Mason Jar Christmas Candles - DIY

At what age do kids stop believing in Santa? My middle guy has been a skeptic all his life. {Takes after his mother :) } He is the one to tell all the other kids that Santa isn't real. So far, no one has believed him! During our extended family Christmas, my cousin dressed up as Santa, and Brenden made sure to point out all the fallacies with his costume. The next morning, when we were talking about the fun party, he talked about the visit from "Pretend Santa." Oh boy...

Now that Christmas is over and the gifts have been given, I can share a project that my little non-believer and I worked on together. I had some candle making supplies stashed away and I pulled them out for this craft. Mason jars are super popular and I knew these would be an easy DIY gift.

Instructions:
1. Melt candle wax in a double broiler according to instructions. Add preferred dye and scents.
2. Prepare mason jars and wicks. Drop the wick into the jar and wrap the end around a pencil that balances on the rim of the jar. This prevents the wicks from falling into the hot wax.
3. Carefully pour the melted wax into the mason jars. We put the jars on an old pie pan to catch any drips. Reserve some wax to fill dips as the wax cools.
4. It will take a few hours for the wax to cool. You can use this time to prep decorations for the jars, but you could also take a nap or catch up on your favorite Netflix show. :) Once the wax is cool, there may be a dip around the wick. Use some of the reserved wax to fill this dip. Be careful to not add too much above the dip as there may be a line between the two waxes. However, if this does occur, it is easy to disguise with a ribbon.
5. When the candle is completely cool, add decorative pieces with a hot glue gun. I found it easy to glue strips of ribbon, then the decorative piece, then another bow made out of the same ribbon. Tying the ribbon around the mason jar was too clumsy.

I was really excited to find ribbon and matching decorations at Michael's. The pairing of the snowflake ornament and snowflake ribbon was perfect for teachers. The berries and burlap made a great co-worker gift. I just kept the pine-cones and holly for myself . ;)

Relaxing Bath Salts

After a long day at work and chasing around little boys, my favorite thing to do is take a long soak in the tub. The addition of bath salts help with relaxation and to also chase away any lingering little boy bathroom smells. :)  Last Spring, I had a moment with some friends to create a large batch of salts which we split up to take home. This is a very easy project that is great to do in a group. 

Instructions:

Supply List: Coarse Sea Salt, Epsom Salt, Essential Oil, Food Coloring, Decorative Jars, Funnels. Optional: Paper Bowls, Plastic Forks, Ribbons/Bead Decorations. 

• Take 2 parts Coarse Sea Salt to 1 part Epsom Salt. Mix in a bowl using a fork to sift as necessary. 
• Mix with a few drops of Food Coloring until desired color is achieved. 
• Add a few drops of Essential Oil and continue to combine. When I made this with my friends, we divided up the salt prior to this step to add our own fragrance, but that is optional if more than one person in the group prefers the same color and scent. 
• Using the funnel, pour the bath salts into decorative jars and secure the top tightly. The jars that we used came from Michael's and held enough salt for two baths. These would also look great in mason jars! 
• Optional: tie coordinating ribbon or beaded wire around the top of the jar for an extra decorative touch. 

Hope you get time and privacy (right, moms?) to enjoy a long soak soon!