I love the atmosphere of candles so I usually have quite a few around the house. Plus they are a must during power outages which happen somewhat often where I live.
However, I dislike it when they burn down partially and just don’t look nice anymore, or the wick burns down so far that it gets buried under the hardened wax making it difficult or impossible to light.
I was cleaning up around the house this weekend and decided some of my candle holders needed a good cleaning. Some had a little bit of wax in and around them, some had quite a bit. Plus they just get dusty and grungy after a while.
I had made a candle several years back out of granulated craft wax striped red, white and green. It was in a tall slender glass jar. It had burned down quite low and the wick was buried. My plan was to just clean it out and dispose of the wax but then I decided to go ahead and melt it down and make a new one.
In the midst of the melting process, I thought you might all like to watch how I do it so unfortunately I do not have a before picture of the candle.
I put the candle jar in a pot of water on the stove and heated it up until the wax was totally melted. It took a bit of time as there was quite a bit of wax to melt.
While the wax was melting, I got the new candle jars ready. I have quite a few from old candles that I save for various projects. There was enough wax to make two new shorter candles. I cleaned up the jars and dried them. I had a strand of candle wicking so I dug that out and cut a couple of pieces a little longer than necessary for the new candles. In order to keep the wick straight and in position in the new jars, I dipped each piece in the melted wax. Once the wax on the wick was cool but still flexible, I straightened it out and then wrapped the top edge around a piece of wooden skewer. I placed the skewer across the top of the candle jar with the wick hanging into and centered in the jar.
Once the wax was completely melted, I carefully poured it into the two jars. A pot holder or oven mitt is a must as the glass candle jar is quite hot, as is the wax. The old wick and bits of burned wick from the old candle were at the bottom of the melted wax. I was careful not to let that get into the new candles.
There was just enough wax to fill both of the new jars. I made sure the wicks were centered in the candle and then let them sit and harden up.
The mixture of the three colors of the wax blended together and made a beautiful green. The actual color isn’t quite as dark as the pictures depict. It turned out a beautiful Christmas green. If you are using white candles and you want to add some color, you can always throw in some broken crayons to make the color of your choice.
Once the wax was dry, I unwound the wick from the skewer and trimmed the wick to about 3/8″ long above the wax. These candles are unscented which I like. I can place a drop or two of essential oil into the melted wax of the burning candle and the scent will disperse as the candle melts. I can change the scent of the candle each time I burn it if I choose. It’s a win win and there are no toxins filling my home from those chemical scents some candles have.
Do you have any old candles you can melt together to make new ones? Give it a try and share your new creation. I would love to see what you make.