Recycle old candles! Melt them down to make them into new decorative candles in thrifted crystal or containers that suit your style.

If you love candles, you might have a lot of old candles stored that are partially burned down or in a container that doesn’t look too good, even though you might like the scent. You might rotate them seasonally like I do! It’s hard to part with them, but they can start to take up storage space if you end up collecting them. This tutorial gives a new solution in bringing old candles back to life and transforming them into new, stylish decorative pieces that you will enjoy displaying or even giving as gifts!

Melting down and upcycling candles is a good way to extend the life of your favorite scents, by consolidating into a new container, or combining them with some unscented wax. You can even combine scents to create your own unique blend!

Jar candles can end up burned down to the bottom with plenty of wax left on the sides. Also they don’t look as good after awhile, getting sooty and contaminated with debris. They can be melted down and filtered into clean wax, and poured into something more decorative.

Choosing a New Candle Holder

Any container that can hold up to hot wax and is non-flammable can be used, such as metal, porcelain, pottery or glass. You can use anything from soup cans and drink cans to mugs, clay pots, tea cups, dessert bowls or cocktail glasses.

If you like the look of crystal but are reluctant to use a heirloom or high quality cut crystal, I recommend pressed crystal to use as new candle holder. It has a more formal look, or fits into the grandmillenial and cottagecore styles. Vintage pressed crystal comes in a variety of small to medium sizes and various shapes that are perfect for candle holders. You might already have some pieces of it on hand. If you don’t it can be easy to find inexpensive but nice pieces at a thrift store or a yard sale.

Recycle Old Candles: Getting Started

Gather the candles you want to upcycle and new containers that have the capacity to hold the volume of wax in the candles you want to create. Clean dust or debris off the top of the candles by wiping with a damp cloth. Make sure the containers you will pour wax into are free of any stickers, clean and ready to use.

Gather Some Tools

Use old oven mitts or any heat resistant gloves to protect your hands from hot wax and hot jars or tins. Use a pair of tongs or a canning jar lifter for lifting hot containers out of boiling water. Also, a potholder to cool those containers on is good to have on hand. Use a case knife for breaking up chunks of wax to melt it down quicker. Purchase pre-waxed wicks with clips (link) – they’ll also be needed. Find them online or at craft stores where candle making supplies are sold.

Use Tweezers for pulling out old wicks, and scissors are needed for cutting the new wicks. A pencil, a chopstick or skewer will hold the wick in place as hot wax cools in each new candle. Use masking tape to hold that in place while hot wax is being poured into the container. Coffee filters work well to filter out debris to get clean wax.

You will need a saucepan, preferably an old one for heating water. For melting loose candles like old votives or taper candles, use a heatproof container. A Pyrex measuring cup or a clean metal can will be needed to contain the wax as it melts.

It’s also going to be a good idea to spread out some newspapers or any other material to protect your work surface from any spills or splashes of hot wax.

Placing the Wick

Light a candle and drip a few drops of wax in the bottom center of your vessel. This will hold the new wick in place. Let this set a minute or two until the wax cools and holds the wick. Carefully roll any excess wick around the pencil or skewer until it rests on the rim of the container. Tape the pencil on to the rim of the container to hold it in place.

Melting the Wax

On a stovetop or a hot plate, fill the saucepan about half way with water. The weight of a jar candle or container will displace some water, and you don’t want the water to overflow. Set the jar candle or melting container in center of the pan and bring the water to a low boil. Turn the heat down to simmer until the wax melts and clarifies. Break up softened wax with the case knife to speed up the melting process. Turn off the heat unless you will be melting down more candles.

Melting down candles usually takes a few minutes, depending on the size of the candle. Soy wax or soy blend candles will melt more quickly than conventional candles. They are softer and have a lower meting temperature.

Hot Wax

An important step to recycle old candles – fish old wicks from the melted wax while. Do this while it’s still liquid and hot with tweezers.

Carefully use tongs or oven mitts to remove the hot container with melted wax from the saucepan. Set the hot container on a potholder to cool. Wait just a few minutes for the wax to begin to cool, but don’t wait for the wax to start to reset. Pour the wax while it’s still melted and clarified.

Making the New Candleholder

Cover your work surface to protect it from possible spilled wax before the next step. There will more than likely be a little spill or hot drop here and there. And this will make cleaning up easier.

While you recycle old candles, you may need to filter debris from the melted wax. Be sure to tape the pencil holding the wick in place. This will hold it so that the wick doesn’t get moved off center while you’re pouring the wax. Fold a single coffee filter into a cone and tuck it into the vessel on one side of pencil. Push it down so it stays in place, but not touching the bottom. However, you can skip this step if your hot wax is clean.

Carefully pour the melted wax into the filter a little at a time and let the liquid wax drain through. It will trickle out at first, then it will drip. Then pour in more liquid wax. Repeat until the candle holder is filled up to about half an inch from the top.

Place the wax back into the pan to melt if it is cooling too quickly. Then continue pouring it into the candle holder. Replace the coffee filter with a new one if the wax stops dripping through. Be careful not to overfill the candle holder.

Next, remove the filter and let the wax cool for at least 30 minutes until the wax sets and becomes opaque again.

The Final Touch

After the wax has set, untape the pencil from the candle holder. Remove the pencil by pulling it through the wrapped up wick if possible. Trim down the excess wick to about a half to quarter inch above the top of the wax with some sharp scissors. Be careful not to pull up on the wick.

Clean any drips of wax off your new candle holder by scraping them off, with your fingernails or with something like a paring knife. Buff off any waxy residues with a damp cloth. Now you have a brand new candle – a great reason to recycle old candles!

Melting Down Loose Candles

Jar or tin candles can go directly into water in a saucepan to melt down. Their containers act as a built in bain marie. Any loose candles like old votive candles or tapers that aren’t in their own container should be melted down in a clean can or a tempered glass container, such as a Pyrex measuring cup.

What’s Old Is New Again

Recycle old candles, and you will have all new candles to enjoy. Bring old candles back to life and transform them into decorative pieces that you will enjoy displaying. This is also a good way to create unique, inexpensive gifts!

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