This craft idea was sparked off after a shopping trip to Marlborough, where I saw some beautiful cup and saucer candles. They were very sweet but rather pricey, and I knew I could make cup and saucer candles at a fraction of the price.
I do love candles, and I usually buy scented candles. So I thought that if I was making cup and saucer candles that I would make scented cup and saucer candles. I also love a bit of Chintz, so I set out looking for Chintz style cup and saucers to make my candles in.
To make a cup and saucer candle you will need…
Cups and Saucers, or just cups is fine too,
White wax beads,
Essential oils for fragrance,
Wax dye flakes,
Wick,
Wooden skewers,
Ribbon and flowers to decorate,
The best place to find odd cups and saucers for this craft is car boots, garden fates and charity shops. Choose cups and saucers that you think are pretty. Take them home and give them a good wash and allow them to dry completely.
Put the wax beads in a glass jug, stood in half a pan of boiling water as if you were melting chocolate. Don’t allow the water to bubble over the sides of the jug and contaminate the wax. The wax does take a while to melt so whilst it is on the hob, turn your attention to setting up the cups.
Set out the cups and saucers, and add one or two wax dye flakes to each cup; this will give your candle a pail pastel shade that is in keeping with the chintz look.
Next you need to add a couple of drops of essential oils to the cup.
Cut a length of wick that is twice the height of the cup and fold it in half. In the loop that is created, push the skewer through and then turn the skewer around to twist the wick. Lay the skewer across the cup so that the wick is suspended in the centre of the cup.When the wax is melted, pour a small amount of wax into the cup and with a spare skewer, give the wax in the cup a stir to melt and mix the dye and the essential oil. Then top up the cup with wax slowly as to not disturb the wick. If your cup has a pattern on the inside at the top, make the top of the candle just reach below the pattern so that it is still visible.
Finnish filling all the cups in this way with the melted wax and then set the candles to one side to cool and set.
To finish off, tie a slim ribbon on the handle of the cup or around the bowl of the cup to decorate. If you are making the cup and saucer candle as a gift, you could write a special message on a brown card luggage label and tie that to the cups handle.
