It’s the season to be jolly, but gifting and decorating the table can become expensive! Put your DIY skills to the test with these nifty little parafin lamps – made using small vanilla essence bottles:
- 1 small glass bottle with metal cap
- Wooden block
- Nail (Ensure that the nail is thinner than the candle wick)
- Hammer
- Candle wick
- Paraffin
- Decoration as ribbons (Optional)
- Lighter/ Matches
Now to get started:
- Screw the cap off the bottle and place it on a wooden block upside down with the inside of the cap facing upwards.
- Some bottles have a thin rubber plate on the inside of the bottle cap. With your nail remove this rubber plate and dispose of it.
- With your hammer and nail, hammer a hole in the cap. Do not worry about the metal ridge that will appear around the hole on the outside of the cap as it will help keep the wick in place.
- Cut a piece of candle wick 2 to 3 times the height of the bottle to ensure that a large piece of the wick remains drenched in the paraffin.
- Push the wick through the hole in the cap from the inside of the cap using the nail. Ensure that a 0.5cm piece of the wick is sticking out on the outside of the cap. This piece will be lit.
- Fill your bottle with paraffin.
- Place the large piece of wick inside the bottle and screw on the cap the bottle. Ensure a tight seal.
- Leave the bottle for a few minutes to ensure that the wick is drenched with paraffin.
- The bottles can be decorated with ribbon to fit a specific colour scheme.
Original images and their credits available on Pinterest
