Twinkle, twinkle...

...little light.

The other week my Sister gave me this crystal candle lantern as she was worried that it wasn't very stable to have around an inquisitive cat. It has sat on my desk since as I wasn't sure where to site it. I was also reluctant to put real candles in it as I didn't want it to get waxy or sooty.

I then had a lightbulb moment (no pun intended) and pulled out a pack of battery Christmas fairy lights and this was the result...

...it looks lovely and there is no limit as to where I can stand it as there are no flames to worry about.

I love candles but am very safety aware when it comes to placing them so this was a perfect solution.

I noticed that Poundland have a good selection of battery light sets at the moment. One design is intended for clipping under a parasol in the garden but the lights are just plain white lights in a choice or 'warm' or 'cool' so I grabbed some so that I can place them around the house in some other containers and add a bit more of a twinkle to the place............................................

Things that...

...glow in the dark.

Folk that visit here from time to time will have gathered that I rather like candles and having a lovely shop close by helps to keep my supply topped up.

Ian at "Naked Flame" has had a sale recently to clear some stock ready for some new ranges and it has been the perfect opportunity to buy some bits & bobs for Christmas presents.

This looks lovely glowing in the dark...

 ...but as usual, my photo doesn't do very much to show what it is - so here is another photo...

 ...the flash is a bit harsh but at least you can see the pretty decoration on the tea-light goblet.
The pumpkin LEDs cast a spooky shadow on the wall last night...

...my only bit of "Halloween" décor at home...

 ...not great photos but they did create a little bit of atmosphere for the occasion...

...and here is a photo with the flash.

There was no sign of any 'trick or treat' activity last night but there were certainly a lot of fireworks going off - not the pretty sparkly lights, just bangs and crashes.

The desk at work is a little bare now that I've put the Halloween decorations away.

Next on the calendar is the 'Chrimbo decs' but I think it's a bit early for those yet LOL........................

Naked Flame...

...is having a huge sale!

If you live in reachable distance of Barleylands Craft Village (or jump on-line) you could grab some bargains and perhaps deal with some of your present list.

Ian the owner of "Naked Flame" is clearing a lot of his stock to make space for the Autumn/Christmas seasonals and so that he can expand his own Naked Flame range.

Virtually everything in store is 50% off and there are a few items reduced by as much as 70% - how can you say no to bargains like that.

Current stock includes: -

Woodwick Candles
Wax Lyrical
Colony
Artisan
Kringle
Classic Candles
Prices
and lots of lovely accessories.

At the moment I'm having a lovely time burning the Naked Flame "Lemongrass & Ginger" - probably my favourite smell ever...............................................

We have been having...

...a lot of hot and humid weather.

However, that doesn't stop me from having candles burning in my home to bring a cosy glow and to add a lovely fragrance.

I recently bought a wicker candle lamp from "Naked Flame" as Ian the owner was having a sale to clear some space for some ne stock items.

I also bought a pillar candle to use in the lamp...

...and it is burning beautifully. The candle is burning down without any mess and the fragrance is wonderful.

This candle is from Wax Lyrical "Mandarin & Cranberry" which is technically a Winter/Christmas smell but I love this fragrance and would happily burn it all year round...one slight problem though...it has been discontinued (although there may be something similar in this year's collection).

I love fruit & spice smells at any time of year.

If you like candles, what is your favourite scent..........................................................

Friday was...

...my Sister's birthday.

As she is a lover of candles & wax melts, I bought her an electric wax warmer.

This is the warmer that I bought and it looks very pretty...

...surrounded by her crystal collection. The light from the warmer catches all the crystals and makes them sparkle.

We have had a running joke about this gift.

I bought it a month ago (it was the last one that Naked Flame had in this colourway) and as I wasn't going to see my Sister on her actual birthday, I gave her the sealed box.

Our telephone conversations since have all included references to "The Box" and even on the morning of her birthday when I phoned to wish her a lovely day she said 'thank you' for her lovely box LOL

I took her to Naked Flame yesterday so that she could spend some of her birthday money on candles - just a few candles (**rollseyes**) - and when I took her home I was able to get the photo above.

I think it will always be referred to as "The Box" but at least we will both know what we are talking about..............................................................

The Naked Flame...

...is now one of my weekly visiting places.

It is lovely to have a good candle shop within easy reach (although my bank manager would probably disagree LOL).

Ian has now started his own range of candles, as I have mentioned before, and is gradually building up his stock. This is proving to be quite a difficult task as folk keep buying them before they manage to get to the shelves - not a bad thing sales-wise but it hasn't allowed him to build up a display.

He started with the reed diffusers to introduce his range of fragrance and these seem to be going well - I have a Lemongrass & Ginger in the bedroom and a Paradise Beach in the bathroom...both fabulous.

The first batch of candles were in Lemongrass & Ginger and I have to say I adore this scent (I am very impatiently awaiting the next batch to be made as mine is down to the last half inch).

A week ago Ian produced the second fragrance line in his candles - Paradise Beach and I had to give it a go...

 ...the smell is wonderful - it really is like a burst of fresh air whilst walking along a beach...

 ...and like I normally do, this was burnt in the kitchen where I try most of my candles. The scent drifts into other parts of the house and creates a lovely 'fresh' feel. My only criticism of this candle was that it smoked a bit. This was due to the use of a different wick and Ian has noted the results for future production.
This weekend I noticed that some candles had actually made it to the shelves, including a couple called "Wedding Day"...very pleasant but not for me.
However, there were a batch of the next fragrance on the list ready to go...

 ...the "Lime, Basil & Mandarin" had to come home with me and I have been burning it over the weekend - lovely. Not quite as strong a fragrance as the two previous scents I have tried...

...but a very pleasant background fragrance. The wick issue seems to have been sorted too as this one is burning beautifully even with a good (but not excessive) flame and there is no evidence of smoking or sooting.

 

Of the six (now 7 with the introduction of Wedding Day) fragrances that are part of the Naked Flame range, there is probably just one more that I will want to try - "Sandalwood & Blackpepper". The other two are lovely but 'not me' so I don't think "Jasmine & Patchouli" or "Fresh Linen" will be coming home with me.

 

However, I eagerly await a restock of the "Lemongrass & Ginger" as this has to be my favourite so far.............................................................................

This weekend is...

...flying by.

There I was, looking forward to a lovely long weekend and in the blink of an eye it is Sunday already.

I may not have achieved much in the crafting department (apart from a lovely bit of retail therapy at Pinnacle Crafts Members Weekend) but I have had a chance to try Ian's new range of candles and reed diffusers now available from Naked Flame.

He is hoping to have four sizes of jar candles but at present his supplier is out of stock of the largest size. However, from the other three sizes I picked the middle size and this is it burning merrily away...

 ...the wax has a fabulous smooth consistency and the wick is very good quality...

...no smoking or mushrooming. I had the candle burning for 7 hours and there was no need to trim the wick at all and there wasn't any debris floating in the liquid wax either.

As for the fragrance - I went for Lemongrass & Ginger. Wonderful scent. Strong enough that you notice it but not a 'slap in the face' type. I burnt the candle in my kitchen and the scent was filtering through to the lounge creating a lovely overall fragrance.

There will be a range of 6 different fragrances in Ian's Naked Flame range and I can tell you they all smell wonderful but the Lemongrass & Ginger is my favourite.

There have been a couple of additions to the dressing table as well.

The "Golden Sands" holder matches my wax warmer perfectly...

...I just love the way the light catches the golden shades in these glass pieces. The other addition...

...a Lemongrass & Ginger reed diffuser to replace the wooden container one you can see in the previous photo. One of the things that I've always disliked about using reeds is the need to faff around remembering to turn the reeds - these reeds don't need to be turned and they deliver the fragrance very quickly once they have been inserted into the liquid.

So at the moment, my home is smelling wonderfully of Lemongrass & Ginger.

The sky is looking very hazy so I'm not sure what the weather is intending in my neck of the woods.

For those of you in the UK, I hope you are able to enjoy the longer Bank Holiday weekend.

If you live in the Essex area (or near by), don't forget that it is still Members Weekend at Pinnacle Crafts and if you are a club member you can get a whopping 30% off most of the crafting goodies that they sell (there are exceptions - details are available on their website).

Disclaimer: Although Ian asked me to give him my opinion about his new products, it was my decision to share my views here on my blog. I also regularly promote Pinnacle Crafts as I think we have lost far too many craft stores in recent years and I like to support my local retailers.

Have a great weekend everyone.......................................................................

"Golden Sands"...

...and "French Lavender".

As promised, here are some photos of my dressing table so that you can see my new lamp.

In this photo, the old cream lamp is still in place...

 ...and it is still working but looks rather 'tired' (I think a new lampshade and a move to another room is in order). As you can see, I have a number of pieces of amber coloured glassware on the dressing table so that was the colour scheme I decided to go with when looking for a new lamp.
This is what I have replaced it with...

...an electric wax warmer from the "Golden Sands" range of accessories by Woodwick that are available at the Fragrance Boutique in Barleylands.
These warmers work really well and the wax melts quite quickly...

 ...so you end up with a lovely scent in the room where it is. However, they also make lovely table lamps...

...so you get 'two for the price of one'. Unfortunately, my photo doesn't give a very good representation of the lovely warm colours that the gold & amber glass give.

At the moment I'm using a mix of Colonial Candles "French Lavender" and Classic Candles "Lavender Vanilla". I'm not a fan of vanilla (I usually find it too sickly and overpowering) but this seems to be just enough to 'soften' the lavender scent making it perfect for the bedroom.

It has certainly helped with my sleeping, which has to be a good thing when it is so busy & quite stressful at work at the moment.......................................................................

Candles...

...create a lovely atmosphere in the home.

This week I have been burning a Village Candle in the fragrance "Gingerbread Cookie"...

...it is a lovely comforting scent and gives a homely touch to the house. This was a Christmas gift that I hadn't started on yet but certainly was worth the wait. The gentle flickering glow and the scent were just what I needed each evening after some very busy days at work.

Last weekend I bought a new wax melt warmer from the Fragrance Boutique/Naked Flame at Barleylands (see the website here). It has the lovely name of being part of the "Golden Sands" range of accessories. I bought it to replace a lamp in my bedroom as I have quite a bit of 'amber' glass dotted about and thought this would match beautifully (and replace an old table lamp that has seen better days). I'll let you see it at work once I've managed some decent photos (yeh, I know. With my photo skills that could be a while LOL).

Anyhoo...

Do you have particular fragrances that you prefer?

Do you like floral, food, fruit, spice or fantasy type scents?

Is there a reason for your favourite smells?

I suppose that most of my candles fall into the food/fruit/spice range. I love Christmas scents and this is normally for the hint of spice that they give off creating the 'warm' cosy feel. Food smells can be very comforting and 'homely'. Whilst the fruits can give a bit of a fresh 'zing' to things.

I would love to know if you have preferred scents in your home and what sort of 'feel' they create for you - do share..................................................................

Twinkle, twinkle...

...little star light.

I love candles but don't always have the time to burn a large candle jar effectively so wax melts are a perfect alternative.

During my weekly trip to Barleylands I popped into the new candle shop "Naked Flame" and saw this...

...it is an electric wax warmer but it can also be used as a table lamp...and yes, it came home with me.

It is lovely to have something that can be used for more than one purpose - something we craft folk can relate to.

I took my Sister to have a look at the candles because she is even more of a candle nut than I am and she came away with a Kringle candle jar "Jingle All the Way" and a Classic candle wax melt "Chocolate Brownie" - she loves chocolate and Christmas (who would'a thunk).

I had a call from my Sister yesterday evening to say that her Kringle candle was burning merrily and she was all snug & cosy away from the grotty weather outside.

It doesn't look as if the weather is going to be any better today so I can see an evening of candle-light and comfy smells when I get home from work..............................................................

I found a lovely new...

...candle shop.

Naked Flame Shop - see their website here.

They have just opened a unit at Barleylands Craft Village (The Fragrance Parlour - Studio 27). It is one of the smaller units but there are certainly plenty of candles/melts/oils/accessories to see...and of course be tempted by. Be warned though, you will not find any cheapo candles there. They stock brands such as Kringle, Wax Lyrical, Colonial, Prices & Woodwick - so if you prefer to buy 100 tea-lights for 99p, this is probably not the place for you but if you like good quality candles...go and 'sniff' to your hearts content.

I was certainly tempted by the range of wax melts that they stock and this one, "Classic Coffee", just had to come home with me...

 ...the pack contains a block rather like a chocolate bar consisting of six smaller blocks...

 ...and all you need to do is break off one of the blocks and place it in a warmer. I have a couple of electric warmers that I picked up in the sales (they were reduced because they came with Winter/Christmas fragrances) - this one is a cream glazed warmer from Glade...

...and as you can see, one small block creates a nice pool across the warmer.

I have been heating this for two evenings and the smell is lovely - subtle, not overpowering. A lot of 'food/drink' fragranced candles/melts can be very heavy and quite sickly but this certainly isn't.

When you break the large block you get a strong smell of coffee but the fragrance as it melts is much softer. This warmer is in my kitchen that opens out onto the hallway. The fragrance in the kitchen is barely noticeable but you know that it is there when you are in the hallway and can even smell it in the lounge. As I said, very pleasant and not overpowering.

I did wonder if I would notice the smell at all as I love coffee and we are often oblivious to smells that we encounter on a regular basis - no problem with this, it has been lovely just having that background hint of fresh coffee.

(Please note: this is my opinion and I have not been paid to make these comments).

There are lots of lovely fragrances to choose from at Naked Flame and one of the fabulous things is that they don't keep seasonal fragrances just for the season that it relates to. I don't know about you, but I love lots of the warm spicy scents that are normally only around in the shops at Christmas and it can be frustrating to find something that you like only to be told that they won't be getting any more because Christmas is over. I'll be taking my Sister with me this weekend so that she can indulge is some "Crimbo sniffing" LOL

Well, I now have another reason for visiting Barleylands on a regular basis - as if I needed one................................................................

(This review was not solicited, I just wanted to share my find).