Make a candle out of your candle scraps

In this post, I’ll teach you how to take all those leftover, half burned candles and make a new candle out of those candles scraps. In the process, you’ll also be able to reuse those beautiful candle containers.

As an avid candle burner, and candle maker, I know that no candle burns completely to the bottom of a container. It just doesn’t happen. And being a person that doesn’t like to waste things, it drives me crazy – especially with those candles that pillar down and don’t even touch the wax on the sides. BUT.. I’m here to tell you, there is a way you can salvage that wax and make your own frankencandle.

Gather up your materials

To do this project, you’ll need the following materials:

One or more used candles

Candle containers (more on this below)

Wicks

Scissors to trim your wicks

Wick holders or a wooden skewer/chopstick to keep your wicks in place

A wooden skewer or spoon to manage the wax

A saucepan with water, or a wax melter/hot pot

Don’t mix different types of candle wax

Some things to consider: Do NOT mix different kinds of wax. For example, don’t mix soy wax with beeswax, or with paraffin wax. These waxes behave very differently, and will burn differently. Instead, stick with soy with soy, beeswax with beeswax, and honestly, I wouldn’t even use paraffin since it can put harmful chemicals into the air. If it doesn’t say soy or beeswax specifically, it’s probably paraffin.

Soy wax and beeswax are both clean burning fuels and the ones I recommend for when you’re purchasing candles or making your own. Some people say (though I cannot confirm) that beeswax candles even “clean the air” by removing negative ions. Sounds a bit mystical to me, but they do definitely burn clean and they are sustainable since beeswax is a byproduct of the honey making process. I get beeswax locally here in Maine from Swan’s honey, and it’s lovely stuff (though beeswax candles can be tricky!).

My favorite candles to make and to buy are soy candles. They hold fragrance well and are clean burning. My husband and I are a bit obsessed with Stonewall Kitchen candles, particularly the “Ski Lodge” scent, that is sort of a smoky, piney, outdoorsy but comforting scent. Since we always have these on hand, I often use the method I’m about to describe to get the last bit of wax out and then I reuse their glass containers.

I also make my own soy candles (and sometimes beeswax too), and play around with all kinds of fragrance oils (the ones from Candle Science are clean burning and my favorite to use). Given all this, I always have a candle or two or ten burning in my house, and also have a ton of candles that won’t light anymore but have lots of wax left over.

Choose your candle container

You’ll want to choose a glass or ceramic container for your candle scraps. Since you might be mixing different colored waxes together, a ceramic one will conceal the differences. I use mine as “utility candles” (i.e. what to use if the power goes out) so I use large glass jars so it holds lots of wax. I don’t worry about what they look like. But you can definitely do this and have them look nice!

Some general tips on choosing a good candle container:

• Do not use something like a stemmed wineglass that can easily be knocked over by pets or children or clumsy adults like me. Choose something sturdy with a flat bottom.
• Do not use something that has a narrow top, such as a wine bottle. Why? For one, you’ll have a hard time lighting it once the wick burns down a bit. Also, the smoke will blacken the top of the neck and it won’t look pretty.
• Do use something like a mason jar – either the straight wide mouth type or the regular pint size. The half pint straight edged ones work great for small candles. Plus they have lids to keep them fresh.
• Think beyond clear glass. Amber colored glass or pretty ceramic containers work great as long as they meet the criteria above.

Choosing your candle wicks

If you’re not already a candle maker and have a large variety of wicks at home, you’ll need to purchase some. Etsy is a great place to buy small quantities of wicks. Most candle suppliers only sell wicks in quantities of 100, which is probably way more than you need. The ECO series or CD series are what I would recommend for this project, as they are versatile for different kinds of soy wax.

Candle Science has a great wick guide chart to help you choose the right wick based on your container size. Of course, you won’t know the exact brand of wax use, so I would recommend using the guidelines for Golden Brands 444. If you’re unsure between 2 sizes, go for the larger one. A wick too small will leave the wax along the sides of the container unburned; a wick too big will burn the candle too hotly, which could be dangerous. But my experience is that more often than not, my wick is too small.

Wicking can be a bit difficult, and sometimes it’s just trial and error. Also, pay attention to the height of the wick and be sure the wick you’re buying is at least as tall as your container. It’s fine if the wick is way taller than you need. You can cut it to the height of the top of your container with scissors.

If you plan on repeating this process in the future, take notes on which wick you used and how it burned. If it’s not getting the wax on the sides of the container, go up a wick size. If it’s burning way too hot (i.e. big flame, large pool of melted wax), go down a size.

Two simple methods for melting leftover candles

Ok! We’re ready to melt some wax. Here are two easy ways to take all of your candle scraps and make a new candle. The first thing to do is to melt the wax in your used candles. For this, there is an easy way and an even easier way.

The easy way (that anyone can use) with equipment you mostly already have.

The stovetop double boiler method

Take your candle, and clip off as much as the wick as possible. Try to get all of the black used wick off as this can cause gunk in your new candle. It won’t really affect the burning though. If you can, dig out the metal wick holder from the bottom of the candle (it’s likely glued there so will be sticky) and remove it altogether. If you can’t get it out yet, don’t worry too much about it.

Now, you don’t want your wax to burn, so it’s best to heat it up in water.  Add an inch or two of water to a saucepan and then add your candle to it. You don’t want the water to cover the candle at all, just to be on the outside of it to about a depth of an inch. Slowly heat the saucepan and don’t go any higher than a medium heat. The hot water will melt the wax.

Once it’s melted, it’s ready to pour into your new container. More on that in a bit.

The hot pot / wax melter method

I have one of these wax warmers from Amazon. There’s a tray where you can melt wax melts (these use a different kind of wax then candles – and are a great alternative if you can’t or don’t want to have a live flame in your space). BUT, what makes this one special is that you can remove the wax melt tray and put a candle right onto the hot plate. This allows you to basically treat a candle like a wax melt (which seems a little weird to me). However, it is great for melting that little bit of wax left in your candle. Simply place it on the hot plate, do your thing, and come back and it’s melted!

Prep your containers and adhere your wick

As your wax is melting, get your containers together and adhere your wick. You can do this with a hot glue gun; simply add a bit of glue and stick the wick to the bottom of the container, right in the center. If you don’t have a glue gun or any other type of adhesive, just pour a small amount of melted wax into the bottom of the container, and adhere the wick to that. Let it cool before adding the rest of your wax.

Pour the melted wax into your containers

In order to make a candle out of candle scraps, you’ll need quite a few candle scraps to start with. But don’t worry, you don’t have to do it all at the same time. Each time you have a candle scrap to add, just pour it on top. When your container is full, burn it just like you’d burn any other candle.

Now… what to do with those used candle containers?

Once you’ve melted the wax and poured it into your new container, simply wipe the wax residue out of your old container with a paper towel and wash it in soapy water. Reuse it as a drinking glass, or a catch-all container, or reuse it for candles now that you know what you’re doing.