Another Fragrance Burner

I've posted pics of other fragrance burners in the past and explained how to use them (if they are new to you, check out that post!).  I bought another burner that I really like. It's fairly small and you can burn wax cubes and tarts or home fragrance oils. Do you like this better, or one of the previously posted burners?

DIY Incense Burner - Pink

You may remember a DIY Incense Burner I made earlier this year. I never expected this, but that post gets read every day! It's actually one of my most popular posts. Since it seems to be something so in-demand that readers are searching for, I decided to make a new burner. You can read about my 1st DIY Incense Burner here.

Supplies for your Do-It-Yourself Incense Burner:

empty terracotta pot

paint

synthetic stones

sand

This time, instead of using a sponge to apply paint to the terracotta pot, I tried a new method I saw on Pinterest. I didn't follow this method exactly, but rather used my own technique with the paint idea as inspiration.

As you can see, I placed my empty terracotta pot upside down onto a cardboard box to catch the excess paint. Then, I placed circles of paint onto the top of pot (technically the bottom!), layering colors as I applied. The paint was then supposed to become so heavy that it would pour over onto the sides of the pot. But because my pot had a hole in the middle, it didn't work! So, I let each color of paint drip down the sides of the pot in more of a scattered line formation (instead of the awesome "pour-paint" look.)  Still, this alteration is just another option, right?!

Once the pot was dry, I just filled it with sand and then topped it off with stones.


The Process in Photos:

Coconut Leaves

Coconut Leaves home fragrance oil by Slatkin & Co. smells summery and fun. I was expecting the scent to be earthy and natural. I guess the word "leaves" in the name led me to believe that. Instead, I found it almost smells like a pina colada. For some reason, I'm not just smelling coconut here but also pineapple. Am I crazy? Maybe so, but I like that it smells like a tropical vacation.

Fluffy Towels

The fragrance oil Fluffy Towels by Yankee Candle is soooo good! The scent is pretty strong and fills the air with a fresh and clean aroma. I noticed it really does linger once the burning is over as well. I can notice the scent a little the next day as well. 

The name is also pretty accurate because it does smell like clean linens basically! Some home fragrances that are named fresh linens or clean towels smell sort of like chemicals or have a fake touch to it... but this one really does smell nice.  When I walk into a room with Fluffy Towels burning, it just smells clean and fresh.

I've been lighting this one every night lately! It's a nice alternative to fruity or other specific scents. This is just CLEAN.

Fragrance Burners

Clearly, I have a deep obsession with fragrance oils and waxes, which also means I'm obsessed with fragrance burners! Until last year, I wasn't really familiar with how these worked or even what they were.

To anyone just trying fragrance burners for the first time, here's an easy description. Fragrance burners are the tool you need in order to use fragrance oils and waxes. They will all provide a spot for your fragrance- you can simply place your wax cube, wax tart, or oil into the top area. Then, you'll light a tea candle underneath the fragrance. The bottom area of the burner will provide a big space where you can place the tea candle. You can also buy huge bags of tea candles for around $5. The big bags last a long time.

By lighting the tea candle, the candle will provide heat that stimulates the fragrance oils or melts the fragrance wax cubes. Once heated, you will start to smell the fragrance throughout your home.

Some fragrance burners also have nice designs. When they are lit and your lights are dim, they cast a nice shadow and look awesome.

These photos are of my main burners that I use. I bought one at a big chain store. I bought the other at a small mom-and-pop store locally. Both are great!

Look with the lights dimmed.

Vanilla Cupcake

Vanilla Cupcake scented fragrance oil by Yankee Candles sounds really yummy and smells equally yummy when you sniff the top of the container, but once used, left me a little disappointed.  The description provided says it is a "rich, creamy aroma" ... "with hints of lemon and lots of buttery icing."  Although the oil was pleasant, I really didn't grasp any buttery or creamy scents. I also found that I had to be standing pretty close to my oil burner in order to smell this one. I even put it in two separate burners to try to promote the scent.  I prefer scents that fill the area and overwhelm your senses a bit, which this did not do.  That being said, I still think this scent was good! I asked my boyfriend what fragrance he thought I was burning and he guessed citrus.... when I told him it was vanilla cupcake he suddenly seemed to agree with the name- so maybe it does accurately smell like vanilla cupcake. It just didn't to me! I was hoping my home would smell like a kitchen with some warm cupcakes in the oven.

Fresh Lemon & Lemon Lavender

I love lemon scents in general because they smell so clean and potent. Lately, I've been really into anything citrus related.

Slatkin & Co. has a fragrance oil named Fresh Lemon. I found this scent to be very strong and I loved how it filled the air with a lemon fragrance. I'd describe this fragrance oil as a clean lemon scent. Clean... and well, fresh, like the name says!

I also tried the Lemon Lavender fragrance oil by Yankee Candle. By the way, they were on sale: 3 for $10. These sales are ridiculous when you have an addiction like I do, am I right?

Lavender and lemon are two of my favorite scents individually, but for some reason I wasn't expecting to love Lemon Lavender as much as I did. It was extremely fragrant and we could smell it throughout our living room and kitchen. I couldn't totally pinpoint the lavender in the scent, but it wasn't just a regular lemon like the Fresh Lemon above. The best way to describe the Lemon Lavender is to compare it to Lemon Heads candy.  The scent kept reminding me of candy and then I realized- "This is what it smells like when we eat Lemon Heads!"  I have to say, I will be lighting this scent again today and breathing in the sugary fresh scent.

Fire Beauty

This post isn't so much about a specific fragrance, but about a special candle instead. Throughout my teen years, I spent many summers in Florida where my family would visit a candle store called Global Candle Gallery.  I always looked forward to going there and loved browsing the selection of creative candles. The workers hand-made each design in the shop where we could watch them while they create the candles. It was always fun to ask questions and watch the artists live in action! My family has bought many of these candles over the years, and I've really loved and enjoyed them.

I just recently discovered their website and ordered a few new candles. I not only love the artwork and designs of the candles, but I love how, when lit, the candles give a totally different look and glow. The light shines through the designs of the candle with colored light, which really makes this all so special! Plus, every candle has a different color light shining through.

Here is a new one I purchased recently with pink light. This first picture captures what the light looks like when shining through the candle.

This is what the candle looks like when not lit:

And here is one with blue light:

Has anyone else discovered candles that are out of the ordinary? I'm so in love with these and wish I could buy more. Tell me about candles you have found that are different and awesome in my comments section!

DIY Incense Burner - Blue

There are many ways to burn incense. The classic flat piece of wood with a hole, the round ash catchers, the long coffin boxes, fancy burners from specialty stores, or even inside empty bottles.  I found that a lot of my standard burners like the flat piece of wood and the ash catchers didn't really catch ash all too well. So, I decided to make my own altnerative.

Supplies for your Make-It-Yourself/Do-It-Yourself Incense Burner:

empty terracotta pot

paint

sponge

synthetic stones

sand

Instructions: I used an empty terracotta pot from a plant that had died. Then, I cleaned the pot of all dirt. Once it dried, I took blue paint and used a sponge to apply the blue paint all around the external sides of the pot. Let the paint dry. Next, I filled the pot with blue sand to match. On the top layer, I placed blue stones over the sand. Now, I can place my incense sticks into the sand and all of the ash will fall into the terracotta pot.

It's been working well and I don't have to deal with ash falling onto my table anymore! It's also just nicer to look at because the stones are pretty.

What does everyone think?

Organize Home Fragrances

One common theme you will begin to see on this blog is my obsession for air fragrances. I LOVE trying new scents. It's this happy feeling I get when smelling new options and buying a few to take home and try. Every week I can't help but buy something new.

Last year, I found a local shop that sold incense and fragrance oils. I bought a bunch of new incense burners and tried out the incense triangle things for once (instead of just the sticks). I even made my own incense burner which I'll post at a later date.

I've always used incense, but oils were new to me. Wow, I loved trying them. Pepperment is especially potent and I love how strong the smell was. Now, I also shop for fragrance oils at regular stores in the mall. You can usually find them on sale and they smell so great. It's basically an addiction!

Recently, I dove into the world of fragrance wax cubes. They function the same way that fragrance oils do. You place the wax on top of a wax burner and you light a tea candle beneath it. The candle will melt the wax cubes which will give off the scent. It's soo good! I'm still learning how long to re-light the same wax cubes. But the only way to learn is to try.

As I noticed my obsessive collection was growing in size, I knew I had to find a way to organize everything. I kept looking at tiny storage drawers and containers that snap shut, but nothing seemed right. Then, I found this fabric box at Target and thought it could do the trick.

Well, I was right! I'm so glad I tried this out because now that everything is organized I feel much better about this obsession! I have separate sections for:

fragrance wax cubes

extra tea candles to have on-hand for refills

mini wax chips

fragrance oils and oil dropper

 incense sticks and incense cones

I'm in love!