Almost two years ago now we took our first try at making Soy candles in baby food jars. Today we will take it a step further by making soy candles in beautiful and unique tea cups. With Christmas quickly approaching these are perfect to give as a gift or use as party favors. You could even make them inside coffee mugs for those manlier guests. It’s way easier than you think…
Find out how to make tea cup candles after the jump…
How to Make a Tea Cup Candle
Depending on where you go tea cups can be very expensive. Flea markets and thrift stores seem to be the places to find the cheapest deals. I bought these two beauties for $2 at our nearest flea market.
There are two options when starting to make candles. You can buy the supplies individually or in a kit. In this case I bought this kit from Michaels however, it looks like Michaels is the only place you can buy it since it is nowhere to be found online. I will also add in helpful links for buying supplies individually.
Hot glue your wicks to the bottom of the cups. I wrapped the rest of the wick around a pencil and pen but any stick will work. This helps keep the wick centered when pouring in the wax.
I did not have a double boiler so I made my own homemade one. I put about 2 inches of water into a pot and set it to low. Then I put the wax inside the bowl and placed it on top.
Gradually melt the wax, adjusting the stove temperature if needed. I increased mine to Medium heat.
Melt the wax until it reaches the temperature specified on the bag. In this case I heated it to 180 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the point where you can add the scent you prefer and any color. I used a vanilla scented block that I shaved into the melted wax.
Allow the wax to cool to 135-140 degrees Fahrenheit (or lower depending on the wax you use). Pour the wax into the tea cups keeping the wick centered.
Wait for the wax to cool and cut the wick down to about 1/4 inch.
They would also look great at baby showers, tea parties or even just a little extra light when you are enjoying your favorite book.
Love you. I am doing a handmade Christmas this year and guess what all the grandmas, aunts and girl cousins are getting? LOVE LOVE love it!!!
love it! thanks for the idea!
It's been some time that I can't seem to be able to see pictures in your posts (ads on the sides are fine). I still read contents but would love to see pictures too. Soemtimes I cansee some pictures, it seems to be the ones you've borrowed/linked from other places. If you know what I could do to change that I would appreciate your input. Thanks!
I made over 200 soy candles for my wedding! We use a pair of chopsticks with rubber bands on each end to hold the wicks straight. Also, we used the microwave to melt the wax, but sometimes we got bubbles or rippling in the dried wax, so maybe that wasn't such a good idea, but most of them turned out great! We just used a heat embossing tool to smooth out the tops.
Love the project, just one question… how do you remove the wax from the bowl? I used a Revere Ware pan to melt wax once for something and never got it off…
Thanks!
@beccha – if you're using soy wax, it'll wash right off with soap and water!
You can also use old soup cans, coffee cans or the biggest cans you can find, to melt the wax before pouring into a mold. This way none of your pans get ruined in the process!
Love them ther so cute making them right now.<(^_^<)
Great idea! Want to do this with my Grandmother’s old teacup..My Question is for the fragrance can you use drops of essential oils? What do you suggest for adding fragrance.
Jill
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If I bought the wics would I be able to use the. Wax blocks like for Scentsy melt them down and just porur them into the tea cup around the wi wif?wick?
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I’m afraid of breaking a tea cup with burning wax. Once someone starts burning the candle doesn’t the tea cup heat up and crack? I want to make these but don’t want family and friends to have a fire hazard! Please reply to my email. Thanks!!
This has never happened to us, but we are definitely not fire experts! I think if the tea cup was properly fired this shouldn’t be an issue… ceramics are heated in a kiln after all!
Glass is also heated when it is made, and is in fact super hot. The issue is with the changes in temperature. This is more likely to happen as the candle burns down. I would not make a candle in any china that has sentimental value because there is a chance of breakage. Candles should never be left to burn unattended, Do not feel safe because candles are in glass or ceramic containers. These containers can break. I put candles on metal trays in case of breakage, but that does not make it safe to leave unattended.
Some people told me not to use China cups for making my candle i was so disappointed as I have lots of China cups that I bought in charity shops and some I had myself so delighted to see I can make candles in my cups now thank you
You can likewise utilize old soup jars, espresso jars, or the greatest jars you can discover, to liquefy the wax prior to filling a form. This route none of your dishes get demolished all the while!