Frank & Bride

These little monsters have been with me since last year’s Pixie and Toads wax haul on account of them arriving too late to debut in a Halloween post so here we are almost a year later! Still looking as dashing as ever.

Frank and Bride are both scented in crisp clean, cotton sheets which smell true to its description. Laundered and clean giving off that snuggle feeling without the harsh chemical type linen smell that some home fragrances have that are headache inducing. This is just enough freshness and it is very nice.

Bride- $2.00

Frank- $1.25

I believe these were available at one point this year but are currently sold out on the website. This year the lovely couple were scented in a tormenting blend of ginger, Jasmine and oakmoss.

Speaking of the Bride of Frankenstein, I’ve had a bit of an obsession with including her in some of my art recently. Below is one of the sketches I did off a reference photo

Have you started spoopy/Halloween melting yet? It is almost fall guys, this month has flew by so fast!

Until Next Melt,

My First Sweet Fixations Haul

Sweet Fixations is a new to me vendor who I discovered while reading a post over at my friend Deb’s blog somethingalwayz . After reading her haul of goodies and having an itch to order wax myself, I decided to poke around on SF’s site and see what all I could find.

There are many different options available to purchase whether you fancy wax tarts, shapes or samplers. I stuck with scent shots for my first order to allow me to sample more scents my first go around. Scent shots are $1.75 each. TAT is around 12 business days with shipping of $7.40 invoiced at time of shipment. As you notice in the haul, I was mostly in the mood for fall scents which is most of what I picked up with a few thrown in scents that I wanted to try and see if they would be good dupes of other vendors. Onto the goodies!

 

All Hallows Eve (Green)– Spicy mulled grapefruit with a citrus orange note, and a sweet cinnamon vanilla twist.

Spicy, bright citrus brewed to release it’s fragrant spices to create one heck of a cider for Halloween night.

Hocus Pocus (Purple)– A magical spicy blend of freshly ground cinnamon, and herbal notes of bergamot, jasmine, black tea, and patchouli.

Grated spices heavy on the cinnamon and cloves steeping deep in a dark black tea that would help awaken any ole sleepy monster.

Hayride (Yellow/Gold)– Fresh hay with notes of sweet balsam combined with cedar-wood. Simply that fresh outdoor country air aroma.

I’m a sucker for hay scents around this time. Balsam, hay and cedar wood? Heck yes, bring on the outdoors! Sweet balsam is the key note that would have most smelling this think this to be a winter scent though the cedar wood adds a bit of depth and dare I say a bit of spice? Finish it off with a dusting of hay and you’ve got yourself a well rounded outdoors fragrance. Excited to melt this one!

 

Bewitched (Purple)–Bubbly berries, mandarin, peach and more will delight the senses!

Bubbly indeed. Such a cheerful scent for any cackling witch. I’m not much for peach in scents but it somehow isn’t a dominate role stepping back while the richness of the red berries really take play and bring this scent to life with help of a little effervescent to tingle the senses.

Zombie Boyfriend (Grey)– A deadly blend of cream filled cake, pumpkin waffles and fluffy marshmallow.

Mmmm! On cold this reminds me of a cereal I used to eat as a child. French Toast Crunch was it? It was really heavy on the vanilla and sticky syrup though my mom always said it smelled of cat pee.. *crickets* Though I will have you know this doesn’t smell of cat pee at all! Sweet vanilla cake aroma blends beautifully with pumpkin puree to soften and add creaminess all topped with a white marshmallow topping.

 

Cinnamon Sugar Donuts (Light Brown)– Warmed dough topped with caramelized sugar and other spices

Cinnamon sugar bliss. So delicious I could eat it especially with what appears to be cinnamon adorning the top. Warms beautifully in my kitchen having my husband and I craving the cinnamon sugared candy nuts served at shows and fairs. Delicious!

Lucky Charms (Tan)-Smells just like the cereal we grew up with marshmallows and all!

I get more of an off scent Play-Doh vibe than lucky charms on cold. Maybe warmed will give me more marshmallow scent.

Pink Sheets (Pink)–Pink sugar and fresh linens

I really enjoy the scent Pink Boxers from TheSmellGoodShop so I wondered if this would be a close dupe of it. Spoiler alert! It is! Such a wonderful scent that is perfect for sweet bedtime dreams. If only sweet pink sugar fabric softener could be a thing?!

 

A few of these I look back at the descriptions and wonder why I picked them as normally they wouldn’t be what I melt but after smelling them I am glad I went out of my comfort zone. I love them all and am excited to order again once I melt through a few of these.

Until Next Melt,

At It Again, Haul #2 Dogwood & Muscadines Soaplab

I have become quite the fan of an indie vendor by the name of Dogwood & Muscadines Soaplab. I previously reviewed them here a few weeks ago when I shared with you my haul of their soy wax melts and wood wick candles.

I received an email from the owner, Nicole, informing me of the changes she had made since I last visited her booth. Instead of wood wick candles, she has gone wickless and wax melts only. Her products are still available in the candle tins that were pictured in the last review but now would melt them on a candle warmer or in a candle crock. Since then she has also added whipped scoopable wax to her list of products which I was beyond excited to see.

Before I give away too much of what I picked up I should just go on and show you. On to the short but sweet haul!

Note: I have not melted most of these, so below are only cold thoughts and will be brief.

Whipped Scoopable Wax Scented in Banana Bread

Creamed banana rich goodness. Stronger on the banana which smells of actual banana while keeping true to the bakery of the banana bread and toasted nuts adorning the top with a warm soft center.

Black Raspberry Vanilla

Ripe black rasperries are mixed with dark plum and warm vanilla

Does my eyes deceive me?! This was snatched up immediately now that this fragrance was now available in wax melt form. Repurchase. A delicious blend of fresh raspberries and an almost vanilla ice cream like vanilla come together to create this blend.

Mulberry Type-

Home Interiors type. A dead-on fragrant mulberry.

Most of the men in my family are mulberry fans and it has been approved by them so A++

Autumn Fig Harvest–

This fragrance top notes are bright and crisp with notes of apple, lemon and ginger. Middle notes of fig, caramel, and cinnamon lead to more earthy base note; leaving you with notes of coffee, twigs and wet forest.

My eyes are already on the lookout for fall wax to review for you lovelies so this was a must not only by the name but it also smells great. Fall bottled up and melted down to the perfect sized cube to make your home fall ready. Earthy yet tinged with sweet cinnamon and fresh apple. A common fall apple cinnamon combination with hints of ginger and wet soil to add a bit of depth. Can’t wait to melt this one!

Spanish Fly

“This is a rich, complex scent of light musk and citruses of fresh sweet orange, lemon balm and kaffir lime leaves. Green notes are muddled brightly and have a floral vanilla cream depth in the soul of the fragrance.”

Repurchase. A deep, sexy blend of citrus rich on the vanilla that is so sinful it’ll have you craving more. *swoon* This really is such a complex scent but is done so beautifully.

Once again I am very happy with everything. Once I melt through these I will be on the lookout for more from this vendor.

I apologize for being absent on here recently. I have been struggling with encouragement to blog and have really been in a funk emotionally. I hope to be back to regularly scheduled programming soon but we will see.

Are you ready for fall? Fall melting yet or waiting?

Until Next Melt,

You can follow me along here

Instagram: @themeltdown15

Art page: @pocketfullofpaint

Redbubble Store (For art prints and more!): Pocketofpaint/people

Paleo Bakehouse Unboxing

Sometimes life calls for comfort foods. Though if you are on any kind of restricted diet like I am you know how hard it can be at times to find safe comfort foods whether the need be free of dairy, gluten, nut, etc. Make it yourself or Cook from scratch! most books and magazines would advise (which is fine) but what about the times when you’ve grown weary from a long work week or just need a quick chocolate fix and are short that one ingredient of a 27-ingredient long recipe to make your double chocolate fudge heavenly brownies? *sigh*

Once an ad for Paleo Bakehouse came across my screen I was indeed interested in finding out more. Clicking through to their page, I was greeted with an easy to navigate website with several product options that allow the customer to customize their order how they see fit. PBH offers several products from single buy boxes of goodies to subscription boxes, bags of granola to cinnamon rolls. My stomach was set on trying the cinnamon rolls, but I couldn’t help but get the Custom PBH (single buy) that way I could try a little of everything the first go around.

This box is originally $33 but if you sign up or use the code under the FAQ page you get 15 percent off for being a new customer. Shipping was roughly $4.50 though you could upgrade and get it sooner for about $7 and some change. I was a bit hesitant in how shipping and handling would be with fresh/perishable food and how it would be packaged but I took the dive and ordered. Let’s dive in together and see what we got shall we?

The Custom PBH box allows you to pick 4 goodies. In the description of the box it claims each box will have 12 goodies.

Cinnamon Roll Bites (three bites)

Cinnamon rolls are a huge temptation for me to this day while trying to eat a gluten free lifestyle so these were a must when making my purchase. Besides the chocolate mini muffins these were probably my favorite from the box. Not too sweet, with just the right amount of cinnamon. Sad to see these are so tiny.

Double Chocolate Mini Muffin

Mini muffins are usually always good, chocolate is just a bonus. More brownie like in consistency with its fudgey chunks of chocolate within.

Cinnamon Sugared Donuts

How could I not with it sharing the name of a candle that I also enjoy? These reminded me of fall so I had to grab them up and give it a go.

Upon tasting these my taste buds are greeted with a sweet cinnamon sugar crunch coating the top of a more cake-like consistency donut. These are actually pretty good.

Chocolate Chip Donut

I will admit these stuck out to me mostly because of the chocolate chips. (Chocolate chips are amazing and should be in everything.)

This was the first thing I tried once receiving my box and it was everything but exciting. The donut was very dry and dense having me to believe it would be better suited with a morning coffee or warm tea for those people who like to dunk their donuts.

I’ve discovered that I enjoy these treats more, especially the donuts, once they had chilled in the fridge as it seemed to almost give them back a bit of needed mositure and allow them to soften up becoming less dense and dry.

Pros

• Conveniently packed in individual bags that are perfect for on the go.
• Shipping was fast, reasonable and customizable for your preference
• Several snacking/treat options

Cons:

• Everything is so tiny. Donuts are (rough measurements) 3 1/2 x 3 1/2″ and the mini muffins/cinnamon rolls are probably about the size a silver dollar if that.
• No suggested care instructions in box of how to care for items such as refrigeration, heating, storing ect (that I saw in my box).

Note: under FAQ tab on website you can find information on shelf life.

Overall I am happy that I tried something new and ordered from this company. I’m just on the fence on whether I would order again.

Have you ever tried Paleo Bakehouse? Thoughts? Ready for fall?

A Scented Book!?- A Scratch and Sniff Adventure

Something a bit different for today,

Honeydukes A Scratch & Sniff Adventure was indeed a sweet read and a must have item for any Harry Potter Collector. It’s a unique book which helps bring to life a part of the wizarding world we all know and love.

Qutoted from the book:

“Sweet treats, exotic flavors magic in every bite-there’s no doubt that Honeydukes is one of the best things about the wizarding world.”

The illustrations are fun and whimsy with a touch of a vintage feel. The hard cover is sturdy and of good quality, designed with textured pictures. Let’s take a peek inside shall we?

On the inside most if not all candies from Honeydukes are mentioned but the most famous of them all would have to be Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and they are the first stop on this magical sniffing adventure.

Raise your hand if you read the green font in Rons voice. Just me?

The vomit bean sniff is of course no good as to be expected. The scratch and savor behind Ron smells to me of a spritzer/sharp green grass. When I’ve had others test it they immediately back away from the page claiming it smells of dirt. Dirt and grass both are from the ground and not something you’d prefer to have in candy form. Either way this is such a cute page filled with fun.

Chocolate frogs are another popular candy amongst wizards. They make their first debut in the first movie when Ron & Harry are aboard the Hogwarts Express buying treats from the trolley.

The scratch and savor from this page is obviously the chocolate frogs which reminds me of childhood scratch and sniff stickers or the fake plastic chocolate smell that chocolate erasers and a chocolate bar scented calculator I once had in school smelled like.

I don’t want to spoil anymore magic, muggles may be reading. Whether your favorite candy be licorice wands or exploding bon bons, Honeydukes has got you covered. This book is truly a treat and I’m so elated to have it in my possecion.

I was able to pick this up at Books-A-Million for $12.99 if you are interested in picking one up for yourself.

Until Next Melt (or sniff!)

Chocolatey Carb Free Delciousness- Wax Melt

Calling all chocolate lovers, brownie devourers & pecan pie eaters! Have I got a melt for you! Not only is it carb free but it also gives you the added benefit of a baked good scented home without having to lift a finger. Winning!!

Though a word of caution as it should come with a warning label that states the possible side effects such as sweet cravings and spontaneous trips to the grocery store scouting out chocolatey goodness.

Brand: Better Homes & Gardens (Wal-Mart)

Product: 2.5 oz. 6 Cube Clamshell

Price: $2.00

Scent: Brownie Pecan Pie

Throw: 4/5

Warmer Used: Glade Hot Plate

Usually I wouldn’t dare go near a chocolate blend but upon smelling this, I knew it was coming home with me. The deep, dark chocolate is sultry on the palate so much so you can almost taste it as you breathe in its richness. Combined with the nuttiness from the slow roasted pecans and sugary caramel pecan filling, it creates a melt that is evenly blended without being overly sweet from the chocolate. One cube throws at about a medium in my open living room/kitchen area with our high ceilings.

Chocolate wax haters do not be afraid. Pick this one up if you get the chance and let me know what you think!

Speaking of brownies, I have discovered a fast favorite of this sweet treat that is certified Gluten Free, Paleo and non-GMO. These almond butter single wrapped brownies are from the brand Base Culture who also carry several other products including almond butters, breads, granola and more.

You can check out their products or find a store near you here (not sponsored just love their brownies)

Until Next Melt,

Haven’t had enough? You can follow me on Instagram themeltdown15 or on my art account pocketfullofpaint

Red Bubble Shop: people/pocketofpaint for prints more!

Shop My Stash #3 Leftovers and Roasted Red Pepper Sauce Recipe

Shop My Stash 3

A continuation of my shop my stash series.

Long commutes, working full time and endless chores all contribute to the busy thing we call life. One of those (sometimes) mundane chores is grocery shopping and when life gets too busy we don’t always have the time or energy. That’s why this week we are focusing on the looked over “leftovers” and are “scrounging” for our warmer melts to fill our cart. Let’s look around and see what we can find lying around.

Better Homes & Gardens Pineapple Melon Freeze

Pineapple melon freeze deliciousness. Just the right amount of pineapple without being obnoxious like most scents with it in it tend to be. The melon adds a bit of depth with its sweetness and greenery from the rind.

ScentSationals Country Living- Fresh Air and Orchard Apples.

The smell of granny smith apples freshly picked from the orchard is so mouthwateringly authentic in this fragrance. One cube throws extremely strong in my Glade bedroom warmer.

Rose Girls Apricot and Peach Party Punch

Left over from an old sampler box, this chunk was at the bottom of my RG bin begging to be melted before summer comes to an end.

Bright, golden apricots and fleshy pink peaches picked fresh for the party punch. Squeezed and seasoned with sugar and carbonated water before being poured into the punch bowl. Threw beautifully in my kitchen warmer all Sunday afternoon.

While we are on the subject of foods I thought I would share with you a recipe that I’ve learned to substitute to be IC/bladder friendly and gluten free. I try my best to follow a gluten free and low acid diet for health reasons.

Disclaimer: I am in no way a professional when it comes to writing recipes. I usually go off memory or ‘eyeball it’ instead of exact measurements.

Also, everyone experiences IC differently and can tolerate different things. For example I use onion powder in place of onion as I can’t tolerate whole onion while some may find they can eat onion. You do you and substitute how you see fit.

There are several versions of roasted red pepper sauce floating the web but after several cooking attempts I believe I’ve finally concocted up a winner. It’s very simple with very few ingredients.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Ingredients:

2 12 oz Jars of Roasted Red Peppers Slices

1 Teaspoon of Minced Garlic

1/2 Teaspoon of Onion Powder* (use only if tolerated)

1/2 Teaspoon of Italian Seasoning and or Parsley and Basil.

2 to 3 Tablespoons Broth (use as needed for thinning out sauce, Veggie or Chicken)

2 Tablespoons Ketchup (use only if tolerated)

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Start by emptying both jars, juice and all, into a medium skillet over medium heat. Add minced garlic and seasonings. Simmer until peppers flesh have begun to soften and wrinkle/shrivel stirring occasionally (roughly 5-7 minutes)

Pour contents of skillet into a high powered blender or food processor along with ketchup. Blend on medium strength for a minute. Depending on how thin or thick you like your sauce will depend on if you add the chicken broth.

Note: Using chicken broth does not give the sauce a chicken taste.

Note: I add the ketchup to give it a bit of sweetness as the roasted red peppers can be a bit bitter from the charred pepper flesh. It also helps to give the sauce a bit more of a tomato taste. I find that I do just fine with this little amount. If you would like to skip the ketchup I would suggest a pinch/dash of sugar to help balance out that bitterness.

Check the consistency after about 30 more seconds of blending on low. Rinse the jars that previously held the red pepper slices and pour your sauce into the jars. You should have enough to fill both 12 oz. jars Enjoy!

I use this sauce for many different things like spaghetti, Frito chilli pie, pizza, ect. The one tomato related dish I have struggled to really replace in my diet is salsa. That’s a big one I’ve missed and craved.

Do you struggle with an illness that has caused you to change your diet? Have you come up with any fun ways to accommodate your favorites? Let me know!

Until Next Melt,

The Aroma of the Twilight Zone

The Aroma of the Twilight Zone

Twilight: Lavender, Ylang-ylang, & Tonka Beans

A fragrance known for its calming properties is offered from several different vendors in several forms ranging from body care to wax. Today I will share with you two of those indie vendors.

Bento Wax Co.

http://www.bentowaxco.com

Twilight 3 Pack Sushi Rolls

Melting a sushi roll at a time in my Glade, my bedroom is filled with soothing, tonka rich goodness. A close dupe for Lush’s Twilight with Lush’s leaning more rich on the herbal lavender.

Body Spray 1 0z.

Good for on the go spritzing. A little goes a long way with only one to two sprays leaving you with the perfect amount of scent that last for several hours. This small bottle was a purse staple for many months before it was snagged by a new owner.

The Melting Duck Wax

http://www.themeltingduck.com/

Bakery Bag Mixed Shapes in the scent Dead of Night

These shapes are way too precious. A fellow blogger and friend shared this with me and I must say these have been quite a hit around bedtime as I have been reaching for them often. TMD has a way of smoothing out that sharpness in the lavender that can come off astringent to the nose while keeping it smelling like an exact dupe. Favorite Twilight dupe so far. Thanks again Sandra.

Are you a Twilight fan? If not, what other Lush scents do you like?

Until Next Melt,

Dogwood and Muscadines Soaplab Haul

You just never know what you’ll find along the way of a fun outing day adventure! The husband and I have been going around and exploring on the weekends which has led me to find some indie vendors from the areas we visited. I have two to share with you, one I will share with you today.

Dogwood & Muscadines Soaplab is an indie vendor I stumbled upon while flea marketing. Once I ran across this vendors booth I immediately knew I had hit buried treasure. The blogger in me failed to take pictures as I was caught up in the moment sniffing everything in sight and picking the items that would go home with me.

The cubical booth was set up as to the right of me on the wall hung all the many wax melts in six cubed clam shells while to the left of me sported her crocheted and knitted items. The center hosted a huge white shelf of travel tin wood wick candles in a variety of scents.

Lick Me All Over- unable to find a scent description, it smells of a soft floral, perfume laced with sweet red berries and a kiss of cherry.

This was the first candle to go under flame. I must admit that I’m a little underwhelmed. The wick let off major amounts of black soot and continued to smoke. Finally I had to put it out as I felt uncomfortable to continue to let it burn.

Berry Vanilla Bean– This blend is so delicious it is sinful. A sultry vanilla bean noel blends smoothly with a juicy blackberry. What more could you want? I opted to melt the candle in my candle crock and got a medium throw, leaning over the candle craving more of its scent in hopes it would give off more of its delicious scent.

Golden Embargo- “A light amber fragrance with undertones of musk and sandalwood, it is a most alluring and seductive scent without being overpowering or overbearing. This is definitely a soft amber that gently whispers to your soul.”

Strawberries and Champagne- “Sweet scent of ripe, juicy strawberries paired with a tart and fizzy champagne. “

This was gifted to my mom and since then I have heard nothing but good reports about the “strawberry wax” that even my father was a huge fan roaming the house trying to figure out where the delicious smell was coming from.

Spanish Fly- “This is a rich, complex scent of light musk, and citruses of fresh sweet orange, lemon balm and kaffir lime leaves. Green notes are muddled brightly and have a floral and vanilla cream depth in the soul of the fragrance.”

Sexy. That’s the only word needed to describe this scent. Though I could go on and I will, this vendor once again blew me out of the water with such a unique blend. It’s deep and defined while leaving your pallet with a smooth citrus finish once inhaled.

Overall, I was very impressed with the wax that I purchased. The two blends, Spanish Fly and Golden Embargo were both very unique and were just outstanding leaving them to be my top favorites.

Until Next Melt,

You can follow me on Instagram @themeltdown15 or on my art account @pocketfullofpaint

Scents and A Touch of Artsy Magic

Brand/Vendor: Super Tarts

Price: $4.25

Product: Clamshell

Scent: Harry (Harry Potter)

Scent Description: Magically Delicious and French Baguette.

Throw: Knock Out Strong

Brandi’s Magically Delicious can go either two ways. Either it can give a blend more of a bread/yeasty type wang or it can add a nice touch of sweet bakery to the mix when blended with the right fragrances (Good Witch is a perfect example). To my nose it differs on blend to blend.

This melt however tends to be all yeasty as the french baguette really shines through while the MG comes through as more doughy than sweet adding an all around bread note. If you enjoy your home smelling of baked, sweet bread than this is the melt for you. Just be cautious of melting this in smaller rooms as even one cube threw me out of my bedroom and forced me to move my warmer into the kitchen since we have higher ceilings there.

I’ve been lacking on blogging as of late. My list of reasons are long but I’ll try and keep it brief. As you may (or not) know I had to try moving my blog over to another platform when I ran out of memory space on this platform. Followers remained following here rapidly while content wasn’t being posted and my other platform stayed at a stand still. Discouragement of life also set in along with health issues I’ve been struggling with on and off.

I have also been doing rather well the past several months not buying vendor wax. Most temptation has subsided for wax for now as something else has my attention as of late. This leads me into my next topic and hobbie that takes up most of my spare time and money. Crafting.

I love anything to do with crafting, art, painting, drawing ect. Being hands on and creating gives me purpose and fills a need in me that is so strong and so important and is just what makes me, well me. My most recent medium that I’ve been learning to work with is polymers clay and I have enjoyed every minute of it.

Above is one set of the knitting wands I’ve been working on, a Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans jar, a broom stick book mark, glow in the dark ghost charms and a ghost cuddling a pumpkin magnet. I’ll admit I’m not the best at it yet but I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished so far.

So what does this mean for the future of the blog? What does this mean for my future with wax and candles?

Oh, believe me, My love of wax and candles is still here! I melt every night when I get home from work or have a candle going in the kitchen as I cook dinner. So there will be reviews to come. Also I am behind on a few hauls that I still need to post so bare with me.

As for the blog, today’s post will be a test on whether or not I decide if I move up to the WordPress plan and continue blogging here. If I do continue blogging here I will be sharing more of my crafting journey and cooking for my ic/gluten free life along with candle and wax reviews.

How have you guys been?! Thank you to all the new followers and my current readers as well.

Until Next Melt,