The Lost Art of Hand Candle Crafting

I am from Missouri. The state suprises me the more I explore her. Tonight I am staying in a hotel in Branson, Missouri. Many of you are probably familiar with the city, I am not. Evidentally I was here at the age of 5,… but to be honest, if I can remember something that happened 10 years ago, I am doing pretty good… let alone 27 years ago!

Anyway, enough rambling about my memory condition.

Many folks have visited Silver Dollar City. For those of you that don’t know, SDC is a theme park modeled after the way of life in the hills of the Ozarks. The visitor will witness many craftsmen / craftswomen, one of these are the old-tyme (purposely mispelled) chandlers.

You may see an old man with a long white beard dipping wickes in a vat of wax heated by a fire. To someone who has been making candles for several years, this was an incredible sight. Obviously to the average candle burner, not to great of a spectacle unless that casual candle user has not idea how candles are made… in large factories in China.

Seriously though,… a lot of work goes into hand made candles. Of course many candle companies are born out of a basements, garages, spare rooms, and kitchens. Back in the olde (purposely mispelled) days, convieniences were a rarity. Candle distributers where unheard of, and they definately couldn’t import candles made in foreign countries buy the container full!

The wax was heated over fire… someone manually dipped the wicks. A lot of work, compared to today’s standards, went into making a candle!

Ok… by now you are asking me to get to the point. Next time you purchase a candle or candles (soy or paraffin), do you local chandler a favor and try a truly handmade / hand-dipped candle and check out the difference. Not only the way it looks, but the way it burns, how long it burns, and how it smells. You might be suprised, and you may change your preference in candle purchasing. The subtle differences in the wax alone will amaze you!

Your local chandler puts a lot of time, effort, and love into the candles they hand make. They take pride in their product. They are forced to produce a super high quality product to stay competitive in the marketplace. Sure, they may cost a little more, but as they say in the hills of the ozarks, “Ya pay fer what ya git!”

Visit us online at www.soywaxcandles.org for more information!

Will Reece ownes and operates several websites related to candles and soy candles. He is an experienced chandler and sells his candles online at one of his websites. Get into soy candle making by visiting his website, http://www.soywaxcandles.org. There you will find easy-to-follow instructions on making your first candle at home!

The Magical World Of Collectible Figurines

Millions of people throughout the world take great joy in the hobby of collecting figurines. If you are thinking of starting your own collectible figurine collection, you can purchase your first figurine through various channels, such as buying it online or going to a wholesale figurine market.

Nowadays, figurine collection has become an interesting and fascinating hobby. In fact, with the use of the internet, starting your own figurine collection has become even easier. No matter what type of figurine you are looking for, you will find a wide range of collectible figurines available on the internet, which you can buy from the comfort of your own home and at a reasonable price too. You can also purchase figurines by bidding on online auctions. However, take care not to bid too much on figurines as you would not want your figurine collection to become a financial burden on you.

If you want to order a special type of figurine such as an angel figurine or a fairy figurine, be sure to ask the supplier to display the models and list of your choice. It is also important to specify the size of your figurine before placing the purchase order. Images and pictures of figurines online are often not truly representative of the actual size of the figurines and may often appear larger than the actual dimensions.

Furthermore, some special figurines such as angel figurine may cost you more, as they can be custom made according to your desire. The modern porcelain angel figurine comes in various materials and shapes, so be sure to specify the material and other features that you wish your angel figurine or fairy figurine to have. Fairy figurines are also available in many models and dimensions. Another type of collectible figurine that many people love to collect is the pewter figurine of mythical creatures.

If you consider your figurine collection to be of great value, you should consider passing it on to your future generation as collectible figurines increase in values over time. You will be surprised to know that there is a science to collecting figurines and the more you become involved in the hobby of collecting figurines, the more you will want to learn about it.

Before starting your collection, visit specialty shops like wholesale figurine shops or ask a few friends or relatives who are experienced in collecting figurines for suggestions on how to get started and also on how to negotiate successfully with sellers of figurines

If you are thinking of starting your own Figurine Collection visit figurine-collection.info. Susan also enjoys writing on a wide range of topics at http://www.home-and-family-hub.info.

The Diversified Poems [five Poems]

The Diversified Poems

1) A Fearless Night

I sat quietly, and watched the night weeping in
Lonely from some eerie dark, unknown to man.
Lo! Beneath the dome of heaven, grit with crept
And conspiracy,(Clark A. Smith looked at me)
He sucked the sunlight, hid within the twilight,
With unrequited tears: then in ominous silence,
He tried to swallow me!…

*865 9/2005 [dedicated to: CAS]

2) Shadow-lands

I walked with the deadquietly

In the darkness of its vaults

Looking at its ruined past,
Their shadows taunting above my head!

In the twilight of these unwashed vaults

Shadow-lands, unresponsive

Yearning hands, vaguer faces:
All shadowy hanging limbs above me!

All these grim and ghostly shapes I see

Have tears, sorrow, and misery.

No joy upon their faces at all;
I pause, I sigh, I see thee, see thee…

(I am like a dreamless bird, caught
in, in the vanishing shadow-lands of
a vision.)

3) A Witness of Minnesota

The winter moonlight frosts the north…

The lights that melts the quiet sky…

Silentlyfrom far to near
The evening trembles forth with stars!

From ebbing forests, rivers sweep

Unseen life, oblivious weeps,

That held dominion in the deep,
Once changeless, now changesperpetuity

Who guards the holy northern skies?

At their insurmountable posts?

What final commands bend their might?
O, territorial armies of eternal light.

And onto which this land was born,

Whose life awakes to live again?

The light of forests lift up ye face
To the legacy of lasting Destiny!

#863 9/2005

4) City of Doom

Where lonely now, New Orleans rests

And scattered dwells, antique dust
The towers of doomed cities (saith sing) rise

Accordant to American skies!

Swept into destructions forum

The city of melody is no more
Floating under waters and waist

The cords of music cry, infinity!

#860 9/2005

5) An Old Poet

O, yes, yes! To thy I bow, too

The dignified laurels on my brow

To my unworth’t, is give to know!
Such poet who holds humanities soul

A shadow o’er my vision runs

Lo! The weariness of man

As I taste his bitterness: death
What is, shall be; what was, is.

(And sealed for eternity.)

#861 9/2005
(For Robert Bly and Don Hall)

Dennis Siluk - EzineArticles Expert Author

See Dennis’ web site: http://dennissiluk.tripod.com

The War House Poems [Now in Spanish and English]

1) The Curse

Never, O Death, was such a curse as this

Crushed from thy youth for war

For the war machine;

Here, hate and madness kiss

And horror crowns for the brows of the

Dying… (the Middle East).

Garlands of serpents are there; and

For peace, a golden chain with no name

Only an infernal hiss, with a kiss…!

#1080 1/18/2006

2) The Machine of War

Feed the war machine with red;

With mindless steel and lead

Feed it with our youthful lambs:

Our sons, the unhappy dead…!

Quenchless and malign and sad:

Feed the war machine with Red.

#1079 1/17/2006

3) Babylon’s Sun

We give to the hands of strange

And relentless men

The haunting few, that is,

We give to them our destinies!

And when we moan for our dead,

We moan alone, sad but alleged.

In the bitter twilight with:

Lips of steel and stone we moan

In the deserts sands alone;

Babylon, the vulture beneath

The sun,like a raven: hovers

Over America; the kings have

Come, for our sons…!

#1081 1/17/2006

4) Lonely Star

I will never know this world

Alone in this dim, slim shadowland,

Bodies and souls seeking

Roaming to and fro;

The watchers of this planet’s

Passing play, watches from afar

(in the clouds of the heavens).

Where is the light? The Light!

I here only the music, and silence;

Feast on this they say: let us forget

Tomorrow or today, all we may

Dread by the unknown horizon.

#1082 1/17/2006

IN SPANISH
Translated by Nancy Penaloza

La casa de la guerra

[Poemas]

1) La Desgracia

Nunca, Oh! Muerte, estuvo una desgracia tal como esta
Machacado desde tu juventud por la guerra
Por la mquina de la guerra;
Aqu, El odio y la locura se besaron
Y coronas de horror para las frentes del
Moribundo… (El Oriente Medio).
Las guirnaldas de serpientes estn all; y
Para la paz, una cadena de oro sin nombre
Solamente un silbido infernal, con un beso…!

#1080 1/18/2006

2) la mquina de la guerra

Alimente la mquina de la guerra con rojo;

Con acero violencia y plomo
Aliméntelo con nuestros corderos jvenes:
Nuestros hijos, los muertos infelices…!
Insaciables y malignos y tristes:
Alimente la mquina de la guerra con rojo.

#1079 1/17/2006

3) Sol De Babilonia

Damos a las manos del desconocido
Y hombres implacables
Lo Poco inolvidable, es decir,

Les damos nuestros destinos!
Y cuando nos quejamos por nuestros muertos,
Nos quejamos solos, supuestamente tristes,.
En el crepsculo amargo con:
Labios de acero y piedra nosotros gemimos
En las arenas de los desiertos solamente -;
Babilonia, el buitre debajo
El sol,- como a cuervo merodea
Sobre América; los reyes han
Venido, por nuestros hijos…!

#1081 1/17/2006

4) Estrella Solitaria

Nunca conoceré este mundo
Solo en este oscura, oscura tierra sombria-
Cuerpos y almas buscando
Errantes de un lado a otro;
Los vigilantes de este planeta
Juego pasajero, mirando desde lejos
(En las nubes de los cielos).
Dnde est la luz? La Luz!
Yo aqu solamente la msica, y silencio;
Banquete en esto ellos dicen: olvidémoslos
Maana u hoy, todos podemos
Temor por el horizonte desconocido.

#1082 1/17/20

Dennis Siluk - EzineArticles Expert Author

See Dennis’ web site: http://dennissiluk.tripod.com

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