Candle CREATIONS

MAKE DIY CANDLES FOR A WARM & COZY SPACE.

- STEPHANIE THUROW

Each fall, as the temperatures drop here in the far north and our gardens begin their long winter’s nap, we turn inside our homes once again. We find ourselves baking more often and spending hours over-simmering pots of soup and broth. I begin to process all the tomatoes and fruits that I squirrelled away in my freezers during the summer growing season. Turning much of the frozen tomatoes into pizza and pasta sauces, various types of ketchup and quarts of blood Mary mix. Frozen fruit turns into various jams. A tradition that my daughter and I have is to make hand-poured jar candles.

We make pure beeswax and soy candles — some scented, some unscented. We use dried flower petals from our homegrown marigolds to decorate the tops of the hot wax before it dries for some of the candles. The yellow, orange and red of the dried marigold petals are perfect colors for fall candle making. We light our candles each evening as the darkness grows longer and enjoy the gentle dancing glow that they cast on our walls.

FOR FUN OR GIFTS

We don’t make candles simply for our personal enjoyment, but we also make them to give as gifts. Making candles yourself will save a pretty penny compared to purchasing pure beeswax or 100% soy candles from the store; they can range from $20 to $50 each. Plus, when you make them yourself, you can tailor the scent and strength of the scent to your liking, not to mention, save a lot of money in the long run.