I grabbed that telephone. I thought we were alone. Telling me there's company.

[hazelchaz]

Menolly's Party-Lite Candle Party (22-May-2005) photos are online. nolly had a candle party at her condo; galtine1 sells these scented candles and candleware.

So what can I tell you about these candles? Well, they're expensive, but are they worth it? Possibly. We found some gift items in the catalog that we'll stash away for Xmas gifts. I liked the disco balls (okay, they're billed as Deco Balls, but they look like fun -- they're candles that melt inside but leave a colored wax shell outside). We bought some candles, too. The "low-melt" candles have a number of features that make them attractive (apart from the pretty fragrances): because they melt at a lower temperature, there's less risk of burning yourself from boiling hot wax, and you're more likely to burn the candle all the way. (And the wick is reversible on the votives -- an interesting feature which had to be explained to me...)

We have a number of candles in a box somewhere that didn't burn all the way down, and now the candle holder has this mass of wax that I can't easily get out. Can I zap 'em in the microwave? Drill a hole and try puttting another wick in? Throw the holder out? Not sure. But it's one of the reasons why I favor tealights -- I know I can get rid of the candle, even if the darn thing for some reason doesn't burn all the way down.

I also learned another of the reasons blowing out candles is bad (instead of snuffing them out). Because it knocks the wick off-center! And the hardening wax keeps it in that place. When you light it the next time, the candle doesn't burn evenly - you end up with unmelted wax on one side. (Same result if you put the candle under a draft...) So some of my old candle troubles make more sense now.

It was an interesting sales party to go to. Glad I went. It was also the first party I'd been to at nolly's place. I helped a little bit when she moved into the condo, and it's fun seeing how she's settling into the place. I don't remember there being cats before, though... could have used a few of those lilac candles upstairs near the catbox residue. (Explanation: If you want to light six candles, and you like lilac, you shoudn't make them all lilac candles, because it's prettyy strong. [So's the Kiwi-Strawberry.] Light one lilac and five vanilla instead.)

The party was at 2:00 pm, down in El Cajon. (And it's not off I-8 either. But that's another story.) We had lunch on our way. There were many goodies from Trader Joe's at the party; I love those Ginger Lemon Cream cookies! I brought my ice chest full of sodas, which turned out to be redundant -- there was a generous selection in nolly's fridge already, and it wasn't a very big party. library_lynn, myself, nolly and galtine1 of course, and samuraimeg and buddykat. We learned that most of the other ladies at the party had been to the mall and found a lovely purple striped shirt that they all liked. I had shirt envy. Well, blouse envy; it might come in my size, but not my shape... For a while it looked to me like another mall shopping run might ensue after the party, but I was mistaken, and we all went our separate ways. library_lynn and I drove back up the line to Richie's in Temecula, we had dinner, we came home.

Comments

Stacey Helton's LJ name is buddykat,,,

[davecycle.livejournal.com]

...as much as I can be sure about these things. Please correct if I'm wrong.

Thanks for posting the photos!

[cogitationitis.livejournal.com]

Every year I clean out our menorah. I'd say is depends on what your candle-holder is made of; obviously, if it's all-ceramic, microwaving is safe. Metal or ceramic may be slowly heated in the oven until the wax is soft, and then peel it off; you can also try a dishwasher or boiling it. None of these methods will get all the residue off; for that, use chemicals (almost any organic solvent, from alcohol to turpentine).

[buddykat.livejournal.com]

We have a number of candles in a box somewhere that didn't burn all the way down, and now the candle holder has this mass of wax that I can't easily get out. Can I zap 'em in the microwave? Drill a hole and try puttting another wick in? Throw the holder out?

Pop the holder into the freezer for about 20 minutes or so. The wax will easily pop right out after that.

[karl-lembke.livejournal.com]

And here I thought you avoided blowing out candles because it was an affront to the fire elementals. :-)

Buddykat's right – wax doesn't stick as tightly at lower temperatures, and it's more easily removed after a few minutes in the freezer.

The same technique can be applied to wax drippings on cloth. Freeze the cloth, then peel the wax off. At worst, you have a lot less wax left behind when you use the place-between-several-sheets-of-newspaper-and-iron-it technique.