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Oscar Swag Bag To Feature Homemade Candles From Reading

BOSTON (CBS) - The excitement of Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony is hitting home for one local woman. The products she makes in her basement will be in the "swag bags" the stars get at the Oscars.

"I'm excited, my kids are all excited," says Leslie Gennari. She runs Sweet Shoppe Candles out of the basement of her Reading home. "I make bakery style candles that look and smell just like the real thing, but you can't eat it," she says. "We have key lime pie, sticky buns and we have a blueberry tart," she says.

And when the stars parade down the red carpet for the 84th Academy Awards at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre, one of her homemade beauties will be in their goody bags; a candle that looks like a glass of milk with a cookie dunking in it.

WBZ-TV's Lisa Hughes reports

"We had to make 91 candles," says Gennari. Leslie has been making the candles for the last few years and selling them online. "We melt down the wax. We add the scent, the color and sometimes we pour it into a mold, but most of the time it's handcrafted," she says.

From the quiet of Reading to the glitz of Tinseltown, Leslie's candles will be in the hands of the stars. "It's unreal. It's fun to think that they could possibly have one in their home," she says.

Leslie donated all the candles. They'll be handed out, along with the rest of the celebrity goodies, at a special party that's also a fundraiser for several charities.

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