Whenever I finish a candle, I hate throwing out the beautiful jars. For years, my family would repurpose a glass candle jar by placing it in the freezer, popping the hard wax out, and washing to use as a cup. I think we have more short glasses in our cabinet that were once candles than not.
Over the last few years, I’ve also been loving the Athropologie Capri Blue Volcano Candles. I had a few saved, but because of the shape and delicate jar, I hadn’t put them in the freezer with my usual methods.
Today’s guide will cover how to repurpose a candle into a new flower vase or candle. Hope you enjoy this quick and easy DIY project.
Check out my video here!
Cleaning the Candle Jar
For Capri Blue Volcano candles, I learned that the wax is a paraffin-soy wax blend, which is easy enough to scoop with a spoon.
To start, I grabbed two plastic spoons to scoop the wax out of 2 old jars! I started by scooping out the black parts with soot to throw away. Then I wiped my spoons and removed the rest of the wax into a container to save for later.
(Note – I used the leftover wax for a new candle. If you are just making a flower vase, you can discard in the trash.)
For candles with wax that is too hard to scoop, there are a variety of other methods, including heating the candle or adding boiling water. I avoided these methods to try to preserve the gold foil inside my candles, but if you don’t mind removing the foil or this doesn’t apply to you – then go for it!
Once the wax was removed from my candle, I cleaned with dish soap and water.
(Note – the warmer the water and harsher the scrub, the more likely the gold foil inside the Anthropologie candles will come off. If you don’t mind removing, I recommend using hot water since it is easier to remove the wax. If not, a little patience and gentle washing will do the trick.)
Repurpose Candle Jar into a Flower Vase
Once your candle jar is washed, it is practically ready to be a flower vase! Since my Athropologie candle had a wide opening and some gold foil inside still, I actually inserted an old yogurt container that I poured water into.
After, I trimmed my flowers short and arranged them. The flowers I used below were pink daisies. Enjoy!
Make a New Candle
I used the leftover wax from both candles to make a new candle inside my second cleaned jar. Since I was about to pour more wax in, I skipped the step to clean with dish soap and water.
If you skip that step, make sure to still wipe down the candle to remove any soot or black residue. You’ll need a new candle wick. I used one from an old kit, or you can purchase HERE.
I melted the candle wax together in a saucepan on medium-low heat on the stove. If I did this again, I would potentially melt in the microwave inside a glass measuring cup.
While your wax melts, insert the new wick inside the empty candle. I held it in place with an old chopstick, but it did move around a little bit. I recommend doing something like this (picture below) to keep it from falling.
Then, carefully pour the hot wax into your prepared jar. Let cool and you’re done!
