Happy Monday to you! This is my first week back to work for the full week. Last week we went back to work on Wednesday, but the three day week seemed to never end. We’ll see what this week brings. If nothing else, it will at least bring us back to our routine.
If you saw my Instagram stories this weekend then you know I had a fun girl’s night planned with a friend, where we got to get our creative juices flowing. In downtown Kalamazoo there is the cutest little candle store that has drop-in candle making classes. I already had a few candles from Kalamazoo Candle Company, and you may remember, I listed them on my favorite Small Business Saturday finds. I love their scents, but being able to create my own sounded like a fun night out!
The actual making process took about 15-20 minutes, and most of that is trying to choose from their wide array of scents. Each of those bottles is filled with a concentrated scent and the combinations are endless! The longer step to this process is waiting for your candle to cool. That takes about an hour, but there are so many fun shops nearby that it’s easy to kill some time.
The first thing to do is put on your apron. When you get to your work station, they give you your jar, a label, and instructions. I like to think of myself as a pretty creative person, but picking a name for my candle may have been the hardest part!
Obviously my hard work of choosing a name did not pay off, because I literally just married my two scents. I know what you’re thinking. “Lindsay, tobacco and EGG NOG?!” I wish I could transport scent through the internet, because the combination actually turned out amazing! The sweetness of the egg nog is a nice compliment to the masculinity of the tobacco. However, since I can’t prove it to you via my blog, you’re just going to have to trust me 🙂
They have a huge wax heater, so once you have your scent(s) mixed together in your glass, all you need to do is slowly add the wax. Stir around the scents with the wax, really slowly, for about two minutes. Now, I forgot to take a picture of the next step, so I’ll try my best to explain. At our work station we were also given a wick attached to a metal bracket. We were also given a plastic “X” that sat on top of the glass to hold the wick in place. You can kind of see it in the picture below.
We placed the wick into the glass and then the last step is just to wait. We placed our melted candles in front of the fans and left to do some shopping. When we came back, they were hardened up and ready to go! Overall it was so easy and yet a lot of fun! My goal was to create a cozy scent that could get us through the winter. I’m hoping that “Egg Nog Tobacco” can do just that for us 🙂 I also made a “Lavender Citrus” that I plan to break out this spring when we need some fresh brought into our home.
If you’re local to Kalamazoo or the surrounding areas, I highly recommend dropping in to make your own! Drop-ins are welcome during all business hours at the Marketplace and then you can grab a drink in any of the small businesses within walking distance. Have you ever been to Kalamazoo Candle Company, or do you have something like this near you? Let me know! I’d love to hear about your experience.
