Sunday 27 October 2013

Tealights & teacups


Like many of you out there, I love to burn scented candles in the evening, particularly with the nights drawing in. We don't have a real fire so it's lovely to have the gentle glow of a flickering flame to give the impression of the warmth of a fire.

What I don't like though is all the bits at the bottom of the tealights which don't burn away and get wasted, particularly if they're the more expensive ones or my favourite scent. Maybe it's the crafting spirit in me that saves everything but I've been hoarding them until they could be repurposed.


Over the summer, I decided I had enough collected to create new tealights. I scraped out all the bits with a screwdriver and melted them down in an old milk pan. The molten wax was poured into new tealights using a kit bought from Hobbycraft.


Really quick and simple. Thankfully the scent is pretty good too given that it's a combination of different wax.


The other candle wax of which I always have plenty is from the small samplers. Some burn down all the way but most seem to leave behind a large molten lump. These too I've been collecting and sorting into colours ready to transform.


Fired up with the success of the tealights, I decided to be more ambitious and make a teacup candle. I found this beauty in a charity shop for £1.


Again the wax was melted in my old milk pan and poured into the cup. There seemed to be a lot of wax in the pan but, as you can see, it wasn't nearly enough. My method of holding the wick in place was a bit precarious too!


I was very happy with the way it turned out though and was glad I'd made one for myself before attempting to make one as a gift. I already have another teacup to make one for my Mum - now all I need are some more leftovers!

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After a week when I travelled to 5 different towns/cities in 5 days with work, I decided that this weekend would be a quiet one. Apart from treating ourselves to coffee and crumpets at a local cafe for breakfast this morning, it's been a couple of days of cosying down at home and cracking on with my miniature quilt.

One of the benefits of so much travelling was that I managed to read this book, Malkin Child by Livi Michael. If you enjoyed my post about the Pendle witches, you might like this. It's the story of Jennet Device during the period in which she testified against her family and others during the Lancashire Witch Trials of 1612. As it's actually aimed at young adults it's a light and easy read and helped me pass a pleasant couple of hours on the train.

The wind has really picked up over the last couple of hours as the storm approaches. Hope you're enjoying what's left of the weekend and that you stay safe. x

6 comments:

  1. what a great way to recycle all the bits of wax. The books sounds really interesting, on one visit to Dave's dads house, we visited the Pendle Heritage Centre and I found the stories of the witches rather interesting.

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  2. Settling down for a good read sounds great. I like having old tea cup candles too- although I never then want to burn them:)

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  3. That's a great idea, I love burning candles and tea lights too, must give your idea a try. Your tea cup candle is so pretty.
    Marianne x

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  4. They're beautiful!I've always wanted to make one or two, but I haven't any vintage teacups to spare...

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  5. This is such a clever idea. I too hate any waste (I cut my moisturiser bottles in half so I can use every last bit) and this is a good way to stretch expensive candles a little further. Plus they look so pretty! x

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  6. I'm not a candle person, I only light them when there's a power cut but I find your candle in a cup the prettiest thing :-)

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