September Fall Monthly Challenge WINNERS

We have two monthly challenge winners this month....
Linda and Donald both received the same number of votes!
It's a tie!! Hooray!!!

With the holiday season approaching, what could be better than buying handmade cards to send to your loved ones, and buying awesome smelling candles to light...well really whenever you wanted.

Here are some selections from Linda:





Aren't these cards just awesome? If I didn't use my Hello Kitty ones I would definitely buy cards from Linda.
Oh, and she has 2 shops:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/lindabutterfly
and
http://www.etsy.com/shop/lindacaterpillar

Now to Donald. This man has awesome candles. I am always ranting and raving about them. I actually have a few (and I currently have one in my artfire shopping cart).





And the link to Donald's shop is: http://www.artfire.com/users/candleguy821
Happy Fall!

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Custom Candles with ValerieEssentials

"Candles by Donald".

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Another Candle Maker with a Unique Product, the Gel Candle
I recently made the acquaintance of another candle maker with a most beautiful store.
VALERIE'S ESSENTIALS

A store filled with many very unique candles. All of the candles in this store are made with Gel. What is a Gel candle I asked myself? I did a little reading and acquired general background. Gel candles typically burn with a small flame, and exhibit a delicate luminescence that radiates through the translucent candle. These characteristics can lead to some beautiful effects depending on the candle type burned. Gel, put very simply, is a material made from mineral oil and resin. The transparency of the material allows the artisan to create very unique, clean, and long burning candles. Gel candles will generally burn twice as long as paraffin candles or about 10 hours per ounce of gel. This sounds so wonderful, will Donald make gel candles soon. Politely no, I am content to make hand dipped tapers and Palm or Paraffin wax pillar candles. Oh, the occasional sand pot candle will also be made. After all, boys love to play in the sand. Valerie’s candles are unique and any one of them will make a beautiful gift. A gift that is sure to be remembered for more than a few hours. I would like to share some of my favorites with you. Valerie's Essentials will be my first choice when I need to give that special gift.

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May Monthly Challenge Winners?

So, The person who won is no longer with the team, and same with the runner up, I have made a wonderful plan!
Everyone besides the two who left received one vote, except me, so I am going to do a mini feature on everyone else who entered! (This is why this post took forever).
Valerie - http://www.etsy.com/shop/ValerieEssentials




This lady is quite a gal. She takes care of her tiny tikes at home, runs her shop, and is constantly in my news feed for facebook. Her trade of choice? Candles. Not just regular candles either. She makes themed candles. She is also not restricted by size, shape, or type.

Linda - http://www.etsy.com/shop/lindabutterfly & http://www.etsy.com/shop/LindaCaterpillar




Take a hop across the pond and now we have Linda! She has two shops on etsy and is a great explorer. She uses many different mediums and transforms her art into many different things. You can never find two things that look the same in either of her shops.

Dina - http://www.etsy.com/shop/elektrajewelry




Dina has only had 28 sales in her shop, but from what I can gather, she has probably made around or over $500.00. She makes GREAT jewelry from some of the best materials. Do your research; find what she makes somewhere else and compare prices. I'm sure that you will stick with Dina after that.

Susan - http://www.etsy.com/shop/susanneedlehands



This girl is crafty. You can give her yarn, or anything that is string-like, and she will make something out of it. She has her personality is all of her work and she always seems happy. Susan, you should use me for job references.

Donald - http://www.artfire.com/users/candleguy821



I never have anything but good words for and about Donald. He is great at everything he does. He makes wonderful, amazing candles and he writes terrifically! Both of which, are very time consuming. He puts his heart into anything and everything he does.
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I really hope that this makes up for the very late post! I also hope that everyone loves it!! :)
Have fun guys! Next challenge is weddings and romance and it is due at the end of July!

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Look!-Candles with ValerieEssentials

"Candles by Donald".

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Another Candle Maker with a Unique Product, the Gel Candle
I recently made the acquaintance of another candle maker with a most beautiful store.
VALERIE'S ESSENTIALS

A store filled with many very unique candles. All of the candles in this store are made with Gel. What is a Gel candle I asked myself? I did a little reading and acquired general background. Gel candles typically burn with a small flame, and exhibit a delicate luminescence that radiates through the translucent candle. These characteristics can lead to some beautiful effects depending on the candle type burned. Gel, put very simply, is a material made from mineral oil and resin. The transparency of the material allows the artisan to create very unique, clean, and long burning candles. Gel candles will generally burn twice as long as paraffin candles or about 10 hours per ounce of gel. This sounds so wonderful, will Donald make gel candles soon. Politely no, I am content to make hand dipped tapers and Palm or Paraffin wax pillar candles. Oh, the occasional sand pot candle will also be made. After all, boys love to play in the sand. Valerie’s candles are unique and any one of them will make a beautiful gift. A gift that is sure to be remembered for more than a few hours. I would like to share some of my favorites with you. Valerie's Essentials will be my first choice when I need to give that special gift.

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