Color glass candle DIY

In this color glass candle DIY I am going to show you how I made these amazing candles in vintage goblets from the thrift store. But first I wanted to touch on two points that are very important to me and why.

The first idea is buying things second hand wherever possible. Why is this important is probably obvious but so many of us do not do this. So if you are someone who is happy to buy things second hand I say be proud of that! It is good for the planet.

Second is the idea that it is important to make things ourselves when we can. I think there is some science to back this up but my proof is in how I feel when I make something. I believe that it connects us with our basic humanness and making things with our hands can be incredibly satisfying. So if you are making this craft or anything with your hands that is something to be celebrated.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love a good thrift shop treasure hunt. I collected these color glass goblets over a period of months and I was not really sure what I would do with them. They would be good as a mismatched set on the dinner table or as fancy glasses when having a drink with friends. But when thinking about what to use for some scented candles these make the perfect vessels. And after the candle is burned down they can be reused for drinking or holding smaller votive candles.

Supplies:

Wax*
Wicks with metal disc
Candle thermometer
wax color or crayons
Candle scent
Color goblets
Double boiler pots for candlemaking
Chopsticks or other stick for holding wicks in place
Glass measuring cup with spout
Heat gun (optional)
Packaging (optional – see end of post)

*I used paraffin wax that I bought second hand and also used candle wax. If you use old candles just make sure to separate out the wicks and any soot from your used candles. You can also buy other waxes like soy, beeswax and combination pellets if you wish.

I am no expert at candle making but I have finally done it enough to show you how to have some success with it. The first thing to do is clean your vessels out and dry them off. Add your wick with a bit of hot glue to the bottom center of the goblet.

Get your goblets with the wicks in them and add a stick to each vessel to hold the wick in the center as you pour your hot wax. You can see in this photos that the wicks want to flop over to one side.

If you are using crayons to color your wax create some fine shavings so that it will melt quickly.

Add water to your double boiler and melt your wax over medium heat. Add your wax color or crayon shavings.

Occasionally stir your wax and once your wax has melted and your color is dissolved remove it from the heat. If you feel comfortable pouring the wax from your double boiler pot you can do that but I find it helpful to transfer the melted wax into a heatproof glass measuring cup with a spout. Measure the temperature of your wax – it should be between 125 degrees and 135 degrees.

Slowly pour your hot wax into your goblet. Go as slow as you can so the wax doesn’t splash. As you can see I had to add some tape to hold my chop sticks in place. Adjust the wicks to be sure they are in the center of the candle after you pour the wax. Let the wax cool undisturbed until it is solid – at least and hour. Larger vessels will need more time to cool.

Trim your wicks to no less than 1/2″ above the wax – longer is better. These should be trimmed before burning. I made several color wax candles to match my glassware. You can see that as the wax cools it may get sink holes or pits. This happens when the wax cools too quickly. I have not been able to prevent this in my own experience even after following wall the tips from the pros. These are perfectly fine in their imperfect state but if you are giving these as gifts or just want them to look better we can improve them.

If you have access to a heat gun I would recommend that you use this method to smooth the top of your candles. You cannot use a hairdryer because it will blow the melted wax all over the place and make a mess. Put the heat gun on a medium setting and aim it at the top of the candle until the wax on top melts. You may have to poke a stick into any air bubbles and apply the heat gun more than once to get the smooth top.

The second method to re-melt some of your wax and top off your candle to fill in the sunken parts.

Here are the finished candles with the tops smoothed. I love seeing the sunlight filter through the glass. They are so dreamy!

Since I will be giving these as gifts I am adding some finishing steps to create some packaging. Using some fancy scrapbook stock paper I create round disks for the top of the candle. This protects the top of the wax and is removed before burning.

Find a round object that fits inside the candle. Trace and cut out the circle on your decorative paper.

Cut out a hole or a star as I did. This is where the wick will pop through.

I made some custom tags by printing on card stock and gluing the paper.

Tie it all up in a cellophane bag with a ribbon and the tag.

I think these make a really cute gift for Mother’s Day or for a birthday. I hope that you try this color glass candle DIY yourself. 🙂