Candles to Vases

Do you burn candles at home? Okay, silly question.  How many candles do you burn at home? 

If you're like me - the answer is a lot, much to Boo's dismay.  And many are housed in beautiful glass jars. So it seems silly (to me) to throw these out once the candle has burned its last flame.  Often some of the appeal of a candle is actually the jar its housed in. What to do with these? The answer is simple: re-purpose! Glass jars into vases...brilliant. 

My all time favorite candle is made by Lafco (Powder Room - Duchess Peony) and costs a pricey $55...but it's $55 well spent, especially when the glass jar becomes my newest favorite vase for flowers.  After all, who doesn't love those short, chubby floral arrangements at weddings? I much prefer them to tall arrangements.  How about you?

I found this beauty at my wedding venue:

Tools you'll need:

1 used candle housed in a glass jar

Soapy water (amount will depend on size of jar)

24 hours to let the jar sit

1 plastic spoon (you can use stainless steel, but plastic works just fine and this way you avoid wax on your eating utensils)

Flowers of your choosing 

Measuring tape or ruler 

1 pair of scissors 

Optional: dishwasher 

Directions:

1. When a candle is no longer able to burn, fill the jar to the top with warm soapy water

2. Let sit in the sink at least 24 hours (this helps to cleanly release all residual wax, especially on the bottom at the base of the wick)

3. Rinse the jar and remove any leftover wax (there really shouldn't be too much, but if there is, just use the spoon to release) then rinse again 

4. You may wish to run the jar through the dishwasher, but this is optional - just be sure this is not your first step as you do not want wax in your dishwasher

5. Measure the height of the jar and cut flowers to an appropriate length (I usually like about a half inch or so of stem above the top of the vase which makes the flowers really pop, but cut to your taste

My finished product with yellow roses:

I literally cannot tell you the last time I bought "borrowed" a vase from my mom.  I just have not found myself needing them after this handy DIY. 

What other household items do you like to re-purpose? I'd love to hear (and see!) your projects, especially how you choose to arrange your flowers. Hope you enjoy...

xx,

The Future Mrs. Wolf