Recycle used chunky candles by making your own. Melt down your leftovers double boiler style (never leave during this process), then dip the end of a new taper candle into this melted wax. Immediately place it into a clean wax-type half gallon milk carton and let it harden, making sure to keep it centered. Take other used tapers and break them into pieces, then place into the carton around the taper. Pour your melted wax in next and let it harden, then cut a slit in the top of the carton and tear it off. The result is a beautiful new candle that cost very little.
By Patricia from Imperial, NE
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I do this all the time with the leftover wax from all of my candles. I buy old tapers at yardsales or funny colors that are on clearance really cheap at stores. I surround them with leftover wax from previously burned candles. Sometimes I make them in used jars or cans rather than milk cartons. It's a great way to recycle the leftover wax.
I made candles similar to these back around 1975. You'd dump ice chips into the milk carton and pour the candle wax over that. The result was square, but very "holy" and lumpy candles. They looked pretty nice and were very popular at the time.
Sand candles were really big at that time, too.
We made these candles in Homemaking. Using crayons to color the wax, and using a oldtime hand beater to whip-up the wax. Putting it on the outside of the candles made a very pretty candle.
This is a great idea, and my mother used to do this all the time about 40 yrs ago. The trouble with it now, at least in this area, is that those milk jugs like you are talking about are hard to find!
I did this with the Cub Scouts years ago. Thanks for the memories.
I remember making milk carton candles in the 50's with my grandmother every year. Over Thanksgiving weekend we would make up bunches of them and they would go on top of fruit and nut baskets to be given out as Christmas gifts. She kept a box full of the baskets in the trunk of her car and handed them out to friends, family and total strangers she felt needed a lift or a smile.
She used the plain gulf wax to pour the candles. After they had set we would whip more wax and put the fluffy coating on the outside. We colored them pink, pale green, yellow or white. Each was sprinkled with a dab of colorful glitter and a flocked poinsettia blossom was added for design.
You can't find the half gallon milk cartons in most places but you can usually find them in the juice section. OJ & apple juices frequently come in the same waxed cartons.
The memories! We never burned candles as children, but we always had wax on hand that was used for canning.
My mother would save milk cartons of various sizes, rinsing them out and letting them dry. Then, she would melt paraffin wax on the stove, and we would fill each cardboard carton with regular ice cubes, and a candlewick. Then, my mom would pour the melted paraffin wax over the ice cubes and the candlewick, and we let it set, then we poured the melted ice cubes (water) out of the container, and let it dry. We burned these candles during the Holiday Season.
I made a couple of these candles several years ago for my husband. Thanks for the memories.
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