Hey guys! With the Winter Solstice coming up, I’ve been making candles as gifts for my family and friends. I took pictures of my process in case it might be useful to anyone.
What you will need: -potholders/oven mitts to protect your hands -newspaper -wax -wicks and wick holders -cardboard rolls -dye (optional) -fragrance (optional) -toothpicks/chopsticks/cottonswabs
I’ve made both jar candles (pictured left) and pillar candles (pictured right) but this tutorial is only for pillar candles. The candle I’m making in this tutorial is for someone that has anxiety so the herbs I’m adding are lavender and rose petals for soothing qualities and self love.
FIRST! Make sure that your working area is covered entirely in newspaper. Wax can come off of most hard surfaces but its a lot easier to clean up if you use newspaper because this is can get very MESSY. Next, take cardboard tubes (mine were from toilet paper rolls) and hot glue them to a flat cardboard surface. MAKE SURE THERE ARE NO GAPS in between the cardboard roll and the flat surface when you glue them. Otherwise hot wax runs everywhere. I learned this the hard way. Pictured on the left is the first one I made to give you an idea of what it is going to look like.
Next fill a pot about ¼ full with water and set it to a boil. Inside the pot you will place a separate container, preferably disposable or something you will only use for wax, like a coffee tin or a cookie wafer tin (like I’m using) because the inside will be impossible to clean. Don’t allow the water to boil dry. Place your wax inside the disposable tin and allow the water to melt the wax. Keep an eye on your wax in case it gets too hot and catches fire. Once the wax is in liquid form you can add dye and mix it (dye is available at most crafting stores) to make whatever color you want or you can melt a chunk of colored wax from old candles you have during the melting process to make colors. Just make sure that its from the same type of candle you’re making (jar candle wax for jar candles, pillar candle wax for pillar candles) This is also the point where you would add fragrance if you wanted to.
Let the wax cool for a few minutes and pour a little bit into the bottom of the mold, place your wick in the center of the wax and allow it to COOL before you pour more hot wax in to make sure your wick is set in the center of your candle. If the wick isn’t in the center it will burn funny or might not burn at all.
Once the wick has set I use two toothpicks taped together to make sure the wick is held straight up through the center of the candle while I’m pouring the rest of the wax. The toothpicks hold the the wick in place. Then carefully pour in the rest of your wax and sprinkle the top with whatever herbs you are using. Leave to set overnight….
And in the morning peel off the cardboard around it and bam! You have a beautiful candle!
December 1st is officially here, which means that it’s time for our fifth year (wow!!) in a row of Witchy Wishlists!
It’s simple to participate! Just make a wishlist and post it to the #witchy wishlists tag! There are only a few simple rules:
Your wishlist can have up to 13 requests on it!
However, you can link to an external wishlist using one of your slots!
You’re not allowed to replace items on your post with new ones once you get them.
Only post your wishlist to the tag once! You can reblog it as many times as you like after that though 😀
If you’re asking for physical items to be sent to you, please include your country in either the title or body of your post!
You may also want to include a contact section or leave your ask/tumblr IMs open so that people can reach you!
Witchy Wishlists runs from December 1st 2017 to January 13th 2018! Once the event is over, wait until December 1st, 2018 to post your wishlists again!
It’s really that simple! Once you’ve made your list, check the tag to read other lists and see if there are any wishes you’ll be able to grant! Keep checking throughout the Witchy Wishlists event to spread good cheer.
And now, some helpful information + frequently asked questions!
Witchy Wishlists is not an exchange. You don’t have to give someone a gift in order to receive a gift. Please don’t post anything on your wishlist about what you’re willing to offer in exchange – it sends the wrong message and makes people feel like they can’t participate!
You don’t have to be a witch to participate! I let people decide for themselves if “witchy” applies to them or not. If you want to join us, there’s no event police that will tell you that you don’t belong. And on that note, you’re allowed to put what you like on your list, witchy or not!
Which brings me to my most important note…
Everyone can participate in Witchy Wishlists!
Please post your list even if you think you’ll feel bad about not being able to buy anything for anyone else. No one can buy anything for anyone if there aren’t lists to browse! And even if you have no money, you can still gift to people!
Every year there are non-physical, non-monetary items requested. People want information, friendship, advice, art, links, recommendations, positive vibes, mood boards, music mixes, recipes….you’ll never know unless you look!
It feels so good to grant wishes, so don’t be afraid to check! And don’t be afraid to post!
You can still use resistbot to fight for net neutrality! The post made saying it was being confused for spam was FALSE!
Yeah that was my misinformed post and I definitely didn’t expect it to blow up the way it did (up until last week I had like 25 followers). Use Resistbot to contact your reps, but if you’re going to contact the FCC, use phone calls as they are not taking any of the emails they receive into consideration anymore. For your reps, use Resistbot, but be aware that actually calling does have a bigger impact.
On December 14th, the vote to repeal Net Neutrality will take place. Unless we do something to stop it or to change this or change the minds of those voting, we will lose Net Neutrality. We’re dealing with corporations attempting to monopolize the Internet.
We have 12 days before we lose the Internet and enter an era of loss.
We have 12 days before the inevitable repeal is put in place, and as time continues to go on, we’re losing opportunities to stop it. The FCC no longer recognizes emails and other online petitions. There have been too many bots, and, as such, have decided to essentially ignore anything that has to do with online support for net neutrality. If you want to make a change, you’re going to have to make direct contact—write a letter or call your representatives.
We have 12 days before the Digital Age may fall, and if it doesn’t completely collapse, then it will surely be wounded. We’re risking an end to the entire age of information that the Internet has sparked, between censorship and unfairly high payment and god knows what else could be implemented once they have control.
We have 12 days before the free and open Internet perishes. We have 12 days to do anything in our power to prevent this, but time is running it and so are ways to deal with it. We cannot sit idly by and wait or let others do the work for us; we cannot hope for the best without taking action of our own; we cannot rely on everyone else to put these changes into place when everyone else is in that same mindset.
We have 12 days before they vote to put their plans into place. ISPs can and will charge you extra for certain sites, slow streaming services, and block websites altogether.
As someone who dreams to have work in the creation of content, this is the most horrifying outcome—and I’m far from being the only one who thinks that. The Internet is where artists of all kind flock and may be sheltered, where they can show their work. This is how they can put their name into the world, this is how they can become known, this is how they can accomplish their goals, but all of that will be ripped away. All of this hangs in the balance, and we’re still far from tipping the scales in our favor.
Of course, anyone reading this may think I’m just being overdramatic, but we’re talking about a practically immeasurable scale of negative change. You may say we just need to pay the price for the new Internet and move on with our lives, but how? Some people are lucky enough to have access as it is, but that will change. Censorship and blocking will run rampant, and it won’t be stopped, not when the people who issued this censorship are the ones in charge. Creative minds, even those with the financial stability to be able to keep up with the permanently changed online world, will still face constant challenges and limits in the content they will be putting into the world. But these effects will only dig deeper and deeper. Members of the LGBT+ community will no longer find the platforms of massive support they once found on the free Internet; relationships, friendships, connections of all kinds built in the online world will be severed and lost; the spread for social causes and fights against injustice will be diminished; an entire community will die. Education will be effected, business will be effected, day-to-day lives will be effected, the way we receive information will be effected, the way we connect to each other in the constantly advancing world will be effected, everyone will be effected.
We have 12 days to act before we lose it all, and I’ll be damned if I stand aside and watch it happen. Spread the word, call your representatives, write as many letters as you can muster, do everything in your power to fight back. We cannot be suppressed, we cannot let all that we’ve made go to waste. We cannot let minds full of beauty and groups of love wither away. We cannot let free knowledge become hidden and costly. We cannot let ourselves be limited by the corrupt, especially on such a large scale. We cannot let them have this advantage against us. We cannot wait, because the time for waiting is over. We take action now or we lose, we all lose. Fight for Net Neutrality.
We have 12 days before we’re too late. Don’t let it be too late.
https://resistbot.io/ <—Free and easy way to contact your reps. Your letters will be emailed, faxed, mailed, or, in some instances, hand delivered to your Congress members. I’ve gotten a handful of responses from one of my Senators because of this app and it is very empowering to see a copy of the letter you wrote followed by a text that says ‘delivered.’ Democracy in action. Do it.
Reblogging for this; most online forms of contact are being ignored by the FCC, but Resistbot is sent to state representatives, who DO see and often even directly respond. Use this as a tool in this fight. Anyone who knows any other methods of reaching representatives, please add to this.
Some additional information to add to this:
https://resistbot.io/will, in fact, work for reaching state representatives. There has been information going around that it will not, but this is false. However, it is true that resistbot will no longer reach the FCC, who has marked it as spam.
Currently, three people stand in the way of Net Neutrality: Ajit Pai, Brendan Carr, and Mike O’Rielly. These three are the members of the FCC who are in favor of the repeal. As it stands, Ajit Pai is completely immobile from being swayed from the repeal—Carr and O’Rielly, however, can still be persuaded. Their emails are below:
Ajit Pai: ajit.pai@fcc.gov
Brendan Carr: brendan.carr@fcc.gov
Mike O’Rielly: mike.oreilly@fcc.gov
Remember: insults and threats will not help. There’s already been plenty of that and it’s not gone well. Instead, you’re going to need to spam their emails—politeness, civility, but no begging or pleading. State why you want Net Neutrality and do not back down.
We have to keep this fight going by any means necessary.
Just in case direct emails will still be ignored, I believe this is where you can send physical letter to:
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554
Guys this is so important, flooding them with letters might be the only way to make them reconsider.
“We may have been starved of supermoons in 2017, but January 2018 will offer two. Spot the Wolf Moon onJanuary 2, and a rare “blue” supermoon on January 31.”
THREE CONSECUTIVE SUPERMOONS
THE THIRD ONE BEING A BLUE MOON
Get ready, witches. Winter is coming.
There’s also a lunar eclipse on January 31st! This is a crazy special moon :0
the super moon tomorrow night (dec. 3) will be the closest the moon has been to earth since 1948, and it won’t be closer again until 2034. if you’re looking to do some potent lunar magic, don’t miss this chance!!
Aries: Government representatives that actually represent what their constituents want and not their own personal wants. Taurus: Government representatives that actually represent what their constituents want and not their own personal wants. Gemini: Government representatives that actually represent what their constituents want and not their own personal wants. Cancer: Government representatives that actually represent what their constituents want and not their own personal wants. Leo: Government representatives that actually represent what their constituents want and not their own personal wants. Virgo: Government representatives that actually represent what their constituents want and not their own personal wants. Libra: Government representatives that actually represent what their constituents want and not their own personal wants. Scorpio: Government representatives that actually represent what their constituents want and not their own personal wants. Sagittarius: Government representatives that actually represent what their constituents want and not their own personal wants. Capricorn: Government representatives that actually represent what their constituents want and not their own personal wants. Aquarius: Government representatives that actually represent what their constituents want and not their own personal wants. Pisces: Government representatives that actually represent what their constituents want and not their own personal wants.
Candlelight-magick 