Candle Holders - Amazing Easy DIY That Will Make You Look Crafty

Do you feel guilty throwing away perfectly good glass candle holders after your candles have burned down to nothing? Here, I will show you how to quickly and easily clean and repurpose your used candle jars into candle holders for votives or tea lights.

If you’re like me, you aren’t particularly wild about DIY. Perhaps you don’t have the time, patience, or both to make the beautiful creations found all over Pinterest. Repurposing candle holders is a hot topic on Pinterest, and there are some fabulous projects by some truly talented individuals. Later in the post, I will share links to some of the interesting projects I found on Pinterest that look quick, easy, and irresistable.

That’s my kind of project – how about you?

I love Bath and Body Works candles, and have been buying them for years. Until now, I have always thrown out the jar and its lid, feeling a little guilty each time. A couple of the ones I’ve burned lately were limited edition scents, in decorative jars rather than the traditional clear glass. One in particular, in a pearlized glass, housed my favorite holiday scent – “Fresh Balsam”.

Before throwing this one out, as I would normally do, I stopped myself. “This one is too nice to just throw away,” I thought. Then, I began to consider how I could repurpose the jar. Perhaps I could at least use it to hold another, smaller candle?

So, I decided to give it a try. I told myself that if the label came off without too much headache, and if the jar could be cleaned fairly easily, I would proceed.

Remove the Label

First, simply peel off the label. Let me tell you, this was much easier than I anticipated. No soaking, rubbing alcohol, or other chemicals required. Quick and easy, it just peeled right off of my jar.

Since this was my first attempt at this, I cannot be sure if it was beginner’s luck, or if all of the labels come off this easily. I actually removed labels from two jars, both with the same result. So far, so good – so give it a try!

Remove the Wax & Clean the Jar

Next, remove the remaining wax from the used candle. Just use a butter knife, passing it around the sides of the jar to to loosen the wax.

Then, using the butter knife, break up the wax all around the interior of the jar.

When you are finished, the jar will look like this:

Then, just rinse the jar with hot water and place it in the dishwasher – it comes out like new!

For the candle holders I made, the labels came off easily and the wax was soft and pliable. If your label and wax are more stubborn, take a look at these tips here and here.

Also, for my candle jars the wicks came out easily on one, while they were stuck to the bottom of the other. For my project, I just left them there, since they weren’t in the way of my votive or tea light candles. To remove them, fill the jar with hot water and let sit for a while. Then, pry the wick off with a knife or fork.

Candle Holders for Votives or Tea Lights

With these simple steps, you can transform your used decorative candle jars into attractive candle holders for votives or tea lights.

These are ideal candle holders for unscented votives or tea lights to burn in the kitchen or dining room during a dinner party, when you want to avoid using a scented candle.

The jar pictured below was a beautiful opaque glass holder with a marble finish – definitely too pretty to throw away!

These repurposed candle holders look so lovely illuminated by the votives and tea lights. You can see that each one gives a unique, but equally pretty effect.

When young children are around, you could achieve the same effect by using flameless candles instead of burning traditional ones.

Traditional votive candle on the left, with traditional tea light on the right.

Inspiration for Repurposing Clear Glass Candle Holders

After the success of my modest repurposing project, I decided to search for more inspiration. One search on Pinterest, and a treasure trove of ideas is at your fingertips. Clear glass jars can also be transformed into beautiful creations!

Now, I’ll say it again – I’m not crafty…oh, no… I don’t have the patience for most DIY projects. I’d rather shop than craft, sorry not sorry!

Well, I will never say never, because I have been known to gold leaf a thing or two, but I’ll save that for another post!

Seasonal Candles

Honestly though, once in a while an easy, quick, and uncomplicated project comes along that I can’t resist, like this Snow-Kissed Candle Holder that I think you will love for the holidays.

Decorative Jars

If you are feeling a bit more creative, you can decorate clear glass candle jars with paint for some fabulous looking designs.

Candy Jars

This idea to repurpose candle jars into candy jar gifts is adorable, don’t you think?

And I love this idea for a small candy jar that would be just perfect to keep on your kitchen counter. This may be another project I’ll have to try!

Frosted Candle Holders

Don’t you love the texture and finish of the pearlized and frosted glass candle holders? Candles look so pretty in them! Wouldn’t it be fairly easy to transform the plain, clear jars by using frosted glass spray paint? I began searching for some ideas on this topic, and found this informative video.

I have not tried this technique yet, but when I do I will definitely share my results with you – I am obsessed with the polka dot design!

Feeling Inspired to Repurpose Your Used Candle Holders?

So, you see, you don’t have to be super-crafty to create something beautiful and useful from those old candle jars! With these quick and easy projects, you can create votive or tea light holders, holiday “snow-kissed” candle holders, decorative storage jars for gifts or candy, or frosted glass candle holders. These projects seem fairly uncomplicated and do-able, don’t they?

Feeling inspired to repurpose your candle jars? Here are a countless number of creative ideas – let me know which ones you try!