How To Make Beeswax Candles

Middletown's Fabulous Farmers Markets: Tips for Smart Shopping

Shopping at Middletown's farmers markets is one of the great joys of the summer season — fresh-picked fruits and veggies, grown in season, by Connecticut farmers and gardeners, breads baked fresh that morning and gourmet cheeses galore.

Middletown's North End Farmers Markets run Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Oct. 28 in front of It's Only Natural Market on lower Main Street. There are even two more night markets, Aug. 9 and Sept. 20 from 5-8 p.m. — which also feature live music. Next week the band will be Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem .

The South Green farmers market runs Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. through Oct. 29 at Union Park on upper Main Street. Vendors are Gotta's Farm of Portland and Rose's Berry Farm from South Glastonbury.

These markets' increased popularity around Connecticut has helped teach many of us a greener way of eating, as well as helped connect us with our communities and the folks growing our food. Here are six tips to make the most out of your trip to the market.

1. Go early — the best stuff goes fast.  A farmer may only have a single flat of ripe, juicy blackberries or a couple of pounds of fresh green peas, so arrive early to make sure you get the best selections.

2. Bring your own bags and baskets.  Vendors may not have disposable bags to give to customers. By bringing your own bags, you reduce waste at the market and in your own home. Plus there’s just something exceptionally beautiful about a basket brimming with bright green lettuce, dark red cherries, orange carrots and other lovely fruits and vegetables.

3. Bring a cooler.  Markets offer more than just fruits and vegetables. You can find fish, cheese, yogurt and ready-to-eat items that require refrigeration. By bringing a cooler you can keep fresh foods that need to be kept cool cold and go back to spend more time at the market - listening to music, checking out the arts and crafts, or grabbing a snack at one of the booths.

4. Bring cash and small bills.  Most farmers’ markets do not take credit or ATM cards. Cash and small bills makes it easier for the farmer to make change for the masses of folks who bring nothing but $20 bills from the nearby ATM.

5. Know what is in season. Part of the pleasure of shopping at your local market is developing an appreciation of fresh, local foods at the height of their natural season. You won’t find strawberries in September or asparagus in October! If you’re unsure when apricots will be in season or when the snap peas will stop producing, visit the market’s information booth. Better yet, ask the local farmers.

– Make Beeswax Candles – Know the Advantages of Using Beeswax

When making candles there are a number of good waxes to choose from. But in order to choose the right one for your purposes you need to know the different benefits each wax has to offer. This particular article is going to point out the benefits of beeswax and then tell you how to make beeswax candles.

First off the flame of the beeswax candle is superior to all other waxes. There is no coughing or sneezing (well it looks like coughing or sneezing) or sputtering of the beeswax flame. And the flame burns bigger and brighter then the other candles, yet doesn’t burn the wax any faster and has a beautiful yellow color giving off a warm glow to the room.

Beeswax has superior cleanliness it doesn’t give off smoke and you don’t get any sooty areas on the walls. It doesn’t spill or drip wax down the sides of the candle.

Beeswax requires no artificial scents it has its own natural scent which happens to be a pleasant one, a sweet honey like fragrance.

If you know anything about aroma therapy you know that different fragrances have different benefits for the physiology and psychology. In the case of beeswax there is a feeling of calmness and well-being.

However the feeling of well-being could be do to another very beneficial quality that beeswax has. Beeswax actually gives off negative ions the same negative ions you are exposed to when you are sitting on the beach and which make you feel so good. Negative ions are like air purifiers and are good for you and just like when you feel great at the beach, negative ions will give you a sense euphoria or well-being.

Beeswax is an ingredient in some cosmetics because it will make the skin softer and retains moisture.

And of course it is eco-friendly coming from a renewable source and as covered above leaves a smaller carbon footprint.

Many churches which use candles in their religious ceremonies will only use beeswax candles.

Unlike the other waxes beeswax doesn’t need to be heated up and melted on a stove in order to make candles with.

This also reduces the carbon footprint and makes it a safe candle for even children to make. To make beeswax candles all you need is a sheet of beeswax, which you can get at the craft store and hand roll it around a wick to make a candle. Wow doesn’t that sound easy? Well it is, you can make beeswax candles in a few short minutes with no prior experience necessary.

How to make beeswax candles

The Everything Candlemaking Book, Create Homemade Candles in House-Warming Colors, Interesting Shapes, and Appealing Scents

Do Fish Drink Water?, Puzzling and Improbable Questions and Answers

Honeybee, Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper

Craft Wisdom & Know-How, Everything You Need to Stitch, Sculpt, Bead and Build