In our house we drink Iced Tea with meals, or just as a refreshing drink throughout the day. Don't touch sodas, except perhaps ginger ale every once in a great while! Cloudy tea has been an annoying problem for a long time. Especially when we wanted to serve it to company. I understand the mineral content in your water can be responsible. Anyway, we are not "bugged" with cloudy tea anymore. After trying every which way....here is what we do now; we start with cold water (our water is well water that has quite a bit of iron content). Bring water (on high heat) to the brink of just starting to boil. Little bubbles are forming at the bottom of the pot. Turn off the burner and add your tea bags. We let our tea bags steep until the whole pot cools off. When cooled, remove tea bags, but do not squeeze. We let them drip a bit, but don't squeeze! Then bottle the tea without anything added. DH prefers his tea without any sweetener, and I like "Sweet 'n Low". We add some (to taste) bottled lemon juice and ice to the glass just at serving time. With this method we haven't had cloudy tea in a long time. Not since we stopped boiling and squeezing the tea. Think the lime juice that "ksrogers" uses would also be a very nice addition. Am going to try it! I also drink hot Green Tea and Camomile for health benefits.

Crayons are fine for colorant. I advise against the glitter, because I do not know if is is safe, when exposed to heat & flame. As for "food essence", I have no idea what that is. There are fragrance oils, made specifically for candles. They should be safe & work the best.

What is the diameter of the containers you use? If they are very wide-mouthed, you may need to use 2 wicks per candle.

The most valuable prep space is between the sink and range, and you should have a minimum of 36", but--42-48" would be better. I agree with anniebird, about the sink on the island, and if you have only one sink, then put the DW to the right (as you face the island), so that it is not between the fridge and range. In that layout a helper can load or unload the DW, or gather dishes to set the table, without interfering in prep and cooking tasks. If you really don't want a sink on the island, you might consider making the island 8' (which will still accommodate 4 seats), and putting the clean-up sink on the left wall. You might need to move the door down, but when you build the DR addition, you could make the window a pass-through, and dishes would be convenient to the new DR, in drawers on the end of the island, and in the corner susan or in drawers next to it. The clean-up sink as drawn could then be a prep sink, centered on the right window section, to give you more prep space between it and the range. A trash pull-out under the prep space would be convenient, and the clean-up sink could have a smaller trash pull-out below. Click to enlarge: Good kitchen planning info: New to Kitchens? Read me first. Also: NKBA guidelines