Plans for the new look

Ice Goddess in situ

Ice Goddess

My latest painting in the Gaia series.
For Uliana.

Candles and Diffusers

Candles and diffusers adds the finishing touch to every decor by creating ambience and making the space smell divine.  

Diffusers and candles perform a different function and together they form a partnership. Think of them as you would your all over body lotion and then adding the finishing touch with a light spray of the matching perfume. Sell them as companions.

Diffusers have a lighter scent that continuously wafts through the room. They are best situated near entrances, however do not place them near heater vents as heat will evaporate the liquid and may also change the chemical balance in the mixture. If you are going away for an extended period of time then you may choose to place the sticks in a ziplock bag and screw the top back on the bottle. If there is no lid then place a small piece of glad wrap around the top and secure with a rubber band. When the diffuser is finished don’t throw away your dried sticks, just sticky tape them onto the lid of your rubbish bin or place them in your linen closet (make sure they are dry so you don’t leave stains on your linen).

Candles create ambience and add a romantic flavour, people just gravitate to a flame, especially a beautifully scented one. They have a much stronger scent than a diffuser and are fantastic to light up as a booster to your diffuser. Burning them for two-four hours is usually recommended for a big room, less for a smaller room. Burning time differs from candle to candle. Candles encased in glass are not to be left burning longer than 2-4 hours at any given time, the glass should not reach the point where it is too hot to handle as it may crack. Always place candles on a level surface that is heat resistant and avoid draughty areas. In draughty areas the candle must be secured in a glass container.

Efficient use of candles

Wicks should be trimmed to 1/8 inch above the wax before lighting including the initial light. Most wicks will form a mushroom after burning for some time, when this happens just snip the mushroom off before relighting. The reason for a shorter wick is so that the candle does not create a high flame. A high flame will not only burn faster, therefore not lasting as long, but it will also begin to smoke causing soot marks on your walls and ceiling. To trim the wick use either a candle trimmer, a small pair of scissors or a nail clipper.

Due to health warnings, all wicks must be lead and cadmium free, the wax is to be paraffin free and scented candles should be free of/or have low VOC’s. VOCs are volatile organic compounds and are generally to be avoided in products used in the home in the interests of a healthy atmosphere. A braided or twisted fibre wick is considered safer to use. If anyone suffers from severe asthma then a diffuser is the way to go over candles, provided they can tolerate even that.

Tunnelling is when a deep dip in the candle surface appears around the wick. For tunnelling not to appear, don’t blow candles out before the entire surface area has melted. This will ensure that the next time you relight the candle will burn evenly. If tunnelling has occurred then you can simply use the trick of wrapping a piece of foil around the glass when lit, this will heat up the surface area evenly.

A safe method of cleaning candle jars with paraffin or beeswax is to place them in the freezer for a couple of hours. When the wax is frozen then carefully use a knife to crack and pry bits of wax away. Wait until the glass has reached room temperature and then fill the jar with hot soapy water. Leave for a few minutes before washing away all the remaining wax. With Soy wax there is no need to place in the freezer, just fill the container with hot soapy water and scrub. Candle jars can then be used to hold anything and can be very decorative holding something colourful, like jellybeans.

Earthy and masculine

Creating a look for a study. Warm and relaxing.

Revisiting the tropics

Just add a hammock

Deck to impress

Choosing something tropical for an undercover outside space.