The jam is very lovely, but I’m pretty sure I’m not the only person who buys Bonne Maman because of the pretty jar. Forget McDonald’s and Coca Cola – this red gingham check is one of the most recognizable designs in the history of food packaging! It’s timeless and very French country!

A good way to keep the jar around the house is to transform it into a handmade candle!

I used about 2 cups of beeswax pellets.  I melted them in a double boiler.  You can use a microwave too, which is significantly quicker.

Prepare the jar by gluing a wick at the bottom center of the jar.  You can use one of those metal wick holders but I didn’t have one handy, so I used a glue from a hot glue gun to secure the wick.  Wrap the top of the wick to a chopstick or a straw to keep it straight (I used two chopsticks because it’s bad luck in Japan to use just one, but you don’t need two to keep the wick in place).

Pour the melted beeswax into the jar and let it cool for about a few hours.  The wax hardens very quickly but it’s important to leave it cooled long enough until  the center hardened completely as well.

I really like the scent of beeswax.  Some people don’t like it and I can see why.  It can be little overwhelming but that’s what I like about it.  It’s warm, sweet, and playfully nutty.

By the way, removing the hardened beeswax off of the measure cup and utensils that you used it tough. It’s pretty awful, but luckily, I found  Aunt Peaches‘ blog for some great tips!  As instructed, I poured a super hot water and let the wax float to the top.  I also used the trusty Magic Eraser to scrub the wax off.  Nonetheless, it was a real pain!