When life gives you leftover Milliaire bottles you don’t just throw them away, you reuse, recycle & repurpose! As part of our mission to waste as little as possible, we donate all our Sparkling, Gewürztraminer, and Muscat bottles to a wine to wick candle maker in our local area. Some of our other bottles, such as the Burgundy shaped bottles with the larger base, are used by other candle makers for their own independent use.
One such candle maker generously shared her secrets of making candles out of our bottles. The key to a great candle? It’s aroma! Sure, it’s best to not crack the glass when making them (make sure you wear your gloves!) but the scent of a freshly poured candle made with T.L.C. is sure to make anyone swoon.
The process is simple, really, but the satisfaction of knowing you made a homemade, DIY candle without the harsh chemicals is the best part.
To start, gather your tools:
*DISCLAIMER* (a lot of this we got off Amazon)
Step 1: Making sure to measure, score your bottles with the cutter, according to its instructions. We made our score just above the label to ensure a nice, clean break that wouldn’t tamper with the label.
Step 2: Prepare one pot boiling water (needs to be very hot) & one pot ice water (needs to be very cold). Dip first bottle so the score line is submerged in hot water for 10 seconds and immediately place into ice water for another 10 seconds. Repeat process until the bottom of the bottle pops off.
Step 3: Once the base of the bottles have dried, lightly take the sandpaper to the top of the rim to smooth the raw edge. Applying coconut oil after sandpapering also helps to clean and clear any excess waste from the rim. Place bottle bottoms aside.
Step 4: Line wicks along bottom of the bottle by using tape or a hot glue gun. Hold them in place with either clothes pins or even mechanical pencils, whatever does the trick!
Step 5: Take two pots and place one inside of the other to create a double boiler. Fill bottom pot with boiling water, place top pot inside. Dump soy wax in the top pot as we want indirect heat to melt the wax. Once melted, add desired fragrance oils, about 10 ml per 1 pound of wax.
Step 6: With the wicks securely in place, pour melted, perfumed wax into bottle base. Leave ¼ inch of space at the top. Let stand for 24 hours or overnight and once dry, clip wicks to desired length, about even with the height of the rim of the glass.
Step 7: If your labels fall off during the soaking phase, save them for the end and gently place them back on the bottle and the residual glue should allow them to stick right back on.
Step 8: Light those DIY, made with T.L.C., Milliaire bottle candles and enjoy! Heck, have a glass of wine or two, you’ll feel accomplished!