How to Make Tealight and Floating Candles at Home - cubicle lb

How to Make Tealight and Floating Candles at Home

Tealights and floating candles are two of the quickest, most beginner-friendly candle projects — small pours, short cure times, and minimal equipment. They're also a great way to use up leftover wax from bigger projects.

What You'll Need

  • Wax (paraffin or a paraffin-soy blend performs well for both formats)
  • Pre-tabbed wicks sized for small containers
  • Tealight cups (metal or heat-safe plastic) or floating candle molds
  • A pouring pot or heat-safe container
  • Fragrance oil and dye, if desired

Making Tealights

  1. Melt your wax to the recommended pour temperature for your wax type
  2. Add fragrance oil and dye if using, stirring thoroughly
  3. Place a pre-tabbed wick in the center of each tealight cup
  4. Pour wax carefully into each cup, filling close to the top
  5. Let cool undisturbed at room temperature until fully solid
  6. Trim wicks to about 1/4 inch before use

Because tealights are small, they cool quickly — usually within an hour, making them one of the fastest candle projects to complete start to finish.

Making Floating Candles

Floating candles use a similar process but are poured into a shallow, wide mold designed to float on water. Because they're wider and shorter than tealights, wick placement and centering matter more, since an off-center wick can cause the candle to burn unevenly or tip while floating.

  1. Melt and prepare wax as with tealights
  2. Secure the wick centered in your floating candle mold before pouring
  3. Pour wax slowly to avoid disturbing the wick's position
  4. Let cool fully before demolding
  5. Trim the wick and test float in a bowl of water before final use

Choosing the Right Wick

Both formats use small, pre-tabbed wicks rather than the larger sizing considerations of container or pillar candles. Since these candles are small, wick sizing is more forgiving — most standard tealight wicks work across a range of similar-sized molds without needing precise size testing.

FAQ

Can I reuse tealight cups?

Metal tealight cups can often be reused once cleaned of leftover wax residue, while some plastic cups are designed for single use only.

Why does my floating candle tip over in water?

This is usually caused by an off-center wick or uneven weight distribution. Securing the wick centered before pouring, and testing the float before final use, helps prevent this.

Can I use leftover wax from other projects for tealights?

Yes, tealights are a popular way to use up small amounts of leftover wax that wouldn't be enough for a full-size container candle.

How long do tealights typically burn?

Most standard tealights burn for around 3–5 hours, though this varies based on the specific wax and wick used.

Shop candle making supplies: Candle Wicks · Candle Molds · Wax Types Collection

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