Sunday, January 22, 2012

Candles By Victoria Basket

I recently created a Candles By Victoria basket to donate to a basket raffle party that my church is having around Valentine's Day. I included a lot of my favorite scents, along with a lot of favorites from The Pouring Pot - CBV's Message Board. So, here's a picture and a list of everything I included in the basket - may rearrange it a little bit, we'll see. But, whoever wins this is one lucky duck - I might have to even put a ticket in. ;)


Basket Includes:
  • Tart warmer in Jet Black
  • 8oz Jelly Jar in Mango Tango
  • 4oz Jelly Jar in Shamrock Kiss
  • Gooey Cinnamon Bun Candle
  • Scent Shot - Exotic
  • Scent Shot - Fruit Loops
  • Scent Shot - Sugared Spruce
  • Scent Shot - Bella Swan
  • Scent Shot - Elvis
  • Scent Shot - Granny's Pie Crust
  • Scent Shot - Fizzy Pop
  • Scent Shot - Lemon Pound Cake
  • Scent Shot - Bear Claws
  • Scent Shot - Pink Cupcake (x2 - was also my free ss in this order)
  • Scent Shot - Coconut Hibiscus
  • Scent Shot - Nutty Candied Apple
  • Scent Shot - Fresh Laundry
  • Scent Shot - Reese's Peanut Butter
  • Scent Shot - Pineapple Punch
  • Scent Shot - Tropical Temptation
  • Scent Shot - Kim's Country Cornbread
  • Scent Shot - Sweet Angel Dust
  • Scent Shot - Sweet Potato Pie
  • Scent Shot - Pear N Caramel 

Saturday, January 21, 2012

My Top 5 Candles By Victoria Scents!!

After spending my Saturday morning sniffing through all of my scent shots and candles, I have decided what my (current) five favorite fragrances are by Candles By Victoria. If you haven't heard of Candles By Victoria, it is a candle business owned by a woman, Victoria, and her family in Texas. No matter where you live in the United States and Canada, you can get these wonderful goodies sent right to your door by shopping on their website - http://www.candlesbyvictoria.com/. It may be overwhelming going onto the website at first when you realize CBV has over 700 scents to choose from, and a lot of different kind of tarts and candles. But once you place that first order, you'll be hooked and through a couple hundred in no time. :)

Here are my current top five favorite scent (in no particular order) -

22oz Glitter Turren (Black halo glitter with purple colored wax) Nutty Candied Apple

Nutty Candied Apple- Before I found CBV, I was never a big fan of apple scents. I would have never thought that it would be in my top 5! This is such a sweet, fresh apple scent with a hint of nutty goodness. Everyone I have ever shared this scent with has loved it. It is definitely a must try!
  
24oz Mustard Jar in Granny's Pie Crust

Granny's Pie Crust- This one is such a wonderful, sweet, creamy bakery scent. Just like the name suggests, it smells like sweet pie crust. If you're not normally a fan of bakery, I highly suggest trying this one. There's no cinnamon or any kind of spice, and the scent throw is not overwhelming at all. This ones yummy!!

 22oz Tureen (Bright Jeweled Pink) Love Spell

Love Spell- Exact dupe of Love Spell by Victoria Secret. Such a sweet, fruity, girly scent. This one's a staple in my bedroom!


8oz Tureen in Caramelized Pralines

Caramelized Pralines- This one is absolutely delicious! Such a wonderful mix of nuttiness and caramel. It is a staple for my kitchen, for sure!


8oz Jelly Jar in Tiffany-D

Tiffany-D- What a fantastic fruity scent. It's a blend of watermelon, honeydew, cotton candy, and vanilla. I'm not sure there's anyone who wouldn't love this scent. The next time I order it, I'll be getting an extremely large candle.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Reusing Candle Jars

I'm sure a lot of people (like me up until recently) just throw away their candle jars when the wax is gone. I decided recently to try to get more uses out of things before throwing them away. I recently finished my 24 oz Mustard Jar candle of Granny's Pie Crust from CBV, and decided to clean it out and see what I could come up with.

Here is a picture of a 24oz mustard jar in Granny's Pie Crust (unburned)




Here is a picture of a cleaned out 24oz mustard jar with my lunch in it for tomorrow.

Monday, January 16, 2012

What do I do with scent shots?

 Here's a little info for you on scent shots. If you are not familiar with "scent shots", or as they are more commonly known, "tarts", you might be a little confused. What the heck do you do with a 2oz chunk of wax with no wick?

Well, the first thing is you need a tart/candle warmer. I purchased mine from Candles By Victoria. CBV sells a variety of them (12 to be exact) on their website for $15.95. You then put a portion (1/4 or 1/2 usually works), or all of the scent shot onto the warmer and it will release the fragrance.

How do you cut the scent shot up without making a mess, you ask? Well... it's easy. I have a paper plate and a butter knife specifically for cutting my scent shots. Below are picture step-by-step instructions.
 

Step 1 - Scent Shot, Paper Plate, Butter Knife

Step 2 - Take scent shot out of the container and flip it upside down on the paper plate



Step 3 - Cut the scent shot in half using the butter knife



Step 4 - Cut the scent shot the other way in half to create four equal parts


Final step.... scrape any wax crumbs off of the paper plate, then wipe the wax residue off of the knife with a paper towel and you're done!
Now, the wax will not burn away as it does with candles. When the scent shot is done you will not smell anymore fragrance coming from it, but you will still have all the wax left. When that happens, there are a few ways to get the wax out. I use the following two methods - freezer or melt and dump. I find the freezer method works well when I have put at least 1/2 of the scent shot into the warmer. You just turn the warmer off and let the wax solidify. You then pop the plate it into the freezer for about 20 minutes, and with a butter knife ease the wax out. It should come out in one piece. If it does not, it needs to be put back in the freezer a little while longer.

The other method, melt and dump, works well when you use a small portion of wax (usually mine is 1/4). When the scent shot is done and you can't smell any more fragrance, I will take the top plate off of the warmer and immediately dump the liquified wax into the garbage can. There is usually some wax left over in the plate, so I use a paper towel or two to remove any leftover wax.


And voila... there you have it. I hope this helped out for anyone who needed help understanding how to use scent shots. Now, get melting! :)

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Introduction

I figured I would start a blog to share the things I love with others. I am currently really into trying new recipes, Candles By Victoria, the band Hanson, reading, couponing, and inexpensive DIY ideas for the home and gifts.

I look forward to finding new things and meeting new people!!