Easy candle recycling DIY

Candle Recycling

In this blog post, we will learn how to make an easy candle recycling DIY. There is nothing that can add a sense of luxury and coziness to any space like candles. Recycling old candles is a cheap and easy way to instantly upgrade a space. I love making my own candles and it is much easier then it seems.

You can find “DIY candle kits” online for around 50 euros for 5 candles. I think that is a crazy amount of money to pay for candles that you will be making yourself. If you do it my way, you will still be able to make 1 candle but for less than 1 euros/dollar. That is more like it!

I used the usual “dollar store candle big pack”, which normally includes around 30 tealight candles and can be found for around 2 euros. If you are anything like me you probably have a couple of these lying around already. However I have started to save my scrap block candles for future projects to reduce the waste even further.

For this DIY the containers I used were recycled metal cans. This is a good style for kitchen candles because it looks a bit industrial. I have seen beautiful candles made out of thrifted tin boxes, tumblers, and ice-cream bowls, so you can really get creative with candle making and find something perfect for you.

Tools:
  • Pliers  
Supplies:
  • Glas or metal containers
  • Old candles (Make sure to have a couple of tall candles you can recycle the wick from)
  • Wooden grill sticks
  • Tape
  • Essential oil or crayons (optional)
  • Metal or porcelain pot
  • Cooking pot
  • Fork or Spoon
Easy candle recycling DIY

Instructions:

Let’s DIY a candle or two!

Note: Always remember to protect your space. 

  1. Clean the candle containers carefully.
  2. Create a water bath by filling a cooking pot with water and gently lower another pot into the water. I recommend to only use medium heat to make sure the water bath doesn’t boil over.
  3. Put the tall candles in the water bath first, since they will take the longest to melt. When the candle wax has melted completely, use a fork or a spoon to remove old wicks from the wax. Retrieve the wicks from the tall candles. 
Easy candle recycling DIY

4. Use grill sticks to tie the wick for the candle, you want the wick to be as straight as possible and only as long as it needs to be to touch the bottom of the container. If the wick is longer it might get flammable and dangerous.

candle recycling DIY

5. Secure the grill stick with the wick to the container if needed, I used painters tape.

making candles

6. If you would like to add scent to your candles, do it before pouring it into the containers. The same goes for color if you want your candles to be a specific color you can simply melt add a crayon in a color you like to the wax.  

7. Carefully pour the melted wax into the containers, make sure to not burn yourself, I used oven mittens. 

making candles

8. Let the candles dry overnight before cutting the wick and removing the grill sticks.

making candles
Reflections:

This a very fun craft and it feels very nice to know you are doing something for the environment. It can get a bit messy when you are in the middle of making your candles but that’s part of the charm I think. I will definitely keep recycling my candles.

If you want more DIY like this just head over to my other blog posts here!
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