Candle Making (Part 1 of 2)

This year when planning my handmade Christmas gifts, I decided to give candle making a try. It complements my bath and both products well since I can match the scents, so it seemed like a natural extension. I did some reading on general candle making techniques and materials, which turned out to be more complicated than I expected. There are myriad wax formulations, dyes, scents, and other products to choose from when making candles, which I didn't expect. I figured you just melt some wax and pour it into something, right?! Ha!

Back row (L-R): Two Lilac, Strawberry. Front row: Vanilla, CK Escape, Pink Grapefruit

I decided to start with smallish container candles because these seemed the simplest to make. So, I got hold of some supplies to make soy-based wax candles in scents and colors that would suit my intended recipients. I got most of the containers at thrift stores, and I was able to find plenty of basic candle holder shapes and some designs that I knew would particularly appeal to certain people. For example, I found the perfect strawberry container for my crafty grandmother who collects strawberries.

This photo also shows the biggest issue I encountered making these: there is a circular crack that runs around the entire inside of the candle. According to my after-the-fact searches online, this is likely related to the temperature of the wax when I poured it into the container. Which brings us to confession time.

But first another pretty picture.

While I read a lot of detailed instructions, I found that when I was trying to make just one or two candles in a particular scent and color combination, everything just happened too fast for me to keep up with all the details. Between prepping the containers, measuring and melting the wax, adding the color and scent, and pouring it, tracking the temperature went by the wayside altogether.

This one's cracked too. Also, lotion spoiler!

 I'm kind of a perfectionist, so this doesn't sit well with me. In the end, I couldn't find a good fix to get rid of this crack after the candles cooled, so I had to accept them as they are flaws and all. A life lesson perhaps.

Ruby Princesses

While reviewing the craft photos I have saved for future blog posts, I realized that I had skipped a project from last fall. As I've mentioned before, I designed a number of fantasy tiaras for my friend Heather to use in her fairytale photography work, which you can see on her site Fairyography. As her collection of princess dresses grows, she occasionally asks me to create new pieces to complement them.

In this instance, her client expressed that the princesses-to-be would also love it if they could deck themselves out in jewelry, as well as tiaras, to get the full princess experience. I had a pretty short time frame to create these pieces, and they needed to be small child friendly, so I decided to go with something simple.

As all my tiaras are, I made these using color-coated copper craft wire and a variety of glass beads, pearls, and Swarovski crystals.

Heather likes a magical organic look for her photo accessories, so I developed this wire branch tiara design with her input for her very first crowns, and we've used it repeatedly since.

For the coordinating necklaces, I decided to go with large, faceted glass beads and a simple bead cap. I like how these ended up looking like crown jewel-sized ruby necklaces on the little ladies who wore them.

Finally, I made bracelets using smaller faceted glass beads knotted on stretchy gold cord. I wasn't sure these were up to my (and Heather's) standards, but in the final photos they look great, and the stretchy cord is very child friendly.

You can view some examples of the photos taken using these accessories in the Fairyography blog post featuring this photo shoot.

Sturdy Fingerless Gloves

Let's get started on all the handmade Christmas gifts! I made these gloves for one of my two favorite brothers-in-law, who both DJ's and does grading and tree removal throughout the year. Since he works outside using his hands, I thought he could use a pair of sturdy gloves that would still leave his fingers free to get things done.

The pattern for these is from the blog My Recycled Bags, which as the name suggests, has a number of great free crochet patterns using reclaimed plastics and other materials. The Men's Crocheted Fingerless Gloves pattern uses standard yarn, and I made these using Caron's Simply Soft Solids in Black.

One of the best things about this pattern is that it explains a simple technique to end continuous crochet in the round with a smooth edge. This is something I've struggled with because I greatly prefer this method to ending each round with a slip stitch to join and a chain to start the next round. However, I've ended up with a bump at the end of the final round because of how it steps up over the last few stitches. The technique described in this pattern, which uses slip stitches to replace the last few stitches in the final round, completely fixes that!

The pattern suggests crocheting tightly or doing a decrease in the last couple of rounds to make sure the hand opening is snug. I decided to do a decrease on row 32 (second to last row), then just crochet tightly for the final row:

Row 32 - [Sc in next seven sc, sc2tog] four times, sc in next three sc (34 stitches)
Row 33 - Sc around using instructions to end with a smooth edge.

The thumbs on my gloves lay at an odd angle when they're not worn, but fit and looked normal on. I assume this is related to something about how I worked the first row of stitches to add the thumb, so any tips on how to fix that would be welcome.

Happy New Year!

I've been so busy crafting Christmas gifts that I've had to take a pretty long hiatus from posting. Now I'm back, and I have a big stash of holiday craft photos to post over the next few weeks! I'll start with the elf hat that I made for my brand new niece, who was born a little ahead of schedule on November 20.

I made this hat using I Love This Cotton! in Bright Green and White Sparkle. The pattern is the Newborn Elf Hat with Braided Tassel pattern by Sarah McPherson (this is a link to Ravelry; the pattern has been taken down since I used it). I should note that I changed the tassel and that I did something drastically wrong while changing colors. There's a reason this picture only shows the back of the hat. It also turned out to be a little too small, so overall, not my most successful project.

On the other hand, I have quite a few that turned out much better including a lot more crochet, some body products,

and, something new I tried this year, candles.

I hope everyone's enjoying 2013 so far!

Geometric Peyote Stitch Bracelet

I actually made this bracelet in January, but I've waited to post about it because I was planning to write a pattern and create a chart for it. Since that hasn't happened, I decided to post the pictures, and if I do write up the pattern later, I'll post it then.

This actually has an even longer history than the 11 months it's been waiting for me to post about it. Before that a friend commissioned me to make a bracelet to go with a necklace he already had. My first creation was this netted bracelet (there is more information on it in my old blog).

It broke soon after I made it, so I repaired it. It broke again. I blamed the way I'd attached the clasp and repaired it, adding a beaded clasp in the process. It broke again. I thought maybe the  hematite beads were cutting the Nymo I normally use for netting, so I remade it altogether using Fireline instead. It broke again. I howled in frustration and decided it was time to go back to the drawing board for a whole new design.

And this was the result. I used Toho Treasure Japanese cylinder beads in matte black and gun metal and used the same bicone hematite beads from the original design. I've found peyote stitch to make very sturdy bracelets in the past, and this one has held up well also. Just in case the hematite beads do have a sharp edge, I used Fireline again to make this.

I used a sterling silver slide lock clasp with bars for attaching the beading. I absolutely love these for peyote stitch bracelets, since it allows for attaching a metal clasp very securely by wrapping part of the body of the bracelet around the bar and stitching it closed.

I'm pleased to report that this design seems to be more durable and has held up to repeated wear. While I was pretty frustrated with the original bracelet, it worked out in the end, since this design suits the style of the wearer and the inspiration bracelet much better. It was also fun designing a peyote pattern, working out how to include the bicone beads, and working in odd count peyote for the first time. I've been pretty intimidated by it for a long time, but it turned out to be easier than I'd thought. So, this was a great learning project in a lot of ways.

Wedding Waves Blanket

I worked on other projects throughout working on it, but even so this blanket took quite a while. I started it this summer as a gift for some friends who got married in October. It's my first blanket or afghan, so I chose a relatively simple pattern that uses only basic stitches in rows.

I used the Scrumptious Scraps Afghan pattern by Dot Matthews, which I found on Ravelry, and worked the pattern using I Love This Yarn! in Stonewash, Dark Country Blue, and Coffee. While I thought of the project as an afghan or couch blanket, I decided to make it in twin size, as my friends are both tall and I personally like a nice big blanket when I'm on the couch.

I chose the colors because this combination is a favorite of the bride's. I've also been told that the groom has napped under it, and I've been furnished with photographic evidence that the true head of the house has claimed it as her own.

With such feline approval, I consider my first afghan project a success!

Fairy Treasure Necklace

Fairies are one of my things; I love fairy mythology and art. So, when I traveled to Minneapolis for business this summer and saw this pendant in a bead shop, I had to have it.

Once I had the pendant (which is also available online, for example here or here), it took a while for me to build a necklace around it because I wanted to do something special with it. Ultimately, I decided to use brass chain and metal components along with Czech glass leaves and flowers, which are some of my favorite beads to work with.

This is the result. I threw in some glass and aventurine beads to round things out, and, unusually for me, laid them out in an asymmetrical design.

I really love the final necklace; it's one of my favorite things that I've made for myself. It's also turned out to be one of the most attention grabbing, as I've gotten lots of compliments and questions about it. One of the questions I often am asked is what's inside it. The truth is, I haven't decided to put in there. I've thought about putting in a few drops of some of my favorite essential oils or thoughts and meditations on small pieces of paper, but I haven't hit on the right idea this yet. I'm open to suggestions if anyone has any thoughts.