Soy Wax Candles – Make Your Own.

We have been making these lovely things for four years now and still love it. We had a day of making them with Becky from Butterworth Photography and Chloe Adlington from Adore recently and here are the results…

We use recycled containers, natural ingredients, and it’s also very budget-friendly if you make your own. Sounds like an all around winner, yes?

In case you wanted to buy some – we sell them for around £12 for a vintage teacup candle and they are really popular for dressing wedding tables or they can be a sweet additional gift for your bridesmaids. A few brides have asked us to make them using the fragrance from their flowers and colour them to match their decor.

We use all kinds of containers – glasses, jam jars, sugar bowls, trifle bowls, teacups, shot glasses, kilner jars…the list is endless. If it can hold wax, we’ll use it!

We use the best quality soy wax flakes which are eco friendly, last longer than traditional paraffin wax and the product is so soft that it is very easy to wash out with soap and warm water – something that isn’t possible with paraffin.

We have found a super duper supplier of high quality oils which offer a beautiful range of fragrances to choose from. We tend to stick with light, floral and feminine fragrances that can be burnt together without one over powering the other. This type of fragrance works perfectly with the vintage containers that we use.

What you need….

Soy wax flakes.
Cotton wicks with a metal disc on the bottom.
Wax dye chips if you want to colour your candle.
Essential oils. Please ensure you buy candle wax oils, not soap or home fragrancing.
A large pan.
A large metal bowl.
A thermometer (I use a food one).
Lots of newspaper to minimise the mess (if possible!).
Scales.
Tablespoon.
Wooden spoon.
Kettle.

Cover every available surface with newspaper. Melted wax gets everywhere. Wear an apron for the same reason!

Weigh your wax. From hours spent experimenting I now use one pound of wax to four tablespoons of oil. For me this is the perfect ratio, but you might find a different one works better for you. Just be warned that if you put too much oil in there, you will have greasy “wet” spots on the top of your candle and it may ignite.

Pour boiling water in your pan, sit the metal bowl on top and pour in your wax flakes. Simply melt wax in this double doiler method.

Heat the oil to 180 degrees.

Take the bowl off the heat and add your dye chips if using. They are usually very highly pigmented so you only need a very small amount. Stir, stir, stir.

When the temperature of the wax has dropped a little, pour in your oil. Stir, stir, stir.

This is really important as you want the dye and the fragrance to be even throughout the life of the candle.

When it has cooled to around 150 degrees you can pour into your containers.

Pop in your wick and balance it in the middle of the container. I use small chopsticks, pegs, teaspoons – whatever fits!

It will take a few hours for the wax to fully set.

Trim the wick to 1/4 inch and that’s it!

I think it is worth me mentioning a few pitfalls – because we have been making them for a while now, you can have the benefit of our hours and hours of experimenting!

newspaper everywhere.
don’t get any water near the wax.
watch the temperature of the oil as if it heats too high it could ignite.
don’t be tempted to add loads more oil to make a stronger scented candle. The ratio of wax to oil is important. Too much and you will have “wet” spots on the top and it might be dangerous.
stir, stir, stir.
if you find that the candle sets and there are little air holes on the top, or it is uneven then don’t worry,
just blast it with a hairdryer to melt the top and it will set fine. (the best tip ever for candlemaking!!).
always trim the wick to 1/4 inch, this applies when you are burning it too.

Hope you find this helpful – it would be nice to hear from some of you who have given it a go.

Thanks to Butterworth Photography for our photographs

Thanks to Chloe Adlington for organising us!

19:53 24 March 2013

A little round-up of the craft ideas we worked on with Chloe from Adore Chloe and Becky from Butterworth Photography.

We spent a couple of afternoons with a glue gun, vintage china, glittery bits and bobs, with a lot of tea and laughs along the way.

The first idea was featured in Unique Bride Magazine. To see a step-by-step instruction on how to make your own vintage cake stand click here – Adore Chloe

Next, we have a guide to making your own teacup clock – bear with me on this as it was so much fun that Rock n Roll Bride featured it too – click here Adore Chloe or here Rock N Roll Bride to see the cocktail version…

Finally glittery cake toppers – don’t say I don’t look treat you! click right here Adore Chloe .

16:46 2 December 2012

I love cake, I love corsets and I love being involved in a charity event.

Astra from Timeless Couture has a close friend, Robyn, who has recently been diagnosed with cervical cancer. She is only in her mid 20′s. One of the charities who has been very supportive and helpful to Robyn is The Mercedes Curnow Foundation who promote awareness of the early detection of cervical cancer in young women and funding private screening & hpv tests. They are fighting to lower the age of cervical screening in England from 25-20. This is something Robyn feels passionately about.

To show support and love for Robyn, Astra decided to organise an event that would involve her family and friends and to hopefully raise funds for The Mercedes Cunrow Foundation. Corset design is a love of Astra’s and her exquisite, bespoke pieces combine vintage inspired details and modern contempoary shapes. She partners Rachel at Timeless Couture and together they create beautiful bespoke wedding dresses, two of which you can see in the main photograph above . Robyn was one of the models in our photoshoot with Timeless Couture earlier in the year, see the gorgeous girl on the telephone above…so it seemed perfect to combine a corset photoshoot with afternoon tea at a special venue.

It was a ladies only day (for obvious reasons!, as Astra put it “no smelly boys”) and all the guests had the opportunity to be involved in the photoshoot.

This idea grew into producing a corset calendar which would be sold to raise further funds.

Stancliffe Hall in Darley Dale offered us the use of their venue, completely free of charge, which was an incredibly generous gesture. It is an outstandingly beautiful privately owned Hall, set in over 50 acres of stunning parkland in the heart of the Peak District.

The photography and styling for the shoot was left in the hands of Emma from Ms Honey Boudoir, who also owns Emma Cleveley Photography. She donated her time, talent, sexy props & experience for the day.

Tineke kindly supplied all the flowers for the day and there were lots of raffle prizes donated by local businesses.

Darby & Joan provided the afternoon tea for the ladies and we donated two days to set up the venue and supplied our vintage china.

Some of the ladies were hesitant about stripping off and posing, but before Emma knew it there was a queue of ladies desperate to be transformed into a sexy siren for a couple of hours. It was credit to Emma’s skill and easy going presence that made the shoot such a success, guiding the girls through poses to flatter their figures and enhanced their best bits. Hopefully we can share some of these photographs with you soon.

Another charity who had been tremendously supportive of Robyn was MacMillan Cancer Support. Most people are familiar with the amazing work they do on a daily basis, providing practical, medical and financial support and push for better cancer care. A spokesperson from the charity attended to talk about their role in helping cancer patients and their families. Some of the funds raised on the day were donated to MacMillan.

Pimms, afternoon tea, a room full of great ladies having a well earned sunny Sunday afternoon to themselves, a beautiful venue, pants and bras flying around everywhere, laughs and tears and raising money for two amazing charities.

A good day.

Photography on the day – Emma Cleveley Photography, Ms Honey

Photograph of Robyn – Yvonne Lishman Photography

Main image – Emma Case Photography

17:51 11 September 2012

Apologies for the pun on the title of this post – I am cringing myself, but it is better than the others I thought of…

Darby & Joan were invited to cater for an afternoon tea party at Kedleston Hall at the beginning of this month. The guest list was made up of 125 textile artists from the Se cond Turning Textile Group. The group had just opened their new exhibition at the Hall which is open until 22nd September.

Very broadly, the work & exhibition was inspired by the architecture, collections and landscape at Kedleston Hall and showed how rich, lively and versatile textiles can be.

Our menu was what we do best – finger sandwiches, teetering high layer cakes, fresh out of the oven scones, rich chocolate brownies and lots of tea. A simple menu, but one that we knew would be enjoyed and appreciated.

We had two areas to serve. We set up camp in the Orangery and had a handful of guests seated with us in there and the rest of the group were served in a marquee.

The weather was kind, the guests were very lovely, the atmosphere gentle and it was another great success.

Thank you to Kedleston for inviting us to work with you – it doesn’t get much better than working with The National Trust.

Not forgetting a huge thank you to Emma Cleveley Photography for capturing the day so beautifully.

17:26 12 August 2012

Darby & Joan are a vintage china hire company who specialise in beautifel english china, nostalgic props & quirky old accessories. We supply to anyone who would like to add a touch of vintage glamour & interest to their event. We have waitresses should you need them, offer a styling & table dressing service should you require a little more input & have a vintage pop up tea room that will travel. Whats not to love! We cover Derbyshire, Nottinghamhire, Leicestershire & throughout the Midlands.

Saturday 7th July was a good day.

It was the annual Fabulous Places Summer Market at The Roundhouse & Darby & Joan were opening the doors to our first Vintage Tea Rooms.

These events are always amazingly well organised, are filled to bursting point with the best suppliers in the area & are always good fun & the venue really is very special. Over the past couple of years I have got to know several of the exhibitors & it is always nice to catch up with them, especially those who make their own products & who have a real passion & talent for what they are doing.

Rachel from Tattered Rose was there with her beautiful handmade jewelery, art & keepsakes.

Becky from Butterworth Photography was exhibiting & took some great photographs of the day for us.

For those who really love to be crafty, Chloe from Adore by Chloe was there to offer advice to brides to be, party planners or aspiring domestic goddesses.

As always, the girls from Polly’s List were there with their kids corner, providing some entertainment for the younger customers.

Finally, there was one lady there whose products helped me through the day & provided much needed support when help was needed – a special thank you to Clare from Clarette Wines who was superbly positioned next door to the kitchens…!

Please contact this amazingly knowledgeable girl if you are interested in wine, like drinking wine, want to learn more about wine or have equally strong feelings about Port or Champagnes. She has spent a decade working with the best of the best in London & has just set up her own wine consultancy.

Miss Sammi Designs took some of these photographs & I have artfully shared some more from The Roundhouse blog – thanks guys!

I had the busiest couple of weeks I have ever had (ever) in the run up to the day…baking, packing, planning, ordering, baking, storing, wrapping, baking…I had three or four mornings where I crashed into bed at 4am & I will admit that I lived on coffee, the occasional wine, adrenaline & very little sleep for the week leading up to the market.

Deb had invited me to play a big part in her market way back at the beginning of the year & despite thinking “aaaaaaah, this is the biggest thing I have done & can I do it??” – my philosophy since starting Darby & Joan has always been to say yes to any opportunity that looks exciting, fun & will push the business forward – so it was an immediate yes & over the subsequent months I plotted & planned how to put it all together.

On the face of it, our tea room provided tea & cake – how hard can that be? But the Fabulous Places are always incredibly well attended & we were offering refreshments to a lot of hungry & thirsty shoppers – a lot!!

There was a huge area to fill – the library at The Roundhouse is an impressive space – but luckily there was a large work area “pod” that we used as our serving station which worked perfectly. I took lots of our old furniture, props & accessories as well as our serving & eating china.

I had a good idea of how to set it all up and the next thing on my list was to find the right staff. And I definitely did. Their attention to detail, customer service, sheer hard work & always having a smile truly made the day run smoothly and made it the success that it was.

The cakes…I wanted to offer good old fashioned layer cakes, cupcakes, brownies, flapjacks & rocky road. I hoped there would be something for everyone on the menu yet keep the menu list brief.

Natalie from Yummy Little Cakes made our cupcakes & Lisa from Food Fairies made our Coffee & Walnut & Carrot cakes (which flew off the cake stands!) We made the rest of the menu & hope that we got it right.

The doors opened at 10am and the event went on until 5pm.

We had a full house with queues of up to 30 people from 10am until 5pm.

Thank you everyone who came to the event, the other fantastic exhibitors, to Deb for inviting us to be such a big part of the market, to our customers & our staff.

11:53 8 August 2012

Darby & Joan provided the vintage china & acccessories for this beautiful two day wedding at Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire.

Forgive me blog for I have sinned – it has been far too long since my last post.

At the end of May we worked on a two day wedding at Kedleston Hall, for the most gorgeous couple who wanted something a little different for their celebration.

Our vintage china & accessories were used for their 100 guest wedding and we dressed the tables.

These photographs speak for themselves, all I will add is that I had an incredibly busy, fun, brilliant, exciting & memorable couple of days. I am not exaggerating when I say I caught my breath when I saw Aelia, you are a lucky man Stu!

Oh and a behind the scenes collection of images would have been very entertaining too…me washing up for three hours at the end of the first day until midnight in a small, manically busy kitchen filled with waiters, me being locked out of the Hall at 10pm and desperately trying to find a way in, a tractor being needed to haul out the gate keeper’s stuck car from the mud after he let me in, unpredictable weather, an ambulance & not forgetting the escaping sheep.

Congratulations again Aelia and Stuart – you make such a wonderful couple and thank you for asking us to be part of your celebration.

Photography – James Melia

Table flowers – The Blossom Tree

Venue – Kedleston Hall

Vintage china & accessory hire, styling – Darby & Joan

Wedding cake – Choccywoccydoodah

6:27 26 July 2012

The clock is ticking – it is 1.52am on Friday morning and I am still baking in preparation for the Fabulous Places Summer Market.

Have a read of the blog on the Save the Date website here about the event http://www.savethedatemagazine.co.uk/2012/07/summer-food-gift-market-by-fabulous-places/

Hope to see you there.

1:19 6 July 2012

Second blog post in two days…I am supposed to be doing very boring jobs this week to keep on top of everything, but I am easily distracted!

Last Saturday we were involved with a charity tea party (vintage styled of course!) which took place at a lovely little village hall round the corner from me in Derby.

The event was held to raise money & awareness for a project that two very dear friends are involved with. Along with eleven other volunteers from Derby, Stacey Meyer & Anna Haynes are flying out to Kenya in May for their Rams Kenyan Adventure.

The project they are supporting is to help to build two new classrooms at St Trizah School in Nakuru. They will be there for two weeks.

One in five children in Kenya die before their fifth birthday & 20% of school age children are orphans due to HIV. Over 40% of the children in Kenya don’t have access to a school & these children who are not in education are three times more likely to contract HIV in later life.

The tea party raised an amazing £960 & this money will go towards resources & manpower to build two much needed new classrooms, which in real terms means that an additional 100 children can access education.

We had a fantastic afternoon, lots of laughs, friends, gorgeous food, fizz & entertainment.

We are so very proud of you girls – there are many people who say they would love to do something like this, but very few people do it for real.

Thank you to everyone who came along & supported this event. Here are a few pics from the day..

If you wanted to make a contribution to this charity or learn more about the project, please click on this link to their Just Giving page..http://www.justgiving.com/stacey-anna

Darby & Joan - styling, props & vintage glamour.

Shu & Me, A Little Something & Ms Honey - sold their gorgeous wares.

Food Fairies - delicious yumminess on the tables.

Emma Cleveley Photography - photographing the event.

All you lovely ladies who helped out on the day – thank you! xx

11:44 1 May 2012

I love working with Cathy & Susie from Vintage Chic Wedding Fair, their relaxed & feminine style is perfect for what Darby & Joan offer. Their 6th wedding fair was held last Sunday at The Centennial Centre in Birmingham. I have to say that I was exhausted when my alarm went off at six that morning as the previous day had been manically busy & the last thing I felt like doing was packing the car up again & driving for an hour. My aching feet, sore knees from wearing heels all day (I must be getting old!) & slightly fuzzy head all disappeared when I arrived at the venue. Wedding fairs are such light hearted, happy events & I had a fantastic day sharing stories with exhibitors & talking with brides & their families.

It was great to see many familiar faces as a few of the exhibitors have shown with the company before, Meeni, Whimsical Wishes, Passion for Flowers, Cotton & Crumbs & Vintage Twee were amongst the gorgeous companies showcasing their inspirational services & products.

For the first time, I am Staggered were exhibiting. I can’t imagine that many (or any!) men will be reading this blog, but for you brides who are, tell your man about this website & service. Invaluable, funny & relevant advice for grooms-to-be.

The overall feel of all of Vintage Chic wedding fairs has always been to offer brides ”vintage with a modern twist” inspiration & ideas. This is just our cup of tea.

The Centennial Centre was the largest venue the company had used & it was a big hit with everyone. It was light, bright & airy & it was transformed once the exhibitors got to work with their gorgeous styling ideas. Everyone had worked hard to promote the fair & as the doors opened at 11am, there was a steady stream of brides, grooms & their families. Yey!!

There were demonstrations throughout the day, Le Keux Events & Sarah Russell were busy with hair & make up, Fishee Designs brought along a brilliant photo-booth with props, My Craftea Day got crafty, My Dance Birmingham showed us all how to do the balloon dance (well worth seeing!). As always, Simon Partridge was there during the day singing, ensuring a mellow, relaxed & happy atmosphere.

If you missed attending the fair then you really did miss out as it was just fab.

Looking forward to the next one! xx

12:40 30 April 2012

If I were to choose something work-related and gorgeous to do on a Sunday… it would be to spend the day in a beautiful historic building, in an equally beautiful historic town, showing off what we do to brides and their families looking for some vintage inspiration for their weddings, surrounded by other wedding suppliers who share our passion and love for what we do.

Luckily for me, that is what I spent one recent Sunday doing, at an event organised by The Vintage Wedding Fair, over at The Assembly in Leamington Spa. Here are some of the photographs of our stand.

I apologise now for the poor quality of these, I only had my blackberry with me and it is not the best at taking interesting photos!

The rooms were full of fabulous suppliers, offering services from wedding cakes to camper van hire, from stationery to flowers, from vintage wedding dresses to photographers.

We were really very proud to be there and met lots of lovely brides and their families.