Easy DIY Candles Using Thrifted Finds

I love a good upcycle! Come see how I made beautiful custom candles using thrifted finds and what I had on hand. 

Hiii guys! Happy Family Day! Last night, after Liyana went to sleep and my husband left to hang out with his friends, I decided to do a quick DIY.

Two weeks ago, I went to Value Village and bought some beautiful silverware and ceramic pottery for only $10! You can check out my shopping trip in my Instagram highlights. When I saw these beauties in the Value Village aisles, I knew they had a greater destiny than just sitting on the shelf. So here we are on a Sunday night, making these DIY candles with thrifted items and old candles. 

A few months ago, I had purchased some beeswax from Amazon in hopes of making Beeswax wraps – but… I never got around to it, so I decided to use it to make these candles instead! However, I didn’t have enough so… I reused my old candles! This the perfect opportunity to collect all our old candles, blow off the dust and turn them into a beautiful new candle.

I think these are such a PERFECT item to gift to someone, whether it is for a birthday, housewarming, or even just a “Thinking of You” gift. What really makes them unique and special is that you can use any container: old silverware, cute glassware, character pieces like vintage teacups and small tins. The possibilities are totally endless with this thrifted DIY! Best part about this, it’s cheap on the wallet, custom candles like this can retail for $30-$40 each. I would estimate the cost of these candles to be under $7 depending on the wax and container you use – That is why I love a good thrifted DIY! 

What you need to make thrifted DIY Candles:

1. Wax – You can use old candles, new wax or I did a combination of both
2. Thrifted containers or old containers you have around the house 
3. Wicks – I bought this 100 pack from amazon, as I plan to make these to give as handmade gifts!
4. Hot glue/Glue gun
5. Some pencils to level the wicks

How to make thrifted DIY Candles:

1. Make sure your containers are clean,
2. Next use the pencils to wrap the wicks around them, put a drop of hot glue in the bottom of the container and hold your wick centered until dry.
3. Create a hot water bath in a saucepan or pot and let your water come to a simmer.
4. In a second steel bowl or container, that you’ll put on top of the water bath as a double boiler, put your wax in to start melting. If you are melting an old candle, you can either plop the candle straight into the hot water or pop the candle in the freezer for 20 minutes, scrape the wax out and then melt that. It’s really your call – both are super easy.
5. Once the wax is melted, carefully use tongs or mitts to lift your bowl of melted wax out of the water bath.
6. Carefully pour the wax into the containers of choice and let them harden over night

I did this DIY on a Sunday night, so there aren’t very many good pictures, but there are videos you can check out here

These turned out pretty darn cute, and because I love styling and Spring is JUST around the corner… I styled them for Spring and also added one to our guest room next to this sign I made

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