I have a bunch of candles sitting around my house that I don’t use anymore. I know a lot of people who also have this problem, so I thought this DIY project would benefit many. Today, I am going to make a layered candle using my various candles. This project takes a good bit of time so I recommend either making several at a time so you don’t get bored too quickly or finding some patience. It is worth it in the end though, i promise!

 

Recommendations:

*I HIGHLY recommend that you use an oven mitt for this. The tongs are wonderful but being able to use your hand for support is even better.
*Wear shoes or slippers. I did not do this (not even socks) and hot water dripped on my toes a few times. Not a fun time.

 

Things You Will Need:

Water

tongs

Old candles

A glass jar

Candle wick

A pot to boil water

A stove (obviously)

Oven mitt (optional but highly recommended)

 

 

Step 1:

Pour some water (maybe 1/4 of the way full) into a pot and bring it to a boil.

 

 

 

Step 2:

Using your tongs, carefully place one of your used candle jars into the boiling water. Let it sit for a bit. It will probably take between 30 seconds to a minute to start melting. While you are doing this you can place your wick into the jar. (Candle making tutorials have told me that it is necessary to glue the bottom of the wick to the jar but I have found that this is not necessary and long as you prop it against something that isn’t going to move.)

 

 

 

Step 3:

Using your tongs (and preferably your oven mitt), lift the jar out of the boiling water and slowly (and very carefully) pour a portion of the melted wax into the empty glass jar. You are going to have to let the wax settle. This can take quite a while depending on how much wax you are using. Put another used candle into the boiling water to begin the melting process again.

 

 

 

Step 4:

Very lightly poke the wax to make sure it doesn’t give. If it does, wait. Once the wax is solid again use your tongs to pick up the jar that is sitting in the boiling water and slowly and carefully pour the wax on top of the first layer. Again, wait until this layer dries.

 

 

 

Step 5:

Repeat the process until you have something that looks like this. When you are finished and the top layer has dried, cut the wick to about 1/2″ – 3/4″ above the wax.

 

 

Tah Daaahhhh! You have officially recycled your used candles into a brand new layered candle that you would have paid upwards of $20 for. AND you should have paid about $5 for materials. I bought all of my materials (glass jar and soy candle wicks) at Michael’s for $5. It was pretty exciting.

 

Happy layering! 🙂