how make tiny candles using old bottle caps! fun easy diy tutorial.
these tiny candles are a really fun to make and come together quickly. AND you can up-cycle several materials in the process, which makes this a fabulous Earth Day craft :) {Earth Day is April 22}
to make these colorful tiny candles, i used several materials that usually end up in a land fill: bottle caps, broken crayons, and empty soup cans. the only thing i bought to make them was the pre-waxed wicks which cost me $1.50 for a set of 12.
these make a great kid craft {with supervision, of course!} and would add a fun element to a wedding, romantic dinner, or even a fab conversation piece in your front room!
How to Make Bottle Cap Candles
supplies: bottle caps, crayons {or wax}, pre-waxed wicks, soup cans, wax paper {optional}, small cooking pan, scissors, and water
remove paper from crayons. you can also use candle wax if you wanted.
put crayons in clean, empty soup cans.
take your pre-waxed wicks and…
bottle caps
put wicks inside the bottle caps. i placed my bottle caps on wax paper in case i spilled some wax.
then using a small cooking pan filled with a couple inches of boiling water, place the can in the pan and melt the crayons. {you could also use a candle warmer to do this}the crayons melt pretty quickly. *note: it only takes a few crayons to fill a bottle cap!
pour the melted crayons or wax into the bottle caps.
let cool for 1-2 hours. then trim the wicks and you have some fun tea light candles to enjoy!
**added later: crayon wax does not smell that great when burned. if you plan to burn these candles, you may consider adding a scent to them**
happy crafting!
About Linda@CraftaholicsAnonymous
This is fabulous! I love it. Would be so cute as a summer picnic decoration too!
Love the idea! The colors look great!
This is great. I think my kids could help with this one. FUN!
LO-OVE this! (I am singing that- literally…)
This is just too cute! I love it! Thanks for sharing! xoxo
How cool! Love this!
These are so cute! But I wonder how they smell if you light them? or are they just for decoration? Either way, love 'em!
These are so cute and petite. I will feature them today at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com
I love this idea! So clever!
awesome! i much rather do this than buy tealights! I go through them so quick!
this is so cute and creative :)))) posted a link on my blog the veray minute i saw it here :)) thank you for all your great ideas!
http://hobbychic.blogspot.com/2011/04/napravite-mini-svijece.html
These are so cute and fun!
I saw your feature on Someday Crafts.
This is a fantastic idea! I am always looking for new craft ideas! Love your blog!
oh my goodness you are AMAZING! I love your blog so much… My sister and I just started a blog (still have lots of work to do) but we would love any tips or ideas on making such a FANTASTIC blog like yours! check us out
trulie-scrumptious.blogspot.com
LOVE LOVE your blog…
What an awesome idea! I can't wait to try it! Thank you!
-Vanessa
So cute!
So cute!
So cute!
Thanks for the tutorial!
These are so cute, thanks for sharing. One question, when you cut off the wick, isn't there enough left over to use on another little candle? If so, how could we do that? any ideas? (I am sure there is a way)
Crayons smell horrible when they burn !!! They look adorable but i don't think i would go with the crayons.Instead recycle an old candle that doesn't have much life left in it.
Alright Linda, you are a genius!! I just featured this post on my Wednesday's Wowzers:
http://oopsey-daisy.blogspot.com/2011/04/wednesdays-wowzers-relax.html
Thanks for inspiring!
~Alison
This would be cute with baby food jars or lids!
Such a cute idea! Thanks for sharing!
This is totally awesome! I'm linking up tomorrow at Dollar Store Crafts. http://dollarstorecrafts.com/?p=11846
These are so cute!!
Those are really fun! I love how everything tiny is so much cuter! Thanks so much, I'll be linking.
like some other commenters, i too worry a bit about the smell of burning crayons…and flammability, but after my grandmother's house caught fire after a tea light incident, i am sure that i am way more paranoid than most. these sure are adorable, though, so i may try them with left over candle wax (still upcycling!) and love vivian's idea. this would also be a good way to use up baby food jar lids :)
Such a cute idea!
These are awesome. I love that you used crayon wax
I'm curious, because they are so tiny, how long will they burn for?
This is great to do with the kids. my only problem with it would be the smell of crayon.
Hi!
This is just great :) I’m gonna try these with my daughter. But one thing: the rubbery peace at the bottom of the bottle cap should be removed before you burn the candles!! I think it could burn and flame and do damage…
such a fabulous idea, thank you for sharing
I think this is such a great idea- and one that I will definitely plan on doing with my kids over the summer! I found you through this week’s post at How Does She where they included you on their 7 Colorful Spring Craft Ideas… and I love it so much that I am going to feature a picture and a link to this tutorial on my Links to Love post at http://www.momof6.com tomorrow (5/15).
Warmly,
Sharon
I’m so glad I saw this. I was getting ready to throw away all those beer caps someone I know keeps storing away. (g)
OH WOW, these are the cutest things ever. I ADORE them on so many levels. THANK YOU so much for showing us this brilliant idea.
I am featuring this on my pinterest and facebook pages right now, and don’t be surprised if I do my very own, and blog about it, linking back to you girl, of course, he he. LOVE ya.
Hugs,
Bella :)
Thanks Bella! And thanks for sharing them! I can’t wait to see the ones you make :)
happy crafting!
Linda
OH WOW, these are the cutest things ever. I ADORE them on so many levels. THANK YOU so much for showing us this brilliant idea.
I am featuring this on my pinterest and facebook pages right now, and don’t be surprised if I do my very own, and blog about it, linking back to you girl, of course, he he. LOVE ya.
Hugs,
Bella :)
Wow…these are SO cute! Great summer camp project!!!
I bet these would make great floating candles… Anyone tried that?
Thank you so much for this idea! I followed your instructions and used a vanilla scented wax instead of crayons, and it worked like a champ. These will be awesome Christmas gifts — I appreciate you sharing your creativity!
thanks for the kind words, Meg! what a great idea to make these for christmas gifts! i’m so glad you stopped by!
happy crafting,
linda
I think this is so cute, could you make these with smell?
Yes you could! thanks for stopping by, Connie!
happy crafting,
linda
I just found your blog and I love it. I will be follower. Thanks for share you passion!
Hi Elizabeth! Thank you for the follow! I appreciate it. If you have any craft questions, just let me know!
happy crafting,
linda
So i just made these and they won’t burn. I’ve tried different wicks, including the one’s you used. Any suggestions?
Hi Niki,
The wick won’t burn or the wax? These candles do not last long because there is so little wax. What type of wax or crayons did you use?
thanks,
Linda
I love this idea!!! I actually just made heart shaped crayons for homemade Valentines tonight with recycled crayons. I bought a silicone heart mold which was 40% off plus I had a coupon at AC Moore, so it was like $4. I cut up the crayons since I wanted multicolored crayons, and I baked at 300 degrees for 15 minutes. Then I let them cool for twenty, and popped them out. I had a lot of fun with the project, since I color coordinated somewhat doing blues, greens, white, and oranges for the boys, and pinks, purples, white, and greens for the girls. Thank you for the great idea!!!! =]
Wow those are so cute! I pinned them to try later.
how so u make it scented?
You can use essential oils to add scent to wax. thanks for stopping by, Janelle!
happy crafting,
linda
I found this post a month or so ago while looking online for how to make bottle cap candles. I’d seen some on Etsy.com that were sold out, and I wanted to try and make my own. This did not work for me. The crayon bits, small though they were, did not melt. After a LONG time of sitting in the can inside the boiling water on the stove top, (and by ‘long,’ I mean at least half an hour), they were nothing but a clumpy, globby mess. I stirred it with a wooden popsicle stick, and as soon as I took the stick out of the crayon mix, the wax solidified on the stick. I tried to pour the wax into the bottle cap, and it wouldn’t pour out–more coaxing with the popsicle stick, and it just got crumbly and gloppy. I hate I wasted my peppermint oil on this. I threw the whole mess away. One thing not mentioned was that we should take care that the can doesn’t tip into the water. My can was not heavy (I started with just a few crayon bits at a time), and it tipped to the side and may have taken on water. I poured out the water, but still…maybe I’ll try the beeswax I already have, but I thought the crayons would have looked so pretty with their colors. Please email me if you have tips on how to fix this or on what I did wrong!
Hi Allison,
I’m so sorry it didn’t work for you! I wonder if the crayons you used weren’t wax based, because crayons usually melt very easily. What brand did you use? The crayons I used were Crayola. Beeswax works well for this project. I was trying to repurpose some broken crayons, but beeswax smells better and you shouldn’t have any problems melting it. Again, I’m sorry it didn’t work for you!
happy crafting,
Linda
This is such a grand idea! I wonder why the colors of the candles were so vibrant! Crayons–brilliant. Shouldn’t take long for all of us to use them in other candle making!
I made these today and they are lovely but they dont stay lit! Any ideas? I want to feature it on my blog.
I had the same problem. The wicks lit, then about 10 seconds later they all fizzled out. Maybe I cut them too short — I did 1/4″. Going to try again with longer wicks. Has anyone burned these successfully? To the person above who couldn’t get the crayons to melt, I used the microwave (in a microwave-safe container), in 1 minute or 30 second increments, and that worked.