Category: Crafts

How to clean out those candle container’s ………the easy way.

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I love candles and I go through one every couple of weeks or so. Scents and music always bring back memories for me. I know if Dashboard Confessionals come on I immediately think back to driving in my first car. If I smell Cinnamon I immediate think of fall and all the awesome things that come with it.

With going through a lot of candles comes a lot of containers. I love that Bath & Body works makes their containers so simple. There is so many different uses for them.

I started looking online a while ago for ways to clean out my candle containers and found so many. Most of them are very similar, but I felt like they either did not work well or I felt like they were missing some steps. I tried the bowling pot method and almost broke the container in the pot. The others say to just remove the paper sticker on the bottom, but what if it doesn’t come off super easy? I would have to go find another tutorial on how to remove a stubborn sticker.

I decide to put together my own how-to with a method that works great everytime I use it.

SUPPLIES:
Candle
Butter Knife
WD-40 or something to remove the stickiness.
There are other things out there that work as well, but I feel like WD-40 does the job perfect.
(Other items that would work: vinegar, baby oil, olive oil, or orange solvent).

OPTIONAL ITEM: Pliers

STEP 1:
Freeze the candles. It not only causes the wax to shrink and detach from the side, but I also find that it helps for the pieces to break into bigger sections.
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STEP 2:
Take the candles out of the freezer. WAIT until candles reach ROOM TEMPERATURE. If you break it up right out of the freezer, the glass will break.
After the candles reach room temperature, begin breaking up the wax with your butter knife.

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STEP 2.5:
Once you have all the wax removed. Some of the wicks may or may not be left. They are usually glued on pretty well and it is not unusual for one or all the wicks to be left.
If they are stuck you can either:
– Try to pull them up with your butter knife.
– Pull them up with pliers.
– Got to step 3 and remove then.
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STEP 3:
A hot bath. Fill your sink with hot water and have the candles soak for about 10-15 minutes.
This helps loosen up the stickers, any stuck wicks, and any remaining wax.
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STEP 4:
The clean-up. At this point you can pull off the labels. The paper labels may be a little crumbly, but you can easily remove them with a rag or the nonrigid side of your knife. Any flat item would work. The wicks should also be much easier to remove with your knife or pliers if you could not pull them out in the previous step.
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STEP 4.5
If you still have sticker residue on your glass container, you can use your WD-40 or similar product with a rag and the reside will easily be removed. Wash your candles in the sink or your dishwasher and they are ready to you to use!
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There are so many different uses for the containers, but here are a below are a few ways
I re-used mine. I even added a drawer pull I put and added to the top using E6000 glue.
You can find a ton more ideas on Pinterest HERE
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KEEPSAKE BOXES

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Once you get married, go on a trip, have a baby, or any other special occasions, you have souvenirs or keepsakes you hang on to for memories. Most of the time we just put them in shoe box inside another box and that box gets put in a closet or garage.

I wanted somewhere out in the open that I could be reminded of the memories, be easily accessible, and be part of my decor without being too cluttered. Some people make shadow boxes for their keepsakes. Shadow boxes can be beautiful, but you can’t have a ton of those everywhere. Plus they can get really expensive.

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My solution was these boxes that I got from Michael’s.
Why are these boxes so great?

– They fit 8.5 x 11 paper
Most of the boxes I have found do not fit 8.5 x 11 pages and do not fit 8×10 photos.

– They come unfinished so you can paint them any color.
– It comes with a metal label tag.
– They are shallow and flat for easy stacking.
– They are cheap!
At Michael’s they are $7.99, but with your 40% (or 50%) coupon, they are only $4.80 – $4.00.

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One box uses about one bottle of craft paint. You can also use Mod Podge to seal the paint, but it is not necessary.

I chose colors that went with my decor.

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Here’s what I put inside our wedding box:
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We went to Hawaii for our Honeymoon and here is what is inside.
I had some under water pictures and some 8×10 photos that I also have in this box, but they are layered underneath.
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There is nothing inside the Mexico box yet because we haven’t gone yet. It’s in the works, so we will have something in there soon 🙂

For the labels, I just typed up what I wanted to label the boxes on a plain sheet of paper. Then I just cut it to fit inside the label tag.

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Happy Crafting!

THRILLERs, FILLERS, & SPILLERS:

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Flowers Up Close

I have always admired a good looking flower arrangement. A good looking flower arrangement can add so much to a space, indoor or outdoor.  I mostly admired them because the arrangements I tried to do on my own were just… not good looking. They were just kind of sitting there. I think it was partly my flower choice and partly how I placed them. I knew what I liked, but I had no direction. I just settled on the fact that flowers aren’t my thing, until I discovered a trick gardeners use. I thought this was perfect to apply to fake or real flower arrangements and it changed my whole approach.

It’s called the Thriller, Filler, and Spiller. Sounds a little weird, but go with me on this one.

What is the Thriller, Filler, and Spiller?

The THRILLER is usually something that makes the plant stand out and/or give the arrangement height. You can use an upright plant or something that “thrills” you, the main attraction.

The FILLER is a plant that adds fullness. You want something that covers a lot of real estate so to speak.

The SPILLER is something that spills over your container. This give it dimension and I find that it covers some of the blank areas underneath the flowers. I think this one is so important for making your arrangement look finalized. Without it, you see stems, dirt or Styrofoam. The spiller is typically a greenery item.

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EXAMPLES

 THRILLER                         FILLERS                   SPILLERS

Thriller  Filler  Spiller

HOW TO DIY THIS:

Supplies you’ll need:

– Container/Pot of your choice

– Styrofoam: You can buy the Styrofoam at The Dollar Store for .99. You can cut the foam to fit into whatever container you use.

Foam

– Flowers/Plants: Think about Thriller, Filler, and Spiller when choosing your flowers/plants.

WHAT I USED:

Vase  Flowers Used  Spiller Used

I put it together using the Thriller, Filler, and Spiller method. I started with the large white flowers (filler), then the ranunculus (thriller), then added in my greens (filler). This is all by site and what you prefer. There is no specific percentage or count to how much of each you would like to use. Just have fun.

Arrangement

It’s pretty easy. This arrangement took me about 20 minutes to put together.

You can do this with some outdoor plants as well. Here are some examples:

gardenclub.homedepot copy  IMG_9026

Photo Credits: greenclub.homedepot.com; gsblog.wordpress.com; advancegreenhouses.com

PAINTED PLATES

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Plate-1

I always loved the idea of going to those paint pottery places, but there’s a few things that kept me from going there every weekend. 1. The price. It seems like by the time you walk out of there, you end up spending $30 on a mug.  2. You have to wait days before you can go back and get your piece. Maybe it’s the kid in me, but when I get something new, I want to take it home and enjoy it right away.

So when I came across this idea on Pintrest, I had to try it that weekend!You only need a few things and it only cost me $5.50. Score!

Items needed:

– Dishware
– Oil-Based Sharpie Marker
– Letter Stickers
– Oven

– Dishware. You can use, plates, mugs, bowls, etc.  I got this cute plate at  target for $3.50. Any plate will do though (except plastic). White will make your artwork stand out a little better and it’s a neutral base.

Plain Plate

– OIL BASED Sharpie marker. They sell this at craft stores for about $3.50, but with my 40% off coupon, it was only $2. It’s very important to get the oil-base marker. If you use a regular sharpie, it will not only fade over time, it will also not be dishwasher safe.

Marker

– Scrapbook letter stickers. There are so many cute fonts out there. Just stick the letters on your item to spell whatever you would like. I already had these on hand, but they are only a couple dollars at the craft store. Target even sells them, but at Michaels or Ja-Ann’s you can use your 40% coupons they always have.

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– Start designing around the letter. You can do whatever your artistic mind wants to. I decided to keep it simple and make little dots around to look like glitter or confetti.  Once you’re done, remove the your stickers.

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– Oven. To seal your art work, you need to bake it. It needs to bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. This process will help seal the marker onto the dish and make it so it’s food and dishwasher safe.

Oven

-Ta Da

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Link to original Pintrest Post.