Step by step
A container candle made at home in one of our cream stemmed ceramic cups: wax flakes melted in a steel pouring pot, a few drops of fragrance oil, a wick held straight with a centring bar, and the finished candle lit on a white desk.
What was on the table
Everything fits on one small tray: the Minimalist Stemmed Incense Cup as the container, a dish of white wax flakes, a small amber bottle of fragrance oil, a wick with a metal base, a metal centring bar, a long stirring spoon and a probe thermometer. For melting, a steel pouring pot with a spout and a long handle, a larger pot for it to sit in, and a small hot plate.
1. Set the wick
The wick goes in first, while the cup is empty. Its metal base is pressed flat onto the middle of the cup floor, then the centring bar is laid across the rim and the wick threaded through it so it stands straight up.
2. Melt the wax
The wax flakes are spooned into the steel pouring pot, which sits inside a larger pot on the hot plate rather than straight on the heat. The flakes slowly turn from white to clear as they melt; stirring with the long spoon keeps the last pieces moving.
3. Check the temperature and add fragrance
Once the wax is fully liquid, the pot comes off the heat onto a rattan coaster and the probe thermometer goes in. Follow the temperatures given by your wax and fragrance oil suppliers, as they differ from product to product. The fragrance oil is then dropped straight from the bottle into the melted wax and stirred through.
4. Pour and leave it to set
The spout on the pouring pot makes it easy to pour in a thin, steady stream into the cup, past the centring bar. The bar stays in place while the wax cools and turns opaque, so the wick sets straight in the middle.
5. Trim and light
When the wax has set, the bar is lifted off and the wick trimmed short. The finished candle sits on a white desk in front of a pegboard shelf, lit with a long match.
Using it on a desk
- Keep it on a stable, heat-safe surface, with space around it and nothing hanging above it.
- Trim the wick before each lighting and never leave the flame unattended.
- Let the wax cool completely before moving the cup or touching the rim.
The piece in this project
- Minimalist Stemmed Incense Cup. A cream ceramic cup on a short pedestal, 7 cm across and 10 cm tall, sold empty, for incense, a home-made candle or display.
For more on candles, incense and holders, see our home fragrance guide.
