So I saw this DIY for a candle made out of an orange on Pinterest. I tracked it down to this Instructables post.
As with many DIY items on Pinterest, I wondered if this would turn out really well or go terribly wrong. But since I had a nice orange on hand, I thought, “Why not?” Here are the steps I took to make an orange candle.
First, get yourself an orange, a sharp paring knife, and some olive oil.
Next, carefully cut around the circumference of the orange. Then, jam your fingers under the skin to peel it off in one section. When you get to the top, slide your finger into the navel of the orange so you pull out a single strand of pulp on the end where the orange was once connected to the tree.
Pour olive oil into the orange part with the wick. You don’t want a lot in. I eye-balled it, but I probably put around 2 tablespoons in there. Dip the wick into the oil. You want that part to sit for a minute or two, so while you’re waiting, cut a hole in the end of the orange that doesn’t have the wick.
Light the candle and place the top (the part with the hole) on top. You’ll have a very pretty candle.
As with many items on Pinterest, this was both a good and a bad idea. The candle remained lit for only five minutes, and it did not smell of orange. It smelled of burning oil. I thought maybe the wick needed to absorb the oil a bit longer, so I lit it again the next day. It still went out after five minutes.
It was very pretty for five minutes, though!
If you’re looking for something that does work, Pinterest told me how to simmer lemon slices, rosemary, and a tablespoon of vanilla extract to make my house smell like William-Sonoma. And that works just great!
7 replies on “Pinteresting Projects: Orange Candle”
It had so much potential. I would really want it to smell like orange if I were going to make it, that is the whole point right?
Aw, boo. I pinned this and had been meaning to try it out for ages, but I guess I won’t bother now. I was gonna make tiny orange jack o’ lanterns for Halloween, but never got around to it.
This reminds me of the orange to make a fire tutorial. So deliciously random. Shame that it doesn’t smell like orange though.
I’ve been eyeing this for a while. I’m all about oranges and wondered if this would smell as good as an orange-scented candle my sister got from Sea World (that I’ve never been able to find again, dammit). I’m so glad I didn’t get around to it before reading this. I would have been sorely disappointed.
It seemed like such a great idea, but it just did not work out well.
I am suspicious of anything on Pinterest now involving olive oil!
Olive oil was used a lot for lamps back in the day, so maybe it works, but it didn’t work for me!