Can Candle Mold or Holder or BOTH!

This is a great way to reuse all those cans you, your family and friends are using up, it will also make a unique design at the bottom of the candle, and if you don't like the can like imprint, you can simply cut it off. And when your done, you save the scraps for another craft project or recycle it!
Supplies:
Can
Box cutter
towel to clean the inside
(yes that's it you guys and girls, well this, and supplies for your candle)


First and most importantly please clean these cans out you guys, especially if you did some dumpster diving to get em ( I know some of you did). I just filled my kitchen sink up with hot water and soap and let them soak for a while; then I swished the inside with the water.

Next, use you box cutter to cut the top off, be safe and use a towel or whatever you got lying around to clean the inside of excess water. Please watch out for the edges. This is what my mom told me as I was doing this so I feel the need to tell you readers the same.


Then, get your wax melted for that soon to be sexy scented (or non scented) candle. Slowly pour the wax into your can mold and wait, do not move that can. Check on it in about an hour, it should start to form a film (like a pudding top :). At this point when you know the wax will hold your wick, push it through the center and if needed us something (Popsicle stick, pen, pipe cleaner, someones really long steady finger) to support it. I make my own wicks and I don't use tabs so I used this really pointy object to poke a hole that way my wick could go through.

After sometime (like 6 hours depending on the candle size) you can make a slit at the rim of the can and begin to tear the can; I tore it in a circle motion all the way down it made a cool spiral.


My candle chipped at the bottom so my can imprint was a bit off, I would suggest using mold release, or maybe having someone gently pull the candle while you twist or pull the bottom of. I'm not sure, when you all try this give me some tips on this part.

You could always cut down the can till it reaches the candle and use the can as a holder. Try painting the outside, decorating it with ribbons, duck tape, sharpie art, fabric, etc. You could just leave the can as is with out cutting it down and cut designs in it and once the candle is lit you'll get a cool effect (or is it affect?). If you do this, just make sure you cut the wick to be exact once you set it into the candle, this way you wont have to find a way to cut it after cut your designs.

Burlap Coasters

Let me say that these take a while to make. The concept behind the color choices are to be opposites, like what we would see on a color wheel, or like sugar and salt ;).









I've just started to make them and they take roughly 3 hours each to make! Yeah I know... but they look so cool; while making them at my local coffee shop they got a lot of compliments and, "Excuse me, may I ask what you're doing?" So they'll be an eye catcher in your home or a great gift.

I'll give more details about cost, so be looking out for that, or just comment if you're interested in buying. They'll come 5 in a set and you will be able to choose your color choices. I'm gonna play around with different shapes and symbols, and hopefully finish them in less time.

Free your mind

Imagine that instead of your mind being the engine, it's the steering wheel; constantly navigating you through life. Allow your mind to be a guide; make it to have complex understands of your immediate surroundings: one should learn to leave the mind with as little burdens as possible. The human mind is very fragile. Your mind is simply moving the rest of the cargo. Allow yourself to expel your energy of aggression, anger, happiness, worry, etc into something that will free your mind. Thoughts are like clouds of smoke, breathe them in and breathe out clarity.
Find an activity that helps you to escape. Now I'm not saying to overindulge in something in order to turn away from these clouds of dust. Instead one should see these moments of escape as simply that; moments. Reality is clingy force, forever changing yet never leaving. Now if you can learn to 'free your mind, the rest will follow'. The exhaust pipes of a car are in the back for a reason.

Don't be a sponge

A grade school teacher of mine always told my class, not to be a sponge: someone who soaks information from others. Basically, don't be a leech feeding on others till you are too full to even move. Now to me this is similar to the cancer energy. "The cancer" has the natural tendency to soak an emotion, feeling, and overall environment till it's dry. If you've ever talked one on one with a cancer you will see and feel this. It's as if he or she has completely embodied the situation without even needing to know much about it. Now, whatever is present in the rest of a cancer chart, alters the ways they handle and show this innate ability, but it is an ability. Now, I guess the lesson for " The cancer" (or people with sponge like abilities), is to not become a harbor of the world's feelings and emotions, leave that for all Pisces out there (just kidding, kind of). Instead one should allow these situations to flow through them, in order for one to learn from the experience and grow, and in doing this allow others to grow.

A simple mistake

When I was younger, I would go to my old preschool in the morning; there was a bus that dropped off neighborhood kids to various area schools. I'm guessing this was some kind of before and after care. Well anyways, me and a boy we're hungry, so one of the workers said I could make us cereal. I remember cheerios and sugar. Well my little self went through all the work of preparing this for us. The kitchen was upstairs and we brought our bowls downstairs to the main area. Everyone was around, I hadn't started to my homely meal, when I saw the most disgusted expression on this boy's face. I swear there were two containers, I added salt instead of sugar. Now, I'm not sure if this early act has anything to do with my inability/inhibition about cooking for men (and maybe women too), I find it hard to even pour tea. Maybe this is something that I need to work on. Anyways, looking back one can look at this situation in many ways; there's a lot to be learned.
1. Investigate, realize what is it tat you're dealing with. Yes, the containers were unmarked, and my little grade school mind never thought that salt would take the place of my cereal's sugar, but it did.
2. Don't serve men, okay this is really something that I need to work on. Childhood scaring is powerful.


But what I see mostly in this situation, is that in life, too much of something isn't necessarily a bad thing; one must understand balance. Know how much of something you have or don't have,then, by simply adding or subtracting these things one can begin to create a balance. Now it's always 'best', to do things 'right' in the first place. Sometimes this is more possible than other times, for example, the cereal could have been 'wasted' by throwing it out and getting a new bowl, but if sugar were added, the problem could have been remedied. But, as a kid I'm sure that I added more salt than cheerios, and would have needed a lot of sugar to cancel this.
In more complex facets of life creating a balance is all we need.

What are we waiting...

Sometimes, most of the time, well all the time, we ask ourselves: "What am I waiting for?" Beginning a new journey or revisiting an old journey can always be a burden. Will I have enough time? Will I get bored? Will I see results soon? What one needs to realize is that all we want, wish, and dream for in this world is already in our possession, one simply needs to claim ownership. Realizing that money, weight lost, love, knowledge and everything thing else that we work towards, is already ours, allows one to see past the questions and insecurities.
So with this being the case, why aren't we all 'rich' and in amazing shape? Well, most of use are wishing and working for the wrong things in life. We find ourselves asking the universe for things that we do not need to grow or that we might already posses. So how does one find out what they need, what they are missing? Simply look within. Ask yourself what do I have an abundance of? What in my life have I never gone without? What's something that I've never thought of asking for? Within these answers you will find what it is you are lacking, what you should be working towards. to truly understand and appreciate what you have in life creates the perfect amount of sugar and salt in any situation.