Introduction
During the summer of 2022 I was sorting out some stock. I found some vintage glass bottles in a box, that was part of a miscellaneous lot from auction. After some research, although nice bottles they did not state a name. Unfortunately they were not really for resale as they were. I decided to make them into decorative candle holders for tapered dinner candles. The theme was to recreate a drip candle wax effect. This would make the candle look old and used to compliment the old used bottles. The original ones I made sold very well and therefore I have made more. Please see below how to make these if you would like to try it yourself. Please be very careful as a sharp knife and a naked flame is involved.
List of Item required
You will need:
Vintage Glass Bottles. Make sure the base is sturdy.
Tapered Dinner Candles. (I used white but you could use various colours)
A knife. This is to cut the candles down to size.
A lighter. This is to melt the wax and create a design.
Newspaper. You will need protection on your work surface from the melted excess wax.
How to make the Candle Holders and Designed Candles
Cut the candles down to a reasonable size. You don’t want the candles to sit too large or small in the top of the bottle necks. I cut them down to about 4 inches. It is best to use the top narrow part of the candle when you have cut to size.
Once cut, melt the bottom of the candle with a lighter. Be careful not to burn yourself.
Whilst the bottom of the candle has warm melted wax, twist the candle into the bottle neck. Do not force the candle. The candle could snap and the glass could break. You may need to repeat the heating and twisting process a few times. You are looking for the bottom of the candle to sit roughly half inch into the bottle neck.
Make sure the candle is sat straight in the bottle neck. Now you need to seal the candle into the bottle to ensure this is stable. It is important to make sure the seal of wax is secure and solid. Remember the candle will be lit as a decoration and the bottle and candle must be secure to ensure this does not topple over and cause an accident. To seal the candle, light another candle and use the melting candle wax to drip on the neck of the bottle, slowly turn the bottle and keep the wax dripping until a complete wax seal covers the bottle neck.
For the design you will need the spare lit candle used to seal the candle to the bottle. Gently drip the candle wax down the length of the candle sealed in the bottle. This will create the affect this has already been lit for a while and left to reset. Drip the wax around and down the bottle to create the same affect. Be careful not to burn your hands on the melting wax.
Finally light the candle in the bottle for a few seconds and blow out. This is to make the wick burnt and look old.
Please see below gallery of the process in images:
Where to find us
The candle holders with candles are available in the shop. It was great to be able to upcycle the vintage bottles into beautiful decorative items for people to enjoy.
Wildcard Curiosities is based in Freemen’s Common Antique Centre, 8 Counting House Road, Leicester, LE2 7LT.
The centre is open from Tuesday – Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.
There is a café and toilets on site
We also have an online shop