How to Make Scented Tea Lights

Tea lights are easy and inexpensive to make and are perfect as handmade gifts. Here are instructions on how to make them, along with gift box decorating tips

Making high-quality scented tea lights is easier than you might think. All it takes is getting the right materials, then melting and pouring the ingredients into the cups. Honestly, that’s pretty much all there is to it. Once you make your own, you’ll be loath to pay the crazy prices shops charge. The holidays are a great time to make them too, since most of the materials you need will come in bulk. Handy for making tea lights as inexpensive gifts and keeping some for yourself.

DIY Tea Lights

These instructions make 12 individual tea light candles.

Ingredients
185g/6.5oz Soy wax
15ml/0.5oz Fragrance oil or essential oil (optional)
12 Tea Light Cups
12 Tea Light Wicks
Adhesive

Equipment
Candle-pouring pitcher
Digital thermometer
Metal or silicone spoon for stirring
Kitchen scale (optional)

Gift Wrapping
Raffia ribbon
Evergreen cuttings
Red artificial berries
Shredded paper
2 Gift boxes (the one pictured is sized L6 x W4x D1.5″)

Candle Cups and Wicks

First, assemble your candle cups and wicks. When soy wax tea lights start burning, the candle wax will melt each time you use it. If the wick moves during this time, it could settle somewhere else in the cup or tip over completely.

Secure the metal wick-tab to the bottom of the cup. You can hot-glue it down or use a Blu-Tack-style adhesive. When you’re finished, line up the tea light cups on a sheet of paper so you don’t mess up your work surface.

Melt the Wax

Soy wax comes in flat white flakes, and you’ll need to measure out your amount by weighing it on a scale or eyeballing it. I always use a digital kitchen scale, but that’s the nature of my business—when you’re making handmade beauty products, it’s 100% essential. Making tea lights can be a little more inexact.

Place your soy wax flakes in your pouring pitcher and melt it in the microwave. DO NOT leave the microwave on for several minutes unattended. Heat it in 30-second bursts, stirring after each burst. It will melt fairly quickly.

Alternatively, you can melt your wax using the double boiler method—one pan sitting in a pan filled with simmering water.

Adding the Fragrance and Pouring

When the wax is completely melted, remove it from the microwave and set it on your work surface. Now use your digital kitchen thermometer to monitor the temperature. If you mix in your fragrance and pour when the wax is too hot, your tea lights won’t have a smooth finish.

Wait until the wax reaches 120°F before pouring your fragrance oil into the wax. Stir for a full thirty seconds and take the temperature again. Pour the scented wax into the cups when it’s about 100°F.

Cooling and Lighting

Leave candles for twenty-four hours to cool before using them. After this time has passed, trim the wicks to about 2/16″ and wipe any wax splatters off with a paper towel. Place them in a gift box and decorate it however you’d like. I’ve used fresh greenery cut from my Christmas tree, raffia ribbon, and ornamental red “berries” on wires.

How to Use Homemade Tea Lights

Soy wax tea lights burn for 4-6 hours, depending on how large your cups are. To use, set your candles on a non-flammable and heat-proof surface and light them. Keep them away from flammable materials such as tablecloths and curtains, and keep them out of reach of children.

Cleaning Up Soy Wax Mess

Soy wax cleans off most surfaces easily. To clean your utensils, pitcher, and thermometer, wipe them first with paper towels while the wax is still warm. This will remove most of it. Then wash as normal in very hot water.