Baby Food Jar Projects: Soy Candle Place Cards

So I've never really had the urge to make a candle, but I have all these baby food jars and the fabric tea lights were so popular, I thought I'd give it a shot.  It's crazy easy, you can buy everything you need at Michael's or Amazon cheaply, and the result is a super-posh way to recycle baby food jars into fun party place cards that will make everyone think you are some sort of crafty wizard.

Hey thanks OhDeeDoh for the post today!
and thanks to Re-Nest too!

For all the baby food jar projects we've posted so far click here, and stay tuned because we have so many more to share!

Get the how-to after the jump...


1.  Get your baby food jars nice and clean.  If you don't have Goo Gone
you should get some because it's amazing for getting off gunky stuff like old labels:

2.  Buy some pre-waxed wicks with clips and hot glue them to the center of your jars:

3. Buy Microwaveable Soy Wax, a pound will get you about 4-5 baby food jar candles.  Put some in a microwavable container and heat it in 30 second increments until it is completely melted. I started with a ramekin, but it wasn't big enough, see:

it melted down

and only filled my candle this high:

So i used a big gravy boat after that.

4.  Once you have your melted wax you can add some color if you want.  You can buy color bits that you mix in at this point, but I like the look of all-natural soy so I didn't.  Then let your wax cool a little bit, until it gets a little more milky looking but still totally liquid, and add some nice smells.  I bought some candle scent at Michael's because "Pear Berry" sounded good.  It was so nasty I almost hurled, so I decided to experiment with the contents of my kitchen:

The peppermint extract smelled really nice going in but it also bubbled and fizzed.  Not sure what that means.  The coffee extract looked really cute because it separated from the oil and left brown specks in my candle, but as the candle sat to cool they all floated to the top and it looked disgusting:

The best success was this bottle of coconut oil (it's in a solid state because it's cold in my house) that I got in Thailand ten years ago and have not been able to part with because the bottle is so cute.  I also credit this stuff with saving me from stretch marks during pregnancy.  I just mixed some of this in with the hot wax and the candle smells coconut-y delicious.  Moral of the story is oil is the way to go for scenting your candles.

5. Pour the wax into your baby food jars, avoiding pouring it right on the wick.  You can throw in some decorative stuff (that doesn't burn) like rocks or shells, but i kept it simple:

If your wick is not standing straight up (the pre-waxed ones usually will) you can grab a couple knives or skewers and use them to prop the wick in place while your candle cools.  You don't want the wick off to the side where it will burn the glass:

6.  Let them cool for 12-24 hours, trim the wicks down and then add your name labels and a little ric rac or ribbon:

Prudent Price:

12 wicks - $1.57 (.13/wick)

1 pound wax - $8.99

Total per candle: $1.93