How to Upcycle Candle Jars

As you may already know, I recently flew out to San Jose for the BlogHer conference and spoke at the Glade® booth about how scent can inspire creativity. I also shared a couple of super easy upcycling projects, and it was so much fun!

Well, today I am sharing a little recap of my trip along with some creative ways to upcycle candle jars. Yes, this is a super long post {guess I’m feeling a bit chatty today}, so grab some coffee and read along, or skim through and enjoy the photos!

BlogHer Recap:

My flight was scheduled for early Thursday morning and since I was going to have to wake up at 3 am I figured it would be better just to stay up all night. Besides, I could just sleep on the plane, right? Apparently not. I didn’t realize 1. the seats somehow got closer together and 2. they no longer have blankets available for sale on the flight. I’m pretty sure everyone looked at me like I was crazy when I asked that question. The sweater I brought wasn’t doing anything to keep me warm either and sleeping when you are freezing is a lot more difficult then you would think.

This may sound lame but I actually haven’t flown in like 8 years {yikes!}. I felt so awkward going through the airport which is funny considering as a kid I flew from Texas to California a couple of times a year. Eric and I love road trips and pretty much drive everywhere, and since we like to take Bailey with us it just seems to be easier that way. Eric actually has to travel for work now and flies out every week, and I don’t know how he does it! I have so much more respect for him, and for others that travel regularly for work, it’s exhausting!

California Love

Okay, I have this love for California that I just can’t describe. It’s home to me. The mountains, the beach, the air, the people. I <3 California. I was born in Mountain View and then went back and forth between Texas and California as a kid. I later moved to Southern California for college which is where I met Eric aka the hubs. Growing up, I actually flew into the San Jose airport with my older brother to visit our dad for the summer. So being back in the airport, and seeing all the SF Giant’s gear brought back so many amazing memories and the #bestfeelings. Seriously. Talk about nostalgic and it was just the airport!

The Hotel

I was staying at the hotel that’s connected to the convention center where the BlogHer conference was being held, and the only thing I could think of to do when I got there…. was sleep. I know so lame, right? Here I am in the beautiful hotel in an awesome city surrounded by bloggers and I wanted to sleep. Oh yeah and isn’t that view amazing?

I was feeling pretty cruddy though and didn’t know if it was from not sleeping or from the recirculated air on the plane and freezing for nearly 5 hours straight. Or maybe a little bit of both. I honestly can’t remember the last time I was this tired. In my defense, I pretty much hadn’t slept since before the Haven conference a few weeks prior. Oh the glamorous life of blogging, haha.

10% Battery Life

So I decided to take a 2-hour nap in the middle of the afternoon, and then woke up to get ready and check some things out.

It was a gorgeous day and I forgot what it felt like to walk outside with NO humidity and a slight breeze. Heavenly. Pure bliss, I tell ya! Now I remember why I used to spend so much time outdoors, and yet now I have trouble wanting to sit on our front porch, haha. It’s been 4 years since I was in California and this walk sold me on moving back. Easy peasy.

As I continued to walk I passed by an ice cream shop and oh my gosh I wish I could have taken a photo and then bottled up that delightful creamy aroma, and brought it home with me. It was AMAZING! It reminded me of this ice cream shop we used to walk to with my dad on Sunday evenings during the summer. This walk was full of good memories and so perfect for a weekend spent talking about #bestfeelings. It was exactly what I needed and one of my favorite memories from the week, and it was just a walk! Isn’t it amazing how something as simple as scent and taste can conjure up your best feelings?

Room Service

Alright, so I finally got to the Walgreens and paid $15 for the USB cord so I could charge my phone. Of course, by the time I got back to the hotel it was late {even later in Atlanta} and I was beyond exhausted. I felt like I was getting sick and I knew I better sleep it off so I could enjoy all of the fun that was to ensue the next day. So I charged my phone, ordered room service, and called it a day. The veggie burger was delicious and sleeping on a super comfy bed without our pets taking over was pretty nice 🙂

BlogHer Day 1

The next morning I woke up super early so I could organize my crafts and work on a few things before heading down to the conference. I thought I would have time to check out a class before heading to the booth but I was moving slower than ever so it didn’t happen. I got to the Expo Hall at 10 am thinking I’d have time to get a bit organized and set up but things got crazy fast, in a good way of course 🙂

Before long, the adrenaline of the conference took over and it was so much fun talking to different bloggers and sharing some simple upcycle projects! Everyone was so nice and of course, they all talked about how much they love and use Glade® products in their home.

Everyone kept asking me which scent I liked best out of the samples that were out: Rustic Cashmere Woods, Lavender & Peach Blossom, and Red Honeysuckle Nectar. Honestly, I can’t decide!

Some days the Rustic Cashmere Woods is my favorite {no surprise there, right?} with it’s romantic and rustic woodsy scent that makes me wanna curl up in my imaginary {but soon to be real} mountain cabin.

Red Honeysuckle Nectar is flirty and cheerful and makes me feel like decorating my house with feminine touches or floral patterns.

And then there is the relaxing yet energizing scent of Lavender & Peach Blossom that makes me want to listen to the Jason Mraz Pandora station while making placemat pillows. By the way, I totally did this in my hotel room using liquid stitch so there was no sewing required! Talk about easy! I learned this little tip from my friend Amy of Homey Oh My, and you will be seeing a lot more no-sew projects popping up over here!

So as you can see, they all inspire me in different ways and can help put me in different moods. That’s the beauty of scent and candles, they truly can inspire you and mentally transport you to somewhere else!

Santana Row

So after a day of sharing some craft projects, I actually met up with some friends of mine that live in the area. In fact, I recently created a rustic wedding keepsake box for them using the same technique I had shared earlier that day at the conference. This is the perfect type of project to work on while burning the rustic Cashmere Woods, don’t you think?

They took me out to Santana Row where is a great place to walk around and check out great shops and restaurants. Can I just say that for it being the “hottest day of the year” in San Jose, it felt pretty amazing to me! We had some drinks outside, then ate at a super yummy vegetarian restaurant. I forgot how much easier it is to be a vegetarian in California.

We even saw a DeLorean:

All in all, it was a really fun night and it was so nice to visit with Beckie and Ryan, who were leaving the next morning to celebrate their 2 year anniversary.

Back at the hotel room, I decided to work on some more crafty projects that I could share the next day and in the morning I woke up early to get more supplies together {we surprisingly went through more than we anticipated the first day}.

BlogHer Day 2:

I headed down to the Glade® booth for a couple of hours and then had the opportunity to break away for a couple of hours to see keynote speaker Kerry Washington:

I’ve never watched Scandal but now may need to check it out. She seemed like such a down to earth, fun and passionate lady and I really enjoyed the conversation.

Afterward, I went back to the Glade® booth where we passed out the rest of the awesome FREE samples. By the way, I also love how they had the booth set up like a cozy home, there were so many compliments on how pretty it was and I agree! Even the light fixture was awesome!

I’ve gotta say that although I didn’t have time to attend the classes at the BlogHer conference, it was still so much fun and I met so many amazing bloggers!

I hope that some bloggers walked away with some crafty skills and will use scent to inspire their next project, post or activity.

 

How to Upcycle Candle Jars

As you may have seen in this previous post, I love to collect the Glade candle jars after the candles have been used up. In fact, we have quite a collection! Here are just some of the jars we have collected over the past year or so, that I’ve already cleaned up. Sidenote: I clean the jars by first placing them on a candle warmer to loosen up any leftover wax, then dump that out and place the jar in hot soapy water to clean up the inside using a sponge.

What’s so great about these jars is you can upcycle them after you used the candle. They are a great way to display succulents and other small plants or to organize crafts, toiletries, office supplies, hardware, and the list could go on . . . You can even place them around your home with the Glade® tea light candles inside or store the Glade® wax melts inside!

I added some of my grandmother’s lace to one of the clean jars using Mod Podge and a foam brush. This was super easy because all you do is cut your lace to size, add the Mod Podge onto the jar using the foam brush, and then place the lace on top, press down and trim off any extra.

I <3 how this jar looks with succulents inside, don’t you?  Without having holes drilled at the bottom, this isn’t a great long term solution, but I think this is a great idea for wedding centerpieces.

I wrapped some rosette trim around one of the jars using the glue gun and think it turned out so pretty! Plus it perfect for holding my Glade® wax melts inside.

And look at that, these jars also make for great glue stick holders.

My brother and his wife gave me a box full of driftwood a while back {they know me so well!} and I was so excited to put some to use! All I did was add pieces of driftwood to the outside of the jar using the glue gun and I <3 how it turned out. If you don’t have driftwood you could use some twigs or baby pinecones. I plan on doing that for some easy fall decor this year.

Okay, so you probably know I’m obsessed with contact paper, as seen on my DIY accent wall, business cards, on the planter in this post, and several other posts on this blog, which is why I had to add some copper contact paper to a few of the Jars!

All you do is cut out the shape you want, peel and stick! I used the grid on the back on the contact paper to cut out my triangle shapes and then eyeballed where I wanted them to go on the jar and stuck them on. Of course, this method is really forgiving too because you can peel the pieces off to re-position them if you need to.

Here are 2 slightly different versions, one holding some paperclips and the other with foam brushes. And of course, you saw the photo above with the glue sticks inside. Just imagine all of the craft supplies you can store in these little guys!

As you can see, there are tons of creative ways to decorate and upcycle candle jars, you can use them for display, or to store and organize items in your home.

So the next time your Glade® candle is all out, don’t throw it out, upcycle it!

Share Your #BestFeelings

Do you collect the Glade® candle jars and if so, what do you use them for? I’d love to hear about it! And don’t forget to share your #bestfeeelings with Glade® too via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!

 This Giveaway has ended. 

Now onto the Giveaway!

One lucky winner will be chosen at random to win the following prize pack!

1. Glade® Wax Melt Warmer
2. Glade Wax Melts (1 each) in Lavender & Peach Blossom, Cashmere Woods and RedHoneysuckle Nectar
3. Glade Jar Candles (1 each) in Lavender & Peach Blossom, Cashmere Woods and RedHoneysuckle Nectar
4. Glade Plugins Scented Oil Dual Warmer (1) and Scented Oil Refills in Lavender & PeachBlossom, Cashmere Woods and Red Honeysuckle Nectar

Enter to win via the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

{This post is sponsored by Glade®, but all opinions are my own. I <3 Glade® products and use them daily, as you can see from my ridiculously awesome collection of jars!}