Warmed Wax: Glitterati, Sniff My Tarts & Forstbeard

Glitterati Pomegranate Cider & Cranberry Marmalade let off a burst of bright fruits and light spices on cold, while warmed it was still just as perky and pleasant but a tad light. I would say a medium light throw. I had to do some bowl wafting to get a feel for the scent. Not a repurchase.

Sniff My Tarts Cranberry Chutney/Cranberry Spice another light thrower and the cranberries in this blend are not for me. I have discovered I have very specific cranberry needs. This version is too candylike. I enjoy a tart, ruby red, and spicy cranberry. Or if not spicy then paired with zingy citrus. Not a repurchase.

Frostbeard Dumbledore's Office was a beast. It threw strong in my bedroom and let off a most unique scent. It reminded me of an old library, book pages, polished wood, and a slight tone of mustiness. I really enjoyed it! Repurchase. I was sad to learn that Frostbeard's Potter name use has come to an end. Some will be discontinued and others will be renamed. Dumbledore's Office is now Headmaster's Office. Most will involve the word "wizard." 

Melting Basket 18

Wax tarts I would repurchase from the last basket include: S&S MacApple Leaves Marshmallow Fireside and S&S Pumpkin Cheesecake Icecream BRC, both were very strong and delicious scents.

Rosegirls- Sweet Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting

Rosegirls- Windmill Cookies

Rosegirls- The Little Farmer

Rosegirls- Cranberry Orange Smoothie

Rosegirls- Cider Lane, Sweet Pumpkin Pie and Marshmallow Smoothie

Rosegirls- Cranberry Streuselkuchen <3 gift

Frostbeard Studio- Dumbledore's Office

Super Tarts- Beetlejuice

Super Tarts- Goldbergs

Sugar & Spice- Ghost Munch Cookie Butter Crack <3 gift

Beezy- Toasted Marshmallows

Lasting Scent Candles- Candyland Dreamin'

Butterfly Lane Scents- Pink Sugar Cake

Sniff My Tarts- Cranberry Spice/Cranberry Chutney

Sniff My Tarts- Pumpkin/Pralines/Caramel

Glitterati- Pomegranate Cider/Cranberry Marmalade

CFTKR- Caramel's Perfect Autumn <3 gift

If you would like to know about any of the above scents in depth, just shoot me a comment. Can you believe how quickly Thanksgiving is approaching?! I have my grocery list all mapped out and our Thankful Tree is filling with leaves of gratitude. The Johnson Christmas shopping is wrapping up nicely. I only have a few more things to get and stockings to help St. Nick fill. As usual, in central Florida, late fall/early winter is still pretty balmy weather. The temperatures have been hovering in the 70-80's most days but a cold front is blowing through this week. Lows in the 30's at night and a high of 59. This is cause for fluffy sweaters and cute scarves. 

Our bougainvillea blooming abundantly in our yard.

Are you ready for Thanksgiving? Have thoughts of Christmas entered in your brain? What gets you in the holiday spirit? I think the cold snap is going to jump start mine.

Melting Basket 15

Wax tarts I would repurchase from the last basket include: Missouri River Soap Butterscotch Rum sooo good, SMT Peppermint/Frost Bite/Spearmint, and RG Pumpkin Pecan Waffles though I prefer to blend with it, it is pretty amazing.

Vintage Chic Scents- Beautiful Jackie O Loves Fall an excellent pancake scent with added pumpkin

Vintage Chic Scents- The Great Pumpkin

Butterfly Lanes Scents- Granny's Kitchen

Make Scents- Blueberry Muffin

Make Scents- Pink Marshmallows

Make Scents- Pink Peppermint Rosemary Mint

Haley's Heavenly Scents- Toasted Honey Grahams

Frostbeard Studio- The Shire

Glitterati- Lemon Biscotti/ZB/Mexican Fried Ice Cream

Glitterati- Fallberry

Candles From the Keeping Room- Peppermint Marshmallow

Ten Digit- Gypsy Magic

Beezy- Pumpkin Cupcake

Beezy- Spiced Bananas

Beezy- Marshmallow Pumpkin Bread

Rosegirls- Ooey Gooey Caramel/Butterbrickle/Dunk My Donut hoarding this gift since Valentine's Day, and I really want to hold onto it longer, but I need to just bite the bullet and melt it. It promises to be divine.

Rosegirls- Cider Lane, Sweet Pumpkin Pie, Marshmallow Smoothie <3 gift I am thankful to try!

If you have any questions about the tarts in the basket feel free to ask. I will be happy to do a more in depth review on any scent.

We have a fire-pit in our backyard that is pretty much out of commission during the sweltering summer months. I have been tossing old bird feed in there from Savanna's My Spy Birdhouse and My Spy Feeder (neither have managed to attract anything other than wasps- save your $40 if you live near me....). These seeds sprouted into beautiful sunflowers and I wanted to share.

Any beautiful surprises in your life? Unexpected fails that turn into something better than you imagined in the end? My recent foray into Apple Tarts not withstanding. I did get my Candles From the Keeping Room order (part 1) delivered yesterday, despite it being a holiday. Yay USPS!

Warmed Wax: Streetman Strawberry Wood & Frostbeard Butterbeer

 

Streetman Strawberry Wood- This one ounce scent shot packed a wallop of unique scent. The strawberry reminded me of freshly dehydrated strawberries, not sugar sweet and not artificial, but mellow and real. The woods came in the form of oak wood. The combo was interesting and gorgeous. I will certainly repurchase. The throw was medium strong in the bathroom and lasted about 3 days in the plug-in warmer I use in there.

 

Frostbeard Butterbeer- Yum! This butterbeer continued to smell similar to LifeSavers Butter Rum candies. A nice butterscotch that was sweet and smooth. The scent was medium to medium light. It lasted about 5-6 hours in my bedroom warmer. I would repurchase, but maybe in the candle next time just for a change of pace.

Frostbeard Studio: A Study in Excellent Customer Service

My missing clamshell came from my original order, and he brought a friend! I am really thankful that the owners of Frostbeard, Tom & Roxie, went the extra mile to make amends for the small mistake. Generosity and customer service like this go a long way in enduring me to a company. We all make mistakes, but how we respond to them shows our character, both as consumers and business owners (and friends, spouses and family members). I like Frostbeard's character. And cute lil old Norse man face.

Vendor scent descriptions followed by my thoughts:

Winterfell- Scotch pine and firewood. Oh my! All I can say is that this was worth the wait. A post Christmas bonfire using the browned brittle Douglas Fir tree as fuel for the fire. Smokey, deep and rich like it can only be on a winter day with evergreen resin crackling and popping, sending tiny bright orange embers to the sky as a New Year offering.

Butterbeer- Butterscotch overtones with hints of creme brulee and butter rum. Butter rum LifeSavers, hot and melty from being in your pocket too long, oozing a golden caramel goodness around the edges. I have had Butterbeer tarts before but this was the first one without a funny plastic note to it that the others had. Very decadent and sweet.

Thank you Frostbeard for making me a happy customer. I will be back.

Melting Basket 12

Wax tarts I would repurchase from the last basket include: TDC Honey Lemon, RG Simply Amazing Bakery medium to medium strong tart with gorgeous pink apple pie aroma, FP Caramel Apple strong caramel covered apples, Front Porch does apple well.

Frostbeard- Butterbeer

SMT- Pink Noel

SMT- Snickerdoodle Caramel Cookie Latte

Rainbow Melts- Butter Mint Cake

Rainbow Melts- Gooey Caramel Cider

Rogegirls- Celtic Moonspice

Make Scents- Honey Drizzled Gingerbread

Haley's Heavenly Scents- pink peppermints <3 gift

CFTKR- Apple Cinnamon Donuts

CFTKR- Wildberry Mousse Flapjacks <3 gift

JLCCW- Serendipity Toasted Marshmallow Vanilla Bean Noel <3 gift

JLCCW- Melon Ball Fizz Pina Colada Serendipity <3 gift

Book Scents- Drums of Autumn

Lake Providence Lodge- Country Cottage

Ava's Country Cupboard- Autumn Wreath

Sugar & Spice- Butterbrickle Caramel Apple

Butterfly Lanes Scents- Apple Pie

Butterfly Lane Scents- Caramel Apple Pie

Olde Primitive Treasures- Harvest

Streetman- Strawberry Wood

If there are any scents you would like to learn more about (throw/length/fragrance) please ask and I will feature it in a Warmed Wax post. My basket, she is full of the apples and spice and new to me melts!

So I did the thing. The lemming thing. You know... followed everyone over and off The Planner Cliff. Let me preface this by saying that I have always used a planner while I was employed (I took 5 years off to be a stay at home mom until last year). I need to be able to look at my month and know what is going on... fire drills I need to initiate, field trips to plan, school holidays... and then the personal stuff, birthdays, doctor appointments, coffee and movie dates with buddies. I just usually grabbed the $8 At-A-Glance planner from Target and called it a day. Dum dum duuuuummmmm... until now. Now I have the Cadillac of planners, the 1 carat planner, "THE" planner. I love it. But I must say. I am still deciding if I "need" this every year. A friend told me about PlumPaper planners on Etsy. They are a little cheaper. So we shall see. For the moment I am enjoying my Erin Condren planner. Immensely.

Melting Basket 10

Wax from the previous basket that I would repurchase include: Rosegirls Snowflake and Better Homes and Gardens Soft Cashmere Amber.

Alamo Candelaria Mermaid

Alamo Candelaria Red Poppy

Ten Digit Creations Rosewood Amber

Up the Creek Scents Marshmallow Butter Fudge

Up the Creek Scents Zucchini Cookie Bakery melted previously, creamy vanilla cookie zucchini

Rosegirls Apple Pucker

Rosegirls Raspberry Caramel Truffle

Rosegirls Yoshi's Island of Yummy

Sniff My Tarts Pink Fairy Dust/Peppermint/Vanilla Butter Fudge

CFTKR Wood Violets and Sugar Maple melted previously, unique violet that is rich, almost like a dried, pressed version of itself rather than fresh and in the soil, the sugar maple is not overly syrupy

Frostbeard Sassenach

Vintage Chic Scents Asphalt Jungle

Book Scents A Breath of Snow and Ashes

Book Scents Outlander

So I finally did myself a favor and watched Sherlock. I also did myself a huge disservice by starting it without time to spare, so I only got to watch the first 30 minutes of Season 1, Episode 1. Torture. Cliffhanger. Obsessed. Please help. Must have more Sherlock. Anyone else Sherlocked? Sherlockian? Holmie? I also picked up a cat cardigan at Target yesterday, providing one of my sisters with a good chuckle. Hey, I am a teacher. And a geek. I will wear cat cardigans all day long.

Frostbeard Studio: Soy Candle Tarts

A box of geeky nirvana landed on my doorstep recently, in the form of Frostbeard Studio. Old Frostbeard... I like his face. It tickles my fancy.

So does the peacock hued tissue paper.

So does the branding, theme, and styling of the clams. Clamshells are a bit on the steep side at $6.00 a pop for a standard 3oz size. There are coupon code discounts for ordering multiples. Scent descriptions are from their website with my thoughts following:

Sassenach: lavender, thyme, basil and herb. On cold, basil and thyme are forefront, green, slightly bitter and stunningly realistic. A true, herbal lavender is blended in nicely. I bet these types of scents clung to Clair's hair and fingers. She would want me to tell you that basil has wonderful antiseptic properties when applied to wounds and that it can be ingested for anti-inflammatory purposes.

Slytherin: frankincense and myrrh. I broke two cubes off and melted them in my bedroom. The throw was medium-strong, soothing and splendid. I melted it all night (12 hours) and it was dissipated by morning. The incense is rounded and velvety. It probably would smell slightly virile to some but without the usual citrusy/bergamot notes most masculines include. Slytherin snaked its way into the heart of my nose.

The Shire: Oakmoss, clover, aloe, with a hint of sweet cherry pipe tobacco. Oakmoss smells so elegant to me... here I get mainly oakmoss with a sweet tobacco note, the clover is a soft green grass swaying in the background. I imagine Bag End smelling just like this as you walk through Bilbo's round door.

Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey: Driftwood, black currant tea, and a hint of juniper. I melted two cubes in the living room/kitchen and the throw was medium to medium-light. This is better suited for bathrooms or bedrooms for my liking. I was hoping for a bit more zest from the juniper, but overall this smells like a really nice Snuggle fabric softener. Really nice. But I am glad to hear the time matter of our universe has a nice clean scent.

Dumbledore's Office: cedarwood vanilla, fireplace and lemon! Lemon... they read the books. Dumbledore loved his lemondrops. I must say this is quite the unique blending of scents!! Each note  can be distinctly pulled from this clamshell. Vanilla first, followed by aromatic cedar, smoke from the fireplace in his office and lemon trails at the end of the inhale. Is it lemon Pledge or Lemon Drops? It morphs and changes and vacillates between the two. As it does, each variation smells just right in this context. Oh, Dumbledore and his magic.



As I was taking photos of these clamshells I came to realize I was missing one. Winterfell! I emailed Frostbeard Studio and received the default "We're on vacation" reply. For three weeks. In Scandinavia. (How cool?!) So I figured I would have quite the wait for resolution. But about an hour later Rox emailed me, apologizing and asked if I wanted Winterfell (to be mailed after their return) or $6.00 refund. I want Winterfell. So I shall wait and have a nice little Stark surprise. There was a coupon code included too.

Winterfell: Scotch pine and firewood

I am enjoying my order so far and look forward to receiving Winterfell. I do think the prices are slightly inflated compared to most wax out there. The discount coupon code will get used, either on a candle or a couple of clamshells. Have you tried Frostbeard? Spotted any Etsy hidden gems?