Are you looking for a nifty craft to make your Mom for Mother’s Day? Or do you need a special gift for Mom for her birthday? How about that girlfriend, sister, aunt or grandmother that’s hard to buy for? If they love the beauty of china tea cups and saucers, then they’ll love this gift that you can easily make. Even if you’re not a “crafty” person, you can make this candle holder in just a matter of minutes. Another nice thing is, to make a homemade china tea cup and saucer votive candle holder, the materials won’t cost a whole lot either!
Materials You’ll Need for This Project:
1. Decorative China Tea Cup
2. Matching Saucer
3. *Clear Votive Candleholder
4. **White Votive Candle
5. Green Floral Sticky Clay Tape
6. ***Hot Glue Gun -OR-
7. ***Gorilla® Glue
Optional: Thin Line Permanent Colored Marker
Details About Materials for the Homemade China Tea Cup and Saucer Votive Candle Holder:
*The clear votive candleholder will need to fit neatly inside the decorative china tea cup. Measure the inside of the cup so you’ll know how tall and wide the candleholder must be. The votive can’t be too tall or too wide. The best clear votive candleholder will have tapered sides. The bottom of it must also come in contact well with the china tea cup so you can attach the two together.
**A white votive candle will go with any color decorative tea cup and saucer. However, you can get a little more creative and choose a colored candle that matches one of the colors on the cup and saucer.
***You can use a hot glue gun, but, it doesn’t hold the pieces of china together well, especially if the bottom of the cup has gold encircling it. Using an all-purpose adhesive like Gorilla® Glue is actually more advisable.
Best Places to Purchase Materials for the Homemade China Tea Cup and Saucer Votive Candle Holder:
1. and 2.- Decorative China Cup and Saucer- Look around your cupboards, basement or attic and see if you have old china cups and saucers on hand that you’d be willing to part with. Ask friends, family members, neighbors, and co-workers as well!
You can often find china cups and matching saucers at yard sales, garage sales, estate sales, thrift stores and auction sites like eBay®. Don’t forget to check the Internet for web sites that sell pieces of replacement china. The cheapest pieces will be listed in “clearance sales” or be “discontinued” china.
3.- Clear Votive Candleholder- You can find these for cheap at your local hobby or craft store. Sometimes, I can find them at the local Big Lots® store or dollar stores, but not always. The same goes for 4. A White Votive Candle.
5. Green Floral Sticky Clay Tape- You can find this at your local hobby or craft store too. A couple bucks should buy you about 4 feet of it. The same goes for 6. A Hot Glue Gun. You can also find them at department stores like K-Mart® and Wal-Mart®, et cetera.
7. Gorilla® Glue- Look for this at your local department store, hardware or home improvement center.
Now that you have your materials together, it’s time to get busy putting together your Homemade China Tea Cup and Saucer Votive Candle Holder. Make sure the cup and saucer is clean and free from dirt, grease and other debris (so the hot glue or Gorilla® Glue will stick).
Step 1- Then, place a ring of the sticky clay tape around the perimeter of the bottom of the votive cup. Place the cup inside the decorative china tea cup and press it down in place. You’ll need to make sure the votive cup is lined up evenly before you attach it.
Step 2- Place a ring of glue around the bottom of the china tea cup and position it in the middle of the matching saucer. (Follow the manufacturer’s directions in order to achieve the best results.) Press it in place.
Allow the adhesive to dry thoroughly, and your homemade tea cup and saucer votive candle holder is done!
Note: If you choose, you can personalize the decorative cup with the Thin Line Permanent Colored Marker. Just write or print something like “Mom”, “Grandma”, “A Dear Sister” or a person’s name on the side of the cup.
