Simply stunning floating lights
Simple to make from leftover wax, these saucer-shaped candles sit on the water surface to create a serene and elegant display
MATERIALS
• Wide saucepan
• Glass mixing bowl to sit in pan
• Old part-used candles
• Old spoon
• Nine-hole baking tray
• 100 per cent cotton string
• Tea light
• Metal bodkin needle
• Scissors
• Wax crayons
HOW TO MAKE THE CANDLES
Step 1: A wide saucepan is filled one third of the way up with water and set on the hob to simmer. A glass bowl is placed in the water and pieces of candle are placed in it to melt. The pan should not be allowed to boil dry. Once melted, an old spoon is used to transfer the molten wax into the holes in the baking tray. The tray is set aside for the wax to solidify. The candle wicks can be saved and reused if they are long enough, otherwise cotton string is coated in wax and cut into short lengths.
Step 2: Once the wax has hardened, the candles are carefully removed from the tray. The tip of a bodkin needle is warmed in the flame of a tea light and pushed through the centre of each candle to make a hole. Care should be taken, as the needle can become very hot. A piece of saved wick or waxed cotton string is pushed through the hole and a blob of molten wax used on the underside to hold the wick in place. The other end of the wick is trimmed to 1cm from the surface of the candle.
ADDING COLOUR
A coloured layer can be added to the candles by melting old wax crayons into some of the molten candle wax. This is spooned over the candles in the tray once they have fully hardened. The tray is then set aside again for the coloured wax to solidify before the wicks are added.