DIY Prayer Candles: Make Your Own Spiritual Lights

There are several religions where a candle is lit when praying and, for some people, that candle is a cylindrical glass with the candle inside. Usually, the candle portrays a spiritual being or scene on the front. A prayer candle is a must for some people but it can be expensive to keep one around all year long. Make your own and you not only save a little money but each candle has just the image that you want. 

Supplies: 

• Beer bottle
• Cotton wick
• Rubbing alcohol
• Birthday candle or other
• Lighter or matches
• Glove-type potholder
• Bucket of cold water
• Sandpaper
• Pencil, dowel, or similar thing
• Candle wick
• Funnel
• Wax or old candles
• Crayons (for coloring the candle - optional)
• Essential oils (candle scent - optional)
• Picture
• Paint or permanent markers
• Glitter (optional)

You could just buy a glass to pour wax in, and make the candle like that, but you could make the whole thing from something that you might already have. A beer bottle makes a really nice prayer candle that can be decorated the way that you like. Think you can't cut a beer bottle? It's actually much easier than you might think.

Put away the glass cutting machine; it usually doesn't work right anyway. Instead, set up a little heat and cool system and you can break the bottle perfectly. Outside, set a bucket with water and some ice. Beside it, set up a heat source, such as a candle. Soak a cotton wick in rubbing alcohol and then tie it tightly around the area where you want the beer bottle to break.

A clear beer bottle is the best choice. Remove any existing label as well as any sticky residue. Light the birthday candle and, keeping it away from the beer bottle, tie the string around the bottle, and tie it in a knot. Cut away the excess string. Hold the string area of the bottle over the candle while you hold the lid area with the gloved hand. Allow the cotton wick to burn for a few seconds and then plunge it into the cold water. The glass will snap right where the string is. Dry and sand the cut edges of the bottle.

Choose a picture, such as one from a coloring book, roll it, and tape it to the inside of the dry beer bottle. Trace the lines to create the image that you want. You could also paint on the outside of the bottle. In fact, when you do that, you can add glitter to the image. If using paint, buy paint made for glass to achieve the best results.

Wrap the end of a candle wick around a pencil or skewer and lay it across the top of the bottle to hold the wick in place. If needed, tie a weight to the opposite end of the wick. Melt, color, and scent the wax(new wax or old candles) and then pour it into the beer bottle. When the wax has set, it's ready to use for prayer.