Rustic Dough Bowl Candle Care + Safety Tips

A Joy Forever rustic dough bowl candles are loved the world over! 

Each is hand-carved, and crafted to order just for you with the highest quality wax, wicks and a wide selection of clean, Leaping-Bunny certified cruelty-free fragrances.

A few notes:

• Every bowl is unique, so expect small differences in shape, color and size. We think that's part of the charm!
• Bowls are sustainable, and we encourage you to use and enjoy them in any number of wonderful ways after burning. We put rolled-up fingertip towels in ours and set next to the sink in the powder room - a really pretty décor item! They're perfect filled with your favorite potpourri, holiday ornaments or a handful of coarse salt infused with a few drops of essential oil. 
• With proper care, bowls can also be refilled as candles. You can purchase our DIY kit here, or send back to us and we'll do the work for you.

Here are a few tips to keep your rustic bowls safe, beautiful and long-lasting:
1. When your candle arrives, remove all packing material, wrap, bows, etc. If you've purchased an Original Fire Pit candle, fire glass is meant to sit loosely on top of the wax. Take care when removing the outer wrap, and arrange any stray crystals back on the candle.

Feel free to burn right away or wait an additional one to two weeks for an even more dramatic scent.

2. Always light on a level, heat-safe surface, and never leave unattended. Keep away from drafts, kids and pets (especially from wagging dog tails and curious kitties...). 

3. Burn candle for no more than 2 to 3 hours at a time. Simply snuff wicks, allow wax to cool and harden, then relight again when desired. Never burn (any!) candle with less than 1/4 wax remaining. 

4. Unlike jars, rustic candles can naturally burn in irregular patterns, such as small pools or circles around the wick. This is normal, and designed to keep the flame away from the sides of the bowl. 

5. Fire pit candle? Expect glass to sink into wax over time. Simply relight when ready, and the beautiful crystals will show through the melted wax once again. Fire pit candles can be used indoors or outdoors on a heat-safe surface, but remember to protect from the elements if enjoyed on a patio or poolside.

6. You may notice some slight cracking or pulling away of wax from the edge of the bowl. This is also common, and will disappear as soon as the candle is warmed by lighting. Do not tilt or move wax around the bowl - this will disrupt the surface of the wax and render the candle unusable.

7. Always trim wicks to 1/4" or less before each use, or if the flame gets too high/smokes. This means you are burning wood and not wax. If you don't have a wick trimmer handy, a large nail clipper or small scissors work fine. It may take a try or two for the wick to catch.  This is normal. Patience yields success :) 

8. Reuse! See ideas above, or create a new candle. We offer DIY kits, as well as a refill service where we do the work for you.  To clean wooden vessels, carefully spoon out remaining wax and wicks to avoid scratching the wood, then gently warm any residue with a hair dryer or low heat gun (best to do over trash can or paper-covered surface), taking care to avoid touching melting wax as it can get hot. Give bowl a final wipe with rubbing alcohol on a paper towel, and let dry. If there's enough left-over wax, give it second life in a wax melter if you have one. A Joy Forever also has some pretty plug-in models for purchase.

Thank you as always, and we hope you get lasting enjoyment from your A Joy Forever Original Dough Bowl candle.