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Mrs. Woodrow led a busy life as the wife of a professor at Redlands University, Redlands, California, as a housewife in her charming home and as a pianist of accomplishment. In fact her music filled the artistic needs of her personality. She taught forty pupils a week, was organist in her church and always in demand whenever a musical program was needed.

Suddenly Mrs. Woodrow developed a severe neuritis that affected all the muscles of her arms, neck and shoulders. Playing the piano was impossible, routine, household chores like making beds and hanging out clothes were out of the question. She spent months going through clinics and consulting doctors, but the only answer seemed to be rest for the affected areas and complete rest for taut muscles. Now that is much easier said than done. For one who had never been idle, whose hours had been filled with music and accomplishments, the hours of doing nothing were as painful as the neuritis.

ONE DAY Mrs. Woodrow was explaining this to her doctor and he suggested she do something that would use just her fingers. He didn't know what that could be and neither did she, but both agreed that the feeling of being busy was absolutely necessary to her peace of mind.

Shortly thereafter a friend took her for a drive to Palm Springs, hoping the warm winter's sun and the interesting shop windows would give her a lift. While window shopping that day Mrs. Woodrow had her inspiration.

In one window was displayed a candle and the candlestick was a flower, also made of wax. "Isn't that a clever idea?" asked her friend.

"Yes it is," Mrs. Woodrow replied, "but I'd like the flower more delicate and a softer color. I'll just bet I could make one myself."

Next day found her busy melting old candle ends and fashioning a rose from the wax. At first the petals were rather formless and many were discarded and remelted, but finally there was a rose anyone would recognize as a pretty good copy of nature's own. Much to her surprise the morning was gone and so busy had she been concentrating on her creation that the pain had been only a faint awareness in the background.

Her neighbor dropped in to see how she was and enthusiastically exclaimed over the rose candlestick. "If you can find a way to color it, the rose will be much prettier than the flower we saw in the store," she told Mrs. Woodrow.

Inspiration was on Mrs. Woodrow's shoulder that morning. "I know just what to do," she said. "I'll get some color crayons and melt them into the white wax until I get just the shade I want. Wouldn't it be pretty to have a smaller, matching rose on the candle?"

The neighbor was thrilled with the decorated candle and wanted a matching pair and Mrs. Woodrow made four for her own candelabra. By the time she had completed those the effect was becoming very professional.

HAVING BEEN so active in the social affairs of her church, the university and the community, Mrs. Woodrow had many friends similarly interested. Dropping in to cheer her up, during her enforced idleness, they were happy to find that her fingers were busily engaged decorating all sizes of candles with many different colors and arrangements of roses, buds and leaves. Their admiration was sincere and Mrs. Woodrow made many candles to give to friends who expressed their desire for one.

Then the inevitable happened. These friends were having luncheons, teas and parties where they wanted something unusual and pretty for a centerpiece. Would Hazel make them some candles and let them pay her for them?

One order brought another. There was always a woman at each gathering who wanted some for her own next party. As the requests came in for different color schemes and the seasons changed, Mrs. Woodrow's ideas enlarged. Flowers used in the decorations were put on the candles. It took a little experimenting but by looking at blossoms she was soon copying almost anything. Besides the roses she used daffodils, magnolias, poinsettias and cat-tails.

One of the university students who had seen Mrs. Woodrow's candles was getting married. "Could you decorate some tall, white tapers for the table at the reception?" she asked.

The tapers were beautiful, with little bells with edges of gold, roses and bows. From that day on the lovely wedding candles have been a popular item.

Dr. Woodrow is a professor of chemistry and when he saw his wife's hobby growing he suggested she quit melting candles for her flower wax and buy a commercial wax with a higher melting point as it would be easier to work with.

ONE DAY Mrs. Woodrow received a request for a highly decorative candle that could be sent to a woman in the hospital who was allergic to real flowers. For sometime she had been thinking about a flower arrangement that would slip over the candle and could be used over and over instead of burning with the candle. A bouquet of flowers to send to the hospital seemed to be the right thing to try it on.

A circle of cardboard that would slip over the candle and rest on the holder was dipped into green wax and elaborately covered with roses, buds, and leaves. The effect was lovely and the candle sleeve, as she calls it, could be used many times. The roses were of variegated colors so that by changing the color of the candle it would fit in with many different color schemes.

Those were an instant success. Everyone who saw them wanted a pair for herself and another for a gift. Nut cups in the shape of little roses, were added to the group and were immediately in demand. As a novelty for a luncheon where the committee wanted to do something different she made little roses to freeze in the ice cubes. An eastern guest seeing these ordered several dozen to float in finger bowls.

EACH MORNING when Mrs. Woodrow read Hedda Hopper's column in her newspaper, she looked with interest at the hat Mrs. Hopper was wearing in the picture that topped the column. One morning it was a particularly, gay hat, covered with many flowers. "I'll copy that in wax," Mrs. Woodrow thought and so another favorite item was added to her novelties.

The little hat in wax wasn't much bigger than a silver dollar and the detailed, little flowers covering the brim, so small as to seem almost impossible to handle. It was so precious that she made a hat stand from a tiny candle in a base of wax on which to display it and the copy of the next day's hat was a certainty.

After this hat collection had grown to over a dozen, all in different shapes, colors and trims, someone suggested she send several to Hedda Hopper. As Mrs. Woodrow was going into Los Angeles the next week she put several in a box and took them to the newspaper office. They told her that Mrs. Hopper seldom came in but that they would give them to her secretary. Mrs. Woodrow really didn't expect to hear anything further from those hats; however, in just a few days she received a letter of thanks and an autographed photograph from Mrs. Hopper. The letter expressed delight with the hats and thanked Mrs. Woodrow for taking the time to share her hobby to give others pleasure. She invited Mrs. Woodrow to bring Dr. Woodrow and visit her in her private office.

Soon a reporter from the Los Angeles Times office came to request information so that he could do a story on the hat collection for the magazine section. Someone connected with the Bowers Memorial Museum in Santa Ana read the story and asked Mrs. Woodrow to display the hat collection at their doll festival. So one thing led to another.

What had started as something to pass time was fast growing into quite a little business and it seemed appropriate to give it a name. The French professor at the university suggested "Talla Fleur Novelties," meaning flowers of wax.

AS THE hobby had grown the severe neuritis had lessened and as Mrs. Woodrow was so busy thinking of the thing she could do, the frustration over the things she couldn't do disappeared.

When she was able to take up some of her activities again she used her clever ideas to add to the attractiveness of many social functions where she was responsible for the decorations.

Orders started coming in from distant spots. The gift shop in the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona, contacted her for an order. They had been told of her by a customer who had attended a luncheon in Redlands. Shortly thereafter came an order from Tulsa, Oklahoma, from a woman who had been a guest at the Phoenix luncheon. Following that came an order from Austin, Texas. That customer had been to the Tulsa affair. Now Mrs. Woodrow has received orders from half the states in the Union.

A former student at the University of Redlands wrote from her home in Iowa: "I am being married and want a crown of orange blossoms to wear with my veil. Having lived where I saw real orange blossoms the cloth ones didn't look right to me and I realized it was because they didn't have that waxy look. Then I thought of you. Could you make me some of wax?"

The garden club at Palm Springs, California, is made up of wealthy men and women who are winter residents. They asked Mrs. Woodrow to display her things and give a talk on her hobby. She was surprised to find the men so interested in the details of how it was done. From this talk came many orders for parties in private homes and at the Racquet and Tennis Clubs.

A CHILDREN'S party inspired Mrs. Woodrow's "animal tree." The base is a square of brown wax, the trunk formed with two brown candles to which branches of green wax are attached. On the branches sit all sorts of cute wax animals and birds. There are dogs, rabbits, elephants, deer, owls and several varieties of birds. A cute tortoise makes a place card. Names may be scratched into his back while the wax is still warm. Rubber molds may be had for these. The children can choose a wax animal or bird and pick it off the tree to take home. Of course this delights the little folk.

Recently a lovely gift shop in Carmel, California, communicated with Mrs. Woodrow. They carry only beautiful table and buffet items. Their specialty in candles is one decorated with a cluster of grapes. They needed someone to do this work for them and asked if she would be able to fill their orders.

The second year she was engaged in her hobby Mrs. Woodrow received a letter from a gift shop in New York, asking her for samples of her work. It so happened that she was going to New York that summer so she took along a number of her novelties. The owners of the shop made an appointment to see her at her aunt's home. Mrs. Woodrow was astonished when they arrived accompanied by their lawyer and approached her as if they expected her to sell them a large bill of goods. After talking for a few minutes and seeing her things their manner changed and they asked her if she would consider letting them be her exclusive representative in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. She told them she would have to think it over and would write them on arriving home. When she got home there was a contract ready for her signature in the mail box. With it was a query as to how soon she could supply them with fifty dozen roses.

The time had come to make a decision. Was this to remain a hobby that paid its own way and made her a little extra spending money or was it to become a business that would necessitate hiring others and giving it her full time? Her decision was to let it remain a hobby. Now she fills what orders she can and gets her greatest satisfaction from talks she gives to groups, showing them what a hobby can do to replace things dear to us that we must give up, as the conditions of our life change, and how it can actually renew health. When a group wishes to be taught how to do specific things she teaches a class, charging for her time and knowledge.

ANY OF you readers could teach yourself as Mrs. Woodrow did. She models her flowers free hand, studying an actual blossom to get the shape of the petals and leaves. Ceramic shops have patterns for pansies, daffodils, hibiscus and many other flowers. These could be used with the wax just as they are with the clay. The pattern is laid on the warm wax and rapidly cut out, then lifted with a small spatula, such as ceramic shops and art stores sell. Ordinary paraffin can be used but a commercial wax with a melting point of about 170 degrees gives a little more time to work it. This sort of wax is sold by the large oil companies. Heat your wax in a small pan, having it hot but not smoking.

Roses seem to be the most popular flower and the easiest for the beginner to make. The same general procedure is followed with all flowers. A tight center is shaped from a blob of wax, dropped on a smooth surface, lifted with the spatula and rolled. The size of the circle of wax dropped determines the size of the rose. Each petal is made from a separate blob of wax and cupped with the thumb and the edges fluted to give the softness and irregularity of a real rose petal. The petals are attached, one at a time, with a drop of hot wax. The little, narrow spoon dentists use is ideal for pouring out the drops of sealing wax but any small spoon with narrow tip would do.

For a more full blown rose the petals are cupped more fully and stand away from the center and each other a little. Mrs. Woodrow cut around a real rose leaf a few times and since then, having the shape in her mind, cuts her leaves free hand and veins them with the tip of her peeling knife. Rose leaf cutters in sets of six sizes may be purchased in ceramic shops and make a most realistic leaf. When the blossom is completed it is attached to the candle with a few drops of wax, leaves and more blossoms and buds being added to form a cluster.

THE LITTLE hats are shaped over a nut cup and the wax allowed to flow over the cup onto a smooth tile to form the brim. This brim can be shaped many different ways. The hats are then trimmed with tiny flowers, beads, sequins, feathers and bits of veiling. The feathers are made by cutting the desired shape, veining the center to form the quill and cutting the edges to give the feathered effect.

Cat-tails are made by molding wax around a pipe cleaner. The stems can be made by dipping a pipe cleaner in green wax.

For the Christmas season holly leaves and berries make an easily done and effective decoration. On Christmas candles Mrs. Woodrow often drops glitter into the warm wax. Poinsettias are beautiful on Christmas candles. Mrs. Woodrow worked this blossom out by carefully studying a real one. Sometimes she will cut around an actual petal to get the realistic look before scaling it down to the size needed for her candles. Paraffin, whipped until white, will give candles that frosted look, if they are dipped quickly in it.

To accent the edges of flowers, bows, feathers and bells Mrs. Woodrow dips her finger into gold bronze and lightly brushes the edges. This is available in art and paint stores and comes in shades from copper to light gold. For her work Mrs. Woodrow prefers the light gold.

MRS. WOODROW charges $2.50 for a pair of tapers, decorated with bells and roses. Her candle sleeves, described earlier in the article, bring $4 a pair. The seven-inch tall, three-inch diameter candle sells for $3.50 and the eleven-inch tall candle, three inches in diameter, brings $4.50. These are very popular sizes as they burn for many hours before the decoration is disfigured and make a striking display on table, mantel or piano. The rosebud place cards or the little rosebud holders for birthday candles sell for $2.50 a dozen. Since Mrs. Woodrow sells direct to her customers her prices are considerably under what a high-class gift shop would ask for the same item.

Mrs. Woodrow buys her candles of all sizes and colors from a manufacturer directly. This saves her quite a little over buying them in the store. To color the wax she buys the large crayons, melting enough crayon into the wax to give the desired color.