farmer's market Archives - Soap Deli News

Homemade Valentine’s Day Gift Idea: Heart Shaped Beeswax Candles DIY

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Homemade Valentine's Day Gift Idea - DIY Heart Shaped Beeswax Candles

Looking for simple, homemade Valentine’s Day gift ideas? Try browsing your local farmer’s market! This DIY Handmade Heart Shaped Beeswax Candle was a snap to make – all you need is beeswax, a mold and a wick – or a heart shaped natural beeswax candle – and a few embellishments!

As this past weekend was so unseasonably warm and lovely, I decided to stop by our local farmer’s market and see if there was anything new. And to my surprise there was a new vendor I had not seen before called Crystal Mountain out of Willis, VA. Run by Emily and Arthur McKay, Crystal Mountain makes handmade beeswax candles and bars. So I snapped up a few. I bought several bars of beeswax for including in my diy bath and beauty recipes as well as as several beeswax candles – stacked hearts, a little owl and a cake. (Unfortunately they don’t yet have a website.)

Homemade Natural Beeswax Candle - Heart Shaped Candle for Valentine's Day

Crystal Mountain makes their candles by first coating their silicone molds with a release agent. Then the beeswax is poured with the wick in place and removed once the beeswax has solidified. I though these were especially wonderful as they have no added scent or color – but are completely natural. And because there is no scent to bother someone with allergies, they’d serve well as wedding favors or as Valentine’s Day gifts.

DIY Valentine's Day Beeswax Candle - Also Great Handmade Wedding Favor Idea

Dressing up these handmade candles to give as homemade Valentine’s Day gifts – or to place on tables as favors for guests – could not be simpler. Just tie a pretty bow around each of the candles. Want something a little more elegant? Try adding brads, beads or sequins around the candle as well!

DIY Washi Tape Heart Shaped Beeswax Candle - Handmade Wedding Favors or Gift Idea for Valentine's Day

Or place decorative washi tape around your candle in your favorite color and pattern combos. For wedding favors or a party, use color combinations that match your event colors. For Valentine’s Day gifts, use red, pink and silver – or any color combination you think your recipient will love.

Looking for more DIY Valentine’s Day gift ideas? You can find more Homemade Valentine’s Day Gift DIY’s right here on Soap Deli News. Or check out my DIY Valentine’s Day Gifts Board on Pinterest! Will you be giving Valentine’s Day gifts to someone special this year?

Handmade Arts and Crafts from the Historic Roanoke City Market

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I love going down to visit our local city market on Saturdays. We have such a wonderful array of artists, crafters and farmers! And, this year we already started off with a handful of new vendors. Here are some of my favorites pieces from the Roanoke City Market today.

A regular long time vendor on the Roanoke City Market is Brian Seckinger of Roanoke Pottery Works. I always love discovering new pots he’s created whether from slabs or a pottery wheel. And I love that he’s able to throw some of the largest bowls I’ve ever come across. In fact I own two great pieces from him that are around 1 1/2 feet in diameter.

These are new hand built slab pottery pots with handles for spring. They come in an array of bright colors including blue, green, yellow and red. They’re perfect for indoor and outdoor planting – I’m using my green one to grow garlic! – for small plants and herbs or indoors for storage or decoration. These can be tied onto a trellis or hung from a porch in multiples to save on space!

Brian also recently made some raku horse hair pottery for spring. To see more of Brian’s work, be sure to take a peek at his photo albums on his fan page – Roanoke Pottery Works – on facebook.

A new potter to the market is Mary Hadden of Floyd, VA. She hand builds all of her clay works and finishes them with a unique matte, glaze finish that she worked hard to perfect.

I love all of Mary’s pieces, but I think my favorite pieces of hers are her wind chime fairies.

She also makes lovely handmade flower pots, soap dishes, bird houses, lidded boxes, and even business card holders! You can see more of Mary’s pottery in my Market Days Album on Facebook.

Both Brian and Mary sell their pottery on the Historic Roanoke City Market on Saturdays, weather permitting.

A few other highlights include the following:

Unique, handmade jewelry crafted from bracket fungi. These one of a kind necklaces, earrings, and brooches are made by Penny Lane, also of Floyd, VA. Penny shares a booth on the Roanoke City Market with Mary Hadden on Saturdays.

Lunar Scapes – owned and operated by regular vendors Kyle and David – hand crafts and sells recycled wine and beer bottles. These melted bottles come in various shapes, sizes, and colors and are perfect for cheese and crackers, butter, and other party appetizers. Each cheese tray is embellished with beads and wire work and comes with a small knife.

One of my favorite market photographs is one I took in June of 2009 of David kissing a local goat that liked to visit the market on weekends.

A new vendor, Joe Stanley of Upcycled Cards, also creates his wares from upcycling. He recycles wine corks and used gift cards to make something new.

Joe uses spent corks to craft handmade coasters and serving trays.

And retired gift cards are used to make one of kind jewelry including fun bracelets and earrings.

To see more wonderful arts and crafts from local artists on the Historic Roanoke City Market from past to present, be sure to check out my Market Days Album. There are so many beautiful works of art, it’s just impossible to include them all in one post. And don’t forget to stop by the Roanoke City Market to shop for Mother’s Day!

What are some of your favorite things to buy from your local farmer’s market?