Crafty Fun in Tulsa

I flew to Tulsa for Memorial Day weekend to see Amby and Nathan. I had a great time. I stayed in her study/guest room. It is her very own room with a day bed, her sewing machine, crafts, etc. She had these beautiful flowers in the room for me:


We did several projects while I was there. One was homemade candles. We went to her local Hobby Lobby, where traditions are started, and bought candle-making supplies. We bought containers, wax, essential oil for fragrance, and of course, Chocolate Riesens, which are a necessary component for any project, or really, just for life in general. We bought soy wax, which is supposed to burn more efficiently.

Amby used a disposable container and melted the wax for us in the microwave. I dipped the metal part of the wick into the wax so that it would adhere to my container:

The hot wax will cool fairly quickly, so you don't have to hold it in place for very long.

Once the wax was completely melted, I added the essential oil. I chose lavender. You could also add color or pieces of dried lavender to the wax.

Then I poured the wax into my container:

It helps to lay a pencil on top and wind the excess wick around it to secure it while the candle cools:

Amby's candle turned out prettier than mine. When it cooled, it was perfectly smooth on the top. Mine wasn't. Whatever. Hopefully she will post her technique. This is Amby's flawless, banana nut fragranced candle:

(Mine made it safely home. It smells wonderful and it became smooth on top once I burned it):

Isabell and Sherman are brilliant kitties and they did lots of tricks for me. One was their fancy diamond formation:

On Sunday, we had Nathan's family over for lunch. We did salads. Amby did chicken salad and pasta salad. I did shrimp couscous salad. It was fun.

Amby bought a new sewing machine and I helped her make a skirt. It turned out really cute. I don't know if she could have done it without Sherman's help:

The best part about the trip was being together. The worst part was having to say goodbye.