Monday, March 31, 2008

The Painted Hills in Oregon

This Spring Break my husband Mark and I and another couple took a short trip to see parts of Oregon that none of us have ever seen before. We had a great time. It was nice to take a break from Pauper's and my husband is a teacher, so he was able to take a break from teaching.

I did not know that the Painted Hills in Oregon were so beautiful. They are located outside of Prineville near Mitchell heading east on Highway 26. We spent quite a bit of time hiking around enjoying the beauty of nature. It was nothing but cool!!

We also went to the three John Day Fossil Bed stops. The fossil beds were fascinating. They are still digging up new fossils today.

We also drove around Joseph, Oregon, which is Northeast of Baker City. This area has become a little artist destination. We traveled to many little and some ghost towns up in this area of Oregon. There was still snow on the ground in many spots.

We also went through some little towns below Interstate 84 named Condon, Fossil, Antelope and a few others. The diverse landscapes between these towns was awesome. We saw from prairie, to rolling hills, to rock landscape throughout this area. We loved it.

Sometimes it is necessary for the soul to see new places, meet new people, and take a step away to collect ones thoughts and gain new perspectives. We all need to take a moment every now and then.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Wicks, Wicking, Wicked

As far as candles go, finding the right wick can be a continual process. I like the wicks I am currently using, but I think I can do better. There is always room for improvement when it comes to creating the prefect candle!

In my Candlelighter newsletter from the IGCA, I found an advertisement sheet from a wicking company and this had me thinking even more about testing some new wicks. I called the wicking company, Wicks Unlimited, and they had some good suggestions and recommendations as far as which wicks to test.

I currently use a wick that burns upright and has a solid core. The melt pool that occurs tends to be even. I was told that these wicks work good with soy wax, but there is another wick that does not have a solid core. It is a braided wick. This wick tends to bend when burning and does not mushroom or have the carbon built up as much as wicks that burn straight. I was told that this wick also works well with soy wax.

The company offered to send me some samples. I thought that this was great. So after talking on the phone with the wick company, I thought that I would look in my box of extra wicks. Guess what? I found some of these wicks. I think that this is the wick that I first used when I started making candles. Funny how things come back around. I had to test the two sizes I had. I have burned the two different wicks with two different candles and one candle burns great and the other I am not sure is any better that what I currently am using. Hmmmmm

I did notice that when it came to the wick, bigger is not always better. The smaller of the two wicks melted the candle slower, but was able to pool the candle, the bigger wick melted the wax too fast and therefore had a tendency to tunnel.

I am going to have to get all the sizes I want in this new wick and pour one scent with all the sizes to see what wick works best and then decide if it is any better than what I am using. I am looking forward to testing all the wick sizes. We will have to wait and see what happens.

You know what I will be doing: Wicking new wicks and testing newly wicked candles.

Until next time, Share a Little Light with someone.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Daffodil Festival in Junction City, OR

I went to the Daffodil Festival this last weekend as a vendor. The festival is held in Junction City in Oreogn at the Long Tom Grange Hall. This was the 32nd year this festival has been held.

This weekend it was rainy, but it did not keep the people away. The daffodils were pretty and everyone enjoyed the cinnamon rolls and coffee that were served to them in the grange. The local talent was out in full force. The local community supports this event.

As a vendor, I had a very pleasant time. I was able to pull my vehicle up to where I was to set up my tent and everything was organized and ready fo the vendors. During both days of the show a woman came to the vendors to offer free coffee, tea, or hot cocoa. This was great and very much appreciated during the rainy times.

This event is great for families to come and enjoy themselves and support their local community.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

McMinnville Wine and Food Classic was Full of Class!

I was a vendor at the McMinnville Wine and Food Classic this last weekend, March 7-9. All I can say is the McMinnville Wine and Food Classic was total class all the way. There were hundreds of vendors from Wineries to Food to Art. The set up and layout of the show was excellent and the setting of the show was superb.

The Picture of my Booth is without my Signage. Not as "snazzy" with out it, but I needed a pic. for a show without my Signage and then I forgot to take one with my sign up. Oh, well, can't win them all.


The Wine Classic is held at the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, OR. This is where the Spruce Goose is located, along with many other vintage and modern airplanes. All the Vendors were located on the outside walls and the guests were able to walk through the Classic pick up a glass of wine wonder around the airplanes, have a little food and see what the art vendors had to sell. The Art was all hand made by the vendors, which is always nice. My booth was located almost under the wing of the Spruce Goose. What a cool spot that was.

From the beginning of the show to the end, the vendors were treated with nothing but respect and thankfulness. Each vendor had a booth that was sectioned off with curtains and had a skirted 8ft table ready to be used. Each morning and afternoon, there were breakfast and afternoon snacks supplied in the vendor room. There was always a pot of coffee on, which my husband and I loved. The many volunteers had everything organized upon arrival and departure for the vendors. I have to say this was one of the nicer show I have done. I also have to say that my candle sales were great throughout the weekend.

I will definitely put this on my list of shows to do again.

One funny thing that happened this weekend was that it was day light savings.... and you are correct I forgot!! My husband and I did not realize it until we received a phone call while still driving to the show. Opppsss!!!! The people in charge of the show were so understanding and when we got to our booth my neighboring vendors were running my booth for me. How awesome is that?! Like I stated already, the show was class all the way.

Right now I am heading down to cook candles and get ready for the Daffodil Festival this weekend in Junction City, OR. I will blog about this next week. Until then, enjoy the longer evenings.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Spring Candle Shows Are Approaching

Welcome to Pauper's Candles Blog. I am Krista Webber, the owner. For starters, if you want to know more about my company and how it all started you can go to my website and read "About Us", www.pauperscandles.com/aboutus.html

Today is another rainy day on the Oregon Coast. We have had quite the winter season, as I am sure many of you have had. Back in December we had what I call "Pioneer Days" at my house. The winter storm, with 100+ mile an hour winds, knocked out our power and phone lines. We lost 6 trees in our yard and thankfully none landed on our home. We did not have power, water, phone (cell or land line) for just about 5 days. At first it was fun. We lit candles all over the house, started the wood stove and fireplace, to keep warm. We gathered water in all our containers before the water was no more and cooked with our camping equipment. Most of all, I did not have to "work". I couldn’t make any candles.

After day three, this was getting old and I was I thankful I did not live in the Little House on the Prairie Days. I was also getting nervous, because I had a show to do the coming weekend and did not have a good supply of candles for the show. When we finally had our power, water, and phones back, I had a day to prep and pack for the show, which means I did not make one candle for the show, and went with what I had prepared before the storm. As it turns out, I had my best show of the season. My husband always reminds me that things work out, and one can only do what one can do.

Spring is on its way and I am glad. In 2 weeks I have my first outdoor show in Junction City, Oregon at the Daffodil Festival. This coming weekend I am at the Wine and Food Classic in McMinnville, Oregon. For those of you who are local these are great events to attend. The local wineries will be out in force in McMinnville and the Daffodil Festival is great for families.

Well, I need to get back to candling for my shows coming up.