Upcycled Teacup Candles

Time Needed: 30 minutes
Level of difficulty: easy
Materials needed: teacups, paraffin candle wax, candle wicks, double boiler or boil bags, candle scent (optional), candle wax dye (optional), water

Directions: In either a double boiler or boil bags, melt the wax completely over medium heat. This will take 10-15 minutes or so, even if the was is labeled as having a low melting point. It's still wax and still takes awhile to melt. I'd recommend the boil bags so you don't ruin or wax up your double boiler. While that's melting, put the wicks in the bottom of your clean teacups (make sure they're clean or you're gonna have gross candles). Once the wax is melted, add any wax scent or wax dye that you feel like you want to add, and stir with a wooden spoon (or, in my case, a random bamboo skewer) to ensure proper distribution. Carefully pour wax into the teacups, making sure the wicks are well above the top of the wax. To ensure they stay straight, you may want to tie the tops to some bamboo skewers and rest those on the lip of the cup. Once the wax has dried enough to put a solid film on the top of the candle, cover the wax with water while it hardens. The wax will dip in the middle as it hardens, and this keeps it from dipping quite as much. Once hardened, dump out the water, trim the wicks, and enjoy your beautiful new candles. The best part is that when they're all gone, you can just start over again. Oh, cute!