Birthday Cake Candle Contest

Here's a fun blog entry today. Continuing on with my quest to find the perfect way to make a birthday cake candle. I have this posted on my fan page here Olive Blossom Facebook Fan Page. For those that don't do facebook though I'll share it here as well. I have three options for you to choose from. Birthday cake with sprinkles, birthday cake with frosting or birthday cake with frosting and sprinkles! I'll post pictures of all 3 and you can vote for your favorite by leaving a comment on this post. This contest will run until Sunday evening on May 30th at 11pm.  I'll put all names in a hat from both this post and my facebook comments and one participant will win a birthday cake candle the way YOU like it!

Meet Birthday Cake

WHITE CAKE WITH BUTTERCREAM ICING

Who doesn't love birthday cake? Tonight I am introducing birthday cake but she isn't quite complete. I am trying to decide what you guys think? Do you like your birthday cake with sprinkles or pink frosting on top? The one on the bottom obviously isn't labeled yet and I think she might look better with a little less "frosting". What do you guys think? Anyone have a preference on what you like best?

Farmers Market This Sunday!

I am very excited. We will be participating in our first farmers market this Saturday, May 15th. It's in Sugar Land! 4350 Austin Parkway. It's from 8:00 am until noon.  So come check us out in person and find some of what you see up above!

I have to give a special thanks to Barb and Susan for keeping me up to date on all of this. They both have adorable kids items that they sell. Unfortunately they won't be at the market but you should check them out. You can find Barb here Daddy's Princess and Susan here Natalie's Garden.

Hope to see some of you on Saturday!

Where to find Olive Blossom

I'll come back and edit this post once everything is up and running.

In the meantime if you live in Sugar Land you can find us at Awakened Yoga. This a lovely new yoga studio in town center that also has a lot of fun retail stuff for sale as well. She's running great opening specials. Check her out!

If you're like me and have always wanted to try yoga then this is your perfect opportunity!

I also have an Etsy shop that is under construction but hope to have up and running in about a week.

You can also contact me directly.

My big plan is to have a grand opening sometime in June. Then I plan to work on marketing our candles in other locations.

Meet Lavender Wrap

LAVENDER WRAP

Freshly harvested lavender buds infused with honey

I'll tell you a little secret. I don't really like lavender. It hasn't done anything to me personally so it's not fair of me to not like it. Just not a big fan. However I really like Lavender Wrap. Maybe Lavender Wrap and I spent so much time working together that she grew on me.

I really do like this one and think it's a great fragrance. My lavender lovers agree!  I think the problem I had initially when I was testing different lavenders and combinations was that lavender tends to have a bit of a medicinal bite to it. I figured the best solution was to take the bite away. Hence the introduction of honey. It's really just a touch. When I smell this one cold I pick up the honey right away. However once you burn this one the lavender comes out and these two elements complement each other perfectly!

So for all of you out there that are proclaimed lavender haters...give Lavender Wrap a try. She may surprise you!

Meet Orange Vanilla

Orange Vanilla

Tangy, sweet and juicy oranges wrapped up in creamy vanilla

Meet OB Signature

It seems only fitting that I introduce OB Signature first as it's our signature scent. It's a custom blend that we came up with.

OB Signature
Delicate blossoms from the olive tree combined with the gentle breeze of an Italian vineyard.

A unique scent that you have to try for yourself!

Pictured is the 14 oz cube.

Meet Olive Blossom

I am excited to officially introduce Olive Blossom. We specialize in hand poured, soy blended, luxury candles with exceptional fragrance. You and your home deserve to be pampered.

This is a dream I have had for awhile. After many months of creating Olive Blossom I can formally introduce you. We are still in the early stages with lots of plans for growth but we officially have product to sell and are in a retail store in Sugar Land. In the next few days I'll share how and where you can find us and introduce you to some of the products we'll be carrying. Today I wanted to share a couple pictures with you.

This is our packaging for our cube containers followed by a shot of what they look like. These currently come in two sizes. A 7.25 ounce container and a 14 ounce container.





What do you think? Do you like?

The finished product has exceeded my initial expectations. It really encompasses the whole package and what I wanted the product to be.

I wouldn't have reached this goal if it hadn't been for many people along the way. I want to thank a sweet lady by the name of Carolyn Hartnet. She taught me how to make my first candle. I also owe a lot to my friends that encouraged me to sell my candles. This time last year I thought they were crazy and there was no way I could imagine selling my candles. It seemed like too big of an undertaking. Yet here we are!

I owe a HUGE thank you to my dear friend Mary Matte with Cucumber Prints. Check her out. She has shed her own blood, sweat and tears through this process with me. She has helped me create what I think is a beautiful image for my company.

If you love the labels, logos and design work then you will love Mary and Cucumber Prints. We all want to support our friends because we love them and want them to do well. But I can say with 100% conviction that she is super talented and such a joy to work with. She is extremely professional and has an eye for art and design. Her business will soar. So if you are in the market for design work, custom invitaions and anything else along those lines you need to check her out!

Most importantly I want to thank my family and especially my husband for standing behind me on this endeavor. He has endured a messy house, questionable meals and a wife that has been pretty preoccupied these last few months. He has really pulled up the slack to help me launch this business and makes me appreciate him all the more. He has been there with me even when I think he secretly feared I would burn our house down with all the testing and candles being made!

I hope you get the chance to become acquainted with Olive Blossom and come to love it as much as I do!

Production

After many months of working hard to get to this point I am excited to say that things are very close. So close in fact that tomorrow you'll be formally introduced to Olive Blossom, LLC. It's official!

Just wanted to share a few raw pictures of some candles that are in production and will be going out the door tomorrow. In the picture above they are still waiting to be cleaned up, wicks trimmed, labeled and packaged. Sounds like what we go through before a formal affair right?

It's a happy feeling to see the fruits of your labor. It's also a tiny bit sad to think about those guys going out the door tomorrow. They almost feel like one of my own now. The fun part is knowing that they will hopefully bring joy to someone else and make their home feel extra special.

One of the characteristics that I really like about soy is how creamy and pretty it is. I am so happy with the blend I have finally created.



Is anyone ready to meet Olive Blossom?

If you are stay tuned. Tomorrow is the big day!

Coming Soon....

I am hoping in just a few days I can reveal more about Olive Blossom. Plus you will find us in a retail store in Sugar Land in a couple of weeks! Very exciting stuff! If you are still hanging on to my quiet blog lately I am hoping to liven it up soon!

Is there an echo in here?

Hello, Hello, Hello! I know. My poor neglected blog sounds so quiet and hollow. I have been working really hard acutally. Just not making time to post here.

I am in the process of switching my blog to wordpress which I think is part of my reason for not posting. The exciting thing is that things are really coming together. It actually kind of makes my head spin to think about it. In 2-3 weeks my Olive Blossom candles are actually going to be sitting in a pretty little gift boutique! Exciting and nerve wracking!

It's truly been a labor of love and I hope the love I have for these candles comes through in your enjoyment of them if you decide to give them a try! As a good friend of mine says...starting a business is kind of like having a baby. It takes a lot of work, love and nurturing but it is so exciting when it comes to fruition and you get to see it in it's entirety!

I am hoping in the next few days I can share some little peaks at what's coming!

Packaging

This post is going to be short and sweet tonight! Just wanted to share a little sneak peek with you. This beautiful cardstock is going to be part of the packaging. Any guesses how it will be incorporated?

Do you like?

Fragrances

I would have to say that one of the parts of making candles that I enjoy the most is testing all the yummy fragrance options there are out there. Then you get to mix things to come up with some that are all your own. It's kind of like cooking! Without the calories.

The smart business decision would probably be to find one or two suppliers and order strictly from them. A lot less work and less money in shipping. However there are way too many good suppliers out there with good fragrances.

One thing that I hope will set me apart is that my goal is to not settle for a fragrance that is good enough but find the best one on the market in that particular category. What that means is I have lots of samples sitting around my house.



I have boxes and boxes of these. In fact my oldest son ratted me out about a week ago. He told daddy that not one but two delivery men came to the house that day. Meaning we saw both our friendly FedEx guy and our UPS guy that we know by name and love. He even always brings a sucker for my oldest every time he delivers something to us.

All that being said I have learned after being a little foolish when I started this as a hobby a few years ago to order sample sizes of everything first. Then once I find something I love I order it by the pound. The best deal is by the pound but it doesn't work out to be such a good deal if you don't end up liking that particular oil!

Here's a little peak at some of my different containers from different suppliers I use.



Fragrance is a funny thing. Different things obviously appeal to different people. I always try to keep an open mind when trying new things. The first thing I always want to find out is does it smell strong when it's burning. If you can't smell it what's the point in burning it. There is a place for unscented candles for sure. But when I want something to smell...I want it to smell! Strong. Good. Enjoyable.

So most of my days involve continuing to try new things and pester my family and friends. What do you think about this? Does it smell strong? Does it smell good? I have to admit that there are days where my sniffer seems to get a little immune to everything I make so I have to take a breather or a day or two off to be able to trust it again.

A fragrance oil can smell nice out of the bottle but can change when it's mixed with different types of wax. Plus every wax behaves differently with different fragrances which is why I have to test every new fragrance to make sure it will meet our standards. Believe me when I say there have been some fragrances I so wanted to love but they just didn't perform the way I wanted them to. So all that being said what works for one persons application doesn't always work for the next persons. Once a good contender is found it gets tweaked and mixed to create a one of a kind, well thought out and executed product.

I know it's a hardship to have to test out my new frangrance oils right!

All that being said I am very excited about some of the things that we will be starting our line with. I think there will be something in there for everyone. With lots of room to grow and incorporate some of the best we can find out there.

What is your favorite scent in candles? What do you hope to see? I am really personally starting to like a lot of different things these days!

I hope to pop back on tomorrow with a peek at something fun to package our product with.

Containers

Today I am going to share a few of my containers that I'll be making. It's a hard decision to decide what containers you like. I finally went with a few different options.

None of the pictures I am sharing today are labeled yet but I thought I would give everyone a peek at what they look like before they are completed.

First up are two square containers. The smallest is a 7.5 ounce container and the bigger one is a 14 ounce container. They actually make a large one at 22 ounces that I may add at some point.

The picture above shows these containers in their raw form! Aren't they pretty. Never knew I could like glass so much. I think they are a nice modern candle that would fit in any decor.

Here they are once they have been filled with some wonderful candles. Anyone want to guess what fragrances these are?




Next up are the tureen style containers. These were what I first started making candles in. I obviously have an affection for these for that reason alone. The one thing I love about them the most is they have a nice wide opening which allows even the smallest one to really scent your room. They give off a wonderful fragrance and will fill your home with wonderful smells! They actually come in a few different sizes. In the picture below you will see 3 sizes. Unfortunately the 11 ounce only comes with the gold lid at this time. I know it doesn't quite fit in with the black lids but it is such a popular sized candle I think I'll keep it around anyway.

You are looking at a 6 ounce, 11 ounce and 20 ounce container. I am definitely carrying the 11 ounce and 20 ounce ones. I really think that 6 ounce one is adorable too though so I might add that one on at some point. What do you think? Do you like the 6 ounce little guy?





Here they are filled with some candles.




Last but not least is one last little guy that may be making an appearance sometime this summer.





I think this one will be perfect for my bakery line. I am thinking a cute little ribbon tied on to the handle with some yummy, almost edible goodness in these containers. They are a 12 ounce container.

What do you think? This is the first glimpse of all my containers I am currently working with. What do you think you'll see first? What would you like to see first?

Tomorrow I hope to pop back in and share a little about the fragrance testing....

Goodnight all!

Testing, Testing, And More Testing!

Today I thought I would share a little sneak peak into what is involved in the candle making process. The most important part of making a candle is testing it. I laugh at my naivety the first time I ever made a candle. I thought how hard could it be. Melt some wax, add some fragrance and pour it into a container. Right? Wrong! I learned very quickly that there were a lot more variables than I even could imagine.

The most important part in making a candle is safety. This is why I do so much testing.

No candle is created equal which makes it all the more rewarding when you achieve the desired result. There are many mediums to choose from. Do you want paraffin, beeswax, palm, soy, or a blend? What kind of fragrance do you want? What color do you want to achieve, which wick will work the best with your application? Learning which wick will burn the best in your medium and give you the maximum scent throw is in my opinion the hardest part of making a candle.

The picture above is just a little hint of a small part of the process I go through. I test burn many, many candles to find the best wick type, wick size and if I need to single wick or double wick a container. In this scenario the candles all are using the same wax blend that I have created, the same fragrance and amount of fragrance and the same dye amount. What is different with each one though is that I am testing three different cotnainer sizes and many different wick types and sizes.

My goal in doing this is to find the perfect combination that will give you a wick that burns optimally. This means that you will have a wick that doesn't soot to much, burn too hot or not burn hot enough to melt the wax. Once the safety issues are addressed then I want to make sure that I get the best possible scent throw from my final selections.

Once all of this has been achieved then I go back and test each fragrance individually as some are heavier than others and will still require a differnet wick size.

All that being said it can at times be frustrating but most of all it's such a joy to feel that you mastered that particular container and fragrance and can share it with others that will enjoy it as well!

I am actually off to do a little more testing right now! My wonderful UPS man just deliverd a couple of boxes of goodies tonight. It's always like Christmas around here lately.

It's kind of like cooking and even though I sometimes want to take a bite out of some of this yummy smelling stuff, I love that no calories are added in this particular recipe!

Tomorrow I'll share a sneak of some pretty containers that have been poured for individual testing!

Thank you for your service Lance Cpl. Garrett Gamble

This photo was taken by Brett Coomer of the Houston Chronicle.

This doesn't relate directly to Olive Blossom. But it does speak to my heart and I feel compelled to blog about it. Lance Cpl. Garrett Gamble paid the ultimate sacrifice on March 11, 2010. A young boy of just 20 was serving our country in the upmost honor when he was unfortunately KIA in Afghanistan. I knew the story and knew he would be brought home and flown into our local airport. I still can't quite put into words what I saw though. As I was driving home from a play date with my kids I saw the road leading up to our local airport flanked with car after car after car. I then saw hundreds of American flags flying on such a beautiful day for such a somber occasion. I truly felt blessed to live in this wonderful country and enjoy the freedoms that we so often take for granted. Because of people like Garrett Gamble my family lives in comfort knowing that the freedoms I have every day are not compromised.

I was raised in a military family. I like to think I appreciate what serving our country means. However as I was driving down this piece of highway that I drive down every day I was extremely proud to be an American and extremely proud of the honor this community showed a fallen soldier who I know was loved dearly. My oldest son asked me what was going on and why were there so many people and so many flags flying at our local airport. I couldn't even speak for a minute. I was so choked up and not sure how to explain such a huge concept to a boy so young. And being the mother of two boys I couldn't help but think about what Garrett Gambles mother must be feeling at that moment. The one thing I can almost guarantee though is that she was so proud of her son as she should be.

Moments like this remind me that each day is precious and the freedoms I live every day come at such a great cost to those that unselfishly defend the country that I love.

Thank you again Lance Cpl. Garrett Gamble for serving my country and paying the ultimate sacrifice. May God shine his light on you forever.

In the words of author Tim O'Brien:

"If I die, in the combat zone
box me up and send me home.
Put me in my Dress Blues
don't forget to shine my shoes.
Pin my medals upon my chest
tell my dad I did my best.
Tell my mama not to cry Marine Corps motto
is Do or Die.
RIP Warrior now go have a toast Chesty. "

So many fun things...

Wow. Where has the time gone this month? It seems like so much has happened. I have been busy with work, friends and all my fun business stuff. I had a fabulous visit with my friend Charlotte. What a great friend she is. I wish she didn't live half way across the country as I would hire her to be my nanny, work associate and friend extraordinare. She was SO helpful with the kids and around the house. She jumped right in and washed dishes, folded laundry, helped me clean and even wanted to help me with candles. Not many friends would do that period. Much less when they are super jet lagged. We had fun though and did some shopping and ate some yummy food! She also brought me the beautiful quilt you see above for cuddle bug number 2. She made it reversible as we didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl. she made for cuddle bug #2.
I feel giddy with excitement with all the things coming together to launch Olive Blossom. I have to maintain my focus as I have so many ideas of things I want to develop. All in good time though. I am currently sorting through lots of pretty samples of ribbon, colors, boxes, bags, you name it. All things to complete the package of the finished product.

I also have been sampling some new containers. I want to add on to my tureens to have a couple more options. I am excited to see what ends up working out. I also have been working on developing my fragrance line to offer the best scents out there. The hard part will be narrowing down what I want to sell. So the name of the game lately has been testing, testing and more testing.

Soon I hope to have some sneak peeks up. I am in the middle of pouring some candles so I think I better get back to that so I can find the perfect combinations!

I am blogging!

I can't believe I am actually doing this. I am writing in my first blog. Not sure that anyone will ever read this. Especially since I don't think I am very interesting but here we go! If nothing else maybe this blog can serve as my journal so that I can fill in a few of those many, many blanks in my kids baby books. Note to self. Go buy second baby book.

Today has been a fun day filled with lots of possibilities. I am working on a new endeavor that I am hoping will come together in the next month. My goal is to launch it by April 15th. I have spent a lot of time testing and creating and am excited for it all to develop!

A few years ago a very nice lady by the name of Carolyn Hartnett shared her love of candles with me and taught me how to make my first candle. At that point I was making them for myself and giving a few out as gifts. After much encouragement from a few of my friends I decided that maybe I should try my hand at selling them. After a lot of testing and experimenting I think I am close to actually marketing my product. Who knew?

My sweet friend Mary of Cucumber Prints gave me the push I needed to do this. She has been such a wonderful asset to me. She has given me such wonderful tips and leads to start my own business. I am sure I could have gotten there on my own but I have a feeling it would have taken me longer and cost me more!

So right now my little business is myself, my husband and my two cuddle bug kiddos. My husband is my support system and the one that tolerates a somewhat messy house these days. In fact if someone didn't know better they would probably walk into my house and think I had been robbed! I am okay with that though. While I prefer for my house to be Martha Stewart ready the reality is that it's more important to me to do other things like spend time with my kids these days. No one is going to remember what a neat house I had but my friends and family will hopefully remember the fun things we did like making play dough and talking around the kitchen while I finished lunch (since I am never ready on time) while our kids create chaos in the background!

Some of our meals have been a little interesting too. I think it's a combination of being a working mom of 2 kids but there definitely hasn't been any Beef bourguignon being served up at my house lately. More like chicken surprise. Meaning I am sometimes surprised at what I can put together out of my pantry and fridge at 4:45 in the afternoon. That's not always a good thing!

My husband is actually helping me make some tools for my business and just tonight he was shaking his head wondering why he encourages me. It's because he loves me though and knows that's just how I am so he might as well roll with me. I love that he is so smart and the engineering mind to my crafty mind. We complement each other well. What a good man I have. Especially to tolerate me crawling into bed at 2 or 3 in the morning because I am having too much fun with my uninterrupted and kid free time. I'll sleep one day. Right now I have too many things I want to do!

Then there are my two kiddos. I don't ask too much of them so please don't report me for violating child labor laws. I know they are young but their help is invaluable.

Cuddle bug #1 was wanting to help me tonight make candles. Don't worry. I saved those candles for my special customers. :-) Actually he loves to smell my sample jars and tells me how good they smell. How sweet is that 3 year old? He did tell me that I really need a purple candle though. I guess I'll have to satisfy that need for him as he keeps reminding me about it.

Cuddle bug #2 is my side kick. Literally. He seems to always be attached to me these days. So I just go with it. He makes friends at the County Clerk's office when I need to fill out business paperwork and elicits smiles and greetings from the customers at the post office. All in all he just makes me smile throughout the day as I run those errands that just need to be done.

More than you wanted to know on day one right! Okay I think I will try to work on this house of mine since I have a very dear friend flying in on Thursday all the way from Jakarta.