Give new life to old candles
I really enjoy having nice candles burning in my kitchen. I’m very selective on the fragrance and can usually find something appealing at Pottery Barn.
But what really gets my goat is when I shell out good money for a great smelling candle and the wick burns down the center, leaving 75% of the good smelling candle that can’t be burned! Big time bummer. But…you can salvage the rest of the wax and make a new candle.
What you need:
- Empty glass pillar jars from used up candles. I keep these on hand for a variety of reasons…storage, votive holder, various decoration holders (pinecones, jelly beans, and the like), vases, etc.
- Candle wicking
- Newspaper
- Old Coffee Can or Old Pot
- ‘Can’t be burned any more candles’
- Pencil
- Clothespin
Here’s what I do:
Put your ‘can’t be burned anymore’ candle stubs in the coffee can, put coffee can in a larger pot with some water.
Turn heat to low/medium-low. How quickly it will melt depends on the size of the ‘can’t be burned anymore’ candle that you put in the coffee can.
Lay newspaper on your work surface
Get your candle wicking and measure it so that just touches the bottom of your pillar. Don’t cut it, but wrap the top part around a pencil and place the pencil on the pillar. Move it around so that it’s as close to the center of the jar and as close to the bottom of the jar as possible. Use your clothespin to pin the wicking to the pencil so it doesn’t move.
Turn heat off under the pot of water.
Pour the melted wax into your glass pillar, stopping about 1″ from the top and keeping about 1/2 cup of wax in your coffee can.
Put your pilar carefully into the pot of hot water on the stove, but make sure the heat off.
Let it sit there to cool. By keeping it in the water, it will slow the cooling, thereby making it less likely to cave in too much in the center.
You may still get a little ‘dimple’ in the candle where the wick is. Hit up your remaining wax and top off the candle so that it’s flat.
And there you have it! You recycled your candle and saved money in the process!
Thanks again for spending a few minutes of your busy day with me today.
Please know that I welcome each and every comment that comes my way. If you want to make sure you don’t miss future content, pop your email in the beige box up on the right or click here. I usually send out 2-3 emails a week, so I won’t inundate your inbox…believe me, I’m sensitive to an overflowing email inbox!
By subscribing to Nourish and Nestle, we will only use your email address to send you emails (no more than 2-3 per week) that will keep you up to date with the latest news and content on the site. In addition, you will have access to my growing library of knit & crochet patterns, as well as other printables. This library will continue to grow, so check back often.
And please know that you can unsubscribe at any time by emailing me or clicking on the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of all of our emails.
You can access many of the products I refer to in all of my posts on my Nourish and Nestle Amazon Page. You can access it here.
So, if you’d like to get in on the ‘subscriber benefit’ action, simply subscribe to Nourish and Nestle here or using the form on the right sidebar. It’s towards the top a bit. I have sent all my subscribers the link to the Subscriber Benefits Library. If you missed it or misplaced it, drop me a line.
Until next time…
Hugs,
