DIY candle recycling

I started working on my creative project this week (a new jewelry holder) only to discover that at some point the paint I was planning to use had frozen so it was completely useless and because I didn't have time to get to the hardware store I just decided to do a different project that I had all the materials on hand for - a recycled candle.

In this house we love candles, especially the ones from (of all places) Bath and Body works which burn so cleanly and smell so lovely.  But they are pricey and I do get tired of the quarter to half inch of wax that is inevitablly left in the bottom when the wicks have burned down.

I combined three candle remnants of various apple scents into the smaller holder (I have other plans for the big one) and decided to layer them to see what sort of look I could achieve.  I can honestly say I've learned that I should wait for each layer to fully cool before pouring in the next, but otherwise it's a perfectly nice candle we have burning on the coffee table right now.

Read on for the how to...

Supplies

• Wicks
• Wick Clips
• Candles (on hand)
• holder (on hand)
• pot and water on the stove

The steps are easy

1) If the candles are in glass holders (as mine were) place them into a pot with about an inch of water on the stove and slowly turn up the heat to melt the wax.

2) Have an empty candle holder (or pretty vintage tin) to pour into, and after putting a sufficient length of wick through the holder crimp the nub to hold in place and put a small dab of hot wax on the back to "glue" it to the bottom of holder.

3) I jerry-rigged a pencil and rubberband to hold the wick upright while pouring in the wax, although I'm sure there's a more professional method I like mine just fine.

4) Pour in the wax and let cool at least a day before trimming the wick and lighting the candle.

5) That's it.

All in all a rather cheap project which only helps to prolong the use of something we already had.