Hello Lovelies,

It has been a while!  This weekends project was dedicated to finally melting down all of the candles that I have hoarded since early last year.  I didn’t make new candles, but simply melted down my previously loved ones into newish candles.

“Hello, my name is L and I am a Yankee Candle addict!”

Ha! Yes I am.  Growing up in New England, I’ve been accustomed to Yankee Candle for most of my life. Wasting them is not going to happen.  I accumulated more than a dozen that have been burned down and will not stay lit.

Why would I save them when they’re already burned?

When you’re left with a 1/2″ to an 1″ of wax and the wick is already as low as it can burn, you have a lot of leftover wax! In my opinion, that is money being wasted and in our home, nothing gets wasted.  Especially, those candles that seem to leave unmelted wax along the sides, only burning wax in the center.  At the price for a large candle, you can guarantee I am using every drop! (it is about the only splurge I do for myself :)) So this weekend, I melted more than a dozen candle jars.

You will need:

• A small pot
• A few cheap chopsticks
• Wicks
• A spot in your freezer
• Burned candles

I took a small pot that would fit the width of each candle, filled it less than half way with water, and brought it to a light simmer between low and medium.  My stove is gas, so be sure to adjust accordingly for an electric.  I have heard that they are different and you don’t want to boil the wax.

While I had a candle melting in the pot, I cleaned out the best looking jar and made sure there was no soot.  I took cheap chopsticks, you know the ones that come for free with delivery, those; and rested them on top of the jar with the wick in between.  To do this easily, don’t break apart the chopsticks.  They will hold the wick nicely.

Once the wax was melted, pour carefully into the clean jar being careful not to pour any on the sides.  This is a layered candle as I have different scents and colors to work with.

Put the candle carefully in the freezer.  You DO have time, from the time you take the melted candle out of the pot and the time your next candle is almost melted through.  You have time to work because the wax is very hot.  I also didn’t pour the wax immediately. I let it sit on a towel as the other candle is melting to bring the temperature down a bit.  You don’t want piping hot anything sitting in your freezer.  I did this so it was just warm. Jiggle the jar gently before taking it out to ensure your next color doesn’t blend with the previous wax. If a layered candle is what you are after, you don’t want the colors/scents running together. You want separation.

Take the candle out of the freezer and add more melted wax.  I repeated this process until I had myself 1 large candle and 2 medium candles. Don’t forget to leave burn clearance from the top of the jar and trim the wicks.

It was like getting 3 new candles!  It took about 2 hours and little effort.  It was really easy.  No scraping, just melt and pour.  I will say that the fragrance does lessen quite a bit after the candles cool over night and they are lit again.  It is not as strong as the original scents, but still…why waste wax? Especially, if you LOVE candles!

I love gathering cuttings from the various plants we have on our little homestead.  The jars will make perfect little vases to re-root cuttings or display fresh herbs and flowers.  No waste!

Wicks: Amazon has them for as little as $6 plus shipping for 100 wicks.