Creating New Life for Our "Already Loved" Candle Vessels
Back in April 2023, we wrote a blog about repurposing our candle vessels. In that blog, we mentioned several fun ideas for creating new ways to use our glass candle vessels and our travel tins once you are done with the candle.
We loved the succulent idea so much that we jumped on the opportunity to participate in a “Sips & Succulents” workshop hosted by Gather Studio & Events at Loomis Basin Brewery. Heck, what’s not to love about gathering together, drinking really good, local craft beer while creating an amazing succent box? (Sidenote: We took our first candle making class in 2021 with Gather Studio & Events prior to launching Mandala Moon Candle Company . . . we are sensing a trend!)
After becoming self-proclaimed masters at succulent planting, we moved to our next task . . . cleaning out our ‘old’ candle vessels to prepare them for their new, exciting purpose in life!
To become glorious planters, we needed to remove the old wax, wick and gemstones from the glass vessels.
Here is a step-by-step guide on the process, so that you can do this yourself when you are done enjoying your Mandala Moon candl CO. Candle,
It’s actually quite simple!
STEP ONE:
Fill a pan/pot with about 1” to 1,5” of water and set on stove top. Please the candle vessel in the water (with the label on - it is ok!) and heat until remaining wax melts. Using a spoon or butter knife, scoop out the gemstones and place them on a paper towel and set aside. Gently remove the wick with your utensil or grab a small set of pliers to remove and toss. Next, pour out the melted wax into a line garbage can or a container you can throw away. Use a paper towel to wipe out remaining wax.
STEP TWO
Place the glass vessel in a sink filled with hot, soaping water. The label will be fine, so don’t worry. Using a sponge with an abrasive side, gently scrub the inside and outside of the vessel removing all of the wax residue. Dry the vessel and you are ready for planting!
If you want to re-use your gemstones, simple place them in a colander and run really hot water over them to remove the wax and then rinse thoroughly. You can later place the gemstones on top of the white decorative rock after you plant your succulent (as a reminder of the original intention of the candle) or put them in a small pinch dish as decoration or use them to make jewelry.
STEP THREE
Be sure to have your succulent and planting supplies on hand before you begin planting. Thank you Martha’s Garden in Newcastle, CA and Avant Garden in Auburn, CA for the amazing succulents!
Since the candle vessel does not have a drain hole in the bottom, you will want to fill the bottom of the vessel with a 1” layer of small pea gravel or pebbles. Then fill the vessel about 2/3 full of Cactus/Succulent soil. It is important to use this special soil as it has the needed nutrients for your succulent. Be sure the dirt is moist, but not too wet. Succulents need very little water and prefer dry soil.
Remove your succulent from the plastic container and gently rub the dirt ball to sluff off some dirt and expose the roots. Place the succulent on top of the dirt in the vessel and fill in with more dirt to secure the plant.
Next, you can add small white decorative rocks to the top and place your gemstones on top of the white rocks. You are done! Enjoy your new repurposed candle vessel as it begins its new life as a plant container!
Since we receive so many requests and inquiries about how to best recycle/repurpose our candles, we thought we’d go ahead and make time to repurpose our own ‘used’ candles into beautiful succulent planters and offer them to the community at our events! Our hope is that it will inspire others to repurpose their candle vessels rather than toss them away.
Unfortunately, it is hard to reuse our glass vessels to make ‘new’ candle because the glass tends to get a little scratched and would not make the quality-control cut for our new candles . . . and we do not have the capacity (yet) to offer refill options to our customers, so repurposing them is currently the best idea!
We think these succulent plants are pretty darn cute and will hopefully continue to provide much joy long after the candle has been enjoyed! And how fun to know that by repurposing our vessels, we are furthering our commitment to caring for our planet!
Although we will not be bringing our repurposed candles to every event, we will do our best to bring them along whenever possible! They make a nice addition to the Mandala Moon Candle Co. collection!
One of the coolest things about this repurposing project is that succulents often have incredible mandala patterns . . . mandalas in nature1 Always Inspiring!
