With the holidays around the corner and Old Man Winter approaching, I thought it would be fun to tackle another candle project. I love candles any time of year, but I especially love them when the days are shorter and darker. They make the house feel warm and cozy. Today I’m sharing how to make floating tea light candles and arrange them with flowers for a pretty centerpiece.
Candles are really easy to make and I love that you can customize them. Float your homemade tea light candles with flowers in a bowl for a beautiful centerpiece any time of the year.
Gather your supplies to make the tea lights. You’ll need small muffin tins, candle wax, wicks, fragrant oil, and dye. Place your wicks into the center of each muffin cup and be sure to keep the wick longer than needed – you’ll trim it later.
Melt the candle wax in a double boiler until it reaches 200 degrees F (for metal molds). Let cool to 125 degrees. Then add your fragrance (I used an entire vial of orange candle fragrance – you can use essential oils if you prefer) and your dye. For my tea lights, I used about 1 teaspoon of ivory dye. Stir thoroughly and immediately pour the wax into the muffin tins. Reserve about 1/2 cup of wax.
I use a funnel when pouring the wax into the muffin tins, but some will still spill out of the pan. Be sure to put parchment paper or wax paper under the muffin tins to catch any wax that drips. As the wax cools, you’ll get an indentation near the wick. You can leave it like that if you want, or reheat the reserved wax and pour over the tops of the tea lights to level the top.
Once the tea light candles are solidified, place the muffin tins in the refrigerator for about an hour.
Once the candles are chilled, they’ll pop right out of the muffin tin. Trim wicks before lighting.
See my complete candle making instructions before you make your tea light candles.
For the centerpiece, fill a large bowl with water at room temperature.
Cut flowers from stems leaving about 1 inch of stem and float in the water.
Float the tea light candles on top of the water and then carefully light them.
You can choose any type of flower to float with your tea light candles.
Although I find that carnations tend to tip over in the water.
In this arrangement, I used miniature pink roses, light green mums, and one large pink Gerbera daisy. The orange fragrance from the candles was really refreshing and a nice change from the heavier Fall and holiday fragrances.
If you don’t want to make floating tea light candles, you can simply buy some at the store to make your centerpiece. I do hope you’ll try your hand at making them though. This centerpiece is great for any occasion!
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What a lovely and elegant centerpiece. I like ones that don’t stand tall so you can see everyone at table. I love fresh flowers in the winter.
Thanks, Pamela. I like the short centerpieces too! I’m like you … once winter rolls around, I seem to crave fresh flowers in the house more than any other time of year.
So lovely with pretty flowers, Jennifer! I have a bowl on my sideboard holding floating candles with cranberries and small pieces of Incense Cedar–I love it for Christmas, but I am going to refresh it for after the holidays with flowers, because I will really enjoy that in January….especially if we continue to go days without any sunshine!! (and, like you, I WANT SNOW for Christmas!) Merry Christmas!
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