Recycle Candles

 

I love candles….I know that the big thing is scented waxes these days…but there is just something about a great candle!  What I hate…is the way there is ALWAYS a small bit left at the bottom that you just can’t use.  Don’t through them away….make some unique recycled treasures out of them!  Here’s a fun little project to recycle candles!  With a wick…and a new container…or a recycled one…you’ll have a brand new candle out of all the scraps! Besides…you can put it in a cool container…and have a REALLY unique decoration!  I personally would put my recycled treasure…in a recycled treasure….may a old coffee or tea tin?  We LOVE putting them in vintage tea cups.

• Before you recycle candles, you have to first get all the old wicks out of the wax.  you can break up the wax, and use something flat like a butter knife or screwdriver to pry it off the bottom of the container.

There are few ways to go about making your scraps into a new candle

• While holding the wick upright, drop the wax chunks in around it. Try to pack it tightly so there aren’t many gaps in the wax. This is the simplest method, but it doesn’t burn as efficiently as the next method. This method does, however, have the advantage of letting you get creative by arranging the wax chunks according to color, size or shape.
• Melt some of the wax. Follow the instructions for the first method, but after you’ve packed in a layer of wax chunks, pour in some wax around them to fill the gaps. Keep doing this row by row, like motoring bricks (sort of), and you’ll get a candle which burns efficiently. It might be pretty ugly, though.

The best method is to melt all the wax and pour a whole new candle.

• Use a double boiler, or make one by putting one pan inside another, or even a coffee can inside a pan.
• Put the wax chunks in the inner vessel.
• Fill the outer vessel halfway with water.
• Set the heat to high.
• Stir the wax as it melts.
• Once it’s pourable, carefully pour it into the jar around your wick.
• Use some kind of tool to grip the wick where it sticks up from the hot wax and move it into place (center, standing up straight). I use a little pair of pliers for this, but in a pinch you could even use a pair of scissors, with the blades turned to the side to avoid cutting the wick.
• Hold the wick in place for a moment. The wax will start cooling immediately, so you won’t need to hold it long. You’ll be able to tell when the wax is cool enough for it to stand on its own.

Obviously, the melt pour gives you the most efficiently burning candle, but sometimes it comes out an odd color. The first method where you just break the wax into small chunks and really try to pack it in. It has a really muckledy patchwork, homemade sort of look. These recycled treasures  tend to burn down a bit faster than new candles for some reason, but they’re still worth it….besides it’s a fun project.  Learn to recycle candles…

Go forth and BURN!!! lol

Love Y’all!