How to Upcycle Old Candles

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Don’t throw away your old, used-up candles! Take an old candle, a pretty container and a little time and you have a brand new upcycled candle. They make beautiful, handcrafted gifts!

Upcycle Old Candles {find out all the details at TheTurquoiseHome.com}


Don’t you just love Anthropologie? The sights, the smells, the creative, beautiful designs.

I head straight for the home and kitchen side and just ohh and ahh over every little detail. Sometimes I take pictures so that I can enjoy it again later. Is that weird?

So, back to the smells. You know that Anthro smell? Like citrus, flowers and pure happiness? Well, it you pay close attention and sniff the candles like I do, then you know that the capturing fragrance comes from this candle …

Capri Blue Volcano Candle from Anthropologie $28

The Capri Blue Volcano Candle is divine. And my dear friend Sharon bought me one as a going away gift when I left my job a long time ago. It’s hard for me to splurge on a $30+ candle, but I’ll gladly accept it as a gift.

And since it was a special candle, I only burned it for special occasions. Like when people came over or I was spending the day crafting at home while Miss A was at preschool. I wanted to enjoy it and not waste it!

I was so sad when it finally burned the last little bit. So sad. I’ve thought about buying another one so many times, but just haven’t gotten around to it. I may need to whisper a little hint in Coach’s ear. You think? Somebody e-mail him, OK? 🙂

There was so much wax left in the pot that I never threw it away. And I’ve been wanting to melt it down and upcycle it for months now. I finally got around to it and here’s how I did it.

I’ve also learned since then, not to burn a candle unless I’m going to burn it long enough to burn the whole top layer. This keeps from creating that build up on the sides in the first place. But, if you’re like me, and didn’t know this, I hope you find this tutorial helpful!

How to Reuse Candle Wax

You’ll need:
1. Wick and tabs
2. New candle holder – see where I found my pretty mercury glass one below.
3. Double boiler {or makeshift double boiler, like me}
4. Pen or stick to hold up the wick

What to do with Old Candles

Melt Old Candle Wax to Make a New Candle

Scoop the wax out with a spoon. This wax is soy-based, so it’s easy to get out. Place the wax pieces in the double boiler. I just used a glass bowl sitting on a saucepan with an inch or two of water in the bottom.

Remove all of the old burned candle pieces

Make sure you get the burned pieced out.

Little Cowgirl Helper

I had a little cowgirl making sure I did everything right.

Melt Old Candle Wax to Make a New Candle

Turn on your burner and allow the wax to melt.

How to Make a New Candle from an Old Candle

While the wax is melting, set up your candle holder. Put the tab on the end of the wick. I dripped a little bit of wax in the bottom of the candle holder to keep the tab in place. And I draped the wick over a pen.

Make Your Own Candle

And then once the wax was all melted, I just poured it into the holder. Sorry for no pics of my pouring hot wax. The two-year-old hasn’t mastered her photography skills yet.

Target Mercury Glass Candle Holder

By the way, the holder is from Target in the candle aisle. I love me some mercury glass! I think it was only $6. Woohoo!

Upcycle Old Candles {find out all the details at TheTurquoiseHome.com}

Let the wax dry and you have a beautiful candle and you’ve upcycled an old candle into a new one! {A side-benefit of candle-making is that your house smells delicious.}

I also took some used spiced pumpkin and vanilla candles and mixed them together in a pretty little mini mason jar. This would make a perfect gift for a friend, sister or teacher!

Upcycle Old Candles {find out all the details at TheTurquoiseHome.com}

Do you throw out old, used-up candles? Or do you save them like me for just a perfect upcycle like this one?

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27 Comments

  1. Upcycle Old Candles tips are very useful for us to create like that. I love reusing my Candles thanks so much for this tip

  2. Hi Laura! Thanks for sharing this great project at last week’s Get Crafty Friday. You’ve been featured this week! I hope you will stop by and share with us again. Have a great Friday and a fabulous weekend!

    -Amy

  3. I’m too lazy to go to all that trouble so I just put the jar on one of those coffee cup warmers and you have the smell and no fire! It will smell till the perfume burns out.

    1. I LOVE this idea. Although I just sent my coffee warmer to goodwill before the end of the year, because I never used it to warm my coffee. Bummer.

  4. I have a zillion ( that is totally a real number) candles I need to do this too! Thanks for the reminder! 🙂

  5. Thanks for the tutorial! I have been meaning to try this out, but never got around to it. I just bought a cute teacup and am planning to use that.

  6. The dollar store has really great clear glass containers that I up cycle candles into all the time. Also, I do put several scents into them and you can see all the colored layers like your mason jar. One thought, you were really good about digging out your was, but instead of digging it out, I put my glass candle jar right into the water then pour out the wax into the new container. It saves a step and the heavier black bits often stay in the old jar due to their weight.

    Another idea is that if you have very little was left, I’ve melted them down and poured them to harden into my tart burner that way I can still get the yummy scents.

    Love your little mercury container 🙂

    L

    1. Ohhh, love the idea to save a step. I think I had heard something like that, but didn’t know if it would work. Good to know!! 🙂

  7. Great project !!

    I would love you to come and share @ Craft, Create & Inspire linky party !!!

    Look forward to seeing you there 🙂

    Claire x

  8. This is a great idea and great post. Thanks so much for sharing! I will be keeping this in mind and giving it a try.

  9. Love this idea! Why have I never done it? Thanks for the inspiration. Found you at Imparting Grace link party.

  10. How pretty and what a great idea! I feel like I have so many candles around the house that are almost done, but I never seem to throw them out! I need to do this too! Thanks for sharing 🙂 Happy new year!

  11. I never throw mine out and always upcycle them. I will even buy half used candles at thrift stores or garage sales if they are a good yummy brand. They are too expensive to waste. This is a good idea. I usually just cut them up and put them in the wax melter thingy. (What it is it called?? LOL) I found you via Sumo’s Sweet block party. Take care.

  12. Your little cowgirl is absolutely beautiful, Laura! Thanks so much for sharing this awesome post at last week’s Project Inspire{d} ~ I’ll be featuring your tutorial at this week’s party.

    Have a Happy New Year!

  13. I love this idea and can’t wait to try combining to complimentary scents into one candle! Thanks for sharing!

  14. I love reusing my Candles thanks so much for this tip. I found that I used my grater to grate the candle wax and it melts much quicker !

  15. I’ve got a lot of burned-down candles lying around that could use some upcycling! Ooh, and that Anthro candle is one of my favorites, only I’ve never been able to convince myself to pay that much, and no one’s ever gifted it to me 🙁 However! I made an amazing discovery at Target earlier this year – a candle that smells just like this Anthro one! It’s called Island Moonlight, and I got one in a very similar looking mercury glass holder. The best of both worlds!

  16. I love this! I’ve been meaning to do something like this but didn’t know how. And your little cowgirl helper is adorable 😉
    Hugs,
    Jamie

  17. I completely understand about certain candles are just too good to throw away. I love the 24K scent Tyler candles. I just want to rub the scent all over me. Crazy huh??

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