Christmas Koi Fish Lavender Ice Cream

[candle holder]

Today I was invited to visit a friend’s glass studio in Placerville (Pamela Angelo 530-621-3688); she makes gorgeous functional art pieces such as bird baths, bowls and Candle Holders!! I purchased a very cool dual compartment serving dish with a cool retro design and she gave me a very special candle holder that I cannot wait to put to use! It actually accommodates my candle jars very well but it has inspired me to break out my pillar molds and play with some of the palm wax I’ve been sitting on for the past few years.

[serving dish]

In addition to visiting Pam’s glass studio she also lured me in with the promise of getting to harvest some of the lavender growing in her park-like garden. After the harvest, we sat down next to the most charming Koi pond filled with aquatic plants, turtles and several big fat koi fish that busily cleaned rocks of algae. It was so tranquil to sit and watch this little world go about its day while we sipped on lemonade and chatted about the ins-and-outs of selling handmade crafts.

On my way home I drove more leisurely, rolled all the windows down and listened to “La Wally”, “Nessun Dorma”, and “O Mio Babbino Caro”; the perfect soundtrack for this epic countryside!

[piping fragrance into a dram]

Back at the candle lab, I’ve been busy playing with some new fragrances for this season’s holiday collection. Last year I got a sample that smells of Christmas trees, citrus and cloves; it’s both earthy and fresh at the same time and if you’re a fan of my “No. 30 Christmas Tree” you’re going to LOVE this! I am also testing a Provence Lavender fragrance and a Lavender-Verbena fragrances that I hope will test well and can be added to the lineup. This naturally means I’ll need to make room by eliminating some slow selling fragrances, up on the chopping block are : No. 18 Apple Pie, No. 21 Anjou Pear, No. 41 Night Blooming Jasmine and No. 45 Black Berry-Sage.

Now I’m off to enjoy some of the homemade Honey-Lavender Ice Cream I made last night :-)~

[Homemade Honey-Lavender Ice Cream]