How To Upcycle Old Candles

Don't throw away your old, used candles with leftover wax! Melt them down to make new ones in just a few easy steps!

I'm addicted to candles! I love when my home smells good and I love the warm and homey feel that burning candles brings into it. So when my lovely candles burn down to where they no longer light, I shed a little tear or two. Especially when there is still a layer of waxy goodness at the bottom of the jar. Do you hate to let that go to waste as much as I do? Well wipe away those tears my friends! I'm here to share with you a quick DIY to upcycle those old candles into new ones!

I began by collecting a few old candle jars.

Okay, so it was more than a few.

I just didn't have the heart to throw them away! You know we're all about frugal here.

Let's get down to business......

What you'll need:

Old Candles 

Pot or Double Broiler

New wicks and tabs (Less than $3 for 6 at craft stores, but don't forget to use a 40% off coupon!)

Pencil or Popsicle stick (to hold up the wick)

Oven mitt

How to do it:

1.) Bring water to boil in a medium to large pot or double broiler (Use the ugliest pot you can find. It's what all the cool people do.)

2.) Place candle jar in pot of boiling water. Leave in boiling water until all wax is melted.

3.) Place your new wick in the center of the clean container or jar you will be using. I like to place a small amount of wax at the bottom of the jar before placing my wick tab in. This helps to hold the wick in place (you can also use a glue stick to glob some glue on the bottom).

4.) Pour melted wax into jar. 

This is the final layer of my first jar. I chose to melt the candles separately but I could have melted them all at the same time when using the same scent.  To do that I would've just cut the wax out of each jar (using the method described below) and added them all to one jar to melt.

There are several methods for melting down old candles. I also tried melting my wax in the microwave and got similar results. To do this, cut into your candle with a knife (it should cut very easily) and remove the wax from the jar. Discard the used wick base (tab). 

Continue cutting until your candle wax is broken into pieces.

Place cut up pieces of wax in a microwave safe container. 

Microwave on 50-60% power in 1 minute intervals. This could take anywhere from 5 minutes to 20 minutes if your microwave is a dinosaur like mine. Lightly stir after each interval until your wax is completely melted.

When using different scents, make a layered candle with similar colors and scents. For this candle I grouped together fall and "baking" scents and poured them into my candle in layers. Tip: Notice the little black soot at the bottom of the wax? This is heavier than the wax and sinks to the bottom, making it easy to avoid pouring out or you can easily scoop it out with a spoon before pouring into new jar.

Let each layer cool until hardened (at least 15 minutes) before adding the next layer to prevent the colors and scents from mixing.

Voila! Now you have a beautiful layered candle with some of your favorite scents!
Bonus! Your house will smell SO good when making these!

Additional Tips: 

I bought my initial container at the Dollar Store and then once I had an empty candle jar, I washed that one out and used it for the next candle. That way I was only out a dollar for the first container and for all the others, I was using the previous jar.

To wash out old candle jars. Add a small amount of dish soap and fill jar with boiling water. Allow to sit for 15 minutes and then carefully pour out water. In most cases the jars will now wipe clean with a paper towel. If wax is especially stubborn, a little more dish soap, water and elbow grease should do the trick!

You could really get creative with containers! Mason jars look great and tea cups would look really cute! I have even seen halved fruit peels filled with melted wax. I hear they burn even more fragrantly. 

There you have it! How to melt down your old candles to make new ones! You'll be so proud of yourself for stretching a dollar and your house will smell amazing! It's a win win!

Thanks for stopping by! Do you save your old candles? Have you ever melted them down before? We'd love to hear your tips in the comments!

How to Build a Coffee Table in a Matter of Seconds

The coffee table in my living room is often a topic of conversation for people who come to my home for the first time.  With it's original, aged wood appearance, and it's two-tiered design, it is not like anything most people are used to seeing.  This unique table is one of my favorite pieces in my home for the simple reason that it literally cost me nothing, and even better; took me less than a minute to assemble. With how simple it was to create, I almost feel sheepish accepting compliments on it. Let me show you just how easy it was!

All you will need is two wooden crates. I have seen wood boxes like this priced very reasonably at thrift and antique stores many times. I got lucky a few years back, when on a camping trip, hiking deep within the woods, I stumbled upon a wrecked and long abandoned camping trailer. The license plates years past expiration, the walls all but completely deteriorated, and most of the contents missing or weathered beyond use, it had obviously been long forgotten. Me, being the curious person I am, I decided to take a look around, which ended up being such a great idea! I found so many wonderful and interesting artifacts, many of which I display in my home to this day.  Having been deserted so long, most items were incredibly weathered and rusted, which gave them a very interesting and unique appearance. Two such items were the wooden crates pictured above. I excitedly made my way back to camp with my unexpected loot.

I wasn't entirely sure what I would do with it all, but after getting it home (and giving it all a good scrubbing down), I had the boxes sitting in my living room, and I kept thinking to myself how well they belonged in the room; how nicely they fit in with my decor. Then, suddenly it dawned on me! I had been needing a coffee table for some time, but hadn't been able to find one that I liked that also fit my price range, and my tiny living room. Light bulb! I loved the boxes so much, I decided to turn them into a coffee table, which made the perfect addition to my otherwise lacking front room.

I simply turned the long thin box up-side-down to create the table surface, and turned the smaller box on its side to create the base. I would like to tell you it took more skill on my part, but it really was as effortless as that! I loved the way that it came together; I love the texture of the wood, and the way that it blends so well with the many natural elements in my living room, and how the age of the wood somehow made it look both antique and modern.

To make it easier to transport (I was about a month away from moving into another home), and to keep future changes in design as an option, I chose not to attach the boxes together. Had I decided to  make it a more permanent piece, seconds with a hammer and a few nails would have done the trick!

Having the base of the table be made from an enclosed box brought another interesting design element to the table (no pun intended...okay...maybe a little intended); it created a built-in shelf. I love the versatility that lends to the table. At times I like to leave it open, or occasionally I will create simple vignettes on the bottom shelf to utilize the space and to add some variety to my living room decor.  

Voila! By thinking inside the box, I managed to think outside of the box. With only two materials, and practically no skill required, I was inspired to create a coffee table that I hope in turn inspires you.

Tip Tuesday

Welcome back to Tip Tuesday, where we share our favorite tips with you! This week's tip was completely inspired by the never-too-early glimpses of warmer weather we've been getting lately. Every year when spring has finally sprung, I get a jolt of motivation, and spring into home improvement mode. This beautiful phase full of sunshise and comet usually lasts only until the hot summer sun comes and dries up all my motivation. Like too many wonderful things, it's gone too soon. So I have to take advantage of what little time I have. We're talking serious cleaning and reorganizing, yard face lifts, attempting to plant things that grow, getting out of bed on Sundays-the whole shabang!
The biggest roadblock I've encountered in attaining that perfect(ish) home I'm always striving towards is, and always has been: yardwork! I loathe it! My thumb, like my grass, is definitely not green, and I hate digging around in the dirt. So when I suddenly felt inspired plant things, (even to spruce up the front yard a bit), I quickly got to work, excited about this new challenge.
So in celebration of my temporary insanity, I present to you this week's tip: 

Turn it into a flowerpot!

I wanted to bring some life to my front porch and the inside of my home. I have always been in love with succulents, even more so recently, and heard they were easy to take care of; a major plus. Since I can never seem to be satisfied with the conventional, I didn't want to plant them in just ordinary flower pots. So I set out shopping in my own home, thrift stores, and at my go-to discount stores to find cute little containers to plant my plants in. I found so many fun alternatives to flower pots, I had to restrain myself from buying more (after already going way over my budget on just the plants). These were some of my favorite finds:

Not too bad! Give or take a few cents on the bowl from Gordman's. By the way, if you join their mailing list, they regularly send out 20% off coupons. The small plate under the bowl I got at Thai Pan (who also sends out amazing coupons if you sign up) on clearance for $.99. The Candy Dish (originally from a thrift store) was a milky white, but a quick coat of white spray paint on the outside (not the inside! Plants don't care for spray paint!) gave it that nice solid white color. The plant stand, amazingly, was a thrift store find I scored for a whopping $2. The price tag was what made the hour of intense cleanup I had to do to make it usable well worth the effort! 
All of the succulents were from Home Depot, who has an incredible selection and great prices. The only thing to look out for when omitting flower pots is overwatering- since there is no drainage, take extra care to not water more than needed. Pst! If you are like me, and have a knack for killing plants, artificial is honestly a great way to go with succulents. Since they naturally have a somewhat of an artificial look, it makes it much easier to cheat. We won't tell!

Thanks for stopping by! We hope we've helped you to think outside the flowerpot. Join us weekly for Tip Tuesdays, as we pass our favorite tips on to you!