You know what’s annoying? When you spend good money on a candle and then it burns out but there’s still a decent amount of wax left. It’s like leaving money on the table!
A few months ago, after telling my mom about this, she taught me the best trick: how to melt down your candles with new wicks to create another candle from your leftovers!
After mentioning this on Instagram yesterday, I got some questions about how to do it. I figured with everyone spending more time at home than usual right now due to the Coronavirus quarantine, now was the perfect time to share the easy step-by-step.
How to Create a New (Free!) Candle from Your Leftovers
1. Gather your materials. You will need:
- your old candle
- a wick
- an emptied steel canned food jar (like beans, soup, tomato sauce, etc)
- a saucepan
- tongs
- a container for your new candle (an old candle, a crystal votive holder, a teacup, a miniture vase, a ramekin, a crystal cup, a short mason jar, etc – I find lots at antique stores and thrift stores!)
- something to go across the top of the candle that you can tie the end of the wick to i.e. a pencil/toothpick/popsicle stick
2. Boil water in your saucepan. A few inches will do. Make sure the water will not spill over the top of your aluminum can once you place it in the water.
3. Using a knife or spoon, remove leftover wax from your old candle. Some people find this easier after placing the candle in the freezer but I’ve never had any trouble doing it at room temp.
4. Place those wax bits into your can. (Depending how much you have, you may want to use a 28 oz can rather than a 14 oz can).
5. Turn water down so that it is barely boiling and place can into saucepan. If the water is a rolling boil, your can will bounce around. You just need the water to be hot enough to melt the wax.
If your can is threatening to fall over, you can place something weighted on top of it to keep it in place like a plate, a lid, or a heavy spatula.
6. While your wax is melting, prepare your new candle container with a wick. Place your wick in the center of your container of choice and then place your pencil/toothpick/popsicle stick across the top and fold the wick over it. This will help keep it in place when you pour in the melted wax.
7. Once your wax has melted down completely to liquid (amount of time will depend on how much wax you had, but it only takes a few minutes), use your tongs to remove the aluminum can from the saucepan.
8. Still using the tongs to hold the hot can, pour melted wax into your prepped container and then let cool! The amount of time will depend on the shape of your container and how much wax, anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours.
9. Trim your wick to 1/4″ and light it up!
10. Enjoy your new FREE candle!
Not only is this process super cost-effective but it’s incredibly easy and really customizable. There are so many containers you can put your new candle in that you can find ones that fit your home aesthetic and decor maybe even better than the store bought one! It also makes them excellent gifts!
You could even mix two candle scents together if you have a few on hand that would be complementary, like if you have an orange blossom candle and a vanilla candle, that sort of thing. Have fun experimenting with it!
Cool Candle Containers
