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How to: Give Old Candles New Life

by on May 3, 2016

Photo: Ashley Lee

The glow of a candle in a pretty tin brings an instant coziness factor to hanging out at home; no Lazy Sunday is complete without TV binges on the couch and a sweet scent burning away. Throwing away the containers feels wasteful, but repurposing an un-light-able, waxy mess doesn’t seem too fun either – but here is where the good news comes in. With boiling water, paper towels, and a little bit of ingenuity, these tins are easily repurposed.

Here’s what you’ll need to repurpose your candle tins:

Materials

 

  • Empty candle containers (we cleaned out this tin from Anthropologie)
  • Boiling water
  • Paper towels
  • Bathroom toiletries, first aid or cosmetics
  • Markers, pens or other office supplies
  • Cactus, succulent or small herb plant (visit your local florist!)

Materials Tins and Plant

 

Step

Boil Water Removal
Photo: Ashley Lee

Messy

Bring water to a rolling boil, then pour into containers. Let water cool, pour wax and water mixture into the trash, and wipe clean with a paper towel. Sometimes the wax won’t completely come out right away – that’s alright! Try a second round of boiling water, and repeat as necessary until you have a clean vessel to work with.

Step

Clean Tin

Squeaky clean? Sweet! Let’s get to the fun stuff.

As it turns out, these cans make adorable planters. Take your greenery of choice, gently nestle into your container with enough soil for proper care, and if you’d like, add some decorative elements to cover your soil.

Plant

Into multi-functional indoor gardens? Fill several containers with different types of herbs for a quirky indoor herb garden to display along your kitchen windowsill.

Step

These containers also make lovely pen cups and craft supply storage. How at home does this look amongst washi tape rolls and paints?

Pen cup

Pro tip: Smaller vessels (like these sweet $6 candles from Target) make for great storage for paper clips, thumb tacks and binder clips!

Cleaned out candle tins are also great for prettying up a bathroom counter. Get those cotton balls out of the cabinet and into a container, stat. Makeup, floss, first aid items and other small bathrooms necessities will fit right in here.


From burned out container to new decor in an hour’s time: doesn’t get better than that!

Bathroom Container Candle Tin
Photo: Ashley Lee

 

PinImage Candle Tins

 

Looking for more upcycling projects? Take a look at our latest and greatest!

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