Introducing Cutesy-Wootsy!

Recently, we were inspired to create gift candles for a very special mommy-to-be. We wanted to send her something cute, fun and baby-themed... something the mommy-to-be and baby could both enjoy.  From packaging to scent selection & presentation, we wanted our gift to be special so we put on our thinking caps.  Then, it hit us!  We'd make:

BABY FOOD JAR CANDLES

Nothing says baby like baby food, so empty baby food jars were the perfect holders for our candles. Not just any old baby food jar candles would do though. We knew we had to upcycle them (convert the used empty jars into new a totally new product of better quality) into eye-catching nursery decorations.

We started with Gerber baby food jars.  We washed them thoroughly with hot water to clean them and remove the product label.  After drying them, we made our candles. For these candles, we chose a lovely new fragrance we named appropriately: Lavender Baby.  It's a soft, powder-like fragrance that contains oils of lavender & chamomile, essential oils both known for their relaxing qualities.

While the candles were cooling, we went to work on revamping the jar lids.  We chose a natural muslin fabric with jute twine wrapped around the lid & tied into a bow.  We then applied adorable 3D animal stickers on the lids to give the lids a fun, juvenile-themed appearance. 

These candles came out so adorable that we knew enclosing them in a box or putting them in an organza pouch wouldn't do. So we put our thinking caps on again to think about how to package them in an equally adorable way. Then it hit us! We'd wrap them like pieces of candy. We wouldn't wrap them with any old fabric either, we'd wrap them in bright, colorful baby washcloths. Not only are baby washclothscandy colored and soft, but they would make the candles a 2-in-1 gift.

We were so thrilled with how cute these gift candles came out that we decided to make them available to our customers. Our Cutesy-Wootsy Candle Collection was born! 

We're currently working on 2 additional candle scents for this collection and hope to make them available for sale toward the end of 2012.  Please share the word about this new collection with friends & family planning for a new arrival.  They will make great gifts or even favors.  You will "ooo" and "awww" over them.  We do!

Bubbly News

We're happy to announce that our handmade, natural soaps are on the way! 

Soapmaking is absolutely addictive!  It's relaxing, it's creative, it's fun and challenging all at once. We've had such a pleasure experimenting with both MP (melt and pour) and cold process (CP) soapmaking. Though MP soaps are easier to make and shelf ready immediately, there's nothing like soap made the old fashioned way using the CP method.  In the CP method, you get to control the ingredients, you get to truly build the product from scratch and we love that.

So what soap will we be offering?  What yummy scents do we have cooked up?  (Glad you asked! lol)  Initially, we'll be offering CP soaps in our Yum E'scentials body care scents Mango Colada, Plumeria Aloe and Black Raspberry Sage.  All are formulated with ingredients like olive oil, coconut oil, shea butter and palm oil... simple, ingredients for simply wonderful, lather-ful (we made that word up) and natural bars of soap!

We thought we'd show you an early picture of our Mango Colada (left) and Black Raspberry Sage (right) soaps. Mango Colada looked so pretty but it didn't stay that way.  Over time, it discolored to a milk chocolate color.  Why?  Our fragrance contains vanillin (think vanilla) so overtime it browns naturally.  Our Black Raspberry Sage soap stayed just as you see it however.  It's such a pretty bar!  You can't see them very well, but blueberry seeds were used in this batch for gentle exfoliation.



Below are pics of other soap loaves we made as we learned the CP method of soapmaking.  Some came out wonderful... some, not so wonderful. (lol)

Hombre scented soap made with green tea gunpowder.  Palm oil free! This batch didnt come out as moisturizing as we care for, but it smells really good.




Champagne Pear made with real California champagne! We can't wait to try it.




Zen-fandel soap made with a white zinfandel fragrance oil and green tea leaves. This one didn't come out so well. It crumbled when we cut it... A sign of too much lye.


Cantaloupe Cucumber smells fresh and clean and the bars are so pretty. We love this batch!



Our handmade soap will be available at the end of April/early May. (Soap has to cure for a few weeks before it's ready for use. This allows water to evaporate from it and for a little more pH reduction.) Product testers have given us awesome feedback on them so we look forward to making them available for all to enjoy!

Have a yummy day friends!

For the Romantics at Heart...

Who says romance is dead?

As we get closer to Valentine’s Day, it’s the perfect time to highlight one of our newest products, our Harmony massage candle.  There are many that believe the days of courting, wooing & romancing your sweetie are days long gone by.  Well, we think the story behind our Harmony massage candle proves them wrong.  We hope it's just one example of all acts of love & courtship that take place around the world that we just don’t get to see or witness.

So here’s how the story goes… Once upon a time (smile)....

The fiancé of one of our loyal customers contacted us to inquire if we could create a special candle with which he could surprise his soon-to-be wife (& their guests) on their wedding day.  He asked that it be named after his future wife & that the scent be reflective of her personality. The thoughtfulness & love behind his inquiry left us smitten. Of course we said we could & would love to!   

We came up with a few samples & mailed them secretly to his job. He chose one of the samples & then it was on to creating the labels for their wedding favors.  He provided us with a few pics from their engagement photos. We played around with them to come up with a label that we loved & we hoped they would love too!

Here is a pic of their wedding favors. BEAUTIFUL!

As part of the plan, we committed to making the candle available for sale online as part of our line of massage candles. We had to change the label unfortunately, but we love the new look.  It’s simple, clean, romantic & whimsy all-in-one… perfect for a love story such as this one.

Our Harmony candle has a soft & clean lavender aroma with a hint of vanilla & sage.  It strikes the perfect balance between romance, rejuvenation & peace.

Want to add harmony to your aromatherapy candle collection?  Try this new candle!  Now save 20% on our Harmony massage candle now through Valentine’s Day using the code HARMONY in your cart at www.yumyumcandle.com.

New Year, New Yum Yum Candle!

We're a little delayed in writing this post.  We've been very busy working on our new look (have you visited our website lately?), some new ideas, new products and brainstorming on how to be greener and better in 2012.  We've been so excited about all of these things that well... writing our first entry for 2012 slipped on our list of things to do but...

HERE WE ARE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU!

Like many, we've committed to making this new year different from last year.  We've committed to being a better Yum Yum Candle, providing our customers with an even more yummy and "scent"sational experience while being as gentle to mother Earth as we can. 
So what's new and different in 2012?

Our website upgrade!   We felt our old site was a little outdated and well... stale.  We wanted a more modern and fresher looking website.  Something clean and easy to navigate with a different layout than before. If you haven't visited our new site, please do so and let us know... what do you think of our new look?

Our Classic Collection candles are now available in an 8 oz. recycled glass option!  Tins are neat and great for travel, but some candle fans love the look of glass so we've made that option available.

Our reed diffusers are back and better than ever!  Made using round, recycled glass bottles, we've added 3 new diffuser scents AND you have the option of adding color to your scented oil to compliment your decor.

We've reduced the size of all natural soy candles to a 6 oz. size and changed the glass jars to one more contemporary.  We've also decided to skip labeling these candles.  It's more eco-friendly to not label them and the candles are absolutely beautiful as is.  Now if you prefer to have a label, we can add one for you at a nominal cost, but we think you'll agree with us... these candles need no labels.  They're simply gorgeous and classic as is.

What else is new?  We'll, we have several Valentine's Day themed products now available.... from strawberry shea hand soaps to massage candle tealights.  We're also happy to welcome back our Love Gift Candle as seen in the August 2011 issue of Essence Magazine.

Let's see... what else do we have up our sleeve??   A customer loyalty program.  We have some of the best and loyal customers out there and we want to give them the special treatment they deserve.  Look for this program to start a little later this year as we fine tune the specifics.
2012 is starting off busy as you can see, but great.  We believe this year will be an awesome one on so many levels.  You know... the mind is a powerful tool.  Believe great things and great things will happen.  We believe we've started 2012 off on the right foot and we're committed to making the year fantastic.  

What are your goals for 2012?  What do you believe about your 2012?  Whatever it is... keep believing, keeping working, keeping growing... it's on the way... trust and know that it is if you believe!

Live well... and make life yummy!

Work vs. Life Balance

Being an entrepreneur isn't easy. Your days are often long.  Your nights are often not a time for winding down and relaxing, it's time you use to work more and sometimes worry about decisions to make and avenues to take.  (Hey, that rhymes! lol)  Your personal life becomes a blur and willingly you allow it happen because you believe in your your business, your vision and your brand.  It's only when something happens, a life event that shakes you up some, or maybe you become ill, that you take step back and remember that you may need to spend a little more time on you and those you love... after all, if you're run-down, sick or stressed out, what good are you really to your business, your customers, your clients?  None.

As entrepreneurs, it's important that we care for ourselves so we can best serve our craft.  Taking just a few minutes a day to focus on self, is a few minutes well invested and truth be told, needed.  Bottom line = We need to stop and smell the roses.  Life is too short not to.

Below are a few suggestions for taking care of you.  Some of them are downright obvious and should be innate but a driven entrepreneur often forgets about them and needs a little reminder.

• Go for a 10 minute walk to clear you mind. While walking, mentally focus on other areas of your life or just observe your surroundings. Nature is inspiring.  It's beauty can help produce feelings of tranquility and relaxation.
• Eat. (You'd be surprised how many entrepreneurs neglect to eat in order to work more.)  Even better... schedule lunch or dinner dates with friends or your family to keep connected.
• Drink plenty of water. (Coffee doesn't count.)
• Take a few minutes each day to meditate or pray.
• Shower or bathe by candlelight before going to bed. (This works wonders for a good night's rest.)
• Do something that will make you laugh. Laughter really is good medicine.
• Smile. It's contagious and is a mood booster.
• Remember that Rome wasn't built in a day.

Summer Pleasures

Summer is our favorite season.  It's a season of vacations, time with family and friends, theme parks and grilling great foods, all while being able to wear bright clothes and the summer staple... flip flops.  (Love those!)

What do you love about summer?  What's on your To-Do list before summer ends?  Up next on our list...  to take beautiful summer pics for our scrapbook so we can remember them fondly during the upcoming winter months when it's really cold in NJ!

Congrats Pookalita!

Congratulations to Dawn Fitch (aka Pookalita), the creator of the natural bath & body brand, Pooka Pure & Simple, on her first retail store!  We can only imagine how exciting this is for her and the Pooka family.  Dawn and company are working hard to deliver the best, she's a wonderful person and a fellow Indie.  We're so very happy for Pooka! 

I stopped by today and snapped a few pics to share with our friends.  The official grand opening is September 10th.  If you're in the NJ area, please stop by. It's going to be awesome! (You have to smell her Pomegranate Kiwi Body Polish... it's amazing!) 

   Pooka Pure & Simple

   15. S. Essex Street, Orange, NJ

    Handcrafted soaps made by NJ's own, The Soap Coach!

    Goodies await in every corner.

    Products that moisturize and pamper!

    Luxurious body oils and whipped body creams.

   Simply beautiful!

    The Demo Station

    Yum Yum Candles  :-)