Oil lamps, amazing things. They've been around since 2000 BC. We've all seen the kind of oil lamps that you can buy at drug and department stores and the pretty colored oils that you can get to go with it, but did you ever think about making one yourself? It's very simple and much easier than making a candle.

All you need is a container to hold the oil, a piece of stiff wire for a wick holder, and a piece of cotton for a wick. The container can be anything from a can, to a glass, to a jar, even a bowl works well. Any kind of wire will work, all you do is take a kitchen match, a nail, or even a twig and wrap the wire around it to form a coil and remove the wire, leave the last spiral in the coil wide so it stands on itself. The wick can be anything made of cotton, the hem from a washrag, string, a mop strand, just make sure its all cotton as stuff with synthetic fibers tends to give off a little black smoke while burning.

Place the wick inside the coil so it stands up about a quarter inch above the wick holder. Place the wick holder in the container and fill with oil up to about an eight of an inch below the top of the holder, and you've got your very own oil lamp that depending on the size of the container will last all night.

The great thing about oil lamps like this is you can use leftover cooking oil, sure some oils give off a little odor, but I find that things like canola and olive oil are virtually odor free. That's how I play around with mine. I use canola oil to cook with and save all my leftover oil for my oil lamps. I never have to throw any of it away. Another great thing about using cooking oil is, if somehow you knock it over, it will extinguish the flame unlike candles that can start fires.

These things have been used everywhere. Eskimos and people who live in the far North squeeze oil from whale fat and use it to light their homes. Prisoners during WWII squeezed oil from the fat that was given them in food to make lamps to light their way while digging escape tunnels. Any kind of animal fat or vegetable oil works equally well. They are great for camping trips, or emergency power black outs, or create your own romantic setting by having a dozen or so light up you living or bathroom at night.