DIY Volcano Candle

If I had a “favorite things” show like Oprah did back in the day, volcano candles would definitely be on my list of things to giveaway to the audience. Can we talk about how funny it is to watch grown-ups react like they are 5 years old on Christmas morning. Oh, Oprah’s favorite things reactions..

I absolutely love these candles that are oh-so-popular and sold at Anthropologie, urban outfitters, and about a bazillion other stores. AND THEY ARE MADE IN MY HOME TOWN OF STARKVILLE! whoop whoop! Every time I see one – which let’s be honest, they’re everywhere 🙂 I get so excited and react like a proud mom, telling anyone and everyone around me that they are made in Starkville. My mom and I use to go out to their store when it was only a warehouse and cut fresh soaps for gifts or for ourselves. Years later I’ve loved seeing the company grow and will always probably be their number one fan.

Scents are so important to me. The smell of your home is the very first thing people notice when they walk in (or so I’ve read…. I would say I notice their dog first because I’m literally obsessed with dogs) But I do love a great scent. In college my room always smelled like Vanilla thanks to the glade plug-ins haha. When I smell it now it takes me back to big t-shirts, late night studying, and pom squad practice. #college.

I had so many capri blue candles around that were completely burned, but there was still wax left in the jar so I decided to make a DIY volcano candle. But you could do this with any scent.

step one: gather all your old candles – it’s important that it’s all the same scent

(these were all burned to completion and I saved them in my cabinet)

step 2: place all the candles in the fridge (and be prepared for weird looks from your husband/guests when they see candles in the freezer)

leave the candles in overnight so they freeze

take them out when your ready for step 3

step 3: take a knife or screw driver and chop up the wax

it will break apart pretty easily and not stick to the jar because it’s frozen

step 4: dump out all the wax from every jar

go ahead and remove the old wicks that come out along with the wax and throw those away

step 5: heat water over the stove on medium high – place the wax inside an old coffee jar, or a bowl that’s safe to heat and then place the bowl inside of the water – make sure the water isn’t too high that it will spill into the bowl. It took about 10 minutes for the wax to melt completely. But this way it doesn’t burn. When it’s completely melted remove the bowl with tongs. We poured the wax into an easier container to manage – our big plastic measuring cup.

step 6: pick your favorite jar you want to use for your new candle and wash it out, then place a wick in the center – we used these wicks from Amazon and they’re great