Handmade Wednesday's: Teacup Candles

Martha Stewart is at it again with these simple, soft, pretty candle options. I am a huge candle fan, but sometimes the containers are boring or the labels stand out too much. I love the idea of making your own candles and using teacups to contain them. So lovely. Just use teacups that have lost their saucers or head out to a thrift store or garage sale to find some "new" ones. These also make excellent gifts!

What You'll Need:

• beeswax or paraffin bricks or old candles
• teacups
• wicks with tabs, sized for your molds
• candle-making or candy thermometer
• wax colorants (crayons work great!)
• wooden skewer
• double boiler or two pots
• (optional) natural essential oil or fragrance oil (might be flammable if not natural)

Preparing Your Wax

1. Place beeswax and/or paraffin bricks in a double boiler or in one pot that is inside another filled with water over the stove. When the wax has reached it's melting point according to a candle-making or candy thermometer, lower the heat and add a hardening agent such as stearic acid (if desired), using three tablespoons of stearic acid per pound of wax.
2. To tint the melting wax, stir in bits of colorant using a wooden spoon. Test the color by dabbing wax with a wooden craft stick on waxed paper or parchment paper. Remove from heat; if using fragrance, add it at this point.

Make Your Candle

1. Cut the wicking to the cup's height plus 2 inches. Fit 1 end with a wick tab; tie the other end around a skewer. Dip the wicking and the tab into melted wax to coat them. Remove and stick the tab to the cup's bottom. The skewer should be sitting across the top of the cup.
2. Pour in the wax, stopping about 1/2 inch below the cup's rim. Allow the wax to set, about 1 hour.
3. Note: If a well develops in the wax while it's hardening, use another skewer to prick a circle of holes about 1/16 inch deep around the wick. Pour in the melted wax until the surface is about 1/4 inch below the rim. Then let it harden completely, at least 1-2 hours.
4. Cut the wick to 1/4 inch before burning.