Add pretty vibes to your home with these gorgeous mason jar candles with dried flowers! 100% natural and has a lovely long burn time. Enjoy the recipe!
I have a self-confessed love of mason jar candles! They look so pretty and brighten up a dreary dinner table, ready for that special occasion in no time.
We use our homemade jar candles for any event, be it a birthday, anniversary, or party. Or simply on the weekends when we want to be together!
It’s a great way to connect as a family, and lighting candles allows us to tune in to whatever the day holds for us, sharing a special moment.
In this post, I explain how to make mason jar candles in an easy, enjoyable way. Making candles of any sort is a relaxing and enjoyable activity.
This recipe adds fragrant lavender flowers to the mix, but you could swap those for rose petals or pine sprigs as some other suggestions if you dislike the idea of lavender.
What is a mason jar candle?
A mason jar is a special jar that looks gorgeous (in a nutshell!) They’re usually made from thick glass with a flat bottom and a neck that curves inwards as it reaches the rim.
They come with a metal screw top lid and historically were used in jam-making and canning procedures.
These days, mason jars can be used for anything, from storing dry foods to drinks to powders and – candles! I have used them in several candle recipes, including our homemade honey vanilla candles.
Why you will love this recipe
Here are a few of my thoughts on why these DIY mason jar candles are so good! I’m sure you’ll enjoy making them as much as I do.
- They’re easy to make. Just three ingredients and a candle wick. That’s it!
- They smell great. Lavender is one of nature’s best calming scents, so perfect for filling the room with chill-out vibes.
- They last ages (burn time-wise). Mason jars are bigger than your average size glass jars, so the amount of candle wax that goes in is more too.
key ingredients
- Lavender dried flowers – using dry flowers in candle making is important. In fact, any dry flowers would be fine for this recipe. The trick to using them safely is to stick them to the side of the glass before you pour the candle wax in. This is so they don’t catch fire when you light the candle and the wick burns down.
- Lavender oil – adds a natural fragrance to these DIY jar candles. If you choose a different dried flower, go ahead and experiment with different scents.
- Soy wax – Always use sustainably sourced wax if you can. I wrote a separate post on soy wax vs. beeswax if you want to check this out prior to choosing the wax for these mason jar candles.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. Get my full disclosure HERE.
how to make a mason jar candle
Ingredients:
- 21 oz of sustainably sourced soy wax (largely dependent on the size of your jars)
- Several dried lavender flowers
- 25 drops of lavender essential oil
Instructions:
Melt the wax in a double boiler or wax melter.
Pour just a little bit of wax into the mason jar, then gently rotate it to its side, letting the wax run around the sides of the jar.
Carefully press the flowers against the sides of the jar onto the melted wax. Allow the wax to harden before continuing (so the flowers stick.)
Attach the wick to the bottom of the jar.
Add essential oils to the melted wax, stir well, then carefully add to your mason jar.
Wrap the excess wick around a pencil to hold it in place, or use a candle wick centering device.
Allow the wax to harden fully before trimming the wick and lighting.
Precautions
Dried flowers are flammable and should not be used anywhere in the candle other than pressed to the edges of the jar to avoid contact with an open flame or the wick.
Never leave a burning candle unattended.
FAQs
This recipe, in the quantities described, should make around 3 x 8-ounce mason jars. Enough for your kitchen or dining table and a couple of other areas in your home that you’d like to pretty up.
You can use any dried flowers and don’t feel you have to match the scent to the flower, either.
You could combine colors of dried flower petals if you like, a bit like a rainbow, and then simply add whichever essential oil scent is your favorite. Mix and match as you see fit!
You can use beeswax as an alternative to soy wax. I use soy wax purely for the color – homemade beeswax candles will be yellow, whereby soy is more of a creamy white and shows the flowers better.
Don’t use paraffin wax as this is toxic (full of chemicals), whereby soy and beeswax are natural, so they burn cleaner.
And a tip, if the wick is not straight, is to wait until the wax hardens slightly, then pull it tight and into the middle of the candle.
How long does it last?
The burn time of an 8 oz soy wax candle is around 40-50 hours – which is a long time!
Considering we only ever light candles for a brief period (max a few hours at a time, I’d say), it means you’ll get to enjoy your mason jar candle for weeks to months.
As far as how long the candle lasts, typically, homemade soy wax candles should be used within 2 years; however, they may last even longer when appropriately stored, i.e., in a cool dark place.
So you’re safe to keep it as long as you want to – though you may find that after some time, the texture of the candle changes or the petals starts to discolor. These are all signs that the candle is getting past its best.
I hope you enjoyed reading this post. If you try making these DIY mason jar candles, I would love to hear about it! Leave me a review or comment in the section below.
If you’re looking to read more on DIY candle making, check out these posts:
- Homemade holiday candles
- Citronella candles to repel bugs
- No burn DIY candle wax melts
- How to make coffee candles
- How to make pillar candles
How to Make Mason Jar Candles with Dried Flowers
Equipment
- Mason jars
Ingredients
Instructions
- Melt the wax in a double boiler or wax melter.
- Pour just a little bit of wax into the mason jar, then gently rotate it to its side, letting the wax run around the sides of the jar.
- Carefully press the flowers against the sides of the jar onto the melted wax. Allow the wax to harden before continuing (so the flowers stick.)
- Attach the wick to the bottom of the jar.
- Add essential oils to the melted wax, stir well, then carefully add to your mason jar.
- Wrap the excess wick around a pencil to hold it in place, or use a candle wick centering device.
- Allow the wax to harden fully before trimming the wick and lighting.
Annie says
What size wick do you use for your mason jars and what brand? Do you use one wick? Two?
What size burn pool do you get from your wick? Am not a fan of tunneling.
Your candles do look pretty.
Laura says
Thank you! Everything I use is linked in the post. For these size candles, I only use one wick. You may want two if you make a larger candle.
Chaula says
Hey Laura ,
At what temperature of the wax do you add the essential oil?
Laura says
Its recommended to add the oils around 180°F for best results.