DIY: From Jar Candle to Pretty Vase

The other evening, I spent some time at my very close friend Joanna's lovely apartment, and not long after arriving admired a beautiful Jonathan Adler candle she'd been given. We both agreed that the porcelain container was so pretty she should try to save it and put it to some other use. She asked me if I knew how one could go about completely removing wax and wick remnants once the candle had been burned fully, and I wasn't sure. However, it's something I've always wanted to do myself.

I, and I think many others, buy candles not only for how they smell, but for how pretty their containers are. My favorite candle, one I burn for a little while almost every day, is the Volcano scent Capri Blue candle. Every time it burns down, I run to Anthropologie to buy another, all the while wishing I didn't have to throw out the pretty blue glass container with leftover wax caked in the bottom. Plus, Aspen Bay Candles (the manufacturer) does such a good job of being environmentally conscious by using beautiful recycled glass that it seems a shame to trash. Not to mention the fact that $30 is nothing to sneeze at for an item that has an 85-hour shelf life.

After doing a bit of research, I figured out a super easy and quick method for cleaning out old candle jars. It works especially well with soy wax, which is softer than paraffin and much better for the earth (it's made of renewable vegetable oils vs. non-renewable fossil fuels). 

It's the easiest DIY ever! Plus, it helps you make new use out of something you already thought was beautiful and keeps garbage (and your money) from going into a landfill. 

First, I scraped the remaining wax out of the bottom of the jar with an old spoon. It came out surprisingly easily!

Then, I heated up about 2 inches of water in a pot. Some tutorials I found online suggested boiling water, but I think this isn't such a good idea safety-wise - glass can explode if there's a tiny crack in it and it's subjected to drastic temperature changes. So I used very warm water and the wax melted in a few minutes.

Here's the candle containing melted wax - I pulled it out of the pot carefully with a towel.

After pouring the melted wax into the garbage, I carefully wiped out the remaining wax and soot. Then I gave it a quick wash with hot water and dish soap, which also helped remove the label.

Ta-da! I filled my new vase with some water and pretty sweet william (also known as gypsy dianthus). I think colored glass vases look especially pretty by the windowsill with sunlight streaming through them.

How easy is that?!?

Comments

[Jennifer]

Love this idea! I have one of their jar candles that is almost burned out and I didn't want to get rid of the jar because it's such a pretty color.

[Ubersass]

Love it! I'm so trying this

[Hilary Shank]

Thank you for the great write up! We love seeing customers reuse our recycled glass jars - every bit helps in making a difference. This is always a wonderful way to get more than one use out of the beautiful glass vessels. We appreciate your support! Hilary Shank with Aspen Bay Candles

[Lynda]

U r so rIght, that jar is way too pretty to throw out! Nice recycling!

[Alexandra Joy]

First and foremost, Volcano is the loveliest smell of them all! Secondly, what a fab up-cycle idea. And thirdly, gorgeous cobalt blue... enough said.

[Natalie Soud]

Thanks to everyone for their kind words! Alexandra, I love your blog's content and can't wait to see the redesign!

[Missy]

Thank you so much for this! I always feel so sad throwing away old candle jars. I never quite knew how to clean the wax and soot out. I see some new projects in my future.

[anne @ buy candles]

Great idea! Thanks for sharing this easy DIY technique of transforming candle jars to pretty vases.

[Cathy]

Thank you!! I've been wondering how I can reuse these beautiful jars. I have LOTS of them because these are my favorite candles. Now I have a weekend project!

[Natalie Soud]

I'm so glad you guys are continuing to find this useful!