How to Make Tiki Torches | At Home With P. Allen Smith
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Transcript:
Why throw away your bottles when you can repurpose them? Hey, if you wanna create an atmospheric
mood for an outdoor party, and you wanna keep mosquitoes away, you can do that by simply
creating your own tiki torches, using bottles that you might otherwise discard. First thing
you wanna do is choose a bottle. And what I'm doing is I'm adding some gravel in the
bottom of it for two reasons: One, it gives it a little weight and stability. And, hey,
it looks good. But you can use marbles -- anything that you can get in there that's a solid object
that you think would be attractive. The other thing it does is it displaces the amount of
oil, the citronella oil, that you're actually gonna put in here to light the wick. So I've
got just about what I want in there in this size bottle. Now the next thing you wanna
do is think about the wick itself. You can buy these wicks, and there are a number ways
to actually attach them and thread them through the top. You see, the idea is to keep wick
stable. In a case like this, the bottle cap serves as a great way to keep the wick in
place. You just cut a hole in the bottle cap, push the wick through it like this -- you
really only want a 1/4 of an inch of the wick showing at the top of the bottle cap -- and
then you can just take it and screw it on like that, alright. Another way to go about
it is to actually take a washer. In this case, I used a 7/8s washer and then a 1/4 inch washer
here at the top. Whatever bottle size you have, you can find washers that will allow
you to accommodate the wick into it. This is a perfect solution for a wine bottle that
had a cork in it. Alright, you can see, we've already filled this up with oil, but let me
show you how I'm gonna fill this with oil. Next, all you do is pour in the citronella
oil. A funnel comes in very handy. So just take your time pouring. If you pour slowly,
you're less likely to spill some of this. Citronella is great for repelling insects,
mainly those pesky mosquitos. Alright, now the citronella oil in. Ready just to take
the wick. Stick the wick in the bottle. You can see, it's made contact with the oil. And
I'll just screw this lid down like that. Make sure my wick is in place. You can see, the
wick is held tightly by the cap. Now it's almost ready to use, we just need to allow
some time for the wick to actually draw the oil up through the wick, up here to the top,
so we can light and we'll have a flame. You see, it only takes a few minutes. You light
it and you have a beautiful object and a useful object to adorn your garden with for an evening
party. If you're enjoying these tips, check in with us regularly. And make sure you subscribe
to eHow Home.
mood for an outdoor party, and you wanna keep mosquitoes away, you can do that by simply
creating your own tiki torches, using bottles that you might otherwise discard. First thing
you wanna do is choose a bottle. And what I'm doing is I'm adding some gravel in the
bottom of it for two reasons: One, it gives it a little weight and stability. And, hey,
it looks good. But you can use marbles -- anything that you can get in there that's a solid object
that you think would be attractive. The other thing it does is it displaces the amount of
oil, the citronella oil, that you're actually gonna put in here to light the wick. So I've
got just about what I want in there in this size bottle. Now the next thing you wanna
do is think about the wick itself. You can buy these wicks, and there are a number ways
to actually attach them and thread them through the top. You see, the idea is to keep wick
stable. In a case like this, the bottle cap serves as a great way to keep the wick in
place. You just cut a hole in the bottle cap, push the wick through it like this -- you
really only want a 1/4 of an inch of the wick showing at the top of the bottle cap -- and
then you can just take it and screw it on like that, alright. Another way to go about
it is to actually take a washer. In this case, I used a 7/8s washer and then a 1/4 inch washer
here at the top. Whatever bottle size you have, you can find washers that will allow
you to accommodate the wick into it. This is a perfect solution for a wine bottle that
had a cork in it. Alright, you can see, we've already filled this up with oil, but let me
show you how I'm gonna fill this with oil. Next, all you do is pour in the citronella
oil. A funnel comes in very handy. So just take your time pouring. If you pour slowly,
you're less likely to spill some of this. Citronella is great for repelling insects,
mainly those pesky mosquitos. Alright, now the citronella oil in. Ready just to take
the wick. Stick the wick in the bottle. You can see, it's made contact with the oil. And
I'll just screw this lid down like that. Make sure my wick is in place. You can see, the
wick is held tightly by the cap. Now it's almost ready to use, we just need to allow
some time for the wick to actually draw the oil up through the wick, up here to the top,
so we can light and we'll have a flame. You see, it only takes a few minutes. You light
it and you have a beautiful object and a useful object to adorn your garden with for an evening
party. If you're enjoying these tips, check in with us regularly. And make sure you subscribe
to eHow Home.