10

New candles from old project

Candles can make even the most desolate space lovely and they frame faces so beautifully. When we turn out the lights and fire up the candles, the toys, computers and other detritus magically disappear and only the faces and the meal are left in their glow. They’re also really easy to make. Beeswax is beautiful, but expensive and soy is a great alternative. One way to significantly cut the cost of candles is to use the ends of old candles to make new ones.

Don’t worry if you don’t have any old candles stubs lying around, you can still make candles. The wonderful Planning Queen has a fabulous tutorial on making travel candles.

New candles from old

Ingredients:
Old candles, as many as you have, or calculate how much wax you will need by pouring water into your chosen containers and adding up the total. For every 100ml of water you need about 80g of candle stubs. Or you can wing it, like me – don’t tell anyone!
New candle wicks make sure you have a couple extra
Old jars, tins or concrete pots as candle holders
Old pot or metal bowl for melting wax that can sit in…
A bigger pot to heat water in.
Old tea towel
Old strainer or sieve
Old jug or pot to pour wax from
Essential oils, about a teaspoon of your favourite for every ½ kg or 1.6 lb of wax (not recommended if you’re pregnant)
Pegs
Skewer
Sheet of paper to catch all the drips
Optional: cooking thermometer

Method:

1. Snip off the old wicks.

2. Melt the old candles in a double boiler or in a pot over a bigger pot of simmering water. You can see some of the options in this and this post. It’s just that the wax can burn if it is heated directly over an element and the water softens the blow. Keep heating the wax until everything is melted. This happens somewhere around 60°C/140°F. Take off the heat if you see bubbles coming up through the wax, because you don’t want it to boil.

3. Prep the wick (if needed) according to the instructions on the packet. I have some that are pre-prepped and others that need to be dipped into the melting wax, but they vary from brand to brand.

4. Place a sieve or strainer over a bowl, pot or jug and cover with an old tea towel. Pour the melted wax into the tea-towel-covered-sieve to strain all the old wicks (and the odd moth in my case).

5. Stir in the essential oils, start with about a teaspoon for ½ kg or 1.6 lb of wax, but add more according to how it smells for you.

6. Pour the melted wax into the containers. Carefully, tap the container to coax the air bubbles up and out.

7. Peg the end of the wick and push the metal plate down into the wax with a skewer. Giving the container another careful tap for air bubbles.

8. Leave the candles to dry.

You can give the wicks a snip and you’re all set.