Total Art Soul - for artists

 Candles in Cups

I just hate it when I have a fantastic candle that, for whatever reason, doesn't burn all the way to the bottom of the wick. It's quite easy to collect scrap candle bits for this project if you are like me and burn candles often. You can simply collect the extra bits or get your friends to collect for you, keep them in a bag until you are ready to melt them down and give them new life.

Materials

1. In a small pan set over a larger pan of simmering water, melt down old candles; clip the thermometer to the upper pot, and keep temperature at about 185 degrees. Remove old wicks with tongs.

2. Cut a piece of wicking to the cup's height plus 2 inches. Clamp one end to a wick sustainer; tie the other end around a skewer. Dip wicking and sustainer into melted wax to coat them. Remove and stick sustainer to cup's bottom.

 

3. Pour in the wax, stopping 1/2 inch below the cup's rim. Allow wax to set, about 1 hour. The candle will harden with a well in the center. To even it out, use another skewer to prick a circle of holes about 1/16 inch deep around the wick. Pour in melted wax until surface is 1/4 inch below rim. Cut wick.

This is such a simple project, you could easily do several of these at one time. The cups could be found in second hand stores or in grandma's cupboard.  If you didn't have bits of old candles to use, you can purchase wax in most craft stores but I like the idea of recycling something we normally just throw away. 

 Happy creating!