Diamond Candles review and giveaway

Diamond Candles recently asked me if I'd be willing to do a review of their candles, with a giveaway for Don't Eat the Paste readers. I love candles. They don't need a special surprise for me to love them, candle light, and a nice scent is going to be enough. The surprise though? That's kind of like being a kid with a box of cereal and a toy surprise except better. All the photos in the collection above were taken by me.

They sent me a code to get a free candle for the review. I talked to my daughter, and she chose Cupcake scent. The candles are soy candles, which mean very little soot, and a nice clean burn. Plus soy candles can handle a heavier fragrance load than standard paraffin candles and are more environmental friendly. Because soy is a soft wax, it's perfect for container candles.

The candle itself- it has a warm, baked vanilla sugar scent. Nothing too sweet, it's more grown up than that. A very homey scent, with a great throw (how far the fragrance travels while the candle is burning). I could smell this one from 12 feet away. Not a strong smack you in the face scent like room spray can be. Just comfortable.

The container- Diamond Candles has a Pinterest board of craft ideas for empty containers. The containers are very nice. All glass with a label that can be removed with a bit of work and a tight fitting lid. Their fans buy candles regularly enough that some have had some very clever ideas for re-use. Mine will probably wind up on either my Dad's or husband's desk at work holding wrapped candy or small things they need at their jobs. They can also be repurposed to hold things like cotton swabs and such in a bathroom, decorated all sorts of ways.

The ring- Were you one of those people who dumped out the whole box of cereal to get to the toy surprise? Or did you patiently serve up bowls waiting to get to it? There are people who just can't wait and dig for the ring. It's placement is marked with a foil disk on the inside of the container. You can also just let the candle burn. We opted to let it burn. Soy wax has a fairly low melt temperature, so when it got down far enough, I pulled the little foil pack with a pair of long tweezers. The ring is in a zip baggie wrapped in foil and won't be all encrusted with wax.

They have rings worth anywhere from 10-5000 dollars in the candles. Obviously, most of them will be fashion rings worth about 10 dollars retail, but there are more expensive rings put in at random. The company would rather spend advertising money that way then on lots of ads. It works for them, they have a trading post where people can trade for the rings they would prefer, or trade with other people who got rings too big or too small. I'm not trading the ring I got, it was a 10 dollar fashion ring, but it just happens to be just the right size for my daughter, and it's her birthstone.

It's a lot of fun! I already have the coupon code for the winner to get one free candle. So go enter! Part of entering is liking Diamond Candles on Facebook and they also have regular giveaways there for their candles.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

[The product reviewed was provided to me at no cost for the purposes of review. I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the product.]

Printable quote- Do not spoil what you have - Epicurus

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”

Epicurus

I really like this quote, and since there hasn't been a printable quote in a while, I hope you enjoy it too. The small version above is on my Facebook page if you'd like to share it.

Click the version below for a larger version to print. I'm still loving Astrobrights paper for black and white quotes. The printable version doesn't have the URL in it and is designed to print at 8x10 inches.

Small Crocheted Sachet Pattern

This sachet is very quick to stitch up, and because it's only lightly stuffed, stuffing with fabric scraps works out well to make it all cotton and completely machine washable if you decide to scent the cotton with essential or fragrance oils instead of putting plant matter into the stuffing.

If you use plant matter, it's better not to wash it, or to wash it by hand and make sure it's completely dry before stashing it anywhere. I like using lavender buds to scent these, and as the scent fades, adding lavender e.o for more scent. But in humid areas, plant material can start to decompose which makes essential oils a much better choice.

Finished size using size 10 crochet thread- just under 2.5 inches in diameter.
You will need:

• Size 6 steel crochet hook (1.6 mm)
• Size 10 crochet cotton thread
• cotton fabric- 5x5 inch piece (makes the fabric middle including stuffing)
• sewing thread
• sewing needle
• tapestry needle to weave in size 10 thread
• scissors- regular thread snips and pinking shears

Stitches used:

• sc= single crochet
• ch= chain stitch
• sl st= slip stitch
• dc= double crochet
• repeat ** means repeat the instructions between the asterisks

Pattern written in USA terminology- there is also an international crochet chart this time!

Make 2-

Medallions:

Ch 6, sl st to make ring.

Round 1: Ch 1 (does not count as first stitch), 8 sc in ring, sl st to first sc to join.

Round 2: Ch 5, *dc in next stitch, ch 2*, repeat ** around, then sl st to 3rd st in starting chain to join (8 spaces formed)

Round 3: Ch 1 (does not count as first stitch), sc in each stitch around, sl st to first sc to join (24 stitches)

Round 4: Ch 4 (counts as first dc and ch), *dc in next st, ch 1*, repeat ** around, sl st to 3rd ch in starting ch to join. (24 spaces)

Round 5: Ch 1 (does not count as first stitch), sc in each stitch around, sl st to first sc to join (48 stitches)

Round 6: Ch 4 (counts as first dc and ch), skip stitch, dc in next st, ch 2, *skip stitch, dc in next st, ch 1, skip stitch, dc in next st, ch 2*, repeat ** around, sl st in 3rd ch in starting ch to join. (24 spaces) 

Round 7: Ch 1 (does not count as first stitch), sc in each stitch around, sl st to first sc to join (60 stitches)

Break off thread.

With fabric:

Cut 2 circles 2 inches in diameter with the pinking shears. Hand sew 3/4s of the way around the fabric with wrong sides facing each other. Cut small strips of the remaining fabric and lightly stuff. You can also put in any aromatics at this point. Finish sewing around. 

Final round of crochet- with the 2 medallions together working over the tail ends to conceal them, join in thread, and single crochet them together. When they are halfway joined, slip in the little fabric pillow and finish single crochet around. Slip stitch to join. Chain 15, and slip stitch in next stitch, then slip stitch back up the chain 15, and slip stitch to join. Break off and weave in tail.

The medallions:

Joining edge:

When it rains, it molds- Allergy Face™ tips from Zyrtec®

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Zyrtec for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

My daughter and I both suffer from allergies. In her case, it's pollen. The kind of pollen that becomes a problem when everything is in bloom and we are doing a lot of outdoor activities on warm summer days. A slight breeze causes a lot of sneezing and sniffling.

For me,it's mold. A breezy evening after a few days of gentle rain and I'm wrecked. My eyes redden and tear up, I sneeze. Then I can't see, and my glasses are usually a mess from trying to wipe my eyes without taking them off. 

Taking Zyrtec before it becomes an issue works well, but if it snuck up on you, Zyrtec also works fast. That's why we use it. We can take it, then go out bird watching, hiking or just taking care of the garden. Zyrtec helps you feel better, but they also have great allergy face beauty tips to help you look better. 

This infographic shows some of the things people do to cover up their Allergy Face. I have a pair of prescription sunglasses I'll wear even on dark fall nights! Once I'm not tearing up, and recovering from the sneezing, etc, a coat of black mascara on my top lashes only helps my eyes look a bit more open. My daughter goes with letting her hair fall over her face to cover her red nose when she's been sneezing. 

What do you do to help cover up or deal with allergy face? Any go-to tips? Leave a comment, I want your ideas!

Next time I'm going to try these beauty tips! I like the idea of the black and gold eyeliner, and I think I'll need it for the State Fair this year. My husband and I get to meet one of the bands playing.

Check out Zyrtec on Facebook for more ideas and information on dealing with allergies.