How To Make An Oil Lamp Out Of An Orange (With Step-By-Step Images)
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I love finding new, natural ways to do things. When I heard about this idea I just had to try it for myself.
Men, this is an inexpensive and romantic idea for Valentine's Day. The oranges glow a deep, warm orange, burn for up to 24 hours (you can refill them for a few days), and add a personal touch, since you will be making them yourself. Try it out for her (or him) and let me know what they thought!
Unfortunately I ruined this for myself by making my own, but they're quite romantic and give a great ambiance whether it's from a valentine or from yourself! Let your creativity shine through and come up with alternative ideas of your own.
Before You Begin:
- It took me about 10-15 minutes, but take your time.
- Each orange yields two oil lamps / orange candles.
- Do Not Rinse the inside of the orange with water. Oil and water don't mix, especially with a flame involved. The oil will spit and spatter and cause a potential fire hazard.
- Be smart and teach your kids about fire safety, and what to do in case of a fire. Have a "safe" meeting place in case there's ever an emergency. Make sure your kids know where the fire extinguishers are, and how to dial 9-1-1 (or its equivalent.)
What You'll Need
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An orange, clementine, lemon, lime, or anything in the citrus family.
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A sharp, serrated knife. Other knives will work, but will be more difficult.
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A spoon to scrape the pulp and fruit debris out of the orange with.
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Cutting board or something to cut on that you don't mind juice getting onto.
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Vegetable oil of any kind, including but not limited to: olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, generic "vegetable" oil, soybean oil, corn oil, or safflower oil, etc. You'll need perhaps 1/2 cup per orange (two oil lamps.)
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A lighter. If you have one, use a long-stemmed candle (or grill) lighter. This will make life much easier; however, any flaming object will do the trick.
Step 1: Mark A Line
You'll be making two lamps from one orange. I got a little bit artistic and decided to have one short lamp and one taller one. You can make both the same height if you want, but try to draw a line around the middle that you'll be happy with.
You can really get creative here and make interesting designs. Just be sure you'll be able to see the line, cut it out, and separate the two halves of the orange (or other citrus.)
Step 2: Separate The Two Halves
You might have your own methods, but I just cut straight through the entire orange. Follow the lines you made and take your time!
Step 3: Hollow Out The Middle
Be very careful NOT to remove the stem-like growth in the middle of each rind. This will be the wick, and the lamps will not work without them. My technique was to use the knife to cut around the outer edge, then I cut each segment out (because I wanted to eat them.) If you don't want to eat the pieces, you can definitely use your fingers to pull the bulk of the fruit out.
Step 4: Remove All The Pulp
Make sure to scrape out and remove all the pulpy material and fruit, leaving a smooth, clean surface. This will ensure there's no water added to the oil (no sputtering), and also that your orange will last for days (mine dried and never rotted.) Again, make sure to leave the wicks intact!
If you have a microwave, nuke the citrus for 30 seconds or so to try to dry out the wick a little bit. Alternatively, use a blow dryer, paper towel, oven, or etc. You don't want to cook the orange; you just want to make it easier to light the wick.
Step 5: Add The Vegetable Oil
Slowly fill each rind up to about 1/4" to 1/2" (0.6-1.3 cm) from the top of each wick. In other words, make sure a small portion of the wick is above the oil. This will be what you light in the next step. Don't make it too long or the flame will be super tall and out of control. Don't make it too short or it'll get swamped by the oil and go out.
Alternatively, you can purchase and use a citrus-scented oil such as this one. If anyone knows how to make citrus-scented lamp oil, let us know.
Step 6: Light The Wicks
Be patient. It definitely took me multiple attempts to light the wicks, especially if they're not fully dry yet.
But keep at it and you'll get a small flame at first (pictured) which, if nurtured with bursts from your lighter, will come into its own.
You'll soon have a pair of amazingly beautiful oil lamps!
PS: After burning them for multiple hours, the orange peels dry and keep their shape indefinitely. As long as there's oil, they'll burn for days or weeks. I see no limit in survival situations (other than oil), and as for day-to-day use, they're easy to make, but using a dried one works well, too.
Step 7: Enjoy Your Mad Skillz
Are you going to make your own?
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Video: Orange Peel Oil Lamps
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Very interesting indeed! Does it give out any kind of an orange scent? I would probably want to put the orange into some kind of a dish that would keep it stabilized. Voted interesting and useful.
What a fun idea! I'll bet it smells wonderful. I've got some almond oil that might be nice to try.
Wow interesting idea. I bet the scent from the orange will make this candle a good addition to any romantic dinner :) Thanks for sharing
I love this idea, simple yet elegant. I will definitely try this! I am going to "pin" this on Pinterest. Thank for sharing.
Sharyn
You may get the award of the year for this--I would vote for this project. Well-done, love the make an oil lamp out of an orange craft, and I'm planning to try it very soon. Thanks for posting.
Amazing! I'm definitely trying this - they look beautiful too with the light shining through the peel.
This is such a neat idea!! Definitely trying it out -- Up, and all others:)
Does it have an orange smell too? I am going to try this also and pin/share it.
Going to get the kids involved.
Wow, this is fantastic. I've never seen anything like it and so ecological as well. Voting this Up and Awesome.
These are beautiful oil lamps, and I'll bet they even give off an orange scent when they burn. Best of all, you can eat your orange and have your lamp, too! Great idea with beautiful photographs!
This is a great message about sustainability and using natural items to full advantage, without petroleum produts. Useful during emergencies when the lights go out as well.
Thank you all so much for your fantastic comments, and thanks so much for pinning! Unfortunately mine didn't smell like oranges, I thought it would too. As for stabilization, mine were very stable (I used an organic orange), and I had no need to put them on a dish. Using almond oil (or other scented oils) sounds like a great idea. Let me know if you guys come up with any other tips! Enjoy!
How long do these burn?
WOW ok i think im just gonna repeat what pretty much everyone on here has said. This is such a great thing to do especially during these hard economic times, every little helps. I have never seen anything like this and will surely give it a good go :)
These oranges are so beautiful. I would have never thought to do this before reading this hub. Thanks for sharing!
Nice hub, fantastic photos.
Wow! I love this. Can't make my own, though. My husband says I can't be trusted w. fire. LOL He's probably right...I almost burned the house down with a kitchen fire. (That'll be a hub someday.)
But my blog readers would love this. I've started "Tips Tuesday" on my Ducks n a Row blog's Facebook fanpage and I will share your hub with a link. They'll love it. Voted up and beautiful and STUMBLED it too.
I love these! I used a special apple tool and made votive candle holders from apples for the last wedding I did, but this is even cooler. Gonna have to try this!
I am going to try it though I am not celebrating Valentine's with my boyfriend far away! Thank you!
This is such a cool idea... love using things around the house to brighten things up a little. Useful hub.
What a brilliant idea so creative and so clever. Thank you so much for this. We will definitely be making these.
I'm going to give this a whirl, but I'm going to try and find a citrus scented oiil. I Love this idea!!!
spectacular - this is an amazing hub - thanks for sharing!
PS: I'm not sure how long they burn; it really depends more on how much oil there is than anything else. Mine burned for 10 hours, at which point it was time for bed. They'll burn until the oil runs out, then they'll go out.
In other news, I've found some citrus-scented lamp oil online. Check around, there might be something more cost-effective out there. Let us know! http://www.themagickmoon.com/lemon-meringue-fragra
can you use "old oil"? ie oil that was used for cooking french fries, that would normally be thrown out? It could be a great way to use oil instead of throwing it away ...
Yes! You could definitely recycle your veggie oils after cooking. Just be aware that the burning oil will smell like whatever you've cooked in it! Thanks for the great idea, Eye Say!
Hi! They look really awsome! I found this hub just in time :-) at the end of this years Chinese New Year! Sadly, we dont have much oranges left :-(
Very cool idea with the orange oil light. I look forward to trying to make these and surprise the wife with something cool, just hope to not burn the house down in the process.
Wow beautiful way to decorate from nature! I love it. Voted up, interesting and useful! Hope you enjoy my hubs as well!
too good not to share ... I just have to
I tried this today...it works! Thank you for sharing. :)
What a beautiful and fun project! It's also natural aromatherapy!
I am definitely going to try this out...although having the citrus scented oils would be an even nicer addition. Great hub, voted up :)
I wonder if you could safely float several of these candles in a wide shallow bowl filled with just enough water to keep them upright or would they tip over and go out or would they soak up the water from the bowl. Something to try and keep a sharp lookout while doing. I think it would be beautiful if it worked with the flickering candleight reflecting in the water. Worth a try some day soon...Great idea, inventive, resourcefull,beautifully photographed, and explaned so clearly. Thanks for the great idea.
Awesome!! Thanks so much for sharing, I may just give this a whirl!
Awesome Idea--I may have to try this!!
My orange peel lamps have lasted 3 days so far and are still holding their shape, and their wicks!
Robin, your idea to float several candles in water sounds awesome! If anyone tries this, let us know if it works! If I have time I'll try this later tonight.
Thanks for all of the positive comments, everyone! And good luck, CZCZCZ!
Hi Kate,
This is so good. I loved this idea. It's like getting aromatherapy from these oranges as well.
i might just try making it. THANK YOU.
voted up as useful
I find your natural candles a lovely and creative idea.
Looks like a fun project. I have seen them done once and they were certainly very cool to see up close.
Great article, will definately try this. I like the glowing effect of the orange. Thank you for sharing your creativity with us.
Wow! These are so neat. I cannot wait to try one!
Never would have thought of this. Really cool. The glow looks so warm and I bet it smells gorge. Useful indeed.
If everything wat that easy… Sometimes you need help. Go to hahaped, for example.
Hmm.. so the center membrane is the wick. Pretty ingenious might be good in a power outage if you happened to have citrus fruit and vegetable oil around. Good idea.
This looks like so much fun! I really love making things, especially with unusual items. Would this float in large bowl of water--when filled with oil and lit? I wonder...
Thanks for the fun idea :)
Thanks again for all the great comments. PS: After burning them for multiple hours, the orange peels dry and keep their shape indefinitely. As long as there's oil, they'll burn for days or weeks. I see no limit in survival situations, and as for day-to-day use, they're easy to make, but using a dried one works well, too.
As for floating on water, it's more likely to work when the peels have dried out from use. Let us all know if they float, if you try it!
Faceless39, Really beautiful! My two favourite oils are safflower and sunflower, so I was pleased to see safflower included in your list of suggested oils.
Thanks for sharing.
Wow! This is an amazing and economical idea! Your instructions are well-explained! The photos are well-captured! Well-done!
Thanks for SHARING. Useful & Awesome. Voted up & Socially Shared.
You could have the pulp and the outer covering could make an oil lamp. Never had thought of it! Cool! Its the best use of an orange. Here, some put the outer coverings of fruits near the stems of plants to help them grow. Oil lamp.. Great and eco-friendly use of orange peel!!
This is so interesting and unique! Sharing your hub.
Voted up and awesome. Kate, I think I will make candles out of this idea, though that may be bit difficult. I am always looking out for craft ideas to share with children and I think this is a wonderful idea, with some guidance about the knife and all. Thanks for the wonderful hub.
Thank you all very much for your nice comments, and also for sharing. If you think of any other ideas, or come up with some tips I haven't covered, please let us know!
Excellent and awesome hub. Who would have thunk it? I certainly will be a user of these unique candles. Thanks for sharing.
J.S.Matthew Level 7 Commenter 3 months ago
This is so awesome! I have never seen this but I think I might try it! I like how you use the natural wick and the natural oil. This is 100% organic! Very cool photos too. This is worth voting up, interesting, awesome and useful! I will be SHARING!
JSMatthew~