crafting: mercury glass soy candles

I have a love for mercury glass, but my goodness the real thing is expensive! Fortunately, it's relatively easy to find faux mercury glass; I found these votive holders for $1.99 at Michaels in their Christmas aisle. Since I happened to have a whole bag of soy wax lying around, I thought it would be lovely make these into candles for the mantle. Sure, you can just add tea-lights, but where's the fun in that? If you're like me and have a pretty low attention span, you'll love this craft idea, because it literally took under an hour (and most of that time I was doing other things while I waited for the wax to melt.) Here's the skinny...

1. Faux mercury glass vases and votives can be found this time of year at your local craft store. Check the holiday aisles. But why stop there? Vintage china cups, mason jars, etc make pretty containers, too.

2. Soy wax burns cleanly; a perfect choice for indoor candle use. These flakes are the size and shape of lentils and were purchased on Ebay. Soy is also much less expensive than beeswax (although beeswax candles are my favorite).

3. These cotton wicks were also purchased on Ebay. They come in many sizes--makes sure you choose an appropriate size for your container.

4. NOT SHOWN: I used a pot specifically for candle making to melt my soy flakes. I placed it inside another pot filled with a little water. You don't have to purchase a special pot, though, if you have an old one that you don't mind ever cooking with again!

When you pour your melted wax into the container, start with a tiny bit and let it firm up around the wick to hold it in place. A trick to keep the wick straight while the wax hardens is to tape a straw lengthwise across the top of the container to hold it up.

I've experimented with scents, and have yet to find ones that I like, so I prefer instead to leave my candles unscented. If you're using beeswax, the natural scent of honey is very pleasant and can be left as is. I think these candles make a fun project to do with an older child, and also make nice holiday gifts. Have fun!

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