Made with Love Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to Jessica, the winner of the Made with Love Giveaway! 

This lucky lady won some really awesome prizes, including my holiday trio: Gingerbread, Mistletoe, and Winter Wonderland! I'll be sending those out right away so that you can start enjoying your candles ASAP  :)

Thank you to everyone who entered, and especially to those who spent the time to check out my shop and join my Twitter or blog. It's always a pleasure to meet new friends and customers!

Aromatherapy/Botanicals Tip of the Week

I just discovered this great blog maintained by the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy (NAHA). Their November post was written by Gina Rafkind, an Aromatherapy Consultant. In her post, Rafkind explains how aromatherapy can be helpful for relieving anxiety. This sparked my interest because my sister has struggled with anxiety for several years and at one point even suffered from anxiety-induced seizures. Now that I have some reliable information on using aromatherapy to treat anxiety, I'm definitely going to pass this along to my sister! Hopefully she can use aromatherapy to supplement her current treatment rather than solely relying on synthetic medications.

In particular, Rafkind highlights specific oils, including ylang ylang, chamomile, sandalwood, and lavender. She also goes into detail about exactly how aromatherapy triggers your sense of smell in order to redirect your thoughts away from anxiety. For more information on her helpful suggestions, visit the post here.

Candles By Nature Giveaway!

Do you enjoy unique, handmade items? Then get your patooty on over to Rachel's Reviews and Giveaway and enter the Made with Love event. You can win a bunch of awesome prizes, including an adorable kid's activity bag, bright and colorful jewelry hangers, fun belly charms and, of course, some candles from little ol' me ;)

As part of this giveaway, I'll be sending the lucky winner  my three holiday scents--Gingerbread, Mistletoe, and Winter Wonderland. Visit my Etsy shop here to check each of them out!

Candles By Nature Featured on Rachel's Reviews & Giveaways!

Candles By Nature is currently being featured on Rachel's Reviews & Giveaways as part of her lovely Made with Love event! Please visit here to check it out and leave some love  :)

Also, be on the look-out for an announcement tomorrow when her giveaway goes live. You can win a set of my three holiday scents--Gingerbread, Winter Wonderland, and Mistletoe!

My Latest Etsy Purchase: Darkling Woods

Over the summer, I found this cute white oval picture frame, which I intended to keep in my living room. I hadn't yet found a photo that I wanted to use, so the frame ended up on one of my side tables for several months, without anything in it. Classy, right?

Around the time that I first joined Etsy, I stumbled across Darkling Woods and had hearted several of her prints, but Little Miss Magic had always been my favorite. I knew this whimsical little witch would be perfect to fill that sad, empty frame so I was thrilled when I received my print the other day in the mail.

I think it's exactly what that spotted needed. Don't you agree? Be sure to visit Darkling Woods and discover your own favorites!

Another Project--Finished!

Back in February, I introduced you guys to my workspace, including the dresser which I had planned to re-do this past summer. Well, the summer months kind of got away from me and I never had a chance to tackle this project. But this weekend, I finally got to work on it!

First, my boyfriend and I used sandpaper to smooth down some of the rough spots where the paint had chipped off. Once that was done, we wiped the surfaces clean and painted (my favorite part!). I forgot to take a photo before we painted it, but here's a shot after the first coat:

We let it dry for about an hour and then I did a second coat so that it would look nice and smooth, and to cover any light spots. While the paint dried, I planned how I would arrange these bird decals, which I found last year at Home Goods for $3 (sweet deal, right?).

Later on, it was time to add the new hardware, which I bought at Ace Hardware for about $1.50 each. Nickolas actually wanted to do this part, so I figured I'd get an action shot while I sat there watching him work ;)

Okay, so I know I said earlier that the painting was my favorite part, but I change my mind--adding the decals was my favorite part because it seemed to really tie everything in and finalized this project I had been waiting so long to complete.

After adding the birdies to the front of each drawer, I had a few more decals remaining so I decided to add one on each side of the dresser, as well.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, is the finished product!

While I was waiting for the paint to dry, I also tackled another project I had been waiting to finish. I bought this dilapidated wooden frame over a year ago for about $1 at an auction and had planned on painting it and then using it somehow in my workshop area. However, life took over (as it always does) and the frame just sat in my living room. Today I finally got to sanding it smooth and then painting it a sweet, pale yellow.

Now that it's finally painted, I'm not exactly sure what I want to do with it! I've been thinking of getting a sheet of plexiglass, cut to match dimensions of the frame, and then paint it with chalkboard paint so that I can make my own blackboard. What do you guys think? Do you have any other ideas for this frame?

And now I'll leave you with a picture of my kitty, Sasha, who thought it would be a good idea to try hiding in the paper bag from the hardware store. Silly kitty...

Aromatherapy/Botanicals Tip of the Week

Source

For today's Tip of the Week, we'll be looking at coriander, which is the dried seed of cilantro. This post was inspired by a dinner I made the other night, which called for quite a bit of cilantro. My boyfriend and I love integrating cilantro into our meals because it has such a fresh, green taste that enhances pretty much every sort of dish. I was rinsing the cilantro and began to wonder why I've never come across anything about cilantro being used in herbal medicine. I did a bit of research and found that, while cilantro isn't quite as common in herbalism, its sibling coriander, is.

According to The Power of Holistic Aromatherapy by Christine Stead, coriander can be used internally to relieve flatulence and stomach cramps. You can also add 2-3 drops of coriander oil to 1 teaspoon of a base oil to create a massage oil, which can be helpful for pain associated with rheumatism. Stead also mentions that coriander pairs well with other aromatherapy oils such as bergamot, lemon, neroli, orange, and cypress.

So there you go! Yet another herb to add to your inventory!