DIY Candles Using Souvenir Cups

I love candles. I like burning them for ambiance as well as soft light. I like burning them in the bathroom when I am taking a long bath with the electric lights turned off. Scented candles can relax your body and your mind.

I wanted to use a beautiful souvenir cup that I bought when I visited Alaska one year while cruising. The cup is larger than a coffee mug and would be more suitable as a soup mug.

All pictures are original and were taken with my Canon 80D.

I had all of the materials needed already but I haven't made a candle in a while. I needed candle wicks, candle scents, coloring blocks, metal tabs, wax, chopsticks or bamboo skewers and a thermometer.

The first step to make your own candle is to melt the candle wax. You can melt it in a double boiler, in the microwave or in the oven. I chose to melt it in the microwave using a pyrex mason jar. I had to cut the wax up into pieces that would fit into the jar.

I added as many of the chunks to the mason jar that would fit. I had to melt some down before I could add the rest of the wax.

I started melting the wax in the microwave in 4 - 6 minute segments. You have to be very careful that you not leave the melting wax unattended while it is melting.

If the wax is not melted all of the way then you add 2 minute segments at a time until all of the wax is melted. Stir the wax when almost all of it is melted and add the remaining chunks of wax.

The color block should be added after the main wax is melted. The scented block should be added last. The wick is prepared by threading it through the metal tab and crimping the string on the tab. The tab is placed in the bottom of the cup with a little bit of the wax to help it stay down.

Fill the cup almost to the top with the melted wax. Use the skewer or chopstick to keep the wick in a vertical position until the wax hardens. I made a little loop over the chopstick to hold the wick in place.

As the wax cools, it will shrink some towards the wick. You have to add a little more of the melted wax to the cup to fill in the sink hole area around the wick.

When the wax cools off, I cut the excess wick off that I had wrapped around the chop stick. Leave around a quarter of an inch of the wick exposed in the candle.

I lit the candle to see how it looks in the darkened bathroom. It looks very pretty in the large mug and it smells delightful.

This is a wonderful way to make use of odd cups or glass containers that you don't want to use for beverages or food. When the candle is completely spent, then you can clean out the mug and do it again.

Originally I was going to make two candles, but I didn't have enough wax for the two large cups. I made a small votive candle with the remaining wax.

Votive candles are small and burn pretty quickly. My mold will actually make six candles but I only had enough wax to make one.

Make a candle, light a candle and relax. It's all good.