2012 Week Two Goals

Reading: A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin.  Currently page 790 and want to finish (page 969).

House: Put together the new printer table for the office.  Build the shoe holder for my closet.

Creative: Frame some art and photos to start really decorating our house.

DIY candle recycling

I started working on my creative project this week (a new jewelry holder) only to discover that at some point the paint I was planning to use had frozen so it was completely useless and because I didn't have time to get to the hardware store I just decided to do a different project that I had all the materials on hand for - a recycled candle.

In this house we love candles, especially the ones from (of all places) Bath and Body works which burn so cleanly and smell so lovely.  But they are pricey and I do get tired of the quarter to half inch of wax that is inevitablly left in the bottom when the wicks have burned down.

I combined three candle remnants of various apple scents into the smaller holder (I have other plans for the big one) and decided to layer them to see what sort of look I could achieve.  I can honestly say I've learned that I should wait for each layer to fully cool before pouring in the next, but otherwise it's a perfectly nice candle we have burning on the coffee table right now.

Read on for the how to...

Supplies

• Wicks
• Wick Clips
• Candles (on hand)
• holder (on hand)
• pot and water on the stove

The steps are easy

1) If the candles are in glass holders (as mine were) place them into a pot with about an inch of water on the stove and slowly turn up the heat to melt the wax.

2) Have an empty candle holder (or pretty vintage tin) to pour into, and after putting a sufficient length of wick through the holder crimp the nub to hold in place and put a small dab of hot wax on the back to "glue" it to the bottom of holder.

3) I jerry-rigged a pencil and rubberband to hold the wick upright while pouring in the wax, although I'm sure there's a more professional method I like mine just fine.

4) Pour in the wax and let cool at least a day before trimming the wick and lighting the candle.

5) That's it.

All in all a rather cheap project which only helps to prolong the use of something we already had.

2012 Week One Goals

As outlined in my general new years post I want to make three goals for myself each week (this is something I already do, but want to remember to blog about it this year) in the areas of Reading, household projects and creative projects.  So here we are, week one and technically already late, but my objective is to finish by Saturday and begin week two on Sunday.  So here goes.

Reading: Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin.  Currently on page 604 and want to get to at least page 800.

House: Crate organizers for kitchen cart.

Creative: Paint and assemble new jewelry holder.

Creative Endeavors: Spiral Blanket

I must admit, I started this blanket some time ago and now I'm a little stalled.  Since I started the blanket as an experiment I didn't buy all the yarn I would need for a full size afghan, instead, assured by a sales associate that Sugar N' Cream yarn colors are never discontinued, I bought a few skeins of each color and got started.

Lo and behond, when I've finally gotten into the swing of things and perfected the pattern to get exactly what I wanted I go back to buy the rest of the yarn and... there isn't any.  It's gone.  I picked four colors for the spirals - sage, country red, country yellow, and country blue - and there is not a single country color left.  I can still find the sage and the soft ecru I'm using to join the spirals since they are some of the staple colors that are always available.

After some intense searching, and dropping in on every Michaels, JoAnn's and Hobby Lobby we've passed on every road trip, I managed to get enough of the country yellow and country red.  The one color missing from every place we've gone is the country blue and now I'm down to less than half a skein and I'm going to have to resign myself to paying full price ($2/skein) online with $8 for shipping to get the rest of the yarn.  This little fact turns this project from affordable to a bit more expensive than I expected.

You should know that I'm a coupon girl.  I've been known to make Richard come in with me to buy a second skein of yarn in a separate transaction just to use a second 40% off coupon at the craft store.  I rarely pay full price for anything because stretching our dollars has become second nature and every penny puts us just a little bit ahead in our savings.

We're still trying to find a house to buy, which hasn't been the easiest process and has left me a little jaded.  But, as my father said at dinner this past Saturday, we will never find a better market in which to purchase property.  But that is a discussion for another time.

The pattern I'm working from is from the blog quarter of an inch, and although I admit I changed some stitches around I'm not sure I could ever tell you what exactly was changed as the circles have now become so easy and automatic.  My only goal is to finish this blanket by the end of 2010 because I think one big project a year is enough, especially since I've been working hard on more cupcakes and getting started on this year's hat and scarf, and with the cold weather coming fast I'd better get cracking!