Be prepared for an emergency with these easy DIY candles.
When the power goes out flashlights and phones are super handy but don’t last long. It might be a good idea to have a few slow-burning candles on hand.
The King of Random posted a how-to video on creating your own lanterns and candles from things you probably already have sitting in your kitchen.
Here are five ways to make your own candles.
Butter and tissue paper candles.
Using sticks of butter, tissue paper, and a toothpick, you can make a quick emergency candle. Try rolling the tissue paper very thin and using it as a wick.
Another option is to wrap the tissue paper around a toothpick and use that as the wick.
During the video, The King of Random realized that the butter candle without the toothpick actually burned longer.
Salt and oil candle.
Pour salt and vegetable oil into a small glass jar. Fill the jar with salt and pour in the oil until the salt is completely saturated. Stir with a spoon to be sure it is completely mixed.
Wrap your toothpick with a cotton ball. Saturate the toothpick with the oil mixture and place it in the middle of the jar.
You don’t want any gaps in the cotton where the toothpick might be showing. You can use any cotton product just make sure it is 100% cotton.
“You want this firm enough so that if I was to put a toothpick in here it’s not just going to slump over.” – The King of Random
Turn a store-bought candle into a 100-hour candle.
Using two store-bought candles, The King of Random created a side-by-side comparison to see if the 100-hour candle actually lived up to its name.
The control candle is simply placed on top of paraffin wax. The other candle would be put inside of a mason jar filled with shortening.
Time to find out which candle lasts longer.
After the candles are lit, a time-lapse camera reveals that the 100-hour candle is the obvious winner.
Mason jar oil lamp.
Using a glass jar with a metal lid, fill it to the top with vegetable oil. Poke a small hole in the metal lid using a chisel or other sharp tool.
Try not to make the hole too large as you want it to hold a cotton rope wick in place and not slip back down into the jar.
Take a piece of thin wire and wrap it around the cord. This will allow the wick to stay in place. Trim the wire and saturate the cord in the oil. You have yourself a homemade oil lamp.
The ‘1000-hour’ candle.
The King of Random closes out the video with an epic finale. Using two large jars of shortening and some cord, the 1000-hour candle is born.
This might just be the easiest and possibly messiest one of all. Either way, you will be set with this candle if you are ever in need of a long-lasting flame when the power goes out.
Get the full details on these candles and how to make them in the video below!
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