Wednesday December 17, 2025

Merry Christmas

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas that warms your home and melts your heart. ~ see you in January.

Tuesday December 16, 2025

Winter Garden ~ Supplies

My hubby (aka the Gardner) and I planted specific plants to grow and use in our craft and candle making ~ our winter garden holds holly, boxwood and winterberry, along with pinecones and sticks being available. We also dried fruit as well ~ each being used in our Cottage Christmas Candle, Tarts, Heart Warmers and Fire Starters.

Monday December 15, 2025

Just catching our breathe

Just catching our breathe over here at Classic Amy Joanne (at the My Cottage Life Shop) after a fun Open House this past Saturday. ….so grateful for all the visits….. appreciate you.

~ these are our ‘In The Meadow‘ pine and marshmallow Heart Warmers (melting tarts)….so smitten.

Friday December 12, 2025

Open House Opens Tomorrow

We’re all set ~ 2nd annual Open House! This display is one of my favorites ~ Our ‘Stir Sprinkle Bake‘ Candle ‘display’ has a manequin made up of aprons, wooden spoons, rolling pins and a fluted cake pan! Along with melts, t-towels, and cake testers! So much fun to coordinate!

Thursday December 11, 2025

The Gingerbread Man

Our ‘My Cottage Life Shop‘ is looking so sweet (literally sweet) for our Christmas Open House this coming Saturday ~ we just wrapped a few trios of gingerbread men to warm your home and melt your heart ….in beautiful satin grossgraine ribbon. So sweet.

Wednesday December 10, 2025

Santa’s Favorite

I am pretty sure Chocolate Chip Cookies are Santa’s Favorite…..we have them in wax melts (tart melts) we like to call them Heart Warmers. Available at the My Cottage Life Shop open house Dec 13.

Tuesday December 9, 2025

Marketing

The marketing is hung in the Shop!

Monday December 8, 2025

Almost Ready

The shop shelves are filling up with all kinds of Candles, Heart Warmers and Giftset merch! December 13th, our Open House is coming fast!

Friday December 5, 2025

Cookie Keeper

The ‘Cookie Keeper Candle‘ is back by popular demand! This year ‘Cookie Keeper’ includes melting tarts in fun shapes ~ we like to call them Heart Warmers! ….stacks of yummy cookies to melt! Stay tuned in for details!...all things to warm your home and melt your heart!

Thursday December 4, 2025

Cottage Christmas

Cottage Christmas is still my #1 favorite scent. If Christmas had a scent this is how I imagine it!…. and now we have our Heart Warmers to melt in mugs or even as a fire starter! Always makes a great gift.

Wednesday December 3, 2025

Got Milk?

Cookies and Milk Anyone? Our Cookie Keeper Cookies and Milk Candles are headed to the shop (which is one flight from the workshop, lol)…..such cuties ~ all ready for our December 13th Open House.

Tuesday December 2, 2025

Off to the Kiln

Our newest candle scent is ‘Stir, Sprinkle, Bake’ ~ a whole lotta cookie and a little bit of fudge….and along with Candles, Tarts and Room Sprays we coordinated a few kitchen giftable items such as t-towels and heart warmers….and can you guess what this is for?

Our Stir, Sprinkle, Bake Collection will be available December 13th at our Open House.

Monday December 1, 2025

New Molds

Classic Amy Joanne was hard at work this past weekend ~ on Friday we created our newest scent ‘Stir, Sprinkle, Bake’ (see a sneak peek on Facebook) and on Saturday we created all kinds of ‘Heart Warmers’ with new molds! Just look at those wax cookies….good enough to eat!

Next up is to add the fun details and make ’em pretty, ready for gift giving!

Wednesday November 26, 2025

Melting

We like to melt things here at Classic Amy Joanne ~ one of our most popular items (and newest) is our Melts ~ we like to call them Heart Warmers. This year we added cookie stacks, melting snowmen, pumpkins, apples, houses, socks and trees ~ along side of our Gingerbread.

Did you know that you can remelt the wax many times over and still have a beautiful fragrance? Yep.

Tuesday November 25, 2025

in the beginning

When Candle Making became a thing in my business ‘Classic Amy Joanne‘ ~ the very first ‘name’ I tossed around was ‘Classic Candle Co’ ~ I did finally settle on keeping everything under one ‘helmet’ of Classic Amy Joanne ~ but I thought it would be fun to share the beginnings with you. It was also the beginning of mixing scents, naming scents, packaging candles and marketing it all.

Monday November 24, 2025

Warm Woolens

It’s always fun this time of year when I get to create and then introduce new candle scents! Warm Woolens, Stockings and Mittens is our latest new scent ~ of course available in candles, tarts, room sprays and even ‘stocking heart warmers’ too!

Friday November 21, 2025

Coordinated Giftable Candles

One thing you can be sure of thru Classic Amy Joanne’s My Cottage Life Shop is we focus on creativity ~ not only thru great smelling candles in pretty packages but in creating each candle into a Gift Set ~ coordinated with artful touches and unique packaging…..all things to warm your home and melt your heart.

Can we help you give a perfect gift this holiday season?

Thursday November 20, 2025

Chocolate Chip Cookie Wax Melts

Making Chocolate Chip Cookie Wax Melts really is no different than making actual Chocolate Chip Cookies…..you measure the chips with love!

Wednesday November 19, 2025

Labels

Candles have been shuffling around the Studio from the pour table, to the label table, to the shelf ~ our ‘Cookie Keeper‘ Milk and Cookie Candles are a perfect addition to the collection ~ I couldn’t decide on the label so I used both!

Tuesday November 18, 2025

Blue Tree

We’ve been setting up the ‘Shop’ for our upcoming Open House at the ‘My Cottage Life Shop’ on December 13, 2025. Each season we make updates and add ‘newness’ to the Shop (along with new products) ~ this year I imagined a blue Christmas tree inside a vintage green tin container and we made it happen! Simply by purchasing a ‘cheaper’ 3 foot tree and then a blue can of spray paint ~ making for a fun cottage touch to our Shop!

Monday November 17, 2025

these little cuties

We’ve been busy creating a ‘Pottery Brand’ for our ‘My Cottage Life Shop‘ (Open House December 13, 2025) ~ I’m hopeful that each little cutie mouse will be ‘ok‘ once fired…..fingers crossed!

I’ll keep you guessing at what these cuties will be. They will of course coordinate with one of our newest scents ‘Stir, Sprinkle, Bake’!

Friday November 14, 2025

Before I was a Candle Maker

I’ve always been creative in one way or another ~ and being a Candle Maker just became another way to create! But before I was a Candle Maker I was a Creative Artist (and still am) and enjoyed teaching all different styles of Acrylics and Colored Pencil. One of the creations I taught was thru a Keepsake Journal (read about here) and there were parts and pieces to each page ~ I think the pieces shown here would be fun to create as a gift tag and attach to any gift ~ including bakery scented candles like ours!

Thursday November 13, 2025

Keeping Shop

One of the best parts of enjoying a creative life is being a Shop Keeper ~ I especially enjoy coordinating everything from signs to labels to tabletop decor. I learned alot about Shop Keeping thru my Bath & Body Works Days in 1999 to 2003. In fact the dough bowl shown in this image was a prop from Bath & Body Works, some things never go out of style. The vintage fruit was picked up at an antique market. It all ‘plays‘ together nicely on our open shelving with our Cottage Christmas scent within our ‘My Cottage Life Shop’.

Wednesday November 12, 2025

Cookie Anyone?

We’ve added to our ‘Cookie Keeper’ Candle Collection with our newest ‘Heart Warmer’ Melting Tarts ~ Cookies and Milk! We have a ‘Cookies and Milk’ Glass Candle, a Mug full of Goodness to melt and even a stack of Cookies too! ~ all coming soon to our ‘My Cottage Life Shop’ Open House on December 13, 2025!

Tuesday November 11, 2025

Marketing Ordered!

The new Marketing has been ordered for our Christmas Open House to reflect the Season! New Banners, Signs, Labels and Bag Stuffers too!

Monday November 10, 2025

Creative Play

There is alot of Creative Play in our Candle Making here at Classic Amy Joanne ~ we enjoy creating candles that not only smell amazing, but are pretty and giftable too. Our newest scent ‘Cottage Winter Garden‘ will be available soon with Refreshing Room Sprays, the cutest Heart Warmer ever, Jar and Tin Candles, Melting Tarts….and this Garden Snowman Snowglobe Candle. Oh So Sweet!

Friday November 7, 2025

Rubber Stamps

Along with designing candle labels, marketing, new candle ideas and scents ~ we have designed a few Rubber Stamps to use for packaging and bag tags. ….always and all things to warm your home and melt your heart….it’s all in the presentation (and the package too)!

Thursday November 6, 2025

Melting Hearts

Melting Hearts wherever we go! Introducing our latest ‘Heart Warmer‘ Melting Tart, well a sneak peek anyway. Coming Soon!

Wednesday November 5, 2025

Candle Display Ideas

Thru-out this website (on the Blog tab) you will find many craft and display ideas for the home ~ including ideas with Candles! (Enjoy your visit, here).

Tuesday November 4, 2025

Our Labels and Marketing

Did you know that our labels and marketing for our Candles are created from our hand painted designs and photography? Why yes! Before I was your local Candle Maker I was your local Art Designer and Teacher (and still am for that matter…..)! …we enjoy all things creative (…and coordinated) here at Classic Amy Joanne.

Click around this website for craft projects, decor ideas, tasty recipes, holiday fun and more!

Monday November 3, 2025

The My Cottage Life Shop, the way it works and how we operate!

We’re not your average ‘brick and mortar’ but something a little more unique (…and I think special). Here are the details of the way we work and how we operate our My Cottage Life Shop.

‘2nd Saturday’, in December ~ Our Open House Event, by newsletter announcement. Be sure to get on our email list.

Mother’s Day Gifts! (Saturday before) ~ Porch Pick Up or Drop & Shop, by newsletter announcement.

Takin’ the Show on The Road ~ thru the Autumn Season. You will find us with our signature ‘white cabinet display’ ~ somewhere along the Pennsylvania Road! Announcement on Social Media.

And new this year we are planning a ‘porch pick up’ for all your gift giving needs ~ on your schedule!

…hoping to always warm your home and melt your heart.

Friday October 31, 2025

Happy Halloween

Have you tried ‘Jack’ ? It is an ol’ time favorite candle scent created thru Classic Amy Joanne for Halloween it is a mix of pumpkin and peanut brittle making a fun unique scent!

Thursday October 30, 2025

We are a ‘Local Folk’ Business

For those of you (hi friends) that have been following along here on the Blog for a few (or many) years ~ you know me as a Decorative Artist ~ and you all know that I have been in a ‘small-business- transition’ from an Art Designer, Teacher and Blogger to a Retail Shop Owner, Candle Maker and Blogger too….with a little bit of Art on the side.

….our Classic Amy Joanne Candles (the brand) and the ‘My Cottage Life’ Shop is a ‘local folk’ business, a brick and mortar travel show (for now) ~ and maybe someday, as we grow, we will have the candles available on-line.

My plan is to include all the little details of our Shop Life and Candle Making here on the Blog (and this tab/site) to follow our journey and hopefully inspire you to create a shop, market a brand, make candles, or enjoy a craft or two…..all with Art, Home and Recipes mixed in, as always.

…and if you are new and coming here after your first candle purchase ~ WELCOME, you melt our hearts. Grab a cup of coffee and a cookie too ~ and enjoy scrolling around our site with over 12 years of Creative Play in Art and Home.

….and simply put, we are here to warm your home and melt your heart.

(I will share more about our operating hours, where to find us and more thru-out this site soon!)

Wednesday October 29, 2025

Business Cards

It has been a year or so of discovery, transition and planning within our ‘My Cottage Life Shop‘ ~ creating a Classic ‘recognizable’ look and brand….while delivering on ~old favorites and always having something new to enjoy. Our new business cards arrived and we are so smitten! ~….it’s the little things that make a big difference.

…always here to warm your home and melt your heart.

Tuesday October 28, 2025

A Clean Burn

Here are three tips to enjoy a clean, long lasting, and fragrant burn ~ first, keep a watchful eye on any burning candle… always enjoy responsibly.

second, keep a short wick, trimming your wick will keep your candle burning longer.

~ and last, burn your candle for shorter periods of time, each time ~ your fragrance will last just a little bit longer.

Stay tuned in each day for tips, techniques and fun ideas from ‘The My Cottage Life Shop’.