Last spring, I made candles for the first time as part of my Adventures in Homesteading series. While it was easy and fun, the forms I spent on those candles were pretty spendy. Today I’d like to share a way of making candles that’s not only less expensive, I think it’s easier (and cuter!).
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Candle wax (I used soy candle wax – it’s easy to work with!)
- Old baby food jars, cleaned (one tub of soy candle wax fills five stage-2 size jars)
- Wicks (make sure they are for soy candles if you’re using soy!)
- Tacky wax
- Fragrance & color (optional)
- Decorations for your jars such as ribbon, lace, stickers, etc. (optional)
The next part is to affix your wicks. I found these very easy to use wicks at my local Michael’s store (sold in a 12 pack). It’s important if you’re using soy wax (as I am in today’s post) that your wicks are for soy candles. I used a bit of tacky wax to affix each wick to the bottom of the jar.
Now, I’m using soy wax for today’s post because it’s easy to use, and also practically speaking, because I had a bunch left over from my candle making project back in April! If you’ve never made candles before, it’s a great entry. You simply melt the flakes over your stove or your microwave! A 1 lb tub will run you about $8-9 at Michaels, but you can always use one of the 40% off coupons they regularly put out in the weekly ad to help offset the cost. (Another option? Amazon, of course!)
Here’s what the soy flakes look like:
I microwaved mine for this project and it worked out really well! Just nuke for 30-60 seconds at a time, stirring after each interval. When it’s all melted and clear, you’ll know you’re ready to roll. At this point, you could add some fragrance if you want. I opted to add lavender (also found at Michaels).
Pour into your baby food jars. Careful – it’s hot! I propped up my wicks a bit using butter knives as they were tilted off to the side. I left them in place until the wax had hardened.
I then went for a three mile run and when I came back, my candles were nearly done!
Once the jars are cool, you can decorate them! (My favorite part.) You have a couple routes you could go for this part. You could use ribbon and Mod Podge, or you could use some stickers, or any combination of fun doodads, really. Check out these awesome stickers I found at Fred Meyer!
See that Smash tape? It’s really, really awesome. It’s like a thick tape with a design on it. I thought it would be perfect for this project. So make sure to poke around the crafting and scrapbooking section of your Fred Meyer store for ideas, too!
If you’re going the Mod Podge route, well then, the sky’s the limit! Make your own labels, find any sort of ribbon you have laying around and voila, there you go! (And by the way, if you’ve not discovered Mod Podge yet, you’re missing out – the stuff is AWESOME! You’ll also find it at Fred Meyer.)
Once all your decorations are dry and you’re ready to light your candles, make sure to trim down the wicks.
This project is easy, not terribly expensive, and it’s also surprisingly quick! I think this project would be a perfect introduction to candle making or a fun project for baby shower gifts, small wedding or party favors, or to decorate your home. I hope you’ll give it a try!
For more on this series, see my Love: in a Jar page. Watch this Friday for another craft involving baby food jars!
Bought at Fred Meyer for this post: Mod Podge, Stage-2 Baby Food Jars, Stickers, Mash Decor Tape.
Disclosure: Fred Meyer has not compensated me to run this series, but has teamed with me by providing me with store credit to use to purchase and highlight items throughout this series. All opinions expressed are my own. For more information on how this site makes (and does not make) money, there’s no mystery there – just visit my Disclosure Policy.
I save all my wax from the ends of all the candles and then remelt them into new candles (you don’t waste and its cheaper than buying new wax). We have also made candles in cookie cutters as Xmas gifts.
Hi Wendi I would Love! To know how! To make Candles using Cookie cutters!! Please! Will you email me back with how to make these! I think they would be fun for Christmas gifts! 😀 God bless you! And Thanks!!!!! Deb.
I am so ridiculously excited about these little gems! I save all of the jars from the cheap Glade candles I’ve gotten throughout my couponing adventures. I’ve been getting quite the stack and I never wanted to just toss them because they are so nice. I never knew how easy candlemaking could be but now I can just refill them and cross dozens of people off the Christmas list! I have often accused my other half as being a garage “jar hoarder” for nails and other such items that never make it into them but now it seems I’m going to have to humbly apologize and thank him instead! This jar series is definitely in my top 10 Coupon Project favorites!
Too cute! I use a little of the sugar/olive oil scrub to remove the residual label adhesive from jars.
What a great post! I’m excited to try this on my own! As for removal of the goo, I’ve always used nail polish remover. The acetone in it that removes the polish also takes care of the sticky goo.
THANK YOU! I will try that next time!
I am constantly reusing old jars, and I have found the least painful way to remove that sticky residue is Lemon Essential oil, just one drop on the sticky area and rub it in, it eats it away in no time, and it is non toxic!
I just cleaned about 95 jars. I bought goo gone. I sprayed it on, waited 2-3 minutes and it wiped right off with a clean dry paper towel.
Angela
Lighter fluid takes off the glue from labels and stickers. = )
Oh good tip – thank you!!
We use Oxiclean and hot hot water to soak the glue/labels off the baby food jars. 🙂
Good tip!
Are all baby food jars heat resistant? I bought some soy beads and wicks and set up the candle, but I am really nervous about lighting it now! Mine are Earth’s Best jars. I couldn’t find much info online about it.
I use a hand held hair dryer to remove labels from a lot of items. After the glue heats up start slowly peeling the label off.
I am at a loss as to how much wax to purchase. Looks like we are going to make about 100 jars – mixed sizes but mostly stage 2 jars (probably 75%) and then some stage 1 and some stage 3. I have no idea how the wax melts down — and what the yeild is like. I can find it online (we have no Michaels nearby) and it comes in 10# and 25# bags.
Silicone spray …. you get it at an autoparts store…. Removes all stickers easily…… Just dont put on areas your planning on painting unless you clean the area really well…. otherwise paint wont stick
I take a shallow broiler pan & cover the bottom with Goo B Gone. After removing the label, I roll the jar a bit to ensure the area with the adhesive residue is saturated with the solution and let this sticky area (it is usually only on one side if jar) sit in the solution overnight. Then take a wash cloth and wipe the outside of jar. At this point, the sticky residue easily wipes off with little effort. Finish them up in the dishwasher to remove the Goo B Gone. It takes times but with little effort. If you want to be frugal, you can save the Goo B Gone from the broiler pan in a small plastic container and reuse the next time.
I soak mine in hot soapy water and then use a generic SOS pad to scrub it off. If you try doing it without soaking first it takes much longer.
For fragrance do you think you could use perfume or body spray? I wasn’t sure of the chemical reaction.
Thanks!
Hi! I’m making 180 of these as wedding favours and I used ‘goof-off’ and it worked beautifully to get the label glue off! My initial attempts of hot soapy water, scouring, windex and the dishwasher were futile. The ‘goof-off’ wiped it off instantly and then I rewashed them!
Would it be ok to add food color?