Votives....small but wonderful!

Little lovely votives! These are the smallest candles we make and the fastest. This is part of the reason I like them so much.

Once the wax is heated I pore it into tiny, votive size molds that already have a "auto wicking pin" in them. This pin leaves a space in the center of the candle that can be removed once the wax has harden and replaced with a wick. You can see in the picture to the right the candles in their molds and the pins inside. The wax when making these candles hardens really quickly so I can usually do about 50 candles every time I melt wax.

Votive candles need to be placed in a holder that is snug around the candle so that any wax that drips off will be collected and used up by the wick later.

Votive candles cost $2.50 each.

What's in a name?

I recently finished a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law, "The Hive: The Story of the Honeybee and Us" by Bee Wilson. It was super interesting and a good read.

There was one passage that really hit home for me and I would like to share it here:

"The disembodied souls of man used the bodies of bees to move about the heavens. The third-century Greek author Porphyry says that the soul comes down from the moon goddess Artemis in the form of bees, which are called melissae. The name melissa-which now seems nothing more than a nice, everyday girl's name- was given to souls about to be born. It had overtones of reincarnation, fitting with the Greek belief in the transmigration of souls. Not just any soul could be a melissa. You had to be righteous. Bee souls, says Porohyry, were special spirits 'who live justly, and who, having performed such things as are acceptable to the gods, will return whence they came. For this insect loves to return to the place whence it came, and is eminently just and sober'. Hence, the special power of honey to salve the passing from life to death. " Wilson, 194.

This passage really hit home for me for the simple reason that my name is Melissa. I grew up knowing that my name ment something like 'sweet like honey' and was Greek. But it means much more then that and it is a name that I can finally say I am proud to have.

My mom and I were reflecting the other days how odd it is that I met and fell in love with a man that loves honey and bees so much. And that together we are not only making beeswax candles but also hoping to have our own bees one day. It is also really nice to be able to raise Kade around these magical creatures. We are truely blessed by the bees!

Melissa

Sticks aka tapers!

Stick candles are by far my favorite! I know others call them tapers but I've gotten so used to calling them stick candles so I'm just planning to roll with it.

Anyways, these are the first candles I learned to make. Alex taught me standing over the oven at his mothers place, and it was love at first dip! The smell of the liquid gold wax is good enough to eat, and I would if it wasn't so darn hot!

These candles are easy to make but take much longer and more labor then any other candle we make. Each of our stick candles is hand dipped. First I cut all the wicks and dip them once to make starters. Making good starters is important, you need to let the wick absorb the wax so that the candles burn well and for a long time. Most starters are not straight, so you roll them between your fingers to straighten them. Then you dip and dip and dip until you have your desired width of candle.

All our stick candles are alittle different. The color is always different depending on the batch of wax and the heat of the wax at the time of dipping. The height is always different depending on the length of wick that I cut. And the width is always different depending how you like it. But with our stick candles you are always getting the same amount of wax. I weight each of my stick candles at 100g. Some are shorter and fatter and others are taller and thinner. That is the beauty of hand craftered goodness!

Our stick candles are $8 a pair.
And I should say that we have yet to master the art of making drip less candles, so make sure they are in a stand and on a old plate or something that will catch the wax when it falls (ps. save the wax and give it back to make more candles!)

Thanks for reading,
Blessed bee, Melissa

New Beginnings.....

It has been a long time since I posted and a lot has changed!

Alex, Kade and I have moved from my parents house in Hockley to our own home in Alliston Ont. We love it here, the town is not too big and not too small and everything is in walking (or biking) distance, which makes getting around much easier for Kade and I.

It has been cold this winter and our garage is not insulated, so I have yet to make more candles but in January we bought all the wax for the season from our local beekeeper, Randy. If you want to get in touch with him you can check out his website at http://www.leitchshoney.com/. His bees make wonderful honey and he needs our support! Any woo, our basement smells wonderful and the wax is just waiting to be made into candles.

We are currently out of candles, and feel blessed that so many people have wanted our candles. I love making them and knowing that others are enjoying them too!

I've decided to pick up where I left off in the fall, and am going to try to spend the next few days explaining the different candles we make, how much they cost, and how to use them.

If you are interested in ordering candles from us, just get in touch and I will start a list and get them to you as soon as I can. We've decided that it is best to wait for warm weather so I can make candles safely ways from our new house instead of risking setting it on fire!

Blessed Bee,
Melissa

Our candle styles...

Just like other candles, our candles come in many different styles. Each of our candles are hand made with local beeswax. This week I am going to posted each day explaining how each style of candle is made and how much they cost. If your interested and in the area, I could even show you how I make the candles.
Check back soon,
melissa

Finally some pictues!

Hello Hello!
I spent most of yesterday, which was beautiful and warm even for fall, making more candles. And finally took some pictures!
The first is the stick candles hanging between drying. Each of these candles are hand dipped, which takes awhile and kills my arms but they are totally worth it.
Next, is a picture of our pillars in the molds. I use straws to keep the wicks up and when they are cold and dry, I pull them out of the mold.
Then we have the votives in their molds. You will see the auto wicking pins inside of them. When they are cold, I bang them on a hard surface and they come out and I put the wicks in.
And last, our wax melter. We get the wax in large blocks which I put in the wax melter for several hours until the wax is liquid.
I am going to post pictures of our candles with a price list if anyone is interested in buying them. Also I want to post some frequently asked questions about beeswax candles. Blessed bee, melissa

busy busy bees

hello everyone, or the few people who look at this anyways. 

i was just about to work on a flyer for my candles when i realized i hadn't updated this blog as of late! we are indeed, house sitting again! i haven't been making candles because we've been really busy but i have so on stock and i'm going today to drop some off to a store in king city!

but i must fly, i need to work on these flyers! 

blessed bee, melissa