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Looking for a way to upcycle those baby food jars? I had over 200 sitting in my garage, and had saved them thinking “maybe I can reuse them someday with the kids”. So two years ago I made these adorbs DIY Baby Food Jar Candles and gave them to everyone I know for Christmas. I mean, who wouldn’t want a homemade gift right? And hot wax and kids are a perfect combination…right? (yeah I’m crazy) But I did find productive tasks they loved…I promise!
So first I hit the web trying to figure out what to buy. After doing some research, I chose soy wax. You can order it online at several candle places, but my virtual shopping cart was bulging. So I did what every crazy mom did, I went to Michael’s the day after Thanksgiving and capitalized on big sales. However I just scoped out Amazon and the prices are really great!
what you need
All you really need are the the wicks (super cheap compared to Michael’s), the wax, and a silver pitcher to melt the wax. Everything else the websites tell you to buy is unnecessary in my opinion. You probably don’t even need the special pitcher, but I didn’t want to worry about ruining one of my pots.
Here’s a step-by-step idiot proof guide on how to make inexpensive DIY baby food jar candles. Let me preface this by saying I am very impatient, and even for me, this was a breeze.
diy baby food jar candles
Step 1. Clean baby food jars and get sticky stuff off. Goof Off to the rescue, don’t even bother with anything else.
Step 2. Hot glue the wicks in. Don’t buy the fancy stickers they sell, hot glue is cheaper and everyone needs a hot glue gun…especially if you have little girls with tiaras!
Step 3. Heat up wax. There’s all these directions online about heating the soy wax up to 175 degrees, and letting it cool to 150 degrees before you pour. But I didn’t buy a fancy thermometer, I just used a meat thermometer. But, you do need to keep the wick still after you pour the wax in. You can buy wick clips, but again too much dough for me. So be inventive! I used my daughters hair clips and they worked fine. Oh and you can add scent if you want! I had lavender and rosemary on hand, (what I use sometimes when I clean) so I put a few drops of lavender in a few batches.
Step 4. Let them cool.
Step 5. Decorate! I used clear mailing labels from an office store, I think this was the most expensive part of the project. I also bought different ribbons, but settled on good old-fashioned twine from Home Depot I had in the garage. I thought it looked rustic and cool…kind of what a homemade gift should look like…right?
Super cute DIY baby food jar candles huh? But I bet you’re wondering…”how did the kiddos help?”. Well, that was tricky because I forgot about the hot wax part when I started. But Lila was able to use her scissors and cut all the twine for me. She loved measuring each piece with her Hello Kitty ruler! She also added the lavender and counted the drops. She was pretty good with putting on the stickers too, and she and the little one helped me put on the lids.
These were great gifts for family, teachers, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Plus they were made with love…which is why we celebrate in the first place! Good luck and happy candle making! (Pin this for later!)
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We also have loads more ideas on Pinterest! See you over there!
Love this! I’m not very crafty, but this is something I would totally try…
Trust me, I’m not crafty either, but these were so easy and so cute! Everyone loved them. Good luck–and remember shop the sales!
Those are perfect…now to find some baby food jars! I’ve been wanting to make candles for awhile now and I love the idea of re-using baby food jars. Thanks! Visiting from SITS Girls Comment Love Tribe ~Krissa (http://www.morethanmundane.com)
This is an AMAZING idea – having a baby I always have so many leftover baby food jars! #SITSBlogging
I love this, Kristen! Thanks for the step-by-step instructions. Using your daughter’s hair clips is priceless. Thanks for sharing. Pinning this! #SITSBlogging
Hi, love this! Roughly how much does this cost?
I have my own candle business. I think this is a cute idea! But be careful because baby food jars are not heat resistant glass so they can shatter or explode. http://m.facebook.com/CourtneysCandlesandCreations?_rdr
That’s good to know Courtney! Luckily none of ours have shattered!
I love this idea Kristen 🙂
Can these be any cuter?? It makes me want to run out and buy some baby jars just to make them. Adorable. Pinning!
I love these, especially the labels!! They’re so cute. (And way to go getting some math practice in there with the measuring. Woohoo!!)
As a candle addict, I would just like to say that I fully approve of this post!!
Seriously…these are great!
Pinned and stumbled for you, love these.
Oh my goodness! These are lovely and so quaint! I adore the labels too!
Well done!
Thanks for sharing.
Wishing you a lovely week.
xoxo
Yes!! Soy wax is the best! So says all of my candle maker friends. And I have a few.
What a wonderful idea. We have a ton in storage too..
That is just AMAZING!! I am blown away at your skills…what absolutely PERFECT gifts! :)-Ashley
They were super easy – please don’t be impressed! lol
What a clever idea!
These are super cute! I love the label. Just pinned as these would make great teacher Christmas gifts!
Great idea. I love all your money-saving tips. Now, I just need to find some baby food jars. I’m visiting from Saver Tips Tuesday.
Good luck! Any friends with babies?
These would be a great party favor. Thanks for sharing! I’m stopping by from SITS & where I’m a new follower. I hope your having a great day!
Love this idea! I will be featuring this tomorrow at Tuesday with a Twist on my blog, come by for a peek. Thanks for sharing and have a great week.
Thank you Debra! I’ll share it on social – appreciate you sharing!
I LOVE these!! I have been wanting to make candles with my daughter for so long. You just reminded me to get busy. A perfect gift idea!!
Yay! So glad you like them! Good luck and happy candle making!
Found your post on SITS Girls link party. What a fabulous idea! I have TONS of jars (baby being many of them) sitting around and not being put to use. I am definitely going to try my hand at this 🙂 Thanks for sharing 🙂 (Mel-Melly Moments)
Yay! I’m telling you – everyone loved these…I might make more since we are at a different school now!
To start, ADORABLE!! This is what I came up with for us to make for family Christmas gifts this year. I am wondering how much wax each jar held. It looks like you used 4oz jars. I know that it the volume measurement, not weight. Looking at different wax, some comes in flakes, some in slabs. I dont want to end up with more than I need or far too little!
Also, I did a simple google search “how to make candles in baby food jars” and yours was the first up in the list!!!
Hi Jenn! what a great gift idea – your friends and family will love them! So yes those were Earth’s Best 4 oz jars and for the wax I’m not sure exactly how much per jar. But I linked to the size bag of wax I purchased and I used it all! I probably made 4-5 dozen candles. I hope that helps and don’t forget to use coupons! I bought all of my supplies the day after Thanksgiving at Michael’s dirt cheap!
where did you get the labels? Did you have to special order them?
That’s so funny you asked, I was thinking today I should post them on my blog. I just used AVERY clear labels from OFFICE DEPOT and made the design in Microsoft Word. It’s pretty simple, I can try to upload them to a google drive for you to download. Super simple! Let me know and giv eme your email address and I can play in the morning!
These are a great gift idea. Simple and yet so practical and cute. And the best part is that you had a little princess with a tiara helping you.
This is such a cute idea! They are the perfect size and I love the monogramed label!
Jill
Doused In Pink
How lovely! My niece is just starting solids and I’ve asked my sister to save the used baby food jars for me! I’m thinking of making these as a wedding favor. Quick questions — how many drops of the lavender oil did you use per “batch” and how much wax is a “batch?” I would also appreciate if you can send me the label you’ve created via GoogleDoc! Thank you!
I love your post.you gave a nice description.
thank you for the post.