When fall rolls around, it’s fun to make your house feel cozy and warm. As the heat dissipates, you don’t mind turning on the oven again to bake a yummy pie. The sun goes down earlier, and you can light a toasty fire in the evening.
No fireplace? A few scented candles are the next best thing. We added coffee and vanilla beans to these candles, and the scent is so good you kind of want to eat it.
Candle making is one of those deceptively easy crafts. All you do is melt and pour! So it’s fun to mix things up by adding texture (like with ice) or using a fun container (like a paint can).
I find the smell of most candles overwhelmingโdoes anyone else get a headache just walking into a Yankee Candle store? I loved the smell of these, very warm and homey but not cloying.
DIY Candles with Coffee and Vanilla Beans
Raid your kitchen to find pretty bowls or cups. We filled up several of the tinted glass cups that were hanging around. Wouldn’t they be so pretty as table decorations?
I love chopping up an old unscented candle and reusing the wax, but that’s challenging here because you don’t want to mix a bunch of different scents. Soy wax chips are probably the easiest to use because they have no smell, but beeswax would also work.
The easiest way to melt the wax is to fill up a clean tin can and set it into a saucepan with an inch or so of water over medium heat. As the wax melts, add more chips if they didn’t all fit initially.
We added a few whole coffee beans for some natural coffee smell. You can also chop up and add 1โ2 vanilla beans. Pour in a small layer of wax and add a layer of coffee beans and vanilla beans. Then fill the rest of the cup with wax.
You can stir the wax with a chopstick to distribute the bean pieces if desired. Add a few coffee beans on top, then let the wax harden and trim the wick.
For a stronger scent, you can add a few drops of French vanilla fragrance oil or use a combination of coffee (my new favorite scent!) and vanilla essential oils. For essential oil candles, use 200 drops of EO for every 4 ounces of candle wax to get a noticeable scent.
Photos by Ana Stanciu
French Vanilla Coffee Candles
Equipment
- Double boiler or microwave-safe bowl
- Small bowl or tin
Materials
Instructions
- Using a double boiler or a microwave-safe bowl, melt the wax. Glue the wick in place at the bottom of the cup or just hold it in place with your hand (at the top, of course).
- Pour in a small layer of wax and add a layer of coffee beans and vanilla beans. Then fill the rest of the cup with wax. You can stir the wax with a chopstick to distribute the bean pieces if desired.
- Drop a few coffee beans on top and let the wax fully harden, then trim the wick.๏ปฟ
Oh yes, this is exactly the kind of candle I want to smell. I mean, can everything just smell like coffee all the time? Such a great idea and what an awesome gift this would make!
Great! Do you have any other wonderful ideas of ways I can start unsafe fires inside my house?!
Whoaa! these look adorable! Thank you for share awesome.
With the holidays approaching and pumpkin spice season in full swing, I decided to share some of my favorite DIY ways to make your house smell good. From warm vanilla coffee bean to a holiday simmering potpourri recipe.
Question ~
This post was made in November of 2015, but you have comments/questions from as far back as September of 2013. How can that be? Was it reposted st a further date?
Next question~there have been numerous attempts by others to get you attention to answer the questions they have. Why…over the course of almost 5 years, have you not responded to ANY of them? You’ve just left us hear scratching our heads! These are legitimate questions!?!?
I just don’t get it. Nor do I follow anyone that posts something and never, ever checks back in to see if anyone has any comments or questions or even suggestions…
Shame…I was just beginning to like this site ?โน๏ธ?
Can you use vanilla extract instead of the bean
Goodwill is a great source for pretty teacups and other containers to make candles in. You can also pick up a bowl to melt the wax in so you don’t have to worry about messing up one of your own.
The coffee beans catch fire!!! Do not use make this candle! I made this candle the night before Mother’s Day, and now I have no decent gift because it catches on fire!!!
Sorry for the typo.
Can we use vanilla extract instead? Vanilla beans aren’t available where I live. Thanks.
Was wondering if you know how long they last before molding or going bad? Would love to use as a decoration.
Can we use coffee grinds because coffee beans may burn??
Great ideas Stephanie !!! I will try these candles.
Thanks !!
I’ve been wanting to try making candles. I had no idea it was so easy!
I cannot wait to try this out! It looks like a craft I can actually do!!
Great idea!! Thank you
I was wondering if you could use lavender instead of coffee beans…also could you grind up the coffee beans so they don’t catch on fire?
They look pretty! But I’ve made candle with coffee beans and the beans would catch on fire, leaving it less than safe. So just a warning to be careful to those who try this!
Won’t the beans catch fire or create a lot of smoke?
This is exactly the page I was looking for! Thanks for posting. Do you have any idea how long a certain size burns for?
Me too:-)
I’m definitely going to make this candle! But I was wondering, could vanilla extract be used instead of vanilla bean?
I was wondering this same thing, and my husband says it should be fine as the vodka is only 80 proof and should not catch fire.
a nice gift idea also !!
Do you chop the vanilla bean whole? Or scoop out the inside, then chop the ‘shell’?
I bet these smell amazing – Coffee and Vanilla have to be two of my favourite smells… and as for vanilla coffee to drink, yum!
I love this! I wanted to let you know that I featured this today in my “What I Bookmarked This Week” post – stop by and see!
Thanks Danielle! I’ll definitely stop by & check it out!
Such a great idea. Perfect scent for fall!
Thanks Lana! There’s something so cozy about the smell of coffee, right?
What a fantastic idea Stephanie! Love the aroma of coffee!
What a great idea Stephanie! I made some candles a while ago and thought it was a great easy craft idea. Now I’ll have to look out for some cute little containers for them.
The smell of vanilla beans is the best smell ever, but you’re right, the store-bought vanilla candles can be so cloying. I think I’d like these much better!
These are beautiful! I love the texture the beans add to the candles. I bet they smell yummy!
Showing this to my mom, she loves making candles and you make it look so easy!
Cute! I love making candles; I’m definitely going to try making some with coffee beans!
Oh yum my favorite scent!!
I love this idea!! Thanks so much for sharing. French vanilla is my favorite.