Tag: small business

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Taking My Time…

7-8 min read

It’s been just over six weeks since I wrote last. I’ve found it quite challenging to sit down and let myself get vulnerable with everything I have going on. As many of my followers may know, I was in a car accident back at the end of November. The first few months were quite rough. My pain levels were at the top of the chart by the end of each day. It was physically and mentally exhausting. I had to work hard every day to take extra care of myself in order to keep any serenity in my life. After so long, I eventually hit my wall. That happened just a couple of weeks ago. By that point, I could take no more and was in need of crutches in order to maintain my life in any normal capacity. It has now been two weeks on crutches. The first week on crutches was rough, because I was overly emotional. My pain levels were finally coming down, but then everything that has happened over the last few months weighed heavy on me because I had finally been able to see things more clearly. The pain fog was lifting. I understand that I did not operate at my best for the months after the accident. How could I? I was in excruciating pain… every day. That really does something to a person. On top of that, I lost my income, my housing, my car, my independence, and people along the way. I wasn’t able to focus on anything long enough to be productive in anything, so my business and this project took a hit. My child started to feel the effects. With all of that, my mental health took a hit. I did everything I could over those few months to take really good care of myself. I had to set uncomfortable boundaries. I had to say no more often. I had to give up things I enjoy. So many things happened that were hard. And now that my pain levels are less, I have been able to process everything more and really accept things for how they are. I am starting to feel more hopeful now. Through this entire process, I am so grateful for the people who stuck by my side and helped carry me through. My amazing supportive community of recovery that I have built, really has showed up for me. I have been reminded over and over again that I am worthy, that I will overcome these challenges, and that no matter the circumstances, I have people who will love me and support me. What I am going through will help people one day. And though this has all been very difficult, I know that this chapter of my story may help save the lives of others.

“In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.”

– Albert Einstein

Over the last few weeks… months really… I have been taking the much needed time to pray and meditate for acceptance, healing, strength, awareness, and much, much more. I have allowed myself to be vulnerable with my Higher Power. To really have the much needed conversations in order for me to find the solutions I have needed through this trial. And of course, He continues to show up for me. Slowly I am starting to work things out in positive ways. Through this time, I have not faltered so much that I have given up on the mission. Instead I have had to prioritize and take small baby steps in any direction. I am still working to put things together where I can. Some exciting things are in the works. Maybe I can’t produce candles at the moment, but other things truly are coming together. And the candles will come soon. Once my housing stabilizes and I move into my new office space, I will be ready to take those next steps. I just need to clear a few things off of my plate first. I will say however, that it is pretty likely that I will be on crutches for a few more months, so it will be important for me to maintain these new healthy boundaries for myself. And I don’t really mind the crutches, since it decreases my pain levels so significantly. It’s brought my pain down from an 8-10, to a 2! That’s a pretty amazing change. Being at a 2 allows me to do my physical therapy exercises and to just really focus on things that need to get done. It was really hard to advocate for myself the first few months, especially when I was told over and over again that it was just a flare up. I’m grateful that I kept advocating though, because eventually I was heard and now I’m just a few short weeks away from seeing the specialist that is going to help me make a plan of recovery. There is hope in sight.

This has been one of the hardest times I have ever had in my life. I truly believe that everything I have been through up to now, was to prepare me for this chapter of my life. There had been days that all I could do was cry. I had felt like a failure. I had felt unworthy. I had given up hope. All with what seemed like no light at the end of the tunnel. Things got really dark. The pain was so bad, that I just wanted it to be over, and in the worst of ways. Some days I just wanted a hug so badly, but I just wasn’t capable of asking for one. I had isolated myself for days at a time, just to cry uncontrollably when my loved ones would finally call me out of concern. Being in pain and having to carry everything I was going through, became one of the hardest things I ever had to do. And with each new thing that came my direction, it all got heavier and heavier until I couldn’t carry anymore. I know that I haven’t been operating at my best these last few months. But I must say, I did a darn good job given the circumstances, all thanks to my many tools, healthy practices and the support that I have. I’m pretty proud of myself for making it as long and far as I did. Today I am grateful that people showed up to help me, knowing that was what I needed. I am grateful for the many reminders that I am not in this journey alone. None of us are in this alone. There are people out there waiting to love you. You just have to allow yourself to welcome them in. It’s hard to do, and even more so when we do not believe we are worthy of that love because of what we are going through, but you are worthy. We all are. It’s all even more difficult for those of us who are used to carrying the weight of things on our own because we have been let down so often. But that gets better too, when we are a part of the right community. This whole part of my journey, will be a great testament in my story, and will all help me in this amazing mission of change. Stay tuned followers… the best has yet to come.

Amber T

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Recovery is possible.

As I said last week, my goal is to write on a weekly basis… so here we are, eight days later. Hey, I’m improving, it wasn’t a month between posts. Go me. I have been giving it thought all week, trying to figure out what I will write about but really putting my fingers to the keyboard seems like the best way to go for now so here goes. I have worked hard this last week to stay on track and really work at getting things in line for this business. It’s nice having something positive to put my feelings into. That is how I got started with this business in the first place. Funny how things come around full circle. I am pretty excited for what is to come. I have worked hard both in this business and on myself these last few years, to really get to this place that I finally feel ready to take this all on. And I do feel ready. Of course I am way nervous, but I know I am capable of doing this. I finally have some confidence. I am a very skilled individual. I also have a lot of people standing behind me, believing in me. That really helps. This week has really been helpful in taking steps forward because I’ve been able to get my production process down and really finetune a lot of details. It’s a work in progress, and it’s coming together, One Step At A Time. Supporting people I care about has been a big part of this process as well. Knowing that sharing my Experience, Strength & Hope helps people I love and care for, makes all the difference. Knowing that people I care about are lacking the support they need in their lives in order to lead more fulfilling lives, is a big motivator for where this business is heading. When I started my recovery journey, I was on my own. I had a few friends that supported me, but I later realized how much I outgrew them because much of the support that was offered, was not healthy which was making matters worse. So I felt even more alone and just had a really hard time finding help. It wasn’t until I found my twelve step program a few years after working to get better, that I finally started to make progress. That really changed things for me because it gave me positive support and lots of tools. Which led to even more support and even more tools. Now I feel supported in many areas of my life, through friends, family, support groups and organizations. It makes all the difference. Knowing I am not alone. Knowing that I can make a phone call and reason things out with another person, helps me to get better and find solutions that work for me, that will help guide me toward positive change. Especially so if my support is healthy, coming from a place of love and selflessness. I strive to be that positive support for others, that I wish I had had when I started my journey. That’s also why this last few weeks have been so difficult for me. I am the one needing support, which means I have not been able to be there fully for people I really care about and I’m having to refill my cup in other, more simple ways. Thankfully everyone understands, but it doesn’t make me feel any better. Though I am blessed to have so many wonderful people who help encourage me and respect my need for healing, that’s pretty amazing. Because right now I am much more sensitive than normal, requiring even more care. One of the most important things that I have learned when it comes to supporting people, especially when it pulls on my heart strings, is to take extra good care of myself so that I can keep being there for people. And setting boundaries so that I am not giving too much of myself. That’s a lot of what I have had to do these last few weeks in order to get better. It’s hard though too because that means I can’t be there at times. Yesterday I wanted so badly to be there for a friend of mine but I just was not able. I am getting better, but the situation hit too close to home for me to be of any help. Instead I had to take extra care of myself and really reflect on my healing. You see, my dear friend made the decision to chase recovery, which meant she had to leave her best friend and partner behind because he is not yet ready to put in the work. I have been through that very same thing… more than once and in varying ways. Having to leave behind a loved one who we so badly want to help and want to have join our journey of recovery, is such a heartbreaking experience. Knowing our loved ones are in pain and there is nothing we can do about it except to take care of ourselves, that’s a hard choice for most to feel good about in the moment. And anyone who is capable of stepping back and letting their loved one figure it out for themselves, while working to be strong enough to be there for them, is such a strong being. To carry the weight of one’s own journey while staying strong for those we love, that is what unconditional love is all about. When I went through similar the first time, I was not healthy about how I chose to fight. I made matters worse. Much worse. I was not capable of detachment or forgiveness, and I had no tools. I just didn’t know any better. I didn’t know that my choices were unhealthy… to me it was normal behavior. Now I know much different. Now I know that we all have our own journey and finding things out for ourselves is how we learn and do better. Nothing I do can make someone do something I want them to, even if it’s for their own good. But I can share my Experience, Strength & Hope, take good care of myself, work my program and really put in the work to get better, showing others that recovery is possible. Because reality is, when someone is not ready, it’s likely they do not have the solutions that work for them and they have no idea where to even start. I get it. I mean really, how does someone do something different from what they know, when they don’t know what else to try because they don’t know it yet? We can’t. Instead we have an opportunity to lead by example and to build healthy support, showing those who are still suffering, that recovery is possible. The journey of recovery, no matter what it looks like or what a person may be in recovery from, it is a challenging and trying experience. You will be tested in ways that will make you want to give up. You will just want the pain to end, and you will beg for relief. You will wish that you were back to being naïve and unaware. And yet something inside you will tell you that you’re on the right path. You will somehow keep pushing forward, putting one foot in front of the other, not knowing where you got the strength. Things will start to become more clear over time, keeping you motivated to stay on track and make better decisions. You will gain phone numbers of people to call, willing to talk things through with you. You will gain Strength, Wisdom and Courage. I know in my heart, that is what my dear friend is doing. This is one of the hardest things she has ever done, but thankfully she has the support and tools to help her be successful in her journey. And now she gets the chance to show her loved one, what that looks like and that it is possible to find contentment, and even happiness, no matter the world around us. I hope that in sharing my story and creating the right message with these candles, I can help more people know that they too can find serenity. Stay tuned followers, the best has yet to come.

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Breaking the Cycle

A perfect title for the work that I am doing and for how I try to help the people. Part of what I do to help people is to get to the root cause of why the individual is living an unfulfilled life. I work to help them figure out how their traumas correlate with their unhealthy coping habits of drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling, food, you name it. And in the process, we talk about change and how to break the cycle, by sharing new tools to try. It doesn’t stop there though… I work with folks over time by spending time with them and following up on how the tools are working, what things came up, how are they feeling. We just keep going and going until eventually they decide they want to get better. It’s a pretty amazing process. Not an easy process by any means, and definitely doesn’t happen over night. Some people I have partnered with for years. The amazing part is that I get to watch them get better, in the best of ways. I watch them practice new tools and work on building healthier habits. I watch individuals break the cycle all the time. I watch people be vulnerable and courageous in taking back control of their lives, even when it’s really, really hard. I get to stand side-by-side them when the good, bad and ugly occur. All through just giving them my time and sharing my Experience, Strength & Hope. By letting people know they are not alone in their traumas, they are getting better. And it’s worth be vulnerable to watch another person grow.

Last night I had a pretty incredible conversation with a gal I’ve known now for about 2 years. She is someone who has been struggling with drug addiction for quite a few years now and has even lost her daughter to her family. She has been back and forth in recovery but most recently has been back to using. I’ve been partnering with her by helping talk about the family dynamic, the traumas and sharing new tools to try. I spend my time just listening to her and giving her a listening ear. She called me yesterday to let me know that she is back to being motivated and is not using at this time! She is considering going back to treatment and wants to get her life back in order… she wants to Break the Cycle. We had a really good chat about her family. Her learned behaviors are all she has known the majority of her life. That’s something I can relate with. When what we know comes from our family homes growing up and then all of the traumas alone the way, we learned some pretty poor behaviors that we have been living in most of our lives, and those behaviors take time and a lot of hard work to overcome. I always work to remind folks to be patient and compassionate with themselves because we can’t just change over night. I look forward to working with her further and seeing where she goes. Personally I am an individual who works really hard to overcome my traumas and grow as a person, and I still fall back to my old behaviors from time to time. We are all only human. It’s about Progress, Not Perfection.

I am pretty grateful that I get to be on this journey with folks. They are people I have come to care for. They are community members who turned to coping in ways to help them survive the best they knew how. Part of my goal with this business, is to continue helping people to break the cycle by gaining more trainings and bringing individuals into the candle business to partner with them, helping them find a purpose. I sure have quite the journey ahead of me, that’s for sure. After years of never feeling good enough, I now have to put myself out there and really get this business going. Working with folks and seeing their vulnerability helps me be more courageous. Stay tuned followers!

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The Art of Candle Making

Some might think “I can do that” when it comes to candle making, and thats true, anyone can make a good candle if you’re given all the correct supplies and instructions! When I first started this business, I was given all the right supplies to making my first successful candle. I bought a DIY soy candle making kit off Amazon by CandleWic. It had specific instructions, that when followed exactly, make great candles! They just dont share what wax, wick size or any of the other juicy details to candle making. When I decided that’s what I wanted to do, I went ahead and bought a few candle business books and started my research! Little did I know that there is so much into making a good quality candle! And of course no one shares their exact candle recipes so I pretty much started at square one. I made lots of bad candles before I got it right. There’s definitely an art to candle making. Understanding (at a minimum) basic chemistry, helps a lot! So what makes a good candle??

Well, the number one reason anyone buys a candle is for scent. A good smelling candle is the biggest selling point. I’m sure everyone has bought a candle that smelled amazing off the shelf but as soon as you get it home, you light it and it only smells good for a short time, or not at all. Some turn into full liquid, flames flicker all over, no scent throw (or just smells like wax), or the wax tunnels so its not burning to the edge of the container. These are characteristics of a poorly made candle. An ideal candle will have a good cold and hot scent throw, burn to the edge of the container but only have a half inch deep burn pool, and the flame will not flicker, snub out or have too tall a flame. With soy wax, crystallizing does happen but this can be prevented by pouring slow and at the right temperature. Same for air bubbles. Thats why it is so important to test, test and test some more. I have definitely made my share of bad candles but after lots of research, testing, and evaluating all the data, I’ve finally got it figured out! I have made sure that each candle I make for inventory meets all of the good quality check points! Sooooo many components go into making a quality candle… container size, wax used, fragrance (each fragrance has its own flash point!) wick size (how hot it burns), pouring temperature, how slow you pour, how much you stir the wax while it melts, at what temp you add the fragrance, the temperature of the room your working in and so much more! It’s important to record all of that data during your candle making process.

So let’s go over some of these characteristics and why they’re important.

  • Why does a candle turn to full liquid? The wick is too big. It burns too hot and turns the entire candle into liquid. A quality candle will have a burn pool no more than 1/2″ deep burn pool.
  • What causes tunneling? Tunneling is when the wax on the edge of a candle container doesnt burn so you’ll have 1/4″ or more candle caked to the side of the container. This happens because the wick is too small for the size of the container. Resulting in wasted, unburned wax.
  • Why does my candle smell like wax? This is caused from the wick burning too hot (hotter than the fragrances’ flash point) burning off the fragrance so theres no scent left.
  • Why does the flame flicker uncontrollably? The wick needs to be trimmed. The wick should always be trimmed to 1/4″ long. If you dont keep it trimmed, the wick will flicker and result in mushrooming.
  • Why does my candle have air bubbles? This typically means that the wax was stirred too much during the melting process, or the candle cooled too quickly resulting in air bubbles getting trapped. This will not affect the way your candle burns.
  • Why does my candle look crystalized? This is typically because it was poured too quickly or at too hot a temperature. It can also be from cooling too quickly.

Now what to do with all this new knowledge?? Next time you buy a candle, be sure to pay attention to see if you got yourself a good quality candle. Stay tuned for a post on How To Get The Most Out Of Your Candle!

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Motivation

This last two weeks have definitely motivated me into business mode. Thankfully too cause its been a long time coming. I spent all day Monday working on a few recipes, making candle inventory, and wow they are amazing! I dont think I could have done a better job! The tops are beautifully smooth, they smell amazing, and the colors are dynamite. Now to sell the inventory… that’s the part I’m honestly dreading because Im a terrible sales person but its the only way to expand so I better figure it out! I have a program retreat this Saturday so maybe I can sell some there. It’ll be nice getting back into the program, even if only for a day. It’s a good way to keep me on track. Sometimes when things come flying at me, I get lost in the chaos. I’m definitely getting better about praying more and refocusing but I need a reminder sometimes. I’m thinking a new tattoo when the budget allows it lol I know these things may seem a little off topic from candles but it all directly relates to my motivation in the next step of this candle journey. I want to be successful. I want to spread the love. I want to keep moving forward and sometimes it’s hard to. Being a single mom in recovery has made this process drag on for so long but it’s all been worth it. Originally I wanted to jump all in and launch right away but this whole process has been necessary for my success. All of my baby steps, research, testing and preparation is all paying off slowly but surely. I appreciate everyone’s continued support in keeping me motivated and moving forward 😁

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Perspective

Well this last week has been quite challenging. It started off with working 5am shifts on little sleep. Working on my fixer upper every day after work until bed time. Three days in a row of that wore on me and I wasn’t even close to done. My muscle help was not readily available so things took me a bit longer than I anticipated so I took Thur/Fri off work to just work on it to alleviate at least that stress and just get it done. Plus my job is stressing me out so I needed a couple days away before I snapped. So I tore apart the engine, pulled the knock sensor, and put it all back together. I cleaned all the parts up, replaced both the lower & upper intake gaskets, both valve cover gaskets, spark plugs & wires, re-loomed some wiring, tightened everything up, had to replace a few bolts and hoses, and had to get crafty with creating my own fuel injector “insulator” aka the grommet that the injectors sit on because one was damaged and it was a spendy special order part from Nissan! I learned a lot of patience with this vehicle. I worked on it in complete silence for about 11 hours on Thursday before I called it quits for the night. Got back to it first thing Friday morning. By noon I had everything back together! I relocated the knock sensor so it wouldn’t be so darn difficult to replace again if necessary. Fired it up and it started the first try! It started smoking right away from the engine compartment and the exhaust so I turned it off immediately. I was not about to have it catch fire or cause more damage. I had my fire extinguisher on standby just in case. Later I remembered that I had got coolant in the fuel by accident when I released the cooling system so it had to burn off. Phew! Started it again and let it burn off. I test drove it around the neighborhood and found that I had fixed the original issue of the exhaust leak and lack of compression going up hills. Buuuuuuuuuut, now I have a hiss coming from under the upper intake thats likely causing my cylinder 2 misfire and rough idle. Myself and my mechanic friend verified all the hoses are good and clamped tight, gaskets are in place properly, and the spark plugs and wires are all good. we both think the grommets need to just be replaced. I’ll find out more on Sunday. At least I got SOMEWHERE with it and it RUNS!! I’m pretty proud of myself. I saved myself a few hundred dollars in labor costs for a mechanic by doing the work myself. Lucky for me, both my dad and one of my best friends taught me a lot about mechanics and I really did pay attention! Still more to do but for now its running. Anyways, I got that taken care of so went about working Saturday to get caught up on my day job uninterrupted. Afterwards, I decided to go to the fair with one of my best friends! It was him, his coworker and myself. We went and walked around for a bit before we were gonna ride rides! Well lucky for us we didnt head straight for rides because my friend started getting winded from walking around so we sat down for him to rest. As we were resting, I realized this situation was worse than just shortness of breath from walking around, he was having chest pains and couldn’t even speak! So I sent his coworker to get a paramedic I had seen just around the corner. He pulled pills out of his pocket so I gave him one not even knowing what they were for. I later found out it was nitro for this exact moment. He took it and then the paramedics came, took his vitals, gave him oxygen and called for help. Backup came quick! Within minutes he was on a gurney and headed to the hospital so I raced down there. His coworker and I got there before the ambulance did. I asked them to update us right away. Well within minutes of their arrival they called a Code Blue!!! I was a mess!! One of my best friends was in there and I had no clue what was happening… completely helpless. All I could do was pray. I prayed so hard. After about 10 minutes someone came to grab us to update us on his condition. He was stable and they were sending him to another hospital because he had a heart attack in the front of his heart… what they call the Widowmaker. There’s a reason they call it that. How scary. His heart stopped twice. Once in the ambulance and again at the hospital. I am so thankful that he is alive! Of course I called him and told him he can’t die on me lol An experience like that really puts things into perspective. The first thing he told me was that this heart attack was a good reminder to never go to bed angry. You never know when your last moment will be. I hope my family, my loved ones, know how much I love them. Which I guess brings me to why I wanted to share this trying week with you.

These last few years have been some of the hardest years I’ve ever had. I mean really hard. And lately things have been extra difficult. There have been many days I didn’t want tomorrow to come because it was just too hard. And yet they still came. All I can do is push through it. I don’t have a choice. I have a family to live for. I have a son to live for. And lucky for me, every time I hit my breaking point, something happens that gives me strength to go on. For instance, how I got started with this whole candle thing in the first place. My family has been affected by alcoholism. In the blink of an eye, without warning, everything changed. That has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever experienced. A family that loves each other unconditionally, just lost. It’s devastating for it to just be over without warning when you know the love is there. Alcoholism is a terrible thing. The day I realized what was happening is the day I said my first prayer… February 2nd, 2016. It’s also the day I went to my first meeting. A day I’ll never forget. For the next couple of years when times were hard and when I was so heartbroken that I didn’t want to go on, I did everything I could to stay busy and take my mind off of the easy way out but prayer wasn’t yet something I quite understood and it wasn’t something I did often. I sang, played guitar, worked long hours, played music constantly to distract myself… I crafted, scrubbed my house until there was nothing left to scrub, got out in the garage and built stuff, worked on my car, mowed my lawn, drove for miles and miles, tried to move on, you name it. Nothing was working. Well one day when I was just about to give up, I turned to prayer out of desperation. I prayed for something, anything to help me. It was then that I saw something I just had to try. I got my hands on a DIY candle making kit. When I made my first candle, I knew that was it. That was what I could pour my love into. My heart break into. And it all just came together. However, starting this business has been one of the most trying experiences. Everytime I think I can finally move forward, something else tries to stand in my way. And each time I’ve wanted to just give up. What’s the point right? Yet somehow everytime I hit that point something magical happens and in my darkest of moments, I am given the strength to take another step forward. How it’s been possible is something I didn’t understand at first but now I realize it’s because in those moments, I pray. Every time I want to give up because times are just too difficult to handle and I just want everything to end already, I pray. When I am faced with the most trying of times, I pray. Im finally starting to realize that prayer is powerful. I pray for Serenity. I pray for Courage. I pray for Wisdom. And I pray for Strength. Most of the time I don’t think about praying. I need to figure out how to remind myself to pray more often because without it… well those are definitely my hardest and darkest times. I tend to lose focus on the big picture when all these things happen that keep making everything more challenging. Last time I prayed as hard as I did Saturday was almost two months ago. Two months ago I wanted to give up. I wanted my life to end. I thought that everyone would be better off without me. I thought that I was a failure. I thought that things would just continue to get worse and worse so whats the point. So… I prayed. Nothing happened. I prayed again, nothing happened. And then I thought an awful thought that I convinced myself to not act on and I prayed one last time… desperately. The next day something happened that I wasn’t expecting. Something that I didn’t understand. Something that meant so much to me but yet I was so confused at the same time. And in that moment I was given the strength I needed to survive another day. So, that following Friday night when the work week was over and I could finally breathe, I turned off my phone, locked myself in my house and prayed from Friday to Sunday! I was so thankful that all I could do was pray some more! Praying gave me the strength to trust that everything will be okay and make it through another day. It gave me the strength to get through some of the most challenging obstacles since then. It gave me the courage to stand tall when all I wanted to do was crumble. I have overcame situations that would have normally turned me into a big mess but I persevered and now I am stronger. Saturday I prayed. It helped me hold myself together long enough to save one of my best friends lives! I had no idea about the power of prayer until the day I lost my family to alcoholism. This last couple of years have been by far my hardest and yet I have held myself together enough to gain the strength so I can handle and overcome what’s still to come. Everything truly does happen for a reason, even if I don’t understand. I pray that everything will be okay. I just have to have faith that it will be. I hope and pray that one day I am given the opportunity to tell my loved ones how much I love and care about them. Sometimes things are still really hard and I just want to give up. When I remember, I pray. I just really need to remember more often that when things take a turn, I should pray. This business means a lot to me. It represents the love one has for family and friends. It represents the power of prayer. It represents the trials and tribulations of alcoholism. It represents more than anyone truly knows. I look forward to the day that I can finally kick off and share this experience with the people who matter most to me. So even though things are slow moving, I will do what I can to make this successful because of what it represents.

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Still at it!

Tender Flamers!! Obviously its been a while since I’ve updated. I have not given up! A lot has happened these last few months. Of course shortly after my last post in March, everything started to go wrong but I remained calm and persevered! Come to find out, its a lot harder to start your own business while working two jobs and being a single mom, while still having somewhat of a life haha. No matter, I will soon be launching! You can check out my Facebook at Tender Flame Soy Candles. I’ve updated the page periodically throughout this process. Here’s just a little update on whats been happening…

Back in late March and early April my mom was working on my logo and labels. I’ve been pretty dead set on exactly what I want but it was a bit difficult getting it exactly right in Illistrator so we toyed with it for a while. By May, it still wasn’t done. I can’t sell my product without a label. So I took that time to continue testing. By mid May, my mom fell down the stairs and dislocated her wrist so she wasn’t able to finish my logo. Now my brother is working on getting it done. Should be done in just a few short weeks. Shortly after my mom fell down the stairs, my laptop decided to stop working! It needed a battery replacement, so I finally replaced the battery just to find out the next day that my harddrive was fried! Ugh. One thing after another. All of my costing spreadsheets, inventory list, price lists were all on my laptop. Well a friend assisted with getting my laptop working just long enough to get my business stuff transferred to an external harddrive! Thank goodness too cause I spent a lot of time creating all of those. I was so relieved. Then I had to get a different laptop which I did. So finally I was back in business for all of that, and continued testing when I had time. I now have solid candle recipes ready to sell (that burn beautifully and smell amazing!!), I have over 25 fragrances to choose from and I cant wait to get on the ball. Im still working my second job until the end of this month so time is limited until then. Which is good causw on my free time, I’ve been continuing the glass cutting and sanding to use the old beer and wine bottles as containers. Slowly I’m getting there. Moving forward I’ll do my best to keep updated throughout the process and get my price list on here. I look forward to this journey. And thank you to all of my supporters who continue to keep me positive! Stay tuned Tender Flamers! 

Below are some pictures from the last couple months. 

Love Spell curing for 24 hours:

6oz candle recipe complete:

Glass sanding station:

Soaking bottles in preparation of cutting:

Sneak peak of my logo Tender Flame!

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Cutting glass

The supplies arrived early for cutting glass bottles! I’ll be using old wine and beer bottles as glass containers and glass cup gift sets! This will allow me to keep the cost down for my customers. I’m pretty excited to get started on cutting and smoothing the glass. Just waiting for the sanding powder to arrive. Still a lot of work to do to get everything up and running! I’d like to prep 50 or more bottles. Which means I’ll need to prep all the bottles for easy label removal (hot water, baking soda and steel scourer pads), then cut and sand! I’ll explain more about the process as I get further into it. So much work ahead of me lol Just part of this exciting journey. I’m glad to share it all with everyone!

Soaking the bottles!

The first cut was made! Just need to sand it down when the powder arrives next week.

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Testing phase one!

Testing production of my recipes! Finally starting on the production stage of business. Making sure that the recipes I’ve chosen work well before I start mass producing the candles. Each container and type of wax require a different percentage of fragrance oil for the scent throw or different type of wick to ensure the best burn pool. Many things go into making a candle! Not to mention the melting temps, pouring temps, temperature of the environment, how much you stir the dye and fragrance, how slow you pour, and so much more. After these first set are completely solidified and have sat for at least 24 hours, I will begin the burning stage of testing. Basically I have to burn the candle for two hours at a time to watch the burn pool, the flame and soot. If I chose the correct size wick, then it will burn beautifully! Otherwise I’ll be back to testing the recipe! This next week I’ll start cutting the old wine and beer bottles to start using glass containers rather than just the metal tins. The supplies will be here Monday! That’s gonna be a whole other fun process in this business. Thankfully I have access to as many old glass bottles as I want. That will help keep the costs low so that I can keep the price low for the end product! Oh this is gonna keep me quite busy and will be lots of fun!

Melting the wax…

Prepping the metal tin containers…

Waiting for them to set…

Almost ready to test burn…

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First supply shipment

I got my first shipment of supplies and am almost ready to start production! Im so excited and nervous! Im still tweaking some of my candle recipes and am waiting for the end of the month for the wax to make the soy wax melts, but I’m almost there. I think this week I’ll make the first set of lavender candles. Im in the process of building the business labels for the containers, flyers and a website. Little by little I’ll get there. Im just excited to share the journey and see where it takes me. I never thought that I’d be able to go into business for myself as a single mom but its becoming a reality! I thank everyone for their support 🙂