I think I'm on an accelerated path into my middle-age years.

I've taken a recent interest in DIY projects, but I think Pinterest might be responsible for a lot of that...

My most recent undertaking: homemade candles.

I'm just going to come out right now and say that I used to be a candle-hater. If you told me to walk into a Yankee Candle store two years ago, or asked me if it would be okay to light a gingerbread candle in the house, I would have said "no."

This all changed once I got to college, when candles became a bit of a necessity to cloak the unpleasant odors that come along with dorm living. Between my roommates and I, we have have a collection of four or five candles, one of which is heated (

on one of these

) at all times.

Too often, candle scents are overpowering, and after 30 minutes, I feel like I'm going to 1) pass out, 2) throw up, or 3) both. With DIY projects though, you have some creative freedom. Head's up: I made these candles over winter break, which explains the Christmas tree...and the Christmas-inspired candle decorations...

These candles are very easy to make, and it's nice to make a bunch so you always have a go-to gift option. Everyone likes homemade gifts, just as long as they're well-made.

I used

this tutorial

and just used some holiday scents in place of the coconut oil scent suggested in the original post. I didn't use an entire bottle of fragrance per pound of wax, as I like my candle scents on the mild side, but you would probably be okay adding an entire bottle, as my candles could have been a bit "scent-ier."

Though I've posted the link to the tutorial I used, I'll just go over the general steps:

You will need some heat-safe containers (I bought mine from the Container Store), candle fragrance oil of your choosing (I got one each of Peppermint, Pine Tree, and Cranberry from

here

), soy wax flakes (available for purchase

here

), a candle-making pitcher (available

here

), and wax wire clips (

here

). To decorate the candles, I used oil-based paint sharpies in metallic gold and silver, as well as plain black. After that, the instructions are very straight-forward.

Enjoy your candles, and may your living space always smell wonderful, and NOT like a college dorm.