Rose Candles in Oui Yogurt Jars

Once upon a time, we went out to dinner with friends and the restaurant had covered the table in rose petals. It was a birthday dinner for two of the friends, and the eatery had gone a little “extra” in helping us celebrate. And me being me, I made a plan with my friends to help gather all the petals before we left. Why? Because I wanted to craft with them…and make rose candles!

And no, nothing about me taking home all the petals surprised our friends at all. They’re used to my quirky crafting by now and were eager to gather them for me in a doggie bag.

I figured it’d be a fun way to keep them out of the trash, tinker around with drying them, and I could use something just as thrifty to make some rose candles: Oui yogurt jars!

So, while this may not be the most inventive idea or project, it was a fun exercise in the thriftiest form of upcycling ever. And you know by now that I’m definitely all about that!

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How to Dry Rose Petals

Ultimately, this was my haul of free rose petals, including the two long stem roses that were also on the table.

Since I’d never done it before, I did a little research on how to dry rose petals. And a lot of blog posts came up about drying them in the microwave. So, I thought I’d give that a try first.

First, I set several petals on a microwave-safe plate with plans to zap them for 15 to 20-second intervals.

And while the method ultimately worked, it took multiple cycles to dry them. And the plate was uncomfortably hot when I finally removed it.

At this rate, it was going to take me all morning to dry the rose petals using the microwave. So, I then switched to the unexciting and old-fashioned method.

I simply spread all the petals out on a sheet pan. Not quite a single layer, but as close to it as I could get.

Next, I placed the sheet pan on top of our fridge and left them there for the better part of two weeks. And wouldn’t you know it, but they dried out perfectly.

Yes, it took a couple of weeks to fully dry them all. But I didn’t need to make the rose candles right away, so it wasn’t a big deal. And it was a LOT less upfront effort on my part.

Making Rose Candles

Once I’d dried all the petals, it was time to start work on the rose candles. First, I focused on the Oui yogurt jars by peeling off the labels and sanitizing them in the dishwasher. Then, I gathered other candle making supplies:

• Soy wax pellets
• Wicks
• Melting cup
• Wick holders
• Rose fragrance oil

Next, I used my hot glue gun to secure the wicks to the bottom center of the Oui yogurt jars.

After that, I began melting the soy wax on my stovetop. I filled the jars with pellets to guesstimate how much I’d need, then added 50% more.

Ultimately, I did this in three batches as to not overfill the melting cup. And before I poured the wax into the yogurt jars, I let it rest on my cork trivet to cool slightly. Wax that’s too hot can dry unevenly in your candle jars, causing air pockets and other wax stabilization issues.

As the wax cooled, I stirred in some rose fragrance oil. And no, I didn’t measure it- I’d forgotten to research that before starting!

Then, I carefully poured the wax into each jar, stopping about ¼ to ½” from the top. I slid in some rose petals, added the wick holders, and set everything aside to cool.

As the candles hardened, I repeatedly (and gently) moved the dried rose petals away from the wicks as much as I could. They didn’t really behave, but I tried my best (using a toothpick) to do so. This was for safety reasons; any additives to candles should be away from the wick before the wax fully hardens.

Rose Candles in Oui Yogurt Jars

Lastly, I trimmed the wicks to about ¼ to ½” above the wax surface. I also glued some pretty velvet ribbon around each Oui yogurt jar. The rose candles looked a little plain and needed just a touch of pizazz.

And that was it! I’d successfully dried the free rose petals, repurposed some Oui yogurt jars from the recycling bin, AND made rose candles! Two upcycles/recycles in one project. Not only did they look cute, but they worked perfectly.

I know there are a lot of Oui yogurt jar crafts out there, but this is my first time tinkering with them. But given how delicious Oui is (strawberry is my favorite, but apple cinnamon is a close second), it likely won’t be my last.

And while I’m not sure if I’ll make more rose petal crafts in the future, it was good to practice drying the petals. I don’t make a lot of bath and body care projects, but I think they’d be good for bath bombs and such, too.

A few closing thoughts and lessons learned from these rose candles:

• I wish I’d dipped a few rose petals in the molten wax and stuck them to the insides of the yogurt jars. This way, you’d see them throughout the candle.
• The yogurt jars still had some “fuzzy” adhesive on the top rim that I was never able to fully remove. Anyone have any luck getting that off?
• Why didn’t I ever think to save the rose petals from flowers Mr. Seasongoods has given me in the past? We don’t do flowers very often, but I’ve had plenty of missed opportunities there.
• I need to learn how much fragrance oil to add while melting the wax; in retrospect, I wish I’d added more.
• If your candles crater around the wick while drying, use a heat gun to re-melt the wax. It’ll fix it in no time!

Liked the fact that I upcycled Oui yogurt jars that were destined for my recycling bin? Then you may also like this collection of recycled crafts, as well.

Craft on!

S

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