I really love little clay pots and glass jars. They are some of my favorite things to buy at DI. Another thing I love is candles. So I decided to use some jars and cups from DI to repurpose the old candles I have at home. Because so many of my candles have been well loved, the wax in most of them has melted down so far that it makes it hard to light the wick. But I still love the scents, so I’m going to melt them down and put them in smaller jars I got at DI.

Also, a lot of candles have tacky packaging, so being able to replace that packaging with a little cup or jar from DI is awesome. I can still enjoy the scents I like but in prettier, reusable containers. This is a simple DIY project that anyone can do.

Here’s what to do:

1) Buy some new-to-you containers from DI. I love pottery and glass jars, but you could also use mugs, cups, saucers, bowls, or vases.

2) Gather old candles that have melted down and are hard to light or that have packaging you just don’t love.

3) Set your oven to a low temperature setting. Keeping the temperature low helps your old candles maintain their scent. Melt the wax until it is a liquid.

4) Use tweezers or chopsticks to rescue the wicks from the melted wax. I reuse my wicks, but you can also buy new ones at a craft store.

5) Pour the melted wax from the old containers into your new ones. I would do this over parchment paper or newspaper, just in case you spill.

6) Put the wicks inside the new candles. As I said, I used my old wicks—I just cut them down to fit my new jars. If your wicks are almost gone or not worth saving, use new ones.

7) Once the wax has hardened, trim the wicks so that they stand about one-eighth inch above the surface of the wax.

8) Enjoy your new candles!

Holly Graham is a graphic designer who lives in Utah with her husband Callan. She upcycled jars into candles as part of her Project DI challenge, which was to redo a home office. Watch "Project DI: Home Office" to see how the challenge went.