Once you've made your favorite scented candle or votive, don't stop there! Try your hand at making your own candleholders too!

This idea from Spirello's blog is an easy and elegant one to start with! The lace candleholder makes a great table centerpiece, especially for weddings or more formal events.

Here's what you need:

• Candle- votives work best. Get all your candle supplies here!

• Old crochet doilies

• A balloon

• Wallpaper glue

1) Blow up the balloon and hang it with a string somewhere it can dry.

2)Soak the doilies in wallpaper glue and stick them in an overlapping pattern over the balloon.

3) Leave the balloon to dry. When completely dry, just pop the balloon and you'll have a beautiful lace shell you can use as a candleholder! (Make sure the candle you place inside is in some type of container, whether a glass votive or tea light holder.)

You could use this same technique with other materials as well, such as newspaper or string!

Of course this is just one of the ways you can dress up the candles you've been making with your materials from Candlewic.com.

*Credit: Spirello Blog

We scoured the Internet to find some new and inspiring candle container ideas for you to try! Whether you’re looking for a dazzling centerpiece or a gift for a dear friend, these DIY ideas take candles to a whole new level.

Teacup Candles

This blog shows us how to upcycle vintage teacups into cute candles. We think these would be perfect for bridal shower décor or gifts!
You can buy the supplies to make teacup candles on our site!

• Soy Wax: Not sure which you like best? Try out sampler set!
• Wicks

Learn how to make them:
http://theresakistel.com/diy-teacup-candles/

Bottle Candles

The newest candle trend going around is wine bottle candles. You can buy them from companies online, but they are very inexpensive to make yourself! Whether you want to remember a special event or just hate to throw away a beautiful bottle, you can transform them into your own candles!
You can buy the supplies to make bottle candles on our site!

• Soy Wax
• Candle Scents: Try Champagne, Peach Bellini, Pina Colada, Sangria, Mojito 
• Wicks

Learn how to make them:
http://discoveringlifesstitches.blogspot.com/2013/01/wine-bottle-candles-diy.html

There are numerous ideas out there for making candles in creative containers, from fresh fruit to seashells and tin cans! Think out of the box! Don’t forget to stock up on supplies from Candlewic, then share your creative candle creations with us on Facebook!

Marketing at all Events of the Year
Wedding season is rapidly approaching along with showers and there is not a better gift for the attendees to these events then a candle to commemorate the occasion. Develop a "custom package" that simplifies the selection process for the bride or individual organizing the activity.  Maybe it is organza bag with a votive/small jar with a nice personalized tag identifying the event including names and dates.

While it is coming fast enough for my kids, end of the school year will occur soon and candles can represent a nice thank you gift for Teachers, Bus Drivers and School Aides. The key would be to have a package that can easily be customized.  The Avery Company has made if very easy to make custom labels using their templates you can import your own pictures, graphics and text.  Let your customer choose what goes on the label including possibly a picture, quote or graphic.  The way the templates are set up you can make each label personalized fairly easily and if you a color printer they can be printed right at your home computer.

Real Estate Agents and other professionals are always looking for nice gift items to give away to their customers.  Candles that can be customized for them presents a great marketing tool.

On a larger scale the entire retail climate has undergone a transition where only the strongest retailers are surviving and others are shutting their doors.  This can create tremendous opportunities because consumers still want choices and with so few retailers to choose from the selection of "niche items" like candles are hard to find.  The key is to try and reach these consumers.   

With the current high employment rate people are going to be looking for new opportunities.  Some of the most successful candle companies have achieved their success through "party plans".   Pitch the idea of a candle party to your friends, neighbors and acquaintances as a way for them to make money.   Even if the attendees may not purchase anything be sure to get them to sign up for your mailings.  

Online Marketing
In addition using every online resource is going to be essential for survival.  With new technology and other conditions building a website is much more reasonable.    As you may have read just putting up a website will not be enough you will need to drive traffic to the site but in the end it can be more cost effective than opening a retail store.   If you already have a retail store use the site to drive traffic to your store by offering coupons that can be printed out.  Or if your customer prefers to shop from home make that experience easy as well.

As you begin to build a customer base, the key is also to keep on top of the trends in the industry.  Fragrances are very important to people and having them timely to the season of the year is critical to maximize the impact of the season.

Without doubt the entire supply chain is undergoing a huge transition and techniques and efforts that may have been successful even several years ago will not be as effective.   The key is to continue building your own brand that consumers want even if currently on a local scent.

WEDDING SEASON
Each year there are approximately 2-2.4 million weddings and the top month for weddings is August with about 11% taking place.  The month of June is a close second with 9.9% of the weddings occurring.  In addition to these weddings there are always engagement parties, showers and the wedding itself.  All of these events can and do incorporate candles in some manner.  Party favors for the shower or wedding is always a great choice for this market place.  The more you can personalize these candles the more opportunities that will exist for you.  

INTERNET OPPORTUNITIES
Use the summer months to explore all the online opportunities to offer your products for the fall season. There are all of the big names like Ebay, Amazon and Craig’s List. These sites are fairly easy to list and sell items but the competition is fierce so focus on something that makes your candles unique. While you may sell some of your candles at a loss at times during the summer you may find some new solid customers from these sales. If they are purchasing candles during the summer months think how many they may buy in the fall. 

One of most well suited portals to sell candles would have to be Etsy. Their marketplace is selling only handmade items. They have lower fees, longer listing periods then Ebay and has an audience which is looking for all homemade products.

If you already have a website use this opportunity to “refresh” the look and add new products.  As we have written before research the opportunities available to promote your site such as pay-per-click advertising, e-zine advertising and improving your organic listings.