S is for Soy Candles

It's no big secret around here that I love peanut butter.

I'm an equal opportunity PB lover, as well. I will eat it in any form, with any vehicle (a spoon being my preferred), and at any time of day. I'll eat chunky, natural, sugar added, creamy, or (a category created by a friend to describe my favorite kind) grainy. Oh, the grainy peanut butter! I'm particularly drawn to Adams Creamy. And as I was collecting all of my jars, I realize that, wow, I have eaten quite a few spoonfuls.

But this post is only partly about peanut butter.

It's also about soy wax and candles! Do you also fall into the "Amateur Pyro/Can't Believe You Haven't Burned Your House Down" category like me? For as many candles as I have burned through in my life, I can't believe I haven't tried this sooner. And since my peanut butter jars were longing to be used for something besides lentils and dried chiles, I decided to listen to my inner pyromaniac. This project was very simple, involving only soy wax, candle wicks and essential oil. I found the wicks at Michaels, and the wax from this sweet little shop in North Beach. I used this tutorial for guidance.

The only special equipment you need is a double boiler. Funny anecdote: this is called a "baño María" (or a Maria bath) in Spain. That's probably my favorite expression for a household item in Spanish. Check out my DIY Maria bath below:

I thought one pound of soy wax would make two PB jar candles, but, alas, I was incorrect. So I quickly ran and found this Moroccan tea glass and made a mini-candle. Crafting= thinking on the fly!

And then you wait for it to harden: Do you see that strange volcanic eruption that happened? So odd.  I wonder if it's the "tincture" that I used, which may or may not have contained more than just essential oils. Ah, well, you can't win 'em all. Looks like I'll just have to burn it. Shucks.