Vintage Blue Mason Jar Candles

I just finished making a batch of soy candles with my new Ball Vintage Blue Heritage Canning Jars.. They turned out so pretty!! I just added them to my Karens Kandles website for $15 each (plus shipping and handling).. I'll be adding them to my Etsy store, too... 

 These jars are just so pretty!! They're very similar to the original vintage blue jars...maybe just a little bluer, but very pretty. 

The back of them say:

1913-1915

100 years of American Heritage

Made in the U.S.A.

Ok...this is confusing to me... Why is there a 2 year spread there? lol.. I don't know the answer, but think these jars, which are a limited edition jar, will absolutely be a collectors jar in the future. 

I made a batch of Buttered Popcorn, Tahitian Vanilla and Honey Flower Soy Candles and boy do they smell good! Wish you could smell them.. 

The only problem is, the Buttered Popcorn Scent makes me really hungry. lol..

I think the really great thing about these candles is that once the candle has been used, you'll have a collectors jar to keep. 

Just wiggle the base of the candle wick loose and fill the far with hot soapy water. Soy cleans up great with hot water, unlike traditional wax that just makes a mess. You can even stick it in your dishwasher once all the soy is used.

They'll make a great addition to your vintage jar collection, or use them to store craft items like buttons, bobbins, bows, or so much more.. Or use them to store your qtips in the bathroom, cotton balls, even put powder in them...(drill holes in the caps for easy sprinkling..). Use them as a flower vase, make a hanging lamp out of them, a pencil jar, on and on.. I love the look of mason jar, but especially love these vintage blue ones!! 

Vintage Look Ball Mason Jars

I collect vintage mason jars.. You know, those pretty blue green ones they used to use for canning.. I'm not sure why the canning industry stopped making the colored jars since preserved food  kept in a darker jar would actually be better for it... But anyhoo....they did and I now treasure the few vintage jars I have...

Anyone who likes those jars and has wanted to collect them know they can get quite pricey! It's crazy! If our grandparents had only known...they could have stowed away a few dozen for their grandchildren!

I have 9 vintage jars.. I'm going to make a lamp out of one of the tallest ones, I use one for a candle, refilling it over and over again, and keep the rest up on a shelf in my candle making room...

I think the one I use for a candle is really pretty, so I've wanted to be able to offer them on my website filled with creamy soy... But alas....if I were to use the real vintage jars, the price would end up being ridiculously high to cover the cost of the jar..

I've been trying to figure out a way to paint clear mason jars to look like the old fashioned vintage jars for awhile now.. I've seen a lot of tutorials on the Internet about it and I've tried them all... First I tried Mod Podge with food coloring.. I really liked the way those jars turned out, until I realized the color isn't water proof.. I really wanted jars that would remain colored.. So I did more research, played around with a couple of different glass paints and came up with a pretty good solution.. Most people color their jars from the inside, pouring the color in and letting it coat the sides while it sits upside down on a cloth to drain the excess.. This really is a great idea and makes beautiful jars, but it wont' work for candles, so I had to figure out a way to add permanent color to the outside of the jar..

Here's one I think I finally mastered! This has gone through the dishwasher and no color came off... I just have to fill it with soy and give it a test drive to know how it will work for sure... 

Once I know it works, I'll be adding a tutorial on how I finally achieved this look. 

But until then, I am so excited I'm beside myself!!! Note to self: What the heck does that saying actually mean?? 

I was searching the Internet for I don't even remember what when I found a blog where someone had a picture of Ball's newest vintage look canning jars.. Say WHAT?? 

I started searching to find out what is up with that and discovered that Ball has created a line of Heritage Collection canning jars to celebrate 100 years in business...  

I used the Ball website to find out where they can be purchased, but unfortunately, no one in our area carry them.. I found them on Amazon but the feedback was not good because jars were arriving broken, plus with the price and shipping, they would pretty  much cost as much as buying real vintage ones.. 

I kept looking on the Internet for solutions and found that ACE hardware has them, at the best price I've seen, and they offer free ship to store shipping.. YAHOO.... So I ordered 2 dozen and had them within a few days.. I love them so much, I ordered more, but haven't been called to say they've arrived, so I am a bit worried that they may have sold out of them.. crossing my fingers I get a call tomorrow ;o)

These are a bit more blue than the old vintage jars (mine at least).. My vintage ones are a blue/green color.. But these jars are really are a beautiful blue.. Even my husband looked at them and said how beautiful they are. 

I'm going to keep a dozen of these to can with and use the rest for candles, which I'll be adding to the website as soon as I get a chance.. I think they'll make beautiful candle jars and the customer will have a Ball collector's anniversary jar to keep when they get done burning the candle!

I'm so excited about having found these!!! 

It's the little things in life that make my world go round!!  

Aroma Beads

So, what the heck are aroma beads? They're plastic beads that absorb 30% fragrance oil. Unlike smelly jelly's, they aren't wet and do not evaporate.. They hold their fragrance for up to 6 months... I scent mine with the same great oils I use for my soy candles.. 

I offer them in two different jar styles.. The style shown above are the prettiest little vintage style jars I've ever seen with a wire mesh top.. They hold 4 oz of Aroma Beads in your choice of 9 scents. 

These pretty little jars cost $9 each and can be purchased on this page: 

http://www.karenskottage.org/candleshop14.html

I love candles, but there are certain places where it's really just not safe to have candles burning. These aroma beads make the perfect alternative.. I keep one in my sewing room next to my sewing machine and I can smell it the minute I open the door.. I also have a jar sitting in my closets.. It keeps my closets smelling so pretty!

They work great in spaces like the office, cubicles, dorm rooms, lockers, closets, drawers, small bathrooms, etc.. They work great for any place you would normally place an air freshener, only they last a lot longer and smell much better!

These pretty containers are quilted jars with a fluted top to release the pretty scents.. All you need to do when you receive it is remove the cardboard liner inside the cap and set it where you want to smell something nice. This style Aroma beads can be purchased for $8 on this page: 

http://www.karenskottage.org/candleshop13.html

Unlike candles, aroma beads do not have a "scent throw", which is the scent you smell when burning a candle. Aroma beads have a more concentrated scent, so the smell is very strong where the jar sits, just like all air fresheners.. The advantage to Aroma beads is that they keep their scent for up to 6 months. Once they've lost their scent, you can reuse the jar for something else, or purchase a fresh 4oz bag of aroma beads for $6.00... 

When you think about it, that's a pretty good deal for air fresheners! If you replace the beads once every 6 months, that's only $12 for the year... Cool beans! 

Why are soy candles better than paraffin candles?

I am in love with Soy candles! 

I have loved candles for years, but started noticing black soot marks on cabinets, walls and plastic in our home.. Eventually, I realized it was being caused by wax candles purchased from stores... After doing a lot of research on candles, I realized those candles were made from paraffin, which is a byproduct of petroleum... Petroleum, as in gasoline! Paraffin is the sludge waste created when crude oil is refined into gasoline.. Doesn't that seem kind of dangerous?

The picture below is one I took to compare a soy candle to parafin candles I had previously used in my home.. See the black soot around the top of the three containers compared to the clean jar of pure soy wax? I promise, I did not do anything to create this look. These are candles I actually used.. The candle burning is a soy candle I made.. No black soot on that container!! Soy burns very clean....The other candles were not cheap candles, either.. They were mid priced up to an expensive candle made by a very popular company.. That soot didn't just stop at the rim of these jars. It was released into our home!  YUCK...

As paraffin wax burns, it releases 11 known toxins into the environment, that environment being your home! Paraffin wax also burns hotter and faster, so paraffin candles will not last as long as Soy Candles.. 

Soy candles are made from soy beans.. Not only is it a natural and renewable product, but it also releases no toxins into the air and it supports American farmers.. .  

When I first realized candles were causing the black soot in our home, I stopped using candles completely. But I really missed candles so started researching them online.. That's when I found out about soy candles and the total benefit to using them.. 

I started looking for them in stores, but I wasn't really thrilled with what I was finding.. First off, I didn't like the scents that were offered and I didn't like the prices at all.. On top of that, when reading the small print, I realized they weren't even pure soy! They were a mix of soy and paraffin... A little paraffin is too much paraffin...

So I found someone who made pure soy candles and purchased some from her.. They were so nice.. they had a wonderful aroma, they burned clean and lasted a very long time. 

Being me, I knew I could make them, too. lol... So I studied all I could on how to make a great soy candle, found several suppliers and got busy... I've been making soy candles for about 3 years now and LOVE making them... 

Best of all, I now have no worries about the candles burning in my home.. We no longer have any black marks anywhere in our house caused by candle soot and boy is it fun to be able to pick from so many scents! 

I like candles to not only smell beautiful, but to look beautiful, too, so I offer a large variety of candle jars that can be filled with whatever candle scent you choose...

I choose soy...I hope you will, too! 

Pretty Cottage Decor Candles