It's almost spring - and almost time for yard work, barbecuing, and outdoor parties! Homemade oil lamps are about as easy as you can get for accent lighting and interest and whipping up a few, even for impromptu get-togethers, is nooooooo problem. The fuel for these lamps is the most surprising part of the project (drumroll...).
Here's your supply list:
* Glass bottles with a metal cap - wine bottles, empty olive oil bottles, tall decorative bottles from thrift stores, etc.
* Cotton wick
* Drill with bit - the bit doesn't need to be an exact size, just big enough to make a hole for the wick.
* Vegetable oil - yes, that's the fuel! Save yourself a special trip to the store and the extra money for 'lamp oil' and go to your pantry! First, drill a hole in the bottle's metal cap. Use a drill bit big enough to be able to feed the wick up through the hole but not so big that the wick will easily fall back into the bottle.
Cut the wick to length - go the height of the bottle or even longer to have slack to pull up through the hole when the wick gets very short.
Feed one end of the wick up through the cap's hole with a little bit of the wick sticking up out of the top.
Fill the bottle at least partway with vegetable oil then feed the other end of the wick into the bottle and screw the lid on tightly.
If you have time, let the wick soak in the oil overnight. If you are in 'OMG-people-are-here' mode for immediate use, soak the wick before feeding one end into the cap so the entire wick is coated with oil.
Light and place away from anything flammable!
