Very nice! These do seem to be very popular. Lots you can do with them. Good to see you are not discouraged with a few mistakes.
Keep at it, but have fun. Keep posting your pics. We would like to see your progress.
Mitch
If the candles aren't being held on by a spike, you could drill a small hole in the cup and do a pocket weld
on top of the cup down on to the stem. Then you could grind the weld smooth. ???
Mitch