Getting to the bottom of those very expensive candle jars....

I'm a sucker for candles.  Give me a gorgeously scented candle and I'm like a pig in muck, but I hate the fact that those very well known scented candles that come in glass jars don't burn down to the bottom!  This is how I get the most from mine......

Your favourite candle has burnt down.  There's a centimetre of luscious, scented wax at the bottom but because the wick has burnt right down it's trapped there, destined for the bin.  It's easy to get those last precious drops out.


Gently put the candle jar into a pan.  Add water so that the water sits about half way up the jar.  Gently heat the pan of water up to simmering point.  Now you can decant the scented wax into a new container, with a new wick.

I bought these tea lights from Ikea.  I like them because they come apart into their componant parts easily.

Of course candle making supplies are readily available in craft shops and online, but as i had these lying around I used them.  I took the candle out of its foil casing, taking care not to damage the case as I'm going to use that as my new mould, then removed the wick from the centre of the candle. (I'll melt the wax discs down later for another project).VERY CAREFULLY I removed the jar of molten wax from the pan of water.  I poured a drop of wax into the centre of the foil case and placed the wick onto it.  Once it cools a little, this keeps the wick centred while you carefully pour in the rest of the scented wax.

I'll leave these now for around 24 hours at room temperature to set hard before I use them.  The centimetre of wax in the bottom of my tiny glass jar gave me 2 tea lights.  At a conservative estimate a tea light will burn for 3 hours, so I've got around 6 hours of scented enjoyment still to come from a candle that was destined for the bin.