Recycle Candles by Making Wax Art Candles

If you have old candles that you do not plan on using, or if you have candles that are partially burned but the wick is no good anymore, you can recycle those candles and turn them into pretty wax art candles. Making wax art candles is a fun activity that kids of all ages will enjoy. And the wax candles that you create make wonderful gift to give to friends and relatives. If you don’t have scrap candles on hand, don’t worry. You can pick some up at your local dollar store and use those. You can also buy wax art beads at the craft store, but you will save money by grating your own candles. And grating your own candles is more fun!

Start by gathering up (or purchasing) all the colored candles you can find. You can use any wax candle (even birthday candles) as long as the candles have color all the way through their core. Some candles are only colored on the outside and white on the inside (those are only good if you want white wax in which case you can peel the color off with a potato peeler then just use the white core).

Separate your candles by color then grate them on a food grater (this is a task for adults or older kids). You want the candles to be grated fairly fine, almost powder like. However, some chunks of wax can look nice in your wax art, so leave some of the candles chunky if you want. Small pieces of candles or little candles like birthday candles can be chopping up in a food chopper (the kind with a plunger) or even by using a knife. You can place the different colors of wax in separate zip lock type baggies.

Next, you need to gather up some jars. Just about any jar will do, as long as it has a wide enough opening so there is no danger of the rim of the jar touching the wick. Small jelly jars are good and even baby food jars. If you get really creative you can use a big jar like a pickle jar. You can also use decorative drinking glasses. Just make sure the glass is clear so you can see the colors of your wax art through the glass.

You will also need wicks for your candles. If you grated some actual candles, you can use the wicks that were in those candles. Or you can buy wicks at any craft store or in the craft section of Walmart.

To make your wax art candles, simply layer the different colors of grated wax in the jar. You can tilt the jar as you work so you can make waves of color instead of just stripes. A really fun thing you can do is to press some of the wax into shapes, like wax dots or flower petals, and stick those to the inside of the jar. Then you can fill the jar with the grated wax and your designs will stand out!

After you have filled your jar, take a toothpick (use a skewer for a tall jar) and make a hole in the center of the grated wax. Then just slide your wick into the hole. You can then press down the wax just a bit to make it more firm. If you have a lid for the jar you can put the lid on for safe storage.

If you are giving a wax art candle as a gift, there is no need to wrap it. The art you just created is too pretty to cover up! Just put a ribbon around the jar and attach a gift card. You could also include a box of matches (long matches if you made a tall candle) as part of the gift.

You can make wax art candles for all the holidays. Red and green is perfect for Christmas. Orange and black is great for Halloween. Red and pink is nice for Valentine’s Day. And red, white and blue is fantastic for the 4th of July! Just remember to be careful when using candles. Never leave any candle lit while unattended and only adults should light a candle.

If you like crafts, you will love my other articles. Below are just a few links to some of my favorites:

How to Make Easy Play Clay

How to Prepare Natural Clay for Pottery

2 Glue Recipes: Waterproof Glass Glue and Waterproof Leather Glue

4 Easy Seashell Crafts for Kids