Betty's Guide to Teacup Candles

We love craft projects here at Betty, especially at Christmas time; teacups and candles combine two of our favourite things. With this how to guide from one of Betty’s contributing photographers, we can show you how to make your very own.  If you don’t have the time, or the patience (it’s a lot harder than Kelly makes it look), you can pick one up in her Etsy shop, just in time for Christmas.  Click to visit Old Curiosity here.

You will need:

2 saucepans (to make a double burner or bain marie)

Measuring jug

Scales

Thermometer

Lollipop stick

Cocktail stick

Spatula

Teacups

Paraffin wax beads

Beeswax beads (acts as a hardening agent to give you a long, clean burn – use 5% beeswax to 95% paraffin)

Wick (pre-tabbed with sustainer)

Glue dots (to stick the wick in the teacup)

Candle wax dye (optional)

Essential Oil (optional)

Step 1

To work out how much wax you will need, fill the teacup with water and measure the amount in a jug. You will need the corresponding amount of wax, e.g 120ml of water will be 120g of wax. Add 5% beeswax to 95% paraffin.

Step 2

Prepare your wick. Using pre-tabbed wicks with sustainers is much easier and can be bought cheaply off eBay. Stick a glue dot onto the bottom of the sustainer and stick centrally in the bottom of the teacup.Make a hole in a lollipop stick and place it over the wick, rest it on the top of the teacup to hold the wick central and prevent it from falling over when the hot wax is poured in.

Step 3

Put your wax beads in the top pan of a double boiler. Add water to the bottom pan like a bain marie. All wax has a flash point, so a double-boiler is essential to prevent it bursting into flames.  Add the wax dye and heat gently, stirring as you go.

Step 4

When the wax has reached 170 degrees and has melted (you can use a thermometer if you want to be precise), remove from the heat, add any essential oil if you want a scented candle.  Pour the wax into your teacup in one go leaving some in the pan for your second pour.  After about 20 minutes when a skin has formed on the top, make relief holes in the wax with a cocktail stick to let air out and prevent dipping. The wax cools as it contracts and will form a ‘wax well’ which should be filled in by doing a second pour.

Continue to break the relief holes every 30 minutes or so until the wax has hardened.

Step 5

After 8 hours when the wax is cooled you need to reheat the leftover wax in the pan to 10-15 degrees hotter than the first pour, this will ensure a good bond between the two layers of wax.

Pour in the wax to fill in the ‘wax well’ and relief holes. Leave to cool for a further 12 hours and you should be left with a smooth even surface to your candle.

Trim the wick to ¼” and wait at least 24 hours before lighting the candle.

We can't wait to light ours that we have bought from Old Curiosity, we will be trying to make our own in the new year.  If you give it a try, let us know how you get on!

Betty

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