Dude, you can make that...: October 2011

Tea-hee

Hey hooooo. What's up? I love when I bumbling around online and find a pretty picture of a teacup that's been made into a candle, and thought, dude, I can make that :).

I found this lonely little teacup at my local Savers store and have been holding onto it until I gathered the necessary supplies. Any mateless teacup, an empty shot glass, or crazy martini glass will work as well. Skies the limit.

Unfortunately you'll need a number of items to complete this craft, such as:

Candle Wax (Available at most craft stores, comes in regular, gel, soy, scented etc)
Wicking and Wick Tabs (Unbeknownst to me wicking comes in different thicknesses. I accidentally got the extra large kind, but it comes in XSmall, Small, Medium etc. Look on the package and it'll tell you what size candle goes with what size wick. The tabs are one size fits all, you can also get pre-tabbed wicks in varying lengths.)
Candy or meat thermometer (Has to go up to 300 or 400, you need this to monitor the wax when it's being melted so it doesn't burst into flame. Important because bursting into flame is unpleasant.)
Wax mold (You can buy preshaped rubber, metal, porcelain or waxed paper molds, or just make your own! I'm going to do another post on pillar candles made from toilet paper tubes and cookie cutters. If using a mold you plan to take the candle out of, just coat the inside with some non-stick cooking spray.)
Scents (I'm using lavender for this bad boy, but any non-flammable scent will work.)

Les accoutrements des candles.

Step one: Set up a double boiler. This is to prevent the flame-bursting thing we were talking about before. Fill a large pot 1/3 of the way with water, plop another pot in the larger one and turn on the burner. Make sure the water doesn't look so high it'll boil over, but high enough so that it cups the bottom of the inside pot. Set the thermometer in the smaller pot and put the wax in it to melt. The wax packaging will tell you how hot to let it get, PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO IT AND DON'T LEAVE THE ROOM. Fires are a bummer.

Please don't look at my gross stovetop.

Step two: When the wax is melting, prepare your wicking. Measure your teacup and cut the wicking so there's a couple extra inches, and trap one end in a metal wicking tab. Tie the loose end around a stick and place across the top of your container. Make sure the metal tab can sit comfortably at the bottom, but the wicking is straight up to the stick so that the flame burns straight down, not all willy-nilly like some kinda drunk candle.

El Steppo Tres: When a little bit of the wax has melted, push the wicking to the end of your stick and immerse it in the melted wax, covering the wicking and the metal tab.

Hot, yo.

Place it back in the candle so the tabs on the bottom, and pour a tiiiny bit of hot wax on the bottom. Place in the freezer for a minute to set it. This helps keep the tab at the bottom and the wicking nice n straight.

Brrrr. It's cold in here. I must not be lit yet.

When the wax has gotten all melty, CAREFULLY pour it into the teacup until it reaches about a 1/2 inch from the top. This is when I add the scent I'll be using, in this case lavender. I added about 8 drops, but go as crazy as you like. As the wax cools it'll leave a little depression in the middle that you'll have to fill in with more wax, so keep a little in the pot.

I'm depressed.

Let it cool, about fifteen - twenty minutes, then pour a leeeetle bit more wax in until it reaches about a 1/4 inch from the top. Let cool again. I wouldn't put it in the freezer this time, if it cools too quickly the wax can split and ruin your whole project. Be patient. Go have a beer.