15 Decorative And Easy Candles And Votives You Can DIY For Under $1

I love candles. There are just so many wonderful choices these days from sizes and shapes to scents and colors – what’s not to love? I love making my own candles even more, which is a craft that I’ve enjoyed for years. If you have never created your own candle, you are seriously missing out on some fun and some bragging rights. I’ve made candles to give as gifts and I can tell you that people love receiving homemade candles, which is what prompted me to show you these 15 decorative and easy candles that you can make for under a dollar each.

A dollar! You can’t find a good quality candle anywhere for under a dollar. Plus, making these is so much fun and they’re homemade, which instantly makes them better than any other candle you may have, right? Many of these DIY candles can be made from things that you probably already have on hand, which is what makes them so inexpensive. Actually, you may even have all of the ingredients for some, so those won’t cost you anything. Imagine, free candles!

I absolutely love repurposing and many of these DIY candles are just repurposed items. I also really love decorating my home with things that I make myself. If you love homemade items in your home, these candles are perfect. From glittery candles and mercury glass votives to french vanilla candles that smell wonderful and even whimsical candles that are made entirely of old broken crayons. That’s repurposing at its best! If you enjoy repurposing, be sure to take a look at our repurposing category for thousands of ideas.

Okay, so we’ve established that I simply love candles. I can’t wait for you to try some of these for yourself. There’s a wonderful cake scented funfetti candle that is perfect for birthday parties and other celebrations and even a votive holder that you make solely from rope. I’ve even included a great survival candle that is perfect for camping or for anytime you need some additional light – like during those horrid summer storms. So, grab a few supplies and let’s get busy making some lovely candles. I can’t wait to hear which one is your favorite!

1. DIY Cake Scented Funfetti Candle

If you have a birthday celebration coming up, or even if you just love the smell of birthday cake, you are going to really like this DIY cake scented funfetti candle. Add vanilla to the other ingredients and it will have a wonderful birthday cake scent. The colorful sprinkles are great and they make this one perfect to give as a gift. I love the idea of giving homemade candles as gifts, and most people love the idea of receiving them as gifts.

Tutorial: sewlicioushomedecor

2. Cathrineholm Enamelware Candles

Cathrineholm Enamelware is a line of kitchen products. The products were produced by a Norwegian company that closed its doors in 1970, making vintage pieces from that line really expensive. The design is beautiful but who wants to pay several thousand dollars for a plate just to get that design? Instead, you can create these lovely votive holders that mimic that same design and will only cost you around a dollar as opposed to a thousand.

Tutorial: howaboutorange

3. Homemade French Vanilla Candles

These amazing french vanilla candles will make your entire home smell like a coffee shop. With coffee beans and vanilla beans, this candle has a wonderful scent and to make it really affordable, you can chop up an old unscented candle for the wax that you need, or buy a bag of unscented votive candles from the Dollar Store for a dollar. You use a jelly jar or any small bowl or glass that you have on hand to create these yummy smelling candles.

Tutorial: hellonatural

4. DIY Glittery Votives

Votive candles are so inexpensive, which is what makes this glittery votive such a must have. You can buy votive candles in huge bags from the Dollar Store and use these glittery votives that you make to house them. You just take a small clear glass vase or even a clear glass votive holder and add glitter to make this. Do them in many different colors or choose a specific theme. These are great for homemade gifts – just add one of those cheap little votive candles and you’ve got a wonderful gift for any occasion.

Tutorial: houseofearnes

5. Mercury Glass Votive Holders

Mercury glass is gorgeous, especially when it’s all lit up with candlelight. With a can of spray mercury paint, you can turn old glasses and empty candle holders into these amazing mercury glass votive holders. I love how very easy it is to get a seemingly expensive candle holder – only you will know that you made it yourself and that it cost less than a dollar to create. These are also perfect for gifts and you can make several with just one can of paint.

Tutorial: ruffledblog

6. Homemade Holiday Multi-Scented Candles

Christmas is some time away – so you have plenty of time to create these wonderful holiday candles. If you have the necessary essential oils, this DIY candle project won’t cost you anything. You can use unscented candles if you have them for the wax, so again, it’s a free project. Just color wax in red and green, and you’ll use the naturally colored wax for white, then add your scents. As the candles burn down, you get a new scent!

Tutorial: helloglow

7. DIY Whimsical Tote Candles

This gorgeous DIY candle can be made with things that you probably already have on hand. You’ll need a jar – those mason jars are perfect for this – as well as pine or heather, a belt and some wire or twine. Just add a votive candle or a scented one if you prefer. These look beautiful lining the porch for the holidays or hang them on the deck with the heather for spring and summer. It’s an easy project and one that costs very little if anything – assuming you have certain supplies on hand.

Tutorial: stylizimoblog

8. Easy DIY Picture Candle Holder

This is a wonderful project that would make the perfect Mother’s Day gift or a gift for any special occasion. You take plain glass candle holders or glasses and use picture negatives to create the image. Negatives can’t really be seen unless there is a bit of light behind them, which makes this candle idea perfect for viewing old pictures. You’re sure to have negatives from before the digital age, right? You can use those to make these lovely votive holders and then just add a cheap votive candle from the Dollar Store to give those images the light they need to be seen.

Tutorial: photojojo

9. Easy Painted Votive Holders

Those plain glass votive holders that you get from the Dollar Store may be inexpensive but they’re also a bit boring. You can add some wonderful color to those votives with a little paint. This is a wonderful project to keep the kids busy during the winter, when it’s just too cold to get outside. Paint with whatever colors you want to make the designs that you desire. These really couldn’t be easier and they product such beautiful candles.

Tutorial: oncewed

10. DIY Rope Candle Holders

Here’s another wonderful way to add some character to those plain votive holders. Take some rope and just cover them up. You just hot glue the end of the rope to the bottom of your candle holder or glass and then work your way up. Add some glue to keep the rope in place. This is a great project for those of you who love farmhouse décor and it’s perfect for gift giving, too. It’s also a great way to add some style to your DIY candles. Once you’ve poured the candles and they have cooled, add your rope.

Tutorial: mintedstrawberry

11. Beautiful Handmade Stained Glass Candles

Oh the wonderful things that you can create with tissue paper and Mod Podge. Actually, if you don’t have any Mod Podge, you can use Elmer’s school glue for this one and it works just as well. Just rip up the tissue paper and glue it to your plain glasses or plain glass votive holders. You can also use wine tumblers or vases that you pick up at the thrift store. These are so inexpensive to make and create such beautiful candles.

Tutorial: makezine

12. DIY Soy Wedding Candles

Planning a wedding? Did you know that you can save a fortune if you DIY most of your decorations? I’ve been doing wedding decorating and catering for years and these soy candles are one of my favorite ways to decorate with DIY style and save some money at the same time. What’s really great is these little candles will burn up to eight hours or longer, much longer than the reception will last, and you can allow guests to take them home with them as a wedding favor after the festivities have ended.

Tutorial: ellefeeney

13. Easy Homemade Crayon Candles

These candles made from old broken crayons are absolutely fabulous. Seriously, how many crayons do you throw out because they’re broken and no longer used? You can turn those crayons into lovely colorful candles and it’s really easy to do so. The cost on this one says around $15 or so, but it makes so many different candles. You can easily do one for around a dollar. The colors are layered, which I really love. They’re so gorgeous and you can pour them into small vases or glasses to save on supply costs.

Tutorial: instructables

14. DIY Survival Candles

Planning a camping trip? How about storms – do you normally lose power during spring and summer thunderstorms? These survival candles are perfect and they’re inexpensive, not to mention easy, to make. You can make these in small mason jars – or large ones if you want larger candles. Each one costs only about a dollar or so to make and you will always have plenty of candlelight in case you lose electricity. They’re also perfect for camping or those romantic evenings on the back deck.

Tutorial: teotwawki-blog

15. Easy DIY Mason Jar Candles

Okay, so we’ve seen a few candles that you can put into mason jars. Here’s a great candle that you make in mason jars that you can customize however you want. Want scented candles? Add some essential oils or any number of natural things like coffee beans or lemon zest. You can also add coloring if you want to make them more decorative and they’re very easy to make – use those unscented votive candles from the Dollar Store for the wax that you need and they’re really inexpensive.

Tutorial: somethingturquoise

Make Your Own Votive Candleholders

These votive holders are absolutely divine and so easy to make! The tutorial comes from The Hyper House and most of the materials are things that you probably already have lying around your own hyper house. These are cheap and easy to make and look like they cost a small fortune. Whether you need votive holders for elegant candlelit dinners or you simply want a bit of beauty around the house, these are a great little project. You can do them as gifts, too. Really, who wouldn’t want a few of these? And, you know that we love cheap and easy DIY gifts.

Tutorial: thehyperhouse

Great Repurposing Idea for Old Candles – DIY Ice Candles

How many old candles do you have just sitting around the house? You know, the ones that are too short to burn but you just can’t bring yourself to throw them out because they still have that tiny bit of wax left. Henry Happened has a great idea for making your own ice candles using those old candles. You can also make these from soy wax if you don’t have any old candles lying around but I’ll bet you have at least a handful that you need to recycle. This is a great idea for using up all of that wax and you can mix and match your colors to make the candles really special.

Tutorial: henryhappened

Make These Great Beach Themed Candles for Your Patio this Summer

Even if you don’t live near the beach, you can get a great sense of being there with these wonderful DIY candles. The idea comes from Mom It Forward and they are beautiful candles with a great beach theme. Best of all, they take very little time to make.

You just need a few basic supplies and you can get the list from the site. If you are planning a cookout or you just want to pretty up your patio with something that makes you think of vacationing at the beach, these candles are the perfect DIY project.

Tutorial: momitforward