DIY: How to make teacup candles at home

Do you have old teacups lying around at home? Old utensils are lovely to look at, but you may have gotten tired of using those retro cups. So turn them into a wonderful art project. Making tea cup candles is fun. Even kids and teens love doing them. The end result looks beautiful at home, and makes for great gifts too during the festive season. The best thing about this project is that it requires little time and money, but ends by yielding something that is not just pretty, but also usable. Here is how your kids can make these candles. 

What you will need  
To make tea cup candles, your kids will need the following:  

• A few old but intact porcelain teacups 
• Wax (we suggest soya wax as it burns without smoke). Instead of a hobby store, you can also use  old candle stubs that you may have 
• Wax wicks 
• Wooden sticks or pencils  
• Candle-making dyes or old crayon stubs (optional) 
• Scents/essential oils (optional) 
• Cooking thermometer (if using scent) 
• Tape and glue 
• Boiling pan  

All these are available online at Amazon, Flipkart, and all hobby stores.   

How to make the candles  
Help your school kids follow these instructions to make the candles. It should not take more than 30 minutes.  

Step 1: Wash and dry the cups. Use a bit of glue to secure the metal circle on the end of the wick to the bottom of the tea cup. Wrap the upper part of the wick around the stick / pencil to keep it centred.  

Step 2: Melt wax in the cooking pan on medium heat, until the wax is no longer opaque. If you are using old stubs, chop and grate them before hand, they will melt much faster.  

Step 3: Add the colour or chopped and grated crayon stubs into the boiling wax.  

Step 4: Remove the wax from heat, then add scent, if you want. Use the cooking thermometer to check that wax temperature is 140 or 180 degree Celsius. If it’s hotter, the colour and scent will not merge uniformly.  

Step 5: Let the wax cool just a bit, then carefully pour it into each tea cup. Leave half an inch of space from the rim of the cup.  

Step 6: Allow this to cool completely. A waiting time of 4-6 hours is ideal. Don’t forget to trim your wicks to 1 inch in length.  

What can you do with candles?  
These pretty candles can be used as decorations, gifts, or just a cool project to keep kids occupied.