DIY Vintage Glass Candles (Using Old Pillar Candles)
DIY vintage glass candles, hacked from the pages of an old Pottery Barn catalog using thrift store glasses and wax from old pillar candles.
Yield: 3 candles
Calories:
Cost: 3.50
Equipment
- A dedicated pot and cup with spout and handle for melting and pouring wax
- Small dowels or chopsticks for holding wicks in place
- Tape to hold wicks upright
Materials
- Wicks and holders
- Old pillar candles (or store-bought candle wax)
- Thrift store glass cups or goblets
Instructions
- Gather your old pillar candles and cut them up, discarding the old wicks.**It’s long bothered me about what to do with pillar candles that are lopsided and don’t hold a light anymore – or worse, drip wax all over the place – but are still quite large, so I love the idea of remelting them.**Note: You don’t have to reuse candle wax – it’s easy to find at a craft store. Buy a slab of it and chip off pieces to melt in the pan, continuing with the directions after cutting up pillar candles.To cut the pillars into smaller pieces, you can use a serrated knife with a lot of arm strength and it will work.
- Optional: use a miter saw to cut the pillars into fourths.This should be done with full approval of everyone who uses the saw, ’cause the wax will go flying and coat the blade. And little pieces of wax go everywhere – oh, did I already mention that? Be prepared.
- Different texture of candle centers.This is why the wax was flying with the power saw – some pillar candle insides are composed of rice-like textured wax (on the left in the photo) and some are solid wax all the way through. I thought the weirdly textured candles might not melt as nicely as the solid wax. Guess what I found? They all melt down beautifully – no matter what the insides looked like. Another vote for reusing.
- Melt the candle pieces in an old saucepan.
- Attach wicks to holders, if needed.Some, like mine, will need to be attached using needle nose pliers or however the directions suggest. There are also wicks with holders already attached, but they come in only one size so wouldn’t work with taller goblets.
- Place a wick/holder in each glass, tape it to a chopstick resting across the top of the glass and carefully pour in the melted wax.Use a steady hand and pour towards the center of the glass to avoid getting wax on the top edges of the glass (but try not to get wax on the wick).
- Use another piece of tape.If needed, on the stick and the glass edge to hold the wick in an upright, straight position as the wax dries.
- Let harden until wax looks solid without moving the glasses.This is important, so make sure the glasses are in a place where they won’t be disturbed for a few hours before you start pouring the melted wax.
