Using up my stash - Vintage Teacup Candle Tutorial

The general consensus when I admitted my addiction to purchasing candles (which I don't then use) was to turn them into teacup candles for gifts. I found some great vintage teacups in a market a couple of weeks ago and then today I have finished the candles. Yay! I have Vintage Teacup Candles!

I read a few reviews and tutorials before I started and wanted to share what worked for me 

You will need

Teacups

Candle wicks

Candle wax - I melted down old candles

Tip - you may also want to purchase a cheap saucepan and wooden spoon - the cleaning afterwards isn't pleasant. I spent £1.75 on a pan and then recycled it with other metals at the dump

1. Prepare the Wax 

As I was using part used candles I cut them down into chunks before melting.

I've got quite a candle stash so selectively removed any dark sections of candles and then used a knife to shave these into sections. 

TIP - I found a smooth blade much easier to use than a serrated one

2. Prepare the Teacups

I purchased prewaxed wicks with sustainers so they stood in the teacups without needing sellotape across the top

3. Melting the Wax

This was the bit I was most nervous about. I read reviews of wax bursting into flames and that got me scared. The safest method seems to be melting wax in a small pan which is resting in a larger one filled with water

I used a really low heat - my hob has settings 1-9, I used setting 3

The water was just touching the bottom of the small pan and wasn't simmering or bubbling at all

The wax melted really quickly. Very soon I had liquid wax with lumps of wax icebergs gradually melting

TIP - you can add essential oils at this stage

4. Making your Candles

Once you have enough melted wax pour it into the teacups - a little first to secure the wick in place and then fill up to the required amount. 

 Leave to cool whilst you feel smug and enjoy a well earn cup of tea!

And here are the finished articles....aren't they adorable and what a perfect low cost Christmas / Birthday gift

I hope you found this tutorial useful - please let me know if you've made some Vintage Teacup candles

Stash-busting #declutterday

This week I turned my attention to my fabric stash for #declutterday. There are piles of fabric bought a long time ago with bygone projects in mind still loitering at the bottom of my fabric draw. It was time to sort it out. I'm pleased to report that I removed 7 large pieces of fabric from the draw and have now sold them on eBay. 

 Whilst I still like the designs I don't have a project in mind and as I haven't used them yet and I really going to?

Some of these were large pieces so I chopped a little bit off if there was a small pattern I could use in patchwork and sold the rest.

There's no harm in keeping a little bit is there?

Made a few pennies too

Although I'm going no where near quickly enough to make my target of £950 in the next 11 weeks! 

Oh dear! 

There just aren't enough hours in the day

My pockets might not be getting richer but at least my house is getting clearer! 

#declutterday - Candles Update

Thanks for all the responses to my post last month on my minor candle purchasing addition

Hello my name is Becca and I am addicted to buying candles

I have managed to down size my candle stash somewhat - I sold some of the new ones on eBay for a little money - but hey it all counts towards the Mickey Mouse total doesn't it! See below for how I'm progressing towards my target.

Most of the post comments on my original post suggested I should attempt to recycle some of these into teacup candles. And when I spotted these teacups on a thrift stall it was decision made. I wasn't even meant to be at the fair, it was only a very last minute decision to join my husband at an event he was working at a local village 

Isn't it amazing what you can stumble on when you aren't looking  

I have no idea how to melt and then set candles, but I've a few candles still in my stash, wicks on order from eBay and the internet so am sure I can figure something out.

So now there my challenge is to make my teacup candles into a product I would be proud to give a friend or family member at Christmas....watch this space! 

------------

In other #Declutterday News....

Progress hasn't been great towards my cash target, I haven't been able to face listing things on eBay whilst dealing with a little boy who hasn't been well, so I'm quite disappointed with where I am the Mickey reveal. I'm seriously doubting that I'll be able to make enough money to fund our Florida holiday accommodation  

I have, however, managed to continue with the deal on removing at least 5 items from the house including

- one skirt - too short
- 1 pair of trousers - didn't fit anymore 

- 5 candles (yay!) 

- a DVD of Contagion - good movie but made me think too much

 - a pile of old half used notebooks went into paper recycling 

#declutterday - I'm opening a candle shop

Been away for a couple of weeks with various bouts of illness in our household and a trip to A&E that I would rather forget, but I've finally managed to find an hour to open a cupboard and see what I've stashed inside all in the name of #declutterday

#declutterday

This week I discovered that I really could open a candle shop to rival Yankee, Ikea or Prices. I guess this would be ok if I was an avid candle burner, but my husband really doesn't like the flickering light they give out. So whilst I would love to sit by candle light on an evening, I usually manage about 30 mins before I'm asked if we can put the light on so I simply don't bother any more. This means that my pre-husband candle stash is still sitting around unburnt and unloved. 

... and it's taking up valuable cupboard space

This morning I pulled all the candles I could find into the dining room, I emptied one cupboard shelf and a dresser draw (also found some chocolate truffles behind the candles which will be enjoyed this evening!) 

How many??????

From top left to right

8 - used tea lights

18 - new / unused tea lights

3 - large 3 wick table candles

11 - various used candles

4 - new / unused cathedral candles

5 - table centre candles from our wedding (been married 5 years today!) 

12 - new / unused standard candles

8 - new / unused  hand finished silver candles in box

Total 69 candles - not including the ones I have on the mantle piece 'cos they look nice! 

Yes that is a lot of candles for a household which doesn't use them! 

But what to do with my candle stash???? I don't use them, I don't love them

they have to go

But, they are really heavy so don't really want to post them, I guess eBay is out of the question then. I suppose a charity shop would accept the new ones but what to do with the used ones? There is still plenty of life in them and it seems such a shame to throw them in the bin.

I don't use the candles so making new ones out of the old ones seems pointless, I don't skateboard or know anyone else who does so don't think skateboard wax block is an option. These are the only solutions I seem to be able to find online, have you any ideas? 

All ideas gratefully received, or if you want them - I'm in Basingstoke - drop me a note and happy for them to go to a good home. 

Unfortunately this probably means that the used ones will migrate from a cupboard and draw to a box in the garage - doesn't seem right... I will come back to you in a couple of weeks to report back that these have been ejected from the house one way or another. 

xx

#declutterday week 4 and link to my guest post

Hi, sorry I've been a little quiet this week, lots going on at home and I've been in the office working more than usual - this hasn't taken me away from crafting but it has taken me away from the computer to write to you. Hope you are having a good week. 

I've also been busy writing a guest post....very exciting to be asked...

Michelle over at the Purple Pumpkin Blog has taken August off from blogging and has asked a few of us to take the helm and write a post for her (she is off on a lovely long holiday lucky lady). 

I spent ages thinking about what to write, should it be crafty? should it be something totally random? should it be #declutterday? I was surfing the deadline to get this written and had sever writers block. In the end I decided to do a #delcutterday post about an area of my home I've been wanting to tackle but hadn't because I didn't know what to do with the bits I no longer needed/wanted. I wanted to sort out my underwear draw....so I've sorted, and recycled - read my post to find out what you can do with your old bras to support a good cause and make getting dressed a joy not a challenge  

Orlando Funding Challenge

As I sit her writing to you I am surrounded by outgoing eBay parcels of good stuff we no longer need but hopefully someone else will love. Will share these with you next week. 

ta ta for now...more crafting to share very soon

#declutterday week 3

I really do

I love plain ones

I love flat ones

I love heeled ones

But most of all I love pretty ones

My shoe collection has grown to mammoth proportions over the years - it doesn't seem to matter how your body weight fluctuates your feet stay the same and your shoes always fit, don't you love shoes for that. I've always seen then as an investment

(well unless you blow up like a balloon whilst pregnant and your feet start to resemble large pies....thank goodness they deflated after the birth!) 

I've always had this love affair with shoes (and also with bags but that declutter is for a different day) and a sort out was really needed.

I've started this week with my summer sandals, if I haven't worn them so far this summer then they've been assessed. Have to admit I wasn't as firm as I should have been but I have managed to sell 3 pairs on eBay. 

I also managed to sell 2 DVD boxsets for a tidy sum, every little helps. 

So this week's decluttered items are ...

Not bad and more ordered approach than last week... my decluttering is improving. 

So how is the Mickey Reveal shaping up in week 3? 

It's still a long way to go but I've got 23 weeks.....fingers crossed

Which draw / cupboard / shelf have you tackled this week? How are you getting on?

#declutterday week2

You may remember that last week I launched #declutterday

This was a joint effort with Catherine at Baby Genie; we pledged to support each other to clear out the clutter, we committed to removing at least 5 items each week.

I'm not a major hoarder, and I'm not looking to go minimalist, I just want a nice tidy home. Basically I have too much stuff

Progress this week
This week my clear has been a bit random, I'm not pleased with my performance to be honest, week 2 has been disappointing. My decluttering of random items which I've grabbed and decided to get rid it wasnt the clearing of a cupboard or draw leaving it sparkling and ordered which I'd been dreaming of. But it was progress none the less and therefore shouldnt be knocked too hard.

My home has been cleared of the following;

- a free magazine gift eye liner (I do my makeup on the train on way to work....I give eye liner a miss panda doesnt look good on me!)
- an osteopath cushion which never really worked for me and has been sat in the corner of the living room for too long
- some clothes bits nothing to write home about really
- some business books

Not a bad decluttering and well over the 5 item target, but I'm a bit disappointed at my random attack....this week my report reads

Must try harder

But.... I have made progress towards our holiday trip to Disney in January still a long way to go.

Have you managed any decluttering this week? How are you getting on? Have you got any tips for me to try in tackling my home?

Launch of #declutterday

You know the old saying "a problem shared is a problem halved"? well I had a moment which proved this earlier in the week. I was reading through the blogs I love on Bloglovin when I can across Catherine's post for Baby Genie about clutter getting her down. I felt the same. On Thursday evening we started exchanging comments on her blog about the fact we really must do something about this and bam....#declutterday was created. 

Don't get me wrong I'm not about to be featured on the hoarder next door, but this house is just full of too much stuff. Exactly a year ago we moved from our large 3-bed to a larger 4-bed house, I thought there would be plenty of space to house all our belongings but no, we are already creaking at the seams. Something has to change.

I think we all know the liberating feeling of packing light for your holiday and surviving quite happily for a week with only 2 pairs of short and a couple of t-shirts. If feels great, you don't feel weighed down by stuff and there are only simple choices to be made. This versus packing half your wardrobe and realising at the end of the week you haven't worn half the things you dragged halfway across the world thinking they were "essential" to a happy holiday. I'm always left feeling a little cross with my indulgent self in this scenario.

Well I want to get to the 2 pairs of shorts life style, and you are here to help me do it, I want you to work with me to declutter my house and in the process give me that liberating free feeling of a clear mind.

Clear House = Clear Mind

But I also want to make my decluttering pay... There is no doubt that clearing the clutter is my primary aim, but I do like a target to work to. To that end I thought I would see if I can fund the accommodation of our mega-huge-massive holiday to Disney through this decluttering and selling some of the items I no longer need. This means I need to make £950 in 6 months, eek

Clear home and a few extra pennies in the bank...wonderful news

Would you like to join Catherine and I in our quest for clear homes and a healthier bank balance? 

So the rules of #declutterday

1. remove at least 5 items of clutter a week - these can be too the charity shop, eBay or the bin - it doesn't matter so long as the items are no longer in your home
2. share your success - using the #declutterday tag on blogs, twitter and instagram
3. grab the button below to let people know you are taking part and are aiming for a decluttered home
4. no new clutter - i think this is going to be the hardest rule but it really is vital - no new non-esssential items to be purchased

So I will blog each Thursday about the items I've removed from my home I hope to eventually move to a clear home, and meet my target of funding part of our Disney trip by revealing Mickey Mouse as I go with the amount I've made from sales of stuff I no longer need

Why don't you join us? 

 Grab the button below for your blog and share your progress, leave me a comment to let me know you are taking part in #declutterday and I'll pop over to your blog to cheer you along. Good Luck!

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Progress in week 1
I've got off to a mixed start this week

Charity - I took 3 large bags of clothes and home accessories including pictures and cushions to the charity shop this week, I cannot claim too much pride in this as the work to sort out these items had been done a long time ago, the bags were just sat in the garage waiting for a car ride...but now they have gone, hoorah!

eBay - a successful eBay week too - clothes and DVDs have been my focus, this week I've made £25.58, but I bought Suits Season 2 on eBay for £11.51, (I hope to sell this on when we have watched it so hope not to cost too much in the long run, I suppose it isnt really essential so you will have to forgive me).

So my running total is £14.07

My Mickey Reveal 

Looking rather pathetic after week 1

there is a long way to go.....