I love candles, but don't want to spend a lot of money. My favorite scents right now are vanilla, cinnamon, caramel, apple, etc.

What are some candle alternatives that I can do/make myself? Something I can put in a warming pot??

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Kelly

I don't know what you mean by a warming pot, but I have one of those little warmers that you set a tea light under, and instead of buying one of those big things of fragrance, I just buy the concentrated oil (I think it's like $2 at WM) and put a few drops in and fill the rest with water. It works like a charm! HTH

Like a potpourri pot that you plug in. I just found mine in a closet the other day. How long do the concentrated drops last?

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Kelly

Well, they last for a while in my tea light warmer. Usually the water all evaporates (from the heat) before the oil goes anywhere. I have refilled it several times with water without adding any more oil. They're in a really really small container, so they don't look like they would last long, but I bought 2 of them and they lasted me all winter last year and I still have extra (I don't bother with that in summer because I'm never inside to let it burn). It says on the little bottle of oil that it is for light bulb rings, but it works well for what I use it for

This is the type of warmer I have -
http://www.loveinlightcandles.com/Bl...l%20Warmer.jpg
- and I would think it should work with an electric one, but I don't really know?! The water evaporates kind of quickly, and I don't know how hot an electric one gets versus my candle one.... so I don't know if that would be something you would want to try or not.

I have also heard of people just dabbing some of that oil onto their incandescent lightbulbs with a cotton ball, but I haven't tried that because I use CFL's.... HTH!

I have a mini-crockpot that came with my big one. I've put hot water, cinnamon sticks and vanilla in it and it smelled very nice. It was good enough for one room, but not much more than that.

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Attaining financial freedom is like eating an elephant . . . it takes one bite at a time.

I love scented candle too. I have found that Yankee candle & some of the other expensive ones are worth buying because the scent is so strong that I always end up blowing out the candle after 30min or so since the scent gets to be too much. I then switch to unscented cheap candles for ambiance. I buy the Yankee & Hallmark brand candles at my local Hallmark store after season so they get marked down 50-75%. Because the scent is so strong, the candles end up lasting a long time, so I think they end up being more cost effective than the cheaper, less potent ones.
We also do what SCmomoftwo does. We like a mixture of clove & cinnamon.

I have one of those warming pots as well. The candles do last a long time. i don't know how to make my own candles but i usually ask for candles for birthdays and christmas to keep me stock up. And if I run out we buy some at the dollar store and target when on sale. They usually last a couple months for us.

HTH

I bought yankee candles yesterday at CrackerBarrel for BOGO 1/2 off! They had three scents to chose from. My house now smells all warm and "fally"

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Mabennett - Proud Mommy to a Yankee, a Tarheel, and a cheerleader

I love Yankee candles but can't always afford them. I love love love the Yankee candle tarts though. They are the little round flat looking ones. You put them in a tart burner(which can be bought anywhere) I have like three of them I got at Walmart. The tart goes on top and the tealight in the bottom, much like the oil burners. The tarts are only like $1.99 and still last quite awhile. Plus, I like that I can change my scents around more frequently than if I had a huge jar candle.

**That being said Walmart does have a jar candle out right now that I love. I got a medium sized one for $3.98. It is Apple Cider scented.

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~AMY~

My blogs:
http://mylifeoneblogatatime.blogspot.com/

http://thesaltandpepperdiva.blogspot.com/

I absolutely LOVE candles and used to burn them every single day! Since trying to become more frugal I will only burn them maybe once a week or so. My biggest expense in candles is that I only burn Party Lite candles. They burn better making it worth the money to buy them. There is a candle factory only about ten minutes away from us and you can get a large jar candle for like $5 which is a really good deal, BUT the candle only burns about half way down the jar then it won't burn anymore so to me kind of pointless. They do smell very good and if I can't afford a Party Lite I will go there, but prefer not to.

My MIL puts water in a pan and adds a sprinkle of cinnamon or a little vanilla and just puts it on simmer. That smells good, in that room but doesn't seem to spread throughout the house.

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Jenifer
Proud wife to one amazing man
Proud mom to four awesome kids

Have a safe and blessed New Year!