New Life for the Tea Candles

We all know the tealights, sold in packs of 100 pieces in every store. The candle cups are made of aluminum foil, which is practically everlasting, does not rust and rot and can be used over and over. Is irresponsible to dispose them after use - they go to the landfills and stay for thousands of years there. So - here's how I use them repeatedly, in a healthy way (parafine is poison, did you know?) - real beeswax candles. Besides emiting a wonderful fragnance when burned, they are beneficial to the room (unlike paraffine) - clean the energy and kill bacteria. And, most important, you can refill them over and over again - an unlimited number of times. I've been using 40 of them for years...

Natural beewax - you can buy it from open markets or a beekeeper. It can be purchased online as well from places like Ebay

This is a 3mm wick. In my case I use 3mm cotton 'basketball cord" that I found in a hardware store. But you can twist the wick from ordinary cotton thread, see how. If it is too thin, the flame will NOT have the power to melt all the wax (beeswax liquid at a higher temperature than paraffin) and will make a hole in it, if too thick the candle will burn too quickly. So size is important.

I run a screwdriver through the hole (maybe a nail or whatever you have at hand) to expand it. So the wick will pass free

Warm up the wax in a tin, slightly flattened to form a spout. Use cooker with temperature control, at lowest level.. If you are unable to regulate the temperature, heat the tin in a pot of boiling water. Keep the temperature low, less than the melting temperature of the wax. It should not smoke.

Dip the tip of the cord into the molten wax and let it dry. This will make it solid and hard. Sharpen the tip (with finger) to thread it into the holders. Leave distance between the holders. Dip the cord into the wax.

Once they cool down, cut them and voila - your candle wicks are ready! Place them into the center of the teacups.

Carefully pour the wax. Should be as cool as possible (slightly above the melting point) to keep the wick straight.

Once cool the candles are ready for clipping. Trim the wick to the correct height (5-7mm)

They glow, the room is filled with a real, natural fragnance of honey and beewax! Just like the Christmas I used to know... :-)