Thrifty Candle Fun

How many half used candles do you have lying around your house? You know what I mean; the ones where the wick has burned down to where the wax extinguishes the flame but there is still half a candle left. I’ve got a ton of them, and I’m really bad about keeping them because I love the jar or I feel guilty wasting the thing. Well, I finally got up the energy/nerve to actually try rewicking the candles. I went to Hobby Lobby and found some braided wick for pillar candles. I’ll admit here that I have no clue what I was buying. I found the one that looked closets to what the original looked like and had the cheapest price. I think full price it was $2.49 for 18 feet (that’s a whole lot of candles!) I only needed about 6 inches or so for my candle, so that breaks down to just under 14 cents a foot or 1 cent an inch.

For the jar I used, I had found some old mason jars at Goodwill for like 25 cents each. If you go on certain Saturdays everything there is 50% off. I usually only buy glassware, metal items or picture frames there, just because I’m a little germaphobic and those are items I know that I can completely sanitize. You could even use old candle jars, old spaghetti sauce jars, or even a drinking glass of some sort.

(Its tinted purple with modpodge and water and baked in the oven. I couldn't get it to look as nice as everyone else online. lol but it works great for my need. I did look it up and modpodge is non flammable, but use at your own risk.)

Now to make hanging the wick a little easier you need a wick clip. I’m not entirely sure why it’s called this, since it’s really like a little stand to hold the wick at the bottom of the candle; it kind of looks like a Christmas tree stand. Now you can go buy a pack of them at the store, or you can use one you already have.  Look at the bottoms of your used candles. You will see a flat metal piece in the bottom of the candle. These are completely reusable once you remove the old wick. I thought my candle had one, but it didn’t. I was trying to figure out what I was going to use. Then it dawned on me. I have some of those Glade scented oil candles: the ones that you buy the little refills for and it magnetically holds the candle in place, and I had one that burned through but I never got around to removing the wick holder. Now I have my free wick holder.

You are going to need a double boiler and a something to stir the melted wax with. You don’t have a double boiler? Well neither do I; never have. Here’s what you do: pick a small sauce pot and an oven safe glass bowl that is just a little bigger than the pot. In the pot put enough water to come up just a little way on the bottom of the bowl when you set the bowl into the pot. Now you have a double boiler. This will help you heat the wax without scorching your pan and without getting your candle wet.

The last thing you need is a stick, a straw, a pencil or something else that is sturdy, thin, and can lay across the top of your jar and give you enough space on either side to pour in wax. I have a whole bunch of wooden skewers so I used one of those.

Here we go!

Step 1:

To start, clean your candle off. I just used a dry rag, but I’ve heard that pantyhose are great for cleaning a candle. Next measure the height of your jar, add an inch or two, and then cut that amount off of your new braided wick. Take your wick clip and insert the new wick into it. Tie a knot in the wick on the bottom side of the wick clip, and pull the wick up through the wick clip just to make sure the clip is all the way against the knot that you just made. 

Now lower the wick into the center of the jar you are using, keeping it as straight as possible. Once it touches the bottom take your pencil/straw/stick and lay it on top of the jar. This is what you want to tie the other end of your wick to. This will hold the wick upright.

Step 2:

Get your double boiler ready and put your candle into the glass bowl. If your candle is still in a jar, you can skip the glass bowl and put the jar into the water in the pot, but I suggest once the candle is loosened to transfer it to a glass bowl and back onto the pot. This will make it easier to work with and to fish out the old candle wick.

(Notice where my temperature is set on the right burner knob. I found this to be a good temperature.)

Step 3: Turn on the burner to medium heat. It will come to a boil quickly. When it does, immediately turn it down to low-medium. Let the candle just sit there and melt down. You can stir it occasionally to help it along, but it’s really just waiting. WARNING: Make sure to watch the water. It should just gently bubble and not rise up any higher on the sides of the bowl.

(I was using a pair of scissors at first to lift up the old wick. Later I switched to metal tongs.)

Step 4: Removing the old wick. I used a pair of metal tongs, but you could use a fork or something to grab a hold of the old wick and pull it out. I found that it was easier to flip the candle upside down and pull the wick out from that side. Although, I’m sure you could just let the candle melt all the way down and then fish it out.

Step 5: Pouring the wax. Put your jar in the middle of your stove, this way if you spill its really easy to clean up the wax once it’s dry. Now once the wax is all melted, get some oven mitts on or get some pot holders and very carefully lift the bowl out of your pot. VERY carefully, pour the wax into your jar in the space next to the wick. Set your bowl on a pot holder and remove the water from the heat. You are done. All you have to do is give your candle time to set up and cool. I personally would let it sit for 24 hours, because it’s a lot of wax to cool and you don’t want it to shift.

Step 6: Trim the wick to just a ¼ of an inch above the wax line. You can use scissors or even better use a pair of nail clippers.

Step 7: Stand back and enjoy your handy work!

Price break down:

1 old candle: free

6 inches of candle wick: 6 cents

1 wick clip: free (taken from a used candle)

1 jar: 25-50 cents from the dollar store

1 wooden skewer or stick: free from my drawer or a free stick outside

Total: 31-56 cents for a brand new candle.

Price for the same size candle: $4 and up.

I accidentally spilled some wax because I didn't have a good hold on my bowl, but that's not a big deal. This is why I told you to do it on top of the stove. Let the wax dry and then just scrape it up. If you spill quite a bit and your stove is clean, pull up the wax, remelt it, and pour it into your candle. No big deal. I got these handy scrapers with some rather expensive bakeware that I had bought back before I had kids and no money. I use the scrapers MORE then I use the bakeware!!! But if you want to buy them I think that you can buy them by themselves from a certain kitchenware sales company that has in home parties. ;)

If you get brave, try this:

1.       If you have multiple used candles, pour the first one, let it cool, and then pour in the next one. Repeat this until you fill your jar. This will give you a beautiful layered look.

2.       If the candle is unscented, get some essential oil in your favorite scent and add some drops to the wax before you pour it.

3.       Use decorative shot glasses and pour several to give as gifts. No one will ever know that it was a used candle and that it didn’t cost you hardly anything.

4.       Use a cheap wine glass from the thrift store or dollar store to pour your candle into.

5.       Buy a huge candle from the dollar store, melt it down and make it into several smaller candles for gifts.