Making the Crayon Candle

Some candle making DIYs in YouTube uses crayon in their candles because of its accessibility. It is not proper to use crayons though as its known to clog wicks. Maybe its okay for occasional projects but not for a long term. Besides, a piece of crayon can only color a little amount of wax compared to dyes intended for candles. You need a lot of crayons to have a deep shade while increasing the chance of totally clogging the wick. The flame of your candle will suddenly die if it's clogged. Crayon is believed to be more expensive too.

I'm yet to discover if its real though. To experience is to believe. I want to see if it will really clog the wick and if it's really cheaper to use a dye. The smallest box containing 8 pieces of crayons costs 21.75php. I'm guessing that dye is only cheaper when bought in bulk. I hypothesize too that crayons does clog only if you put a lot.

Failed in Making Whipped Wax

Candle making is known as a therapeutic pastime, but this particular whipped thing/icing candle can be draining during its initial phase. So if you plan to do the same thing, remember to not push yourself too hard and don’t be in a hurry in perfecting to avoid burnout. Listen to your mood and don’t set deadlines.

My goal here is to make icing and sprinkles out of whipped wax. With whipped wax, you won't be just relying to redundant mold to make a unique and interesting design. Whipped wax makes candle more pleasing to the eyes. I was not able to take a lot of picture while doing the whipped wax since I have to be very quick when working with this. Besides, having too much pictures in a blog post is an eyesore.

Let me start with this paraffin slab again since it's one of the things that is usually done first - chopping the paraffin slab into smaller pieces. I find this slab quite deceiving. You will see 2 layers here (but it’s actually 3). The middle of the paraffin slab is opaque while the outer shell layer is translucent. I am wondering how they processed this in the factory and why there is an obvious layer. Again, I prefer a paraffin slab that is purely translucent in color. There are 2 kinds of paraffin; semi-refined and fully-refined slab. Not sure where this slab belongs.

2nd Candle Burn Test

The purpose of burn test is to determine the quality of the candle and ensure it will burn safe especially that fire is involved. Here you will see the the pictures I've got for the second burn test.

I'm not sure if I'm doing this burn test in the right way. All I know is that it should have a proper melt pool once it reaches the equivalent hour of the diameter of the container. In this paricular container it should be 2 hours and 30 minutes. So far, articles online advises to burn test for 4 hours and repeating till the end of the candle's life. I have to read more.

I wiped the surface of this candle prior this second burn test. So far, the wax was not bleeding oil.

I didn’t trim the candle since it already looks small for me. Because of that, the flame was smoking and there was black soot that stains the metal cup container. It didn’t help that the fire was consistently flickering since the very first test burn. The flame was high. I’m not sure if that was the reason why the right side of the metal cup turned reddish later on. I swiped my finger on that area and my finger smelled like iron. Chemical reaction? I’m wondering whether the flame burned the coat of the metal, or is there such thing?

Burn Test | My First Candle

The weight of the container and wax is 115 grams. The diameter of the metal cup is 2 and half inches, so it should be burned test for 2 and 30 minutes. I actually thought I did but upon making this post I realized that the the burn test was short of 30 minutes

Other than the one big protruding bubbles near the wick, the surface is also full of other tiny bubbles that still have an air on them.  For some reason, I find that one big bubble gross to look at.

I finally pressed the bubble.

 Before test burning this though and for curiosity sake, I finally decided to press it. It emit a crunching/tiny popping sound. The bubbles somehow solidified.

Candle Making: The Start

This will show you some of the pictures I've got after trying to make my own candles. There is a separate note where I’ve written my observations, mistakes, solutions, ideas, and conclusions from this experiment but I find it too long to include here. I may not be able to tell you a concise information about making candles in just one go but if you will subscribe in my blog you will learn the clues along the way.

Candle making is science - it’s not easy like what you think, there too much information to learn and lots of testing required. I’ll gonna tell you now “candle making can be intimidating and is very expensive”.

I hope that these pictures are already self-explanatory especially to those who are on their way into candle making.

This is the side of a paraffin slab. It has an uneven and crumbly texture. It's quite opaque yet translucent in some areas. This could be just the characteristic of pure paraffin slab. You will also see the presence of tiny glittery-like specs around the surface of this side of paraffin.

23 years

It’s disheartening to realize that the success-deprived fate of the smallest unit of the government came from their lack of unity. Na-gets mo? If they have that urge to be successful, there should have been some progress in 23 years. Imagine that... 23 years. A little nudge can help but shouldn’t be the lone source of it. A wise man will not wait for other people’s help. They will take steps and make way for resourcefulness.

Should we still trust their ideas? Should we still believe in them? There’s the notion of respect but it’s as if they cling to it when the years bereft of accomplishments slowly dawns to them. They’re capable, but what have they done?

Why wait for years? Why get sensitive and jealous of other people’s success? Success just doesn’t come from other people. We are the co-writer of our living years. Waiting for financial blessing is such a rotten dream when we on our own can produce it. Ang sarap lang ng buhay noh? It’s not your kids, it’s not your relatives, it’s not your parents who will make you rich.

You can spoil a person by freely giving him money instead of helping him realize how he can become a good provider to his own family. Your good intention can in turn damage him. Helping him is unnecessary; unless you really see a potential, initiative and growth.

I still have this great anger when I think of all the years that have been wasted. Let’s include the money spent in gambling that could have been used for the kid’s bright future. There is this annoyance because of her staying and keeping it whole when it didn’t really help to make the bond stronger. I hate the lack of dream. I hate witnessing their wrong and lazy perspective in life and finally realizing its extent.

Daily Morning Routine with my Puppy

I told my sister to have a new dog because his dog died recently. She said that she doesn’t like a dog since it’s a high maintenance pet. She prefers a cat instead. That is so true! A dog on its young age is partly dependent on its owner unless it stays with its mother dog. It’s almost like taking care a child. But of course, raising a child is harder. I’m trying to be optimist that he’ll eventually behave later. They’re hyper because they’re still young. If you don’t like the behaviour of puppies, you can adopt a puppy adult dog or an old dog. There are dogs in the dog pounds who would appreciate a new home too.

I told my bf that I hope Pepper will turn an adult now. He said that I should enjoy his age for now because a dog will become less active and stubborn later. Imagine adolescent dogs rolling their eyes. This definitely requires a leadership skill!

It is really a high maintenance thing to clean, give him a bath, and prepare his food every day and even on occasional nights. Sometimes I don’t have time and energy anymore to play with him after. Then you have to buy a lot of things for a dog and deworm him, give him different vaccines from common dog diseases and an anti-rabies shot. It demands time!

Challenges with Puppies

My puppy when I've first got him

You’ve just seen the main culprit of my frequent tardiness for this month. Born on the 3rd week of November, Pepper is now 9 weeks and 4 days old (or 2 months and 6 days old). I’ve got him last January 5, a very special number even before he became my pet.

Current challenges that I’m experiencing:

Ill Looking Eyes
Should I be worried in the change of his eyes? After I’ve dewormed him, I noticed that he looks like fresh from sleep every lunch time. It’s been 1 week but his eyes are still like that. However, that contradicts with his high energy level every morning and afternoon whenever he sees me. He still wags his tail.

• Is his eyes normal? Permanent? Or just a part of his growth?
• Is that a side effect of deworming? Or the effect of deworming product I’ve used?
• Did I do something wrong when I’ve dewormed him?
• Will it change?
• Is mange involved?
• Should I ask a vet? Go there?
• Will I continue deworming him next week?
• Did I miss something?
• Is he really feeling well? Or there’s something wrong internally?
• Is it okay to leave him like that? Just ignore it?
• Will he get better on his own?

His sad eyes after a few weeks

Puppy Diaries: Beginner with Puppies and Some Problems Encountered

Taking care of my new puppy is tiring and consumes my time. How much more If I'll have my own child? How will I balance work and kids while still being a good partner and friend to my better half? I just realize that it’s not easy since the puppy was not in good health when I've got him. Imagine the hardship of our mothers. My mom is very good domestically but that comes with a con - she's not really sweet and affectionate to us. Maybe that’s the result of huge responsibility at an early age. Talk about early pregnancy, having a lot of kids, and a difficult partner! So think first before you commit!

My puppy's name is Pepper. Weird thing is I've received an approval from my Mom to keep him. But Pepper is still my lone responsibility. That will be a challenge for me before I’ll consider starting my own family. It will not be easy since I'm not really a dog lover and my family doesn’t give them a special treatment. I doubt too that I could rely on them to take care of him when I'm not around, perhaps on a very rare occasion only.

Unknowledgeable with dogs
What I’ve done in the past few weeks was I’ve read a lot of forum conversations and articles regarding puppies. And there’s my dog-lover boyfriend who’s generous in giving me advices on the proper treatment and caring of dogs. If I delayed giving Pepper an anti-lice bath, the damage in his skin could be worst than what it is now. Talk about zero knowledge about dogs. I was not sure if it’s okay to give the puppy an anti-lice treatment at 6 weeks of age, I don’t know if it could handle a bath, and have no idea of what anti-lice shampoo to buy. The lice devour the puppy’s skin and gives it a wet wound. That’s what happened to Pepper. The blood sucking pests could also make the puppy anemic.

What's up? Blog update

I still peek in my blog even if I'm currently not posting but I stopped reading other people's blogs. So it means I'm also currently not updated in blogosphere. I still observe and reply to some comments. I'm just lurking behind. Blogging is one of the things that I still see myself doing continuously in the future. I've been writing personal journal since my teenage years so I know that this therapeutic habit is something I will not give up easily. I feel more happy and comfortable in writing personal stuff but I'm afraid to pass negativity. You know, blue days. The more I ignore and don't acknowledge it, the longer it stays. I chose silence than make you feel sad knowing that sadness can be contagious.

I remember I felt depressed when I saw a break up post of a blogger I follow before. I was sad previously and became sadder after reading that. But even if she was not yet telling her problem, I noticed how she became less lively and felt the changed of her aura compared years ago. She became fat too and she procrastinates in giving the prices of her monthly best commenter. I don't want you to feel what I felt before that's why I've been torn between writing or waiting and keeping it to myself.

But I want you to understand that I'm not writing to entertain you guys. Like what I've said, I'm writing for myself and writing for some people who needs information of a certain product, not necessarily a beauty product. I'm afraid that I might not meet your expectations but I'm still thankful to those who still comes back.

Anyways, I want to share what's currently happening to my blog: SOMEONE IS ATTACKING MY BLOG!

My thoughts | I want to buy a brush set!

I want to play and experiment, and I want to help unveil the hidden beauty of other people.

I've been thinking of make up brushes the whole day of yesterday and the first thing I did when I woke up this day was to continue browsing reviews and opinions over the net. Watching Rhazel's channel in youtube inflamed my old desire to buy my own brush. And I'm still not using my bdj box from Pink Sugar, like it silently waits for the arrival of my future brushes. I don't know why, but it suddenly felt like it's so crucial to have it (when I don't really think of it back on previous months and years). But now, I want to have my own set of brush na!

I will be on a hormonal therapy for this month and hopefully for the following months. That will eventually lead to a face free of pimples. I really wanted to shift from skincare to cosmetics so I could at least do my own makeup on special occasion. It ruins my mood when I don't like the result of other people's work in my face (especially eyebrows) and even in my hair. What I currently have is too far from being complete though. I still need a huge palette for eye shadow and contour. How I wish the price of the entire makeup set is not intimidating.