I got to thinking about hobbies

I don't make them that much any more as I don't have any place to make them currently. But I use to make candles all the time. It started 20 years ago when @charisma777 gave me a candle making kit. I was about to move and I think she knew I was gonna be bored and need something to do, and she was right. But not only did I need something to do, I couldn't afford to work at the time because Daycare was more than I would make working outside the home. My ex-husband was in the military at the time and being a private with three kids you need more income.

He was stationed in California

And in the area we lived in there were scheduled rolling blackouts, so my hobby turned into a little business. I would make candles all week long in my spare time and when my ex was not on duty I would take the candles to the local bars in Barstow which was the nearest town. It gave us the extra $300 or so dollars we needed a week to make ends meet, as people burned candles for lighting during the few hours the power would be down. When our marriage went south and I moved back home to Indiana, the demand for candles were not as much. Most people only buy them for fund raising or because of the scented oils to help their house smell good, they don't burn candles for light.

So now I make them because I want to

But a few years ago my youngest daughter had the opportunity to go to Spain and I wanted her to be able to go, but the trip was expensive and the school she attended is in a rich district they rarely do fundraiser and there was no official fund raisers for the trip. So I went and got candy bars and made candles to raise money for her trip to Spain. Everyone love my candles because they burn for a long time. These are some of the candles I made for that fund raiser. I used an inkjet printer for the labels because I couldn't afford to get labels professionally printed, but I was selling them to friends and family so no big deal and I did include warning labels on the bottoms of all the jars with instructions to protect my butt.

I hope to one day have an area to make candles again

I don't know if my husband is gonna let me have a little work space in the garage or not, or if I will have to go ahead and make the loft of the studio I am gonna build a place where I can make candles in my spare time to relax. Oh did I mention working with essential oils is wonderful for mental health. That is what I miss the most about pouring candles is the aroma therapy. What kind of hobbies do you have? Let me know in the comments below.