It's Tuesday and that means Tool Time, but today's post is also a recycling project. Jar candles are pretty pricey, so why not use every part of the candle and the jar. See the end of the post for links to other posts I've done on recycling candle jars.
Here is a large jar with the top on and some extra tops I've started to save.
This post is about using the tops for so many different things.
First, we need to take off that plastic ring that keeps the lid on the jar...here's where the "tool" comes into play. Had to find a tool time in this!
Carefully place the tip of a flat head screw driver under the rim of the plastic ring.
Slowly work the screw driver down until the ring pops off. Be careful not to chip the glass. That's it...nice and easy.
Now here you have it...the cutest little glass bowl, perfect for just about any thing.
Here are a few ideas!
How about a little bowl for sewing pins.
Great by your machine or by your side when doing some hand sewing.
Perfect as a collection on your desk.
Each jar top holds all your office supplies.
Painting project? Use a candle jar top as a re-usable dipping dish.
You can take this next idea with a grain of salt...had to do that pun. These will be great salt cellars and pepper too. I am assuming glass is glass and these are safe for food after you have washed them carefully...not sure, but just wanted to share the idea.
You could also use it to hold sugar packets.
How about the obvious...a tea light candle holder!
These would be pretty at each place setting at the dinner table, along the walk way, on your deck or porch etc
Now what to do with all the plastic rings I'm collecting...I'm thinking a ring toss game for the kids! Ahh, a future Tool Time in the making!
UPDATE...click HERE for a post I did to make little wreaths with these rings!!
If you have any more ideas for these jar tops, share it in the comment section. I'd love to hear more.
Click here for the post I did on recycling the wax from the end of a candle.
Click here for the post on recycling the whole candle jar.
Happy Tuesday,
~Karen~
PERFECT timing! I just found 5 Yankee Candles that had melted during their stay in storage last summer and I was going to throw them out! Now I have the perfect place to store things! Had I gone to bed an hour ago like I wanted to I would have tossed them before reading your newest post! Wasting precious sleep time on the internet has proven to be not-so-wasteful!! Love your Tool time Tuesday posts! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteLove this idea. I too, thought they should be used for something, but I just couldn't figure out WHAT!? Thanks for the idea!
ReplyDeleteNow why didn't I think of that when I threw one in the trash yesterday??? Thanks for another great tip!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to use them on our deck for watering dishes for the birds. They will use the rim to perch their little feet on & it shouldn't blow off the railing.
ReplyDeleteKaren as always you have great ideas and the things you come up with your mind is always going!
ReplyDeleteI have one more to add to your ideas how about a tea caddy for used teabags the sugar one gave me the idea
that's a real good one I'll use
DeleteI'm always looking for a rest for my "tea" spoon at my tea station... if you use a small spoon it works nice.
DeleteTo think I've been throwing away all those lids. You are so smart.
ReplyDeletegreat ideas! I have a few candles I am ready to throw out will save those lids now for sure! I tend to use pyrex little custard dishes for the same use I bought many many years ago!
ReplyDeleteKathie
I"m thinking they would make a great base for a homemade pin cushion!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! So many uses. I'll have to take a look around and see what I can come up with.
ReplyDeleteLove this idea, you see tops at thrift stores all the time. I see Xmas ornaments, I cross stitch, put some pretty trim around it. Place photos in it.
ReplyDeleteSpray paint the plastic part of the lid and use for ornaments or just cover the whole thing once you've taken it off the glass part... a thought.
DeleteI painted a bunch of them black and used in my crafting as snowman hats.
DeleteI have used the jars and lids for candy,especially around the holidays.But you can have too many candy jars,I love the ideas for the lids.
DeleteSo glad I found your blog---you are so inspiring! Love it!!
ReplyDeleteI have often wondered what to do with candle lids. I just hate throwing them out. I thought of making a photo paper weight, but I really like the ideas you have shared. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteExcellent way to reuse the lids.
ReplyDeleteGreat Ideas!
ReplyDeleteI clean up those candle jars and use them to store all my buttons. They look so pretty on the shelves in my studio.
Thanks for sharing
xoxo
((((hugs))))
Maggie
You are one of the most clever people I have ever run across....I bet your mind runs a mile a minute! It was great!
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas! I also have used them to put under table legs, like coasters. Things slide so easy! Love you SITE. Have a great idea. Diane
ReplyDeleteVery creative idea for recycling jar tops.
ReplyDeleteThat's really cool Karen! I've always wondered what to do with those nice tops. I also wonder if you could make a pincushion??!!?!
ReplyDeletei love your creative ideas, i have so many candles around and i always hate to get rid of the jars, but have a hard time cleaning them up, thanks for all of your posts on how to repurpose the leftover jars and lids, guess where i am headed...
ReplyDeleteFabulous idea. I always feel guilty throwing them away!!
ReplyDeleteFor the plastic ring try using it to store rolls up interfacing, wrapping paper, stablizer, whatever and keep them in a nice tin on the floor kind of like decoration?
ReplyDeleteKaren this is great! Thanks for a good idea, I have often looked twice at these candle jars...you have good tips for the whole jar!
ReplyDeletevery clever!! I like this.
ReplyDeleteSo clever...I love your ideas!
ReplyDeleteUse the candle jar tops to hold your meal-time pills beside your plate or cereal bowl.
ReplyDeleteKaren I have been using the jars like that for years in my sewing room. I have pins,punch pins, and
ReplyDeletesafety pins in them. Love the idea of using just the lids.
Such great ideas for using the tops...I could use a little pin dish!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great ideas.
ReplyDeletearrrrgh... how many have i thrown away over the years??? YC makes a killin off me.. but looking forward to oh so many ways to use my new fun lids (i mean glass containers) :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas !
ReplyDeleteSee, this is why I read your blog! You're so talented! Another thought with the jar tops would be a change holder in your entryway. My husband always leaves coins in his pockets etc. Who knows?
ReplyDeleteGreat idea, you could also put them by your washer, I am ALWAYS finding money in my husbands pockets as well as my kids. Stash it away for a while in the laundry room till you have enough to cash in and have some "mad money"! Thanks for the idea, I'm going to use that tomorrow!!
DeleteOr the tops could be used as a small jar on your vanity for bobby pins and hair rubber bands.
ReplyDeleteOkay, last one, the tops could be used to serve a dip in. Obviously wash it first. :)
Karen, you inspired me. These make fabulous pattern weights and I gave you props on my blog.
ReplyDeleteWe have an outdoor neighborhood Halloween party every year, it was so windy last year that we needed to weight the table cloths down so I went to the laundry room grabbed a bunch of the orphan socks we have and put one jar lid in each of them and then clipped them to the corners of the cloths with a curtain ring. Worked like a charm!
ReplyDeleteconYou could use the rings that you remove to wrap around folded up extension cords. You could also decorate and use as a picture frame and if you add a ribbon to it you could hang the picture on a Christmas tree. How about making a ring toss game for the kiddos?
ReplyDeleteLove that idea about putting extension cords in there. Also the ornament idea!
DeleteYou could use the plastic rings to hang a kitchen towel on a cupboard knob.
ReplyDeleteThat's another great idea!!!
DeleteI love this! I just did a post on turning trash to treasure, and shared a link to you! I'm thinking about adding a piece of magnetic tape to bottom for my daughter's bobby pins! Great for a jewelry taking off hot spot, too!
ReplyDeletehttp://pinsandprincesses.blogspot.com/2012/04/trash-to-treasure-or-at-least-useful.html
While I'm still using the candle, I've found that flipping the lid upside down on top of the jar safely extinguishes the candle, so you don't have to look for your candle-extinguisher thingie, or blow :)
ReplyDeleteLove this idea! I have a candle I almost threw away, I will be using some of these ideas, thanks!
ReplyDeletebut...what to do with the jars, if you're using the lids for something else?!?
ReplyDeleteThey have many, many uses too!
DeleteDebbie in Alabama. Gonna figure this profile thingee one of these days. I used old yankee candle jars and lids for my dishwasher tablets. I keep it on my counter. Beats an ugly cardboard box. We also have a smaller one with qtips and one for cotton balls. Why throw anything away. Repurpose them! I plan on using looking glass spray paint by Krylon to spray inside a couple of those jars. Keep up th ideas and I'll keep scrounging through the garbage. Cereal boxes, hmmmm, 'know I got a couple of those somewhere
ReplyDeleteCandle jars and lids are great to give to your husband for his coin collections; plus they look better on his side table than a junky pickle jar. Also good to keep marbles in or as bathroom apothecary jars.
ReplyDeleteI recycle mine and used a couple as jewelry holders! Hung the earrings around the rim of it and put my rings/necklaces in the top itself!
ReplyDeleteYea, doesn't involve sewing and great artistry abilities so even I can handle this :) - thanks!
ReplyDeleteI have looked at those candle glasses for years thinking surely there was some way to recycle them. You just gave it to me! I could also do vinyl stickers to put on initials etc and make gifts! Or glass etching. THANK YOU!
ReplyDeleteMy 16 year old daughter, Ashton, had a great idea, she said you could run them through the dishwasher then use them to put ketchup, BBQ sauce, etc in instead of putting it on your plate.
ReplyDeleteYou could also use them beside the sink to hold rings or other jewelry that you don't want to get junky if you are washing dishes, patting out hamburgers, etc.
I'm so glad you posted this idea, I like many others have hated the though of throwing those lids out time after time! Thanks for getting me thinking!
These are great ideas, but how do you get the left over wax out of the jars to reuse the jar ??
ReplyDeleteWarm the jar on a coffe mug warmer...after just a little while, the wax melts enough to pour off
ReplyDeleteI pour the melted was into a cardboard egg carton, voila firestarters for camping or back yard fire.
DeleteI get the old wax out of jars by freezing them for about an hour, remove and let warm up for about 5 mins, run a butter knife along the edges of wax and it pulls away from the glass perfectly (then I melt it down and make new candles in other repurposed jars of course!).
ReplyDeleteI really love that little wooden single spool holder...what is that called and where can I find one?!
I make beautiful altered jars with mine. Decorate them with lace, bows, ribbons, pearls. They are very easy to make, just clean them up after the candle is used up. But I wouldn't use just the lids around the house unless you put some pretty candles in them as well! They're glass & might break easy.
ReplyDeleteI used a small candle lid to hold a round hanging crystal that couldn't be hung anymore and they look beautiful together!!
ReplyDeleteI collect tea pots that I find at Good Will, Salvation Army, etc. Often they have lost the center glass lid. The candle lids usually work. I also put my rings in a lid when I'm working in the kitchen. I make pin cushions in them for each bedroom and bathroom, I use the pin cushions for gifts. I love them to put under the legs of furniture. I have a picture of my daughter that she made in one in school when she was a child. I get a warm feeling every time I walk by it.
ReplyDeleteI have used mine for snowmen hats! :)
ReplyDeleteLove these ideas though.
I'm not watching hoarders --be careful ..this is how it begins :)
ReplyDeleteI I I have glued different sized kids to a narrow piece of barn wood the mounted it to the wall--I use it to hang necklaces on--the lip around the lid is perfect for keeping the necklaces in place. You could also put small pix or items in the lid before attaching it to the wood. It works perfectly!!!
ReplyDeletePlease don't glue the kids!! Lol
DeleteYou can also use the candle part of the jar when the candle is all gone. There are pins for cleaning out the old wax. Then you have a cool looking glass jar to store things in or put lights inside or decorate the outside and use as storage. Possibilities are endless for cool jars!!!
ReplyDeleteYou can clean them out put cotton balls Qtips and the round cotton wipes for your face to put in your bathroom or the lids for dips when you have company
ReplyDeleteAnd here I always just recycle mine, as in put them in the recycling bin. Your tips are for reusing/repurposing, not recycling. They do not mean the same thing. Not that these aren't good tips for repurposing the lids into something you need but don't want to shell out money for. But if you don't need something to store your paperclips or sugar packets, or if you go through a lot of candles and can't possibly repurpose all the lids/jars, try actually recycling them, as in putting them in a bin for glass recycling. Honestly, I'm always shocked at how many people throw recyclable things in the trash without even thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteThe plastic rings could be used to put on a clothes hanger, if you can find one that was made for a man's pants, that you undo the bottom rod where pants would go. Just slide the plastic rings over that, secure the rod and hand your scarfs, belts or necklaces on the rings. You could also cut the ring just to get it over a rod on coat hanger. This keeps those accessories organized.
ReplyDeleteHi...haven't read all the comments, so am not sure if it has been suggested, but I leave the ring on and use them for sewing weights!
ReplyDeleteLove this! Shared on my facebook (https://www.facebook.com/minenapixosa/). Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI use silicone glue and stack the lids up as part of my glass yard art, they make a nice 'stem' or separating segment. (Plates, bottles stacked up and glued). I get candles from Michaels and put them on a coffee warmer...and sometimes light them, cheap and LOTS of leftover lids.
ReplyDeleteI use silicone glue and stack the lids up as part of my glass yard art, they make a nice 'stem' or separating segment. (Plates, bottles stacked up and glued). I get candles from Michaels and put them on a coffee warmer...and sometimes light them, cheap and LOTS of leftover lids.
ReplyDeleteDon't know if anyone said this but I use mine as toppers for my diy apothecary jars
ReplyDeleteI don't buy Yahkee Candles because I'm allergic to so many scents. Please donate these jars to a thrift store. I would like to use some of these ideas.
ReplyDeleteI did use the whole jar to make a tiny terrarium.
I took the plastic piece off and used for a lid on a large pickle jar that I made a terrarium in
ReplyDelete