Items you'll need:
- I used a Satsuma Mandarin. You can use a clementine, or even a regular orange for a larger candle
- Olive Oil
- Small sharp knife
- Lighter or matches (A long reach lighter will be easier for this project
Step 1: Using the small knife, cut an incision along the tangerine as if you were cutting it in half horizontally. Don't press too hard. You're only trying to cut the skin of the tangerine so you will be able to peel it into two halves.
Step 2: Once the incision is made, slowly peel one side, then the other. It helps to twist the skin as if you were opening and closing the lid of a jar.
Step 3: Now you should have 2 halves of the clementine. On the bottom part of the orange, there should be a leftover skin that will act as the wick for the candle.
Step 4: Fill the half of the clementine with the wick with olive oil. Pour about half way in and try to submerge the wick of the candle in the olive oil. This is the key to lighting up the candle. Submerge it for about 30 seconds to a minute. The more olive oil you pour, the longer the candle will last.
Step 5: While you wait for your wick to soak in the olive oil, cut out a design of your choice on the other half of the clementine (Heart, star, horse shoe, clovers, blue moons, whatever you wish). This is so the flame will be able to escape once it is placed on top of the other half with the olive oil.
Step 6: Grab your lighter and light the wick. If it doesn't light up on your first try, keep trying. If it still doesn't light up, soak it in the olive oil a little more, then try again.
Step 7: Once the candle is lit, place the other half with the design on top.
Step 8: Turn off the lights and see your beautiful, new candle!
Notes:
- The candle can last up to two hours depending on the amount of olive oil you put into the fruit.
- If the flame gets too high, take off the top half of the clementine. It could burn the top part so you can still enjoy the candle without the other half.
- The beauty of this candle is that it requires no wick or wax!
- If you happen to need a candle on a black out day and don't have one, hope you have a clementine, some olive oil, and matches to light up the room :)
Achievable: YES! :)
