Have you ever wondered what to do with all the old bits of melted candle that are left after the wick burns down? Melt them together and make your own fantastic new candles!

They make great gifts, are easy and fun to make and there’s very little preparation. Add colour and a few drops of your favourite natural essential oils to create beautifully scented candles.

To remake your candles you will need:

• Collection of old candles or wax


• Pouring pots


• Moulds/glass jars


• Wax dye/wax crayons


• Natural Essential oils


• Old spoon


• Double boiler (don’t worry if you don’t have this)

Don’t worry if you haven’t got one, you can just use an old pan placed inside a larger pan, but make sure it has high sides or else you will make a mess, I find an old milk pan works well and it has a lip for pouring.

Fill the larger pan with water so that it is about two thirds of the way up the smaller pan and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and leave to simmer.

Step 2) Find a candle mould

Unless you are a professional candle maker I wouldn’t invest in a mould instead just use old glasses, mugs, and aluminium tins (smooth tins only as the ridges can make it difficult to get your finished candle out). When selecting your mould try and go for containers that are slightly wider than the base – otherwise you could have problems getting the candle out when it’s set.

Step 3) Prepare the candle mould

Wash and dry your containers and grease with a little vegetable oil.  Add your wick. You can either make your own wicks from cotton string, or you can buy specially prepared wicks.  Attach the wick to a stick or pencil and hang over your mould so that the wick reaches to the bottom.

Step 4) Prepare old wax

Gather together your old pieces of candle wax, remove any old pieces of wick. Break up the wax using either a knife or a hammer. Separate out the different colours of wax into similar shades, if you try and mix together different colours sadly you wont end up with an awesome Bear Vasquez double rainbow candle but more likely a sludge brown candle!

Step 5) Melt the wax

Leave the wax to melt over a medium heat. Stir occasionally with an old spoon. Remember not to leave the wax unattended as it’s flammable.  Once the wax starts to melt you can add some dye or even an old wax crayon to give it colour and a few drops of natural essential oil, you can find a large range of essential oils for sale at www.ethicalcommunity.com

Step 6) Pour out candle wax into moulds

Pour the candle wax into the moulds and let it cool for about six hours. Keep checking on the candles.  You will notice that the centre may start to sink. If so, you might want to top them up occasionally with more melted wax.

Step 7) remove candle and enjoy

To remove your up cycled candle simply turn the container upside down and give it a short sharp tap, the candle should come out easily if not you can submerge the candle in warm water, this melts the outside wax and the candle should come free easily. Enjoy!