Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Can Do Candles / DIY


Don't you just hate it when the wick of a candle burns down long before the wax is used up?  Here's a clever way to help make your favorite candle last a little while longer.  I borrowed the idea from my friend, Julie.  One evening while I was at her house, I noticed she had a candle sitting in a pan of water on the stove.  The candle had burned down to the point to where the wick was too short to light.  However, there was still leftover candle wax.  By melting the candle on the stove in a pan of warm water, the scent of the candle continued to fill the room. 

I carried Julie's idea one step further creating a "new" candle by adding purchased wick to the leftover wax.  The above candle is actually the leftover wax from three different containers of my favorite candle ~ the best candle on the planet!  Find it here.    
 
Below is a list of supplies needed to complete this project:

Used Candle (one with the wick burned down)
Saucepan
Oven Mitt
Candle Wicks
Empty Container (Clean ~ glass or metal)
Bowl
Ice Cubes/Water
Scissors



For example purposes, I chose to remelt a candle that Gavin (my youngest) gave me for Christmas.  This time, I only had one candle to melt down so I chose a small pewter container (I had on hand) to become the new container for my candle.


First, I filled a saucepan with water, so it came up to the middle of the candle I was wanting to melt down.  I then placed the candle in the water and turned the heat to medium high. 


As the water heated and the candle started to melt a bit, I turned the heat down to low and allowed time for the candle to melt completely.


For this project, I used candle wick I bought at Michael's ~ they come in a variety of lengths.  I opted to purchase the longest ones they had so they would work for various size candles.  


I positioned the wick so it was centered onto the bottom of the container.


Using the oven mitt, I poured the melted wax into the container.  Be careful...it's HOT!



I then placed the pewter cup into a bowl of cold water to which I added ice cubes. 


This helps speed up the process of hardening the wax (I can be a little impatient at times).


After the wax was completely hardened, I trimmed the wick back to about 1/4". 


Now there's no reason for disappointment when your favorite candle burns down.  This is a simple and easy little project you can do to assure you enjoy a candle until it's all used up.  I hope you give it a try.

On another note, thanks to HGTV.com for featuring one of Tattered Style's ideas.  Check it out here.  You will need to scroll through ~ it's # 9 of 13 photos (Rustic Wine Glass Holder).  I hope you have a lovely week ~ thanks for stopping by.  :)

3 comments :

  1. First, congratulations on your HGTV recognition. I KNEW your wine glass holder was a great idea. I posted it on my FB page months ago and had so many comments on it -- everybody loved it!

    You made your candle 'can do' look so easy. I will definitely try this for some of my more expensive 'name brand' candles so I can get every wax drop of my money's worth.

    Question: my candles tend to get those black floaters in the wax from wick and ash. Any ideas on how to easily extract those floaters from the melted wax?

    Thank you, and thanks to your friend, Julie, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Annie ~ and thanks for sharing it on your FB page.

      Regarding the candles: It's pretty amazing...the candles I used also had the black floaties, but when I went to pour the wax into the new container, for the most part the floaties clung to the bottom of the old container. And the few that did move over, sunk to the bottom. So, I didn't have a problem with them.

      You could also use a fine strainer to pour the wax through.

      Hope this helps! :)

      Delete
  2. I have a couple of candles that I LOVE the way they smell, but I don't like to keep the ugly containers out on my counter...I'm now on the lookout for some more attractive containers and I'm going to try this. I love the idea of being able to keep my candles out all the time since they'll be in attractive containers. Thanks Dana!! :)

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...