Homemade Candles.

Today I did the unimaginable and actually took out that old leftover candle wax I had been saving for two hundred years. Yes I did. I breathed new life into those dirty pieces of wax that were taking up space in my shop and my brain, and I finally brought them into their destiny…to be made into new candles!

First I dumped a bunch of ugly green, and white pieces into an aluminum bowl and stuck it into a warm oven. I had glanced at some candlemaking directions online, and most of them said to heat the wax in a double boiler. But you know me, I don’t follow directions very well. That seemed way too slow and messy. So I started the oven at about 350 degrees and then increased it just a litttle until more of the wax was melted. At that point, I lowered the heat to keep the candle wax from catching fire, or smoking. Meanwhile I put “wicks” inside each container that I planned to fill. I didn’t have real wick, so I took some plain old string and attached it to a pencil, then hung it in the middle of each vase.  After about four hours, the wax was melted and ready to pour. I strained it throug a coffee filter to remove the debris, and at that point, I got really happy, so I dropped in some essential oils to make it smell like lavendar and basil. It smelled so fresh and earthy, as I poured the hot liquid wax into my waiting vases.

And Voila! There they were! Beautiful new candles! They turned out even prettier than I thought they would be. When I gathered the old pieces of wax, I intentially put whites and greens together, but I didn’t expect this pretty color to emerge. Look at that lovely sage color! I am so happy.

Now…for the real test.

Will they burn?

I didn’t waste much time after they had hardened, before I lit one.

And to my surprised wonderment and delight, it burned beautiful and bright.

How about you? Have you ever made your own candles from old wax pieces, or otherwise? What was your experience? I’d love to know your thoughts and tips on this!

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