Make a Bottle-shaped Candle

Intro: Make a Bottle-shaped Candle

This instructable will show you how to make this funky candle with very little effort.

This'd make a nice home-made present for grandparents or something like that, but kids should not attempt this without an adult's help.

You'll need the following:
A glass bottle, any size or type
A load of candle wax from new, used or dead candles
A candle wick (or 100% cotton string)
A small weight such as a fishing weight or washer

and you'll also need:
Cooker hob to melt candle wax
A container to melt candles in, I'm using a fizzy drink can with the top chopped off
Gloves or something to handle the hot container with
A hammer or something to break glass with.

STEP 1: Preparation

Clean out your bottle and make sure it's dry.

Cut a length of wick that is longer than your bottle's length, you can shorten it after.

Tie a weight to the bottom of the wick, this will help it stay straight.

Have everything close to hand and you'll need to work fast to make sure the wax doesn't harden.

STEP 2: Melting the Wax

Get as much wax as you need to fill up the bottle.

I've collected candle leftovers for a while and hopefully have enough to fill up my bottle.

After putting all the wax into your container, put it on a gentle heat and let everything melt.

I put my can directly on the hob, but you can put your container in a saucepan of water, that way the wax will be less likely to burn as you heat the water

Wax can ignite if it gets too hot, so don't leave it unattended, melt it slowly and once it's melted, move on to the next step straight away.

STEP 3: Pouring the Wax

Fill your empty bottle with molten wax up to the top.

As soon as the wax is in the bottle, lower your wick down the bottle gently and feel for the bottom.

To keep the wick straight you can either hold it very still for a long time, or if you don't want to be standing there for ages, you can drape it over the side of the bottle (careful, it may be hot), and then use some masking tape to secure it, making sure the wick doesn't lean over to one side, and instead, comes straight out the top of the bottle.

As the wax hardens, you'll find the wax level shrinks. You can fill it up with more molten wax as it hardens.

Now wait for the wax to harden, when it does, the glass bottle should be cold to the touch.

(did you remember to turn off the hob?)

STEP 4: Smash the Bottle!

This step is for adults only, and even then, it could be hazardous, so be careful.

Once you're happy the wax has hardened, it's time to sacrifice the bottle.

Using a hammer, or drill, or something else like that, gently (very gently, or you'll break the candle) break the glass and make sure you clean it all up.

Now you need to trim the wick down, leaving about 1CM free.

You should now have a bottle styled candle ready to be lit.

STEP 5: Finished Candle

You can now enjoy your candle or give it to someone as a gift.

The first candle I created wasn't a very appealing colour, which was down to using too many different colours to create it.

You can experiment with mixing wax colours, or even using scented wax from either scented candles or adding a few drops of essential oils or the like.

I hope you enjoyed this instructable, please rate and comment.

Comments

[TechNerd1012]

you could also break the glass cleanly by scoring the glass, heating it up, then introducing some ice cold water to it somehow (such as a spray bottle). The thermal shock will fracture it right along the score.

[babycody]

This would work if you taped the two halves together. If this is just decorative, then rotocasting would save money.

[pyrorower]

The only problem with that is that in heating the bottle, you could melt/soften the wax...

[TechNerd1012]

true

[Spencer101]

I would just like to point out that heating wax over direct heat without a thermometer is very dangerous. Regardless of how low you have the hob turned on, wax can reach "flash point" VERY quickly if not monitored properly and a fire in your kitchen is less than ideal!!

[maxman]

I like the magnet idea.

[muzza182]

You could try it with plastic bottles, some may start to lose shape because of the heat. You could use plaster of paris or something to make two parts to a mold around a bottle, when it's set, take them off, then you don't have to break a bottle every time, just use the two parts of the molds, tapped up, pour in wax, when its set, untape them, and there you have it.

[redwren]

Instead of lowering the wick in and then draping it over something, try tying the wick around a stick first and then lowering it in until the stick rests on the top of the bottle, like you do to make rock candy. Just make sure that the wick hanging off the stick is no longer than the bottle, and trim off the tail so that it doesn't dip into the wax too. When you are done, just slide the stick out of the loop and untie it, or trim it off.

[woutervddn]

you can do it with a plastic bottle.. I did it at the youth movement with plastic bottles. You just need to cut them open with a scalpel, you'll allways see a line where you cutted, so you can try rubbing it with a hot stick (not to hot, you just want it to get smooth not to be dripping again..)

[TechNerd1012]

The color of this candle actually looks very similar to the color of real cola
you could play off that somehow lol

[Jebotepatak]

Cool idea thanks too bad i only have plastic bottles lying around -_-

[TechNerd1012]

yeah
luckily theyre making more and more of the glass ones again, you can prob find some at Fred Meyer or something

[Miscelinious]

Would it be better to put the wick and weight in first before pouring the wax?

(:

[OfficerKarl]

 It might be a bit harder to pour the wax as Kryptonite said, but it would more likely mean that the wick wouldn't be straight, and the candle wouldn't burn evenly.

"Sorry about the poor light. Here you need to lower the wick into the wax. To keep it as straight as possible, I didn't let the weight touch the very bottom of the bottle."

[Kryptonite]

It would make it harder to pour the wax in though.

[infernisdiem]

I have a candle melting machine, that pours a very fine stream, where when I put the wick in first.

[casman300]

wo great idear would be even better if you could stensil on the logo and writing

could you also do this with the plastic coke bottles or would they melt to fast?

[sladek]

Instead of stencilling designs onto the wax, if you get a bottle that's got embossed writing on it, then when you remove the glass, it'll have an embossed logo on the candle.

You could try plastic, it may melt which would get wax everywhere, also, unlike glass, you'd have to cut the plastic bottle away rather than smash it. This would probably result in score-marks all over the candle

[casman300]

thanks i will make one as soon as i can get a glass bottle

[american-teen95]

this is a great, easy gift. try it!