I adore pillar candles, but the way cheaper ones burn unevenly down the middle leaving a thick ring of unused wax on the outside drives me potty. Our draughty hearth in Moregeous Mansions permanently has candles alight & you know how I hate waste….. well, here’s a little tip for something to do on a chilly Sunday afternoon – make some new candles out of the scraps!
To get the maximum amount of heat from our hearth candles, I keep them trimmed down and cut the tops off with a knife whilst the candle is burning and the wax is soft. Over the winter, I’ve saved all the wax scraps and burned down remains in a box, seriously, this below is just a fraction of them 🙂
I ordered some wicks, metal sustainers and wick pins on Ebay the other week – all very cheap if you shop around….
….and, with a few hours to kill this afternoon, decided to get candle making! I started by melting my wax scraps on a very low heat in an old pan which has a side pouring spout for more carefully pouring the melted wax liquid. I mixed my white & cream pieces together then did some blues and browns, and but you can obviously mix and match according to what you have. Do not boil or overheat your wax and add scented oils if required whilst the wax is liquid.
As holders for my newly recycled candles, I used the saved Ikea candle glass holders which I keep for tea-lights in the garden during summer, but you can use more decorative glassware or crockery according to your own interior design style. I couldn’t believe our scraps made the twelve new full candles you can see below in just a couple of hours, all of which would have otherwise gone in the bin.
Wear an apron and be very careful when pouring, I’d advise using an old tea towel on top of your kitchen surfaces.
Tip: When the glass container is still empty, hold the new wick at the top and dip the metal end in the molten wax then pop it quickly into your new glass container so the little metal wick holder sticks centrally to the container base. This will hold the wick steady whilst you bend it over the pin balanced across the top of the glass container. Sounds complicated but you’ll get it after a couple of goes 😉
Very happy with my afternoon’s ‘work’ and really pleased I didn’t throw away all that wax! 🙂
What a lovely project! What mould did you use here?
Hi Samantha, it was a lovely way to spend a couple of Sunday hours 🙂
I just used some glassware that had already had Ikea candles in, after washing them out in very hot water and wiping with kitchen roll. Make sure not to pour waxy water down the kitchen sink, I cleaned them outside on the pavement so no boiling water splashing on the ground killed insects etc!
Good luck with yours,
x
You just gave me an idea. I love your post. I might start making candles out of the wax left overs I have. Good thing I kept them all, thanks!