Christmas is a-coming.... ! Yes, already!

Yes, I know, it's only the start of September... grumble, moan, sigh...
I will freely admit to being one of those people who moaned every year that the Christmas frenzy was getting earlier and earlier each year, refusing to be drawn in to over commercialisation, yada, yada, yada...

But now that I have joined the ranks of the handmade businesses I have learned that you can never be prepared too early - a lesson I had reinforced just last week...

I was contacted by a friend who is currently pregnant and, with her due date slap bang around the end of December, is very wisely wanting to get ahead of the game and organise some of her Christmas presents as early as possible. And quite frankly, who can blame her! If I was in her shoes, well, I'd be tempted to cancel Christmas all together... except, of course, for expecting a lovely gift from my doting hubby, but hey I digress...

Her rather intelligent strategy, and subsequent question about what Christmas candle scents I would be offering this year, forced me to shift my bottom off the proverbial fence and actually make a decision.  I had been mulling over the question, having drafted out a (long) short list of contenders months previously; but now I have actually gone and done and ordered my fragrances! And I have to say I am rather pleased with my selections.

So without any more prevaricating, I can announce that

The Lime Garden Christmas 2011 Candle Fragrances are....

HOLLYBERRY & MISTLETOE

warm and sweet, but with an undertone of fresh greenery.

GINGER & FIG

hot, sweet and a little bit spicy, yet fruity and mild at the same time.

FRANKINCENSE & MYRRH 

ooooh... lovely warm, smooth, musky and sensuous.

APPLE STRUDEL

crisp fresh apples and warm winter spices.

CHOCOLATE ORANGE

smells just like sounds - Terry would be proud!!

and finally, back by popular demand, last year's best selling Christmas scent...

APPLE & CRANBERRY

warm sweet cranberries and fresh apples, yummy!

I have decided to add a little extra to my Christmas gifts this year too - as well as my Vintage Tea Cup candles, (cup and saucer, with candle in the cup) I have found some gorgeous Tea Cup Trios... That is, cup, saucer and matching tea plate - so they will still be vintage, they will still be candles, but they will be a usable tea set trio too!

A lot of people ask me if they can use their tea cups once they have burnt their candles, and the answer is - ...YES! The beauty of the soy wax that I use is that any residue left in the cup can simply be washed away with hot soapy water - please, please, please, never put your lovely vintage china in the dishwasher! I also take great care when I source the china - I never purchase pieces that are damaged with chips or cracks, so they are always able to be used for the purpose for which they were always intended - a nice, civilised cup of tea!

The beauty of my Vintage Cup Candle Trios is that the recipient, once they have enjoyed their lovely candle, will have a beautiful tea time set to use - perfect for that afternoon pick-me-up treat of tea and a slice cake! Gorgeous!

And finally, here is a few quick snaps of some of the lovely china I will be using...

[Just a quick additional note - I often buy part tea sets, just because I love the china and can use some of the cups and saucers for my candles, with the result that I find myself with a stock cupboard full of additional pieces of crockery. So if you would like to build up your own mis-matched vintage china tea set (very on-trend!) feel free to contact me, and I will let you know what I have... ...in fact maybe I feel another blog post coming on!]

So, yes, it is very early to be thinking about Christmas,

but spare a thought for us traders - we're already on the case!

Candle Fragrance - Making Sense of the Scents

AN ART NOT TO BE SNIFFED AT...

When I first started making candles, and I wanted to add fragrance to make them more appealing, I just bought an initial stock of simple, popular scents - including everyone's favourite: lavender.  Then I progressed to pre-mixed fragrances - I think I dipped into "sun dried linen" and "lemon chiffon pie" !!

But there are so many candles on the market today, I wanted to do something either a little different, or create my own USP (unique selling point).  For example, sun dried linen is a very lovely fragrance, and very popular too - both with makers and buyers - but it is (a) pre-mixed, (b) artificial, and (c) everywhere!  Now, I'm not knocking it, it really does smell like the real thing (you know, getting into bed at night as a child when Mum has just changed the sheets...) - but I wanted to "do my own thing".

So I perused the different scents available, and decided that I would go for real pure essential oils (you can't extract essence of lemon chiffon pie, but rose oil is totally natural) in natures own fragrances, a mix of flowers, fruits, herbs and plants - and create my own blends.

NOW FOR THE SCIENCE BIT...

Sadly, as I found out, you can't just take two scents that you happen to like, bung them together in equal measures, and happen to produce a pleasing aroma...  there really is a bit more of a science to it than that.

I have developed my own way of second guessing which fragrances will complement each other, before I even begin to melt some wax and try them out.  It is by no means fool-proof, and I have stumbled across some really quite quirky combinations through pure chance (I was making two sets of wax chunks for my frosted chunk candle range this week - one was chamomile, the other was coconut - and the smell wafting out of my kitchen was absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS...!!), but in general it is a good "rule of thumb" guide.

Whenever I buy a new scent, I categorise it by the attributes of its smell; I ask myself, is it:

warm  or  cool

sweet  or  sharp

light  or  heavy

cosy  or  fresh

Fragrances that tend to have two common notes, tend to be the best ones that mix - they have a similar enough base to complement each other, but enough differences to show their own characters.  This is by no means definitive - but think about some of the scents that are currently in my stock cupboard...

Banana - warm, sweet, heavy, cosy     &     Bergamot - cool, sharp, light, fresh

Every attribute is different - so would you dream of putting them together? - no way!!

Grapefruit - warm, sweet, light, fresh     &     Rose - warm, sweet, heavy, cosy

They share two notes, not a natural choice perhaps - but does it work? - yes it does!!

 

So, now we have blended our candles - when and where should we burn them?

Different fragrances can have different effects on ambience, feelings, mood and perception.  Think of the supermarkets who duct the air from their bakery section to waft over you as you enter the store... a delicious smell that just can't help making you feel hungry - and what happens if you go food shopping when you're hungry - you buy more!

So, if you want to create romance try warm, heavy or cosy scents; if you want to clear the air and stay alert try cool, fresh or sharp fragrances; if you want to relax and chill out then try a mix of cosy, cool, light and sweet smells... Is it making sense now??

Of course I could go on and on - how to choose candles to change the "feeling" of a room, to combat it's negative elements (make it feel lighter and airier, when it is in fact dark and stuffy) - but hey, I think you have had enough by now, and have got the picture.

And for those of you who pick a candle just because you like the smell...? (Surely there's no science in that!) Well, you will find that certain personality traits are drawn to certain types of smell - and of course, it depends what kind of mood you are in to begin with...

(...sorry! I promise to stop now!)