginnings every day.

Thank you very much for reading, Kate x

Summary: A wonderful way to wind down - a candle, a glass of wine, a good book....