Friday, January 7, 2011

Teacup Candle


I love crafts that don't involve me going to the craft store.  Something about going to Michaels and roaming down the aisles of overpriced, perfectly prepared materials just feels like cheating (plus, the temptation to make impulse purchases is often more than I can bear :-)

This craftstoreless craft was inspired by Martha Stewart.  Of course, her finished product is more perfectly beautiful, but I got a kick out of adding my own little twist.


I found this mini teacup at a thrift store for 2.99.  (a bit overpriced, but I liked the fact that it was miniature, which seemed especially suited for a candle.)

I wanted the wax inside of the cup to be brown to look like a real cup of tea, but didn't have any old brown candles I wanted to part with.   But then I realized that of course this is the perfect time of year to be in need of brown candle wax....after Christmas sales!!   I bought a red and green taper candle at Walgreens for 9 cents each.

Using a hammer, I smashed open one of the candles to extricate the wick.  (By the way- I didn't actually use the candle in the picture for the wax- you'll notice that the red is only painted on)

 I broke the red and green candles into pieces and melted the wax.  Everyone seems to say that wax should be melted in a double boiler or in a special wax melter contraption.  I melted mine under the broiler in the stove.  This method actually worked fine the first time, but the second time the glass container I was using got too hot and shattered.  (terrible, TERRIBLE mess...next time I may use a double boiler)

Because I was using an old wick, I needed to tie something to the end so that it would sink.  I used a paperclip that I folded in half and twisted around the wick.

I left the wick extra long to imitate a teabag string, and held it in place with a popsicle stick while the wax was cooling.
Tracing around a tea bag label as a guide, I cut my own label out of cardstock and used it to write a birthday greeting to my sister (an avid tea drinker- as are all the women in our family)

Such a fun little craft...I think I'll be on the lookout for pretty teacups at garage sales from now on!

6 comments:

Susan Lower said...

When I got married, I did the same thing. I placed several tea cups on my receiption tables with flowers around the saucer for center pieces. They were a big hit. We used blue wax to match our wedding colors, only now I wish I would have put a little note as you did.

Anonymous said...

What a cute idea! Be sure and use the double boiler next time--melting wax can burst into a terrific flame--I almost burned the house down trying to melt wax in a regular pan.

Sue said...

That is adorable. How clever and pretty. What a mess in the oven!

Genie said...

While making lotion bars and needing a double boiler, yet not wanting to spend any money to buy one for one project... I came up with this idea. Take an aluminum disposable pot pie pan (we had extras from making holiday gifts) and find an old pot at a thrift store that it will fit into. I happened to have one in my daughter's play kitchen - the foil pan fit perfectly inside of the pot with just a smidge of wiggle room. Put water in the bottom of the pot, foil on top and bring to a boil. Add your candles and melt them. Works great for small projects and is super cheap or free!

Sue said...

That is adorable. How clever and pretty. What a mess in the oven!

Susan Lower said...

When I got married, I did the same thing. I placed several tea cups on my receiption tables with flowers around the saucer for center pieces. They were a big hit. We used blue wax to match our wedding colors, only now I wish I would have put a little note as you did.