For a while now I've been looking for some plates to hang on each side of the living room mirror,

but wasn't having much luck.  The plates I came across were too big, the wrong colors, all the same pattern, or too pricey.

Then,
waiting for me at the antique shop just up the road,
were six plates with the perfect pattern and size for the spot.

Farmhouse Style Kitchen with a Twist ~ Table is Painted

It's kind of like Christmas around here.

I've been  unpacking our furnishings and settling in again at home and I can't wait to show you our new kitchen with everything in place!

Here's How I Did It...

As promised when sharing about Hiding the Black Box and looking for a cost effective solution,

here's how I used a vintage picture to hide the TV and fireplace.

Turning the black boxes from this...

To this ...

Getting The Most Bang For Your Candle Buck

Candles are my favorite way to add fragrance to my home.

You may remember my confession?  I was still burning a Fresh Balsam Scented Candle well after Christmas!  That's one of my favorite scents and I am still burning the same candle...

There are a few things I do to get the most bang for my candle buck, and I wanted to share them with you. 

~ Before lighting a candle for the first time, the wick is trimmed and the cutting discarded.  A long wick causes the candle to burn faster which decreases the life of the candle.

~ Before relighting a candle, the wick is trimmed and the cutting discarded. Well, I trim the wick unless adding more wax to the candle, which I'll talk about in a bit.

~  After lighting a candle I leave it lit, so there will be enough time for the entire top surface to melt from side to side, which can take an hour or several hours depending on the size of the candle.  I've learned the hard way that blowing out the candle prior to the entire top surface melting causes tunneling.  Most waxes have memory, and once a tunnel has begun the candle will more than likely never achieve a full burn.

This candle has a full melt, a long wick, and it is time to extinguish it...




~ Once the candle surface has come to a full melt and the wick is getting long, I go ahead and extinguish the candle. The reason is, at full melt the high fragrance candle has already filled the room with as much fragrance as possible within this burn, and it's now burning hotter, and faster, so the candle burn time is decreasing.  To get the most burn time from the candle, extinguish it.

In time the fragrance will dissipate and when more fragrance is desired relight the candle, but only after the previous melt has completely cooled.  By doing this the candle will last so much longer and that is the goal here, to get the most bang for my candle buck by increasing the burn time.

If I am having company over, or just want a candle burning for a longer period, another is kept close by so when one is extinguished, another can be lit.

~ To extinguish the candle, I use a candle dipper.  Have you ever noticed after blowing out your candle how bad the black soot smoke looks and smells? (Say that three times fast!)  Dipping the wick into the wax will extinguish the flame and keep that smelly smoke from filling the air.  It also allows the wick to be re-coated with wax for the next lighting.

Another way to get a longer candle burn time is to add more wax...

A long wick causes the candle to burn hotter and faster, which is why wicks should be trimmed.

Rather than extinguishing the candle and trimming the wick before the next use, I will often add more wax to the candle which increases the candle burn time.

This is where the added wax comes from... 

Once jar candles have burn down to the point they can no longer be used 

there is usually a good bit of scented wax still left in the bottom of the jar, so I hold on to the wax and save it!

I cover the jar if it came with a lid and store it.  Later, when a candle I am using burns to a full melt and the wick is getting long like the one above, I add a bit of the saved wax to the melted wax.

Here's how...

This saved jar of wax happens to be the same fragrance as the candle above, but it has burned too low to be used again, so using a kitchen spoon (something that won't melt) I scoop up some of the leftover wax...

Moving the spoon over to the lit candle, I keep it close to the side of the jar so I'm not close to the flame and so the wax won't land on top of the flame.  Using another spoon or the tip of my finger, I slide the scoop of wax out of the spoon and into the hot wax below.  Maybe 2 or 3 scoops will be added, it depends on the length of the wick.  

You can see in the picture below the added wax is being melted by the hot wax.

Each added scoop of wax causes the melted wax to rise up the sides of the wick so the wick is becoming shorter and is no longer requiring a trim, which makes for a longer candle burn time.

Another way to use saved candle wax is by using a simmering pot...

By saving the fragrant candle wax there is no need to purchase any for simmering pots and it doesn't matter which type of warmer is used.  This one is a tea light warmer and just placing a scoop or two on the simmering pot fills the room with fragrance.  A great way to save a little money and it works like a charm!

Sometimes I mix fragrances, if the saved candle wax happens to be a different fragrance than the candle that's currently burning, or it will be used in a simmering pot.

I enjoy taking these steps to get the biggest bang for my candle buck, and hope you've found this helpful.

Have any candle tips you can share, please do...

Oh yeah, here's what you can do with all those candle jars once the wax is gone...It's A Keeper!

A disclaimer:  I am not a candle expert.  These are not the "rules and safety measures" to take when burning a candle.  I am sharing what I do to get the most candle burn time from my candles and how I save wax to increase candle burning time, however you should always use your best judgement when burning your candles. 

Join us each week for AMAZE ME MONDAY!

 Sharing with:
Show and Tell Saturday, Met Monday, Tweak It Tuesday, Nifty Thrifty Tuesday, Wow Us Wednesday

Flower Arranging with Tissue Paper

Flower arranging with tissue paper...it really works!

We decided the corner cupboard would work well in the great room,

but once in place we realized the tall ceilings made the short cupboard look too short!  We needed a little something to go on top.

I thought I would make a flower arrangement, and with all that's going on these days I needed to shop the house.  So, I gathered some dried hydrangea and a crystal vase, but as soon as I added one hydrangea to the vase and went to add another, the first one was falling out.  A filler was needed to keep the stems in place, so I added some sparkly fruit that I use at Christmas, and it worked pretty well.  As days passed though, the dark fruit in the crystal vase was looking a little "too dark".

So out comes the tissue paper.

It's white (brighter than the dark fruit),

and it shapes well to each hydrangea stem,

so I was hoping that it would keep each stem in place.

I had some extra hydrangea from one of my neighbors bushes, so I thought I would add a few more while I was at it.  Here's what the arrangement looked like...

As you can see, the back didn't have any flowers.

This is the fruit used as filler to hold each stem in place...

Of course once the tissue paper was out of the gift wrapping drawer,

Miss Curious (Coco) and Miss Curiouser (Jet)

were right in the middle of things...

I emptied the crystal vase and began wrapping each stem with tissue paper...

I began by lining the vase with tissue paper too,

but it wasn't really needed, so I removed it and began placing each tissue wrapped stem into the vase...

Once they were all added, ta-da...

The arrangement placed back on top of the corner cupboard...

Before,

a bit too dark...

And after,

much lighter and each stem is definitely held in place ...

Next time you are arranging silk or dried flowers, give this a try.

The tissue paper worked like a charm!

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Sharing with:  Wow Us Wednesdays, Treasure Hunt Thursday, Home and Garden Thursday, Home Sweet Home, Be Inspired, Met Monday

Eleven Bloggers Share Their TOP DIY Tutorials

Snowed in?
Have the winter blues?
Need some inspiration?

Eleven bloggers have come together to share their TOP DIY tutorials
which may just put a spring in your step and get those creative juices flowing...

Why spend lots of money to reupholster that old chair?  Beth shares how to transform old upholstery by painting it with AS Chalk Paint!

Like old and shabby shutters?  Re-purpose some bi-fold doors by using Nancy's two party process to transform old bi-fold doors into weathered shutters.

Kathy shares her most popular tip by showing us how to use Vaseline to distress painted furniture.

It's inexpensive and you don’t have the mess of sanding.

Have an old rug but don't like the colors or pattern?  Megan shows us how to paint an indoor/outdoor rug with a paint sprayer and boy does this look GREAT!

Do you wish you could get your tile grout white again?  Well, you can with Paula's tips on how to refresh grout...

Have a brick fireplace that could use a makeover?  Serena shares how to paint a brick fireplace and her YouTube video gives step-by-step instructions...

I'ts one thing to paint a piece of furniture, but glazing adds that extra special touch!  Amanda totally transformed this Craig's List find with paint and glaze.  Take a peek at her step-by-step instructions in this tutorial on how to glaze painted furniture.

Add a little fancy to an old tool box, or any box for that matter!  Christy shares how to transform it with paint and an easy font transfer tutorial.

Vintage lamps are a great way to add charm to a room and to save money on lighting, but they often have old electrical fittings that need to be replaced.  Here's my tutorial on how to re-wire a lamp.

Learn how to paint and glaze cabinets with Sonya’s tutorial.  Her kitchen cabinets turned out beautifully with brown glaze highlighting all the details!

And let's not forget Fido, or rather Tebow!  Therese shares how she transformed her pups pet crate and there is a YouTube video too!

Hope you enjoyed the inspiration!

Hop on over for AMAZE ME MONDAY!

Let's Stay Connected...

Sharing with: MET MONDAY, Wow Us Wednesday